Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS)

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

Ya, their reasoning was weak too, only complaints were: 'Absence of checkpoints can lead to repeating lengthy stretches

• One key combat sequence is a frustrating challenge, not a rewarding one.'
  
   

I am sorry, but thats only a point or two off at most, not 3.5, Challenge is a good thing, not bad, and sure a lack of checkpoints can make it challenging, but its still better than NES/SNES games where there were NO checkpoints, that could actualy be considered a plus. Most of the other reviews were spot on though

[SIXTH-RATE SOMA]

Ya, their reasoning was weak too

 

You were expecting a legitimate review from Gamespot?

 

And also, lol at those comments:

Other websites graded this game in a child's perspective. This game is easily D grade at best.

[-blank-]

Damn this game looks fantastic. I must get it.

[Autosaver]

It's $29.99 at frys w/ free shipping.

[Red Cap]

I got this game just over 2 hours ago and I can safely say that this game is one of the best I've ever played. The animation is smooth, the graphics are nice, the music is great, the puzzles are fun, and ghost fighting is way better this time around. Almost everything about this game oozes tons of personality, especially the ghosts.

I also gotta give them credit for the level design. Secrets are literally EVERYWHERE and I ended up having 1001 coins after the very first mission. Seriously, gold bars, dollar bills, and coins can come out of spots that don't make a damn bit of sense.

Still haven't played Multi-Player, but I'm willing to bet money that it's just as fun as the main game.

[Nintendoga]

I really don't like how you can't turn around while Vacuuming unlike the first game because of the lack of a second stick. It leaves you wide open for attack when the ghosts fly behind you while you're charging up your strobe light. It takes a while to get used to it, but I wish you could press a button to do a 180 turn, or at least allow you to turn around using the gyro motion.

But first impressions aside, this game's very good so far. The animations of Luigi and the ghosts are brilliant, and they make the game seem so lively by interacting with everything. I didn't like them at first because of their simplistic designs, but the ghosts have great personalities. The green ones like to joke around, the red ones act jock-like and bully the other ghosts, the blue ones are little assholes, and so on.

There's also a vault in the game as opposed to the "somewhat boring" gallery from the first. After each mission it shows you what ghosts you collected, and later allows you to view them ala 3D Models like Kid Icarus Uprising, complete with descriptions and names.
You also get upgrades for the Poltergust, but I don't know what the upgrades are yet, as you need 2000G to get them, and I'm a 1000G short currently.

This game is pretty much a cross between Zelda and Super Mario 64, as in the mansions are similar to the dungeons, and the mission structure is just like SM64, you go back in the same mansion, but for a different objective.

I'm still early in but so far this game's pretty good. I can't say if it's better then the first or not till I beat the story, but I can't say it's worst. This is definitely no Sticker Star....yet.....at least I hope not. People say the game gets pretty amazing around the third mansion in.

As for the multiplayer

I haven't played it yet because you need to unlock it by capturing your first Boo. Lame....

 

[Red Cap]

You don't have the first upgrade yet? I got it on the 3rd mission. You can get 1027 coins on the first mission if you really look.

The first upgrade allows you to charge up your Poltergust more, so you can do more damage with the little A-button finisher thingy.

Edited March 24, 2013 by Red Cap-Blue Spikes

[Guest]

Whats happening with the glow in the dark cover exactly? I pre-ordered from GAME to get the stress ball, so is it just luck whether or not I get the cover as well?

Edited March 24, 2013 by Guest

[Autosaver]

I pre-ordered from GAME to get the stress ball,

A stress ball? O.O

[Guest]

A stress ball? O.O

 

 

A cute Boo stess ball!  It's a pre-order bonus from Game.

Edited March 24, 2013 by Guest

[Tails spin]

I only had time to play the first mission. but I have to admit I'm loving the game.I literally laughed out loud when Luigi randomly made a e. gadd's crazy remark. The initial story was long but I guess it was needed to explain the background. Can't wait to play more

[Doctor MK]

Right then... I got the game through the post yesterday with the limited edition glow-in-the-dark cover and Boo stress ball and have played through the first couple of mansions so far.

 

I was a fan of the original Luigi's Mansion and definitely thought it was one of the titles that defined the Gamecube. It had excellent presentation, a great atmosphere, and above all it was different. A game starring Luigi - and a game in which Luigi cannot pull off even the most basic of Mario moves, like jumping - could have been a total flop, but it was a classic in its own right, let down only by short length and repetitive aspects like the Boo hunt.

 

As excited as I was when Luigi's Mansion 2 was first announced, I feared the worst for it. The ghost designs and variety looked awfully generic compared to the original, and the gothic look had been replaced by a more cartoony style that could easily fall on the wrong side of slapstick. Then there's the fact that the 3DS lacks a second analogue stick, so how would the controls translate? Oh, and the story's your run-of-the-mill macguffin hunt (on the surface, at least)? We've seen most of these things in another recent high profile Nintendo game - Paper Mario: Sticker Star - and that was a resoundingly mediocre affair. Needless to say, I wouldn't have been surprised if this game had turned out to be half-arsed attempt to put a console experience on a handheld and get mixed reactions.

 

Boy, was I wrong.

 

All of the positive reviews from the the press sent my hype levels rocketing back up, and the game most certainly lives up to them. Admittedly, at first, I was a little underwhelmed - the different control scheme took a bit of getting used to, the challenge wasn't too difficult initially, and the graphics weren't quite as amazing as I might have hoped... but after a couple of hours of play, roughly around the time of the first mansion's boss, everything clicked. And it feels so very, very good. The attention to detail in the animations (and that goes for all of the characters, not just Luigi) is astounding and the mansions themselves are full of character, each one throwing interesting new gimmicks and experiences at you. The mission set-up is also a plus point, allowing for a greater sense of achievement and enabling the game to be played in bite-sized chunks of adventure, perfect for a handheld. As for the gameplay, there's some absolutely genius puzzles to tackle. Many of them will leave you stumped, but the outcomes are always intelligent and kick-yourself-once-you've-figured-it-out obvious. The first mansion's boss has been a particular highlight for me so far, forcing you to use your brain as well as your brawn to take him down.

 

And let's not forget the star of the show himself - Luigi. He is so very likable and so very charming, oozing with personality at every turn. This game's more cinematic approach gives the man in green plenty of opportunity to shine in comedic, slapstick cutscenes, and the hilariously torturous tricks and traps that lay in wait for him around the haunted abodes result in many a chuckle. If 2013 is the Year of Luigi, then this is one hell of a way to start off the celebrations.

 

Essentially, everything that I thought might hinder the game's quality has actually worked considerably in its favour. As such, this is currently up there with Super Mario 3D Land and Kid Icarus: Uprising as a contender for my favourite 3DS title, and I'm not even halfway through yet. By the time I've hoovered up all the ghosts and restored the Dark Moon to its former glory, we may well have a new champion.

 

Anyone who might be worried about the Mario series growing stale, especially on the 3DS, fear not. New Super Mario Bros. 2 got it wrong. Paper Mario: Sticker Star got it wrong. Luigi's Mansion 2 gets it right, and then some. Make like a Poltergust 5000 and scoop it up now!

[Detective Shadzter]

Did the final game get Circle Pad Pro support? I recall there were some rumours, but I don't think it ever got confirmed? 

[Swiss]

No CPP support, but the controls seem fine the way they are I'd say! Well, the ability to turn while vacuuming would be nice, but it's no biggie.

 

I didn't get the glow-in-the-dark case when I picked it up from GAME, must be an online exclusive! I also didn't get my stress ball, but I should be getting one tomorrow hopefully.

 

Just beat the first two missions and this game is everything I'd hoped for and more. I'll add more when I've played some more, but I can't wait to see else this game has to offer!

[Doctor MK]

Did the final game get Circle Pad Pro support? I recall there were some rumours, but I don't think it ever got confirmed? 

 

Not as far as I know. Instead of having full control over the angle of the Poltergust 5000, you now hold the X button to point it upwards. It's a bit more limited, but it still works well enough for when it's needed.

[Conando]

There's no CPP support but, the way the game controls is different. Looking up and down is more akin to Super Metroid.

[Nintendoga]

It is pretty weird how there's no CPP support, but considering that in the Iwata Asks they said they changed the controls at least ten times, it's not too surprising. The controls are fine though like I said before.

Beat the game the other day, (Took me 14 hours to beat the story, still not done with 100% run)
This really is an amazing must have for the 3DS.

The gameplay is superb. It's evolved from the original in a way that sequels are meant to do. Not add one or two new things, or change the gameplay completely, but it mixes up the gameplay so that it doesn't feel as repetitive as it did at times in the first game. Ghosts now actively try to defend themselves by using items they find in the mansion like shovels, helmets, knight armor, etc. You can also jump/dodge ghost attacks while you're sucking them up, which is a lot more helpful than I'm making it out to be. I was a bit worried about the whole "Charge flashlight to catch ghosts" thing, but that was because I thought you had to charge it all the way to stun them. Once I found out you just simply had to tap A, it became a lot more fun to capture them.

The DarkLight's pretty cool too. You hold the Y button to basically look around for objects that were turned invisible. To put it simply, you scan the room with your flashlight looking for an invisible object, then spirit balls appear and you have to suck 'em up to make the object visible again. This is also how you catch Boos, though I won't spoil too much about them, I'll say the method to catch them is harder, considering you don't have the Boo radar. Also they got the silly Boo pun names again.

As I said in my previous post, the ghosts are much more filled with personality in this game. Sometimes you'll even catch them playing around or cooking or sitting on the toilet reading. Luigi's also very defined in this game. There are many cutscenes throughout alot of the missions that explore and show off Luigi being.....Luigi.

The story is very well done. There's a ton of cutscenes and alot of voice acting in them. It's not as heavy as Uprising's story or anything like that, but it's much more deeper then your usual Mario game. I will say though, the ending is one of the sweetest endings I've ever seen in a Mario Luigi game.

So yeah, Mario's in the game and he's a portrait again. But after you defeat King Boo Luigi uses the DarkLight on him to save him. Mario comes out and says (yes, this game has alot of voice acting) stuff like "You did it, you saved Mario! You're number one! You're the best bro!" and Luigi's all shocked and goes like "Thanks....Mario...."

E.Gadd frees all the ghosts who turn good again due to the Dark Moon being fixed, and they all take a group photo together, which Luigi hangs on a wall in his house and falls asleep with his new ghost dog.

The Bosses are great (more in detail in spoiler below). Much better then the original game's bosses. They are all diverse, some clever, some fun, and they are pretty challenging to say the least (well most of them I suppose).

Each of the bosses (sans the final boss King Boo) are actually Ghosts that possess an object or living thing to fight Luigi with. After you figure out that bosses weakness,  the ghost will come out and you have to suck it up Three times before finally capturing it for good.

The first boss is the Spider we saw in a lot of the game's early trailers. He's a clever boss, you have to stun the Spider, then quickly pull the ball of web attached to it's webbing, and find a way to light it on fire while dodging the spiders falling from the ceiling.

The second boss is, get this



You ready?





Stairs.
Not even joking.  You have to run up at least there are 3 rows of stairs going left to right, and at least 50 or so rows of stairs leading to the top. You have to walk up the right path of stairs, or else you'll fall all the way back to the bottom (even if you're near the top) and have to fight some ghosts before running back up all those stairs again. It's not as bad as it seems though, as when you fall down and run back up the stairs, you can look ahead and see the torches on the stairs which indicates which path is the right one before you get up there. After jogging up the stairs you fight.....more stairs. The ghost possess the stairs at the top and you fight him a little bit before getting the Dark Moon piece.

The third boss is a boss rush thing. You're on a giant clock and for each time the hour hand hits a number, you fight some ghosts. It's alright I guess.

Fourth boss is interesting. The game turns into a FPS and you fire bombs at a ghost-ice monster while falling down a chasm. Just think of the first Ridley fight from Metroid Prime 3.

For the fifth boss you have to fight this Ghost that's controlling knight armor. You have to get the knight under a rug and suck it up, making him fall scooby doo style. Each time you suck him up, he multiplies and then you have to fight two, then three Knights. For the fourth time he combines into a giant Knight, and tries to stomp on you/ slash you with his sword.

The Sixth boss is basically Boolossus again. The Boos turn into a giant powerful one, and you're in a toy train set. you have to grab the Boo and throw him towards the front of the train, which has a drill. After which he pops into multiple Boos and you suck them up before they combine again. Basically Boolossus, not that there's anything wrong with that.

Finally there's King Boo. A very good final boss fight, there's two phases to the fight that you have to do three times. First you're in a ring in another dimension, and he'll ground pound the ground to make spiked balls fall from the sky. You have to let him follow you and align him under the ball so that it hits and so you can suck him up (He does get smarter each time and starts dodging them/ making the floor ice or sand). Then you fall into a long corridor and have to run away from him who's rolling behind you, while you're dodging the drawers/knights/ other shit that's trying to block your path. It's actually a pretty fun fight and a great way to end the game.

Unfortunatley, there's no portrait ghosts as expected. But it's not too bad as I don't think they would've fit in with the structure of the game. Maybe in the next game.

Music's great. Was there ever any doubt of a Mario game not having good music? Each Mansion builds upon the main theme with it's own little quirks.

Speaking of mansions, they are fantastic. I was worried when I heard that they were going to be based around environments because I thought "Oh boy, gimmick mansions here we come...". Not at all actually, the mansions feel like real mansions, but different enough to make them all unique. It's really great actually.

As for the atmosphere, this game still has tons of the first game's dark atmosphere, especially in the later missions of the game and for the final boss as well. It also has it's own cartoony light-hearted theme that works well considering how much I thought this game was going to be too lighthearted.

Last but not least, the multiplayer is fun as hell. Me and a friend did 25 floors of Hunter mode, and god was it hard. But fun too. Like amazingly fun.

Game's challenging as well. It's not Nintendo Hard like the old days, but it's challenging enough.

Overall, the game's a must have for the 3DS. I'm finding it really hard to find any flaws minus two puzzles which I thought were a bit too obscure for me.

Definitely not a flop in any shape or form (unlike a certain Mario game that came out months earlier...). Maybe until Mario & Luigi 4 comes out later this year, this is arguably the best 3DS game on the system so far. It's also a great game to start off with if you ever plan on getting a 3DS in the near future.

So yeah, stop talking in that Sticker Star thread, buy this game, and talk here.

Cause it's really good yo.
 

Edited March 28, 2013 by Nintendoga

[Swiss]

Everyone, do what I did: trade-in Sticker Star (and Mario Kart) and get Luigi's Mansion. Two disappointing titles for one amazing one is a good deal!

[Cola]

Everyone, do what I did: trade-in Sticker Star (and Mario Kart) and get Luigi's Mansion. Two disappointing titles for one amazing one is a good deal!

 

No thank you.

 

Mario Kart 7 is perfectly fine, and Sticker Star is going towards Dream Team.

 

 

 

 

Dark Moon is so amazing that it deserves to be bought at full price.

[Swiss]

Eh, MK7 was really lacking in a lot of areas for me (still can't get over the fact that there's no option to just play a single race, seriously?). And Nintendo still get their money for me buying the game, it's the game store that credits me!

[Cola]

Eh, MK7 was really lacking in a lot of areas for me (still can't get over the fact that there's no option to just play a single race, seriously?). And Nintendo still get their money for me buying the game, it's the game store that credits me!

 

Good point!

[Gregzilla]

I just beat the third mansion, and I'm loving it so far.  It's shown me that Nintendo's still got its magic, despite worrying me with a lot of fairly mediocre/uninteresting titles since....like, late 2010.

 

Despite one less control stick, capturing ghosts feels great.  In fact, I think it's better than the first game.  The new flashlight mechanic is really satisfying to use.  On top of that, environments are wonderfully detailed and interactive.  The mansions really feel alive.  It's a much more creative and lively product than most Nintendo games lately (ironic, since it's about ghosts).

 

My main worry was that the atmosphere wouldn't be as good as the original.  It's definitely got more comedy this time around, but my worries were put to rest in peace.  There's still some of that darkness of the original, but now it's infused with much more funny Luigi antics and comedic moments.  It's a joy.

 

My only complaint so far is that the second and third boss fights aren't as good as the first boss fight, which was fantastic.  I hope the next fights are better.

 

Overall, this easily wins the title of best 3DS game.  If you're on the fence about buying it, don't be.  It's wonderful.

[Tails spin]

Dark Moon is so amazing that it deserves to be bought at full price.

 

I bought dark moon for $9.50. Brand spanking new from Best Buy.

[Swiss]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7wigciI1Rc

 

I seriously cannot get enough of this. It's such a great little touch! I just love the way Luigi tries to find the DS while it's ringing it's just...ah. So good.

 

Also is it bad that this is my actual phone ringtone now?

[Doctor MK]

Way ahead of you, Swiss. The Dual Scream ringtone is now my phone ringtone too!

I just hope it's not a crazy professor on the other end shouting "Looeeeeeeeegee!" or "yabbo yabbo!" when I answer future calls.