Having only ever appeared in one other game of his own, "Mario's Missing" (which wasn't exactly a success), he's still playing second fiddle to his familiar brother, Mario. Well, that's all about to change because of "Luigi's Mansion". It may not be better than the original Mario games, but it's just as good fun. Well, for a quarter of the time that is. Because, although this game is immensely enjoyable to play, it's a tad short. The replay value is limited, and it doesn't take long to complete the game first time around. However, what this game does provide is an interesting window into the world of Nintendo gaming. It's short and sweet, very sweet. Okay, let me run over the basic rules of Luigi's Mansion.
Luigi, being a bit of a gullible guy, entered a competition to win a huge mansion and strangely enough, he won it.
The introduction sequence of the game shows Luigi making his way through the creepy woods towards the mansion (using a somewhat un-helpful map). But, something's up. Because, when he reaches the mansion it turns out to be an old haunted house. Well, it isn't long before our curious star is attacked by ghosts, the poor man is scared to bits (you get the feeling he's a bit of a wimp, actually). Luckily, he is rescued by the short and strange, Professor E. Gadd. Well, the story continues as Luigi explains he's come to claim his mansion, but then realizes Mario is there as well, what could have happened to his brother? He was supposed to meet him at the mansion! And so the search begins, Luigi's task is to find and rescue Mario. He does this by pottering his way around the spooky house, taking out ghosts and collecting huge hoards of cash (which he later uses to construct a beautiful new mansion of his own).
You find your way through the mansion by fighting a number of ghosts in each room. Once all the ghosts in that room are dispelled and sucked up into your handy vacuum cleaner, (which was kindly given to you by the Professor), the lights come on. Then you get a chest filled with cash or a key might appear. Either way, you move on to the next room to do the same. Then, after a boss ghost is defeated, Prof. Elvin Gadd takes you back to his Ghost Portrificitionator to turn the ghosts into paintings. And so the quest continues.
It may sound a little linear, but there are so many funny little surprises in LM that you don't really care. Anyway, collecting money has never been so compulsively addictive. Luigi's mansion can make you laugh and cry. To make you laugh it has a whole host of jokes and funny sequences, first up, Luigi. Every time a ghost appears behind him, he'll jump in surprise, or when there's a video sequence involving a ghost, he'll scream and try to crawl away. My favourite has to be when you press A and he yells "Marioooo!". This is doubly as funny when Luigi has been shrunken to a fifth of his size and his voice changes to a high pitched yell! Also, there are countless other little effects and noises which are humorous in their own little ways. Things that make you cry are when you realize you're going to die because of a boss ghost and you know you can't change the situation, or when you finish the game only to realize you've ended up with rank D (the highest being A) after trying your hardest to collect loads of cash.
Graphics-wise, LM is a dream. The effects perfectly showcase Gamecube's subtle power and the crisp rendering of every item in the mansion makes the atmospheric touch rise that little bit more. Even the small cloud of breath from Luigi's mouth can be seen as he shivers through the mansion. One of my favourite touches is Luigi's humming: As you move through the rooms of the spooky mansion, Luigi hums the theme - but, as you get lower health his humming becomes off-key and shakey, like he's really hurt! Bless 'im.
The sounds are also applied well, ringing telephones, blowing wind, Toad crying and even a grand piano, two timpani's, a harp, a horn, a xylophone and a double bass can be heard in the mansion's music room (or Conservatory). The game's theme music is something I really like. It complements the spooky atmosphere as well as being like the traditional twinkley Nintendo tunes we all know from previous games.
The gameplay is fun and at a perfect difficulty level, a great launch title. The way Luigi moves and the mansion feels is all brilliant. It's not a super star classic, but it's a darn fine game. You'll love this title to bits, but it'll be over quickly. Once it is over, I suggest you keep it anyway. Because when you come back to it in four years time, it'll be as fresh as it was the day you bought it. Of course, it's a fun game, I love it, but I haven't played it at all from the moment I finished it, why would I? You'll play it to the end, and no more.
As I was saying earlier, it gives you a look at how Nintendo make games, at-a-glance. It's funny, it's got great graphics and music and it features some totally unbelievable characters. However, the gameplay is original, fun, fresh and a joy to play. You'll love Luigi's Mansion if you love Nintendo, and Nintendo have really gone and put their best magic into this game, great stuff. Play this game, it's good. No, It's great and I think Nintendo haven't done a thing wrong with it. Not a jot.
Chris Baraniuk
