Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon is the sequel to the 2001 game Luigi's Mansion, on the Gamecube. This is the 1st handheld (3DS) entry in the series, and the second overall. Let's jump right into the review with the plot!
Plot- Since the events of the first Luigi's Mansion, E. Gadd (yeah he's back, yay!), the professor studying the ghosts of Evershade Valley (where the game takes place) has managed to pacify ghosts, and was in the process of studying them. The Dark Moon, an object similar (yet much smaller and purple) to the moon, is then shattered, causing the ghosts to become hostile. E. Gadd then calls in Luigi to help him recover the shattered dark moon in order to re-pacify the ghosts.
Graphics- The graphics are probably the best I've seen on the 3DS, but as the 3ds isn't HD (which is really not acceptable) they still don't look particularly good. However, no 3DS games are in HD, so with that in mind, these are pretty solid graphics. And as for the 3D, they make absolutely no use of it, they just add a little depth to the game the whole time, with no variation at all. As the 3D is sometimes a hassle to play with, it really just isn't worth it. Nintendo definitely put the 3D on the back burner for this game, sadly.
Difficulty- As with most Nintendo games, you can't change the difficulty, so if it's to hard, Nintendo says, "go f*ck yourself!" I mean, it is a challenging game. There are different ways/mechanics to catch ghosts that they don't tell you about, so you decide if that's good or bad (I think it's good, they make sure it isn't too easy that way). The ghosts don't come easily, they will run and they will attack. You have to stay connected to suck them up, and they can drag you around if they get to far and make you lose hearts, so once again not too easy, another plus. And there definitely secret things like money, gems, and extra lives to find, and they do hide them, they aren't just presented to you, which is good.
Gameplay- As with the graphics, innovation was also on the back burner. The original Luigi's Mansion had new and unique gameplay, and they really didn't build upon that in this game. Since there was such a gap between this game and the sequel, they got away with little to no innovation, but I really hoped there would be new elements introduced in this game. There are a few annoying quirks in the gameplay too. For example, in the beginning of the game, E. Gadd Gives you a customized DS (why they chose to advertise the DS rather than the 3DS there, I don't know) that he can call you on, and for the first 20 minutes you barely get to play, it's just call after call after call, which is pretty annoying. Since it sticks to Luigi's Mansion original formula, it's great gameplay, but it's still just the same old thing.
Luigi- Time to talk about our protagonist, our scared, mustache donning friend Luigi! He actually is very personable, if you press different buttons on the D-Pad, he will say different phrases, which is unnecessary, but it's a nice little touch that I enjoy. Also, whenever he answers the DS he says "hello!" And always nods like he's listening, which makes the conversation a bit more real. However, once again he for some reason finds it necessary to murder helpless animals like mice who are just running around doing mice stuff, nope gotta kill em! And really passive ghosts! For example, Luigi walks in on two ghosts just painting each other, one posing, and he just attacks, for no reason. Apparently Luigi has a thirst for blood that can't be quenched. But overall, Luigi is a great, lively protagonist.
Eerieness- The only age group this is supposed to scare is like, 3-5 year olds, and me. I have a low tolerance for scary stuff (even though I love watching and playing scary movies and games), a bit lower than a fetus' tolerance, actually. And it really does make me jump when I see them creeping up on me, and hear them in the distance, so overall, this gets an A+ in eerieness!
Overall, I really do enjoy this game, I had extremely high expectations for it, after the amazing game that was the first Luigi's Mansion, and it just about met them. Even with it's less than stellar graphics and little innovation, this game in my opinion, is a great 3DS game, and if you haven't already, I'd definitely pick it up.
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-Colby
