Item: Luigi's Mansion
Rating: 9
Author: maik.heck

**This review is for the original GameCube version as there is no official page for it here on whatoplay**This game is near and dear to my heart. It was Christmas of 2001 when my parents gifted my brother and I with the new, hot console from Nintendo, the GameCube. Of the three games they bought for us to go with it, the other two being Mario Kart: Double Dash and Super Smash Bros. Melee—both great games in their own right—Luigi's Mansion stands out among them because it was the first game I ever played on the GameCube. To say my young, little mind was blown is an understatement. Being raised on SNES and N64, the updated graphics was such an exciting thing to witness. A core memory was born and I will always think back fondly on that simple time.Say what you want about Luigi, but I credit this game with making him my favorite Mario character. He's brimming with a distinct personality every other major Mario character lacks (besides Bowser in the Mario &amp; Luigi series). And his motivation is solid: despite turning his overalls a different color by the end of the night, a sniveling coward makes the choice to fight malicious ghosties in a haunted mansion with a damn vacuum because someone important to him is in danger. I respect that. Best Mario character lolLuigi's Mansion is not a perfect game by any means—it's very easy, short, repetitive and the camera at times can be fixed in very frustrating places (especially for the final boss fight, oh lordy)—but upon revisiting it two decades later, it's just as much fun to play now as it was back then. The Poltergust 3000 is such a different tool to utilize when fighting with enemies or interacting with the world in general and I'll never get tired of using it. The elemental powers were a nice touch to keep the gameplay from going stale, though I wish the final boss fight incorporated everything we have learned about using each elemental power to make it more challenging and thematically satisfying. It seems like a wasted opportunity. Also, I need to rant about this real quick: that locked door on the first floor that blocks the staircase that leads to the second floor can go to Hell. Forcing me to take the scenic route—which includes having to listen to a certain character's cries of terror from below—every time I needed to backtrack was a dirty move. Just, it can burn.Overall, Luigi's Mansion is a solid game that I recommend everyone try out at least once. It's a weird and different experience for a launch title but I think Nintendo's gamble paid off. Starting next year, I'm gonna make sure this one's in my rotation to kick off Spooky Month.

Luigi's Mansion

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Player Score

maik.heck