I never played the original Luigi’s Mansion (never had a Gamecube) but was intrigued by the brief presentation of Luigi’s Mansion 2 at Nintendo’s E3 conference to make it my first kiosk stop in order to get my hands on the game.
This game will be a “true sequel” to the original that if memory serves right, didn’t review all that well. Perhaps this was a case of reviewers wanting a game with more platforming elements or hating on a launch title. Regardless, the game itself was well-regarded among fans who appreciated a new approach to a “Mario” game and it appears that little has changed in the overall design some 10 years later. Instead of going for something “new,” this game looks to continue the legacy of the original.
The short haunted mansion level I played today looks to keep many of these traits intact. While it wasn’t made clear how Luigi found himself traversing another haunted mansion, he still has his trusty Poltergeust 3000 vacuum cleaner along with a high-powered flashlight, both of which are still used to stun and capture ghosts that are hidden throughout the mansion. Mainstays like finding keys in chests to unlock other doors along with coin collecting elements will return as well. From my understanding by talking to others who have played the original, the mechanics all seem to be the same. That leaves the design of the additional mansions and enemies that much more important to keep the player engaged and not feeling like they’re performing the same actions again, and again.
