Continuing from Part 1, we still have three mansions to explore – and since I’ve gone through most of the gameplay mechanics, I’ll focus mainly on the plot.
"Friend?" "N̖̯̠̤̯̣͙͌ͥ̀O̳̟̲͆͒̂͒͜T̳̳͕̭̘͕̻̍̂̇̕ ͗ͫ̈̊͌F̬̼̜̻̗͕̖̀ͪ̄̇R̃̋̀Ỉ̡̅̅̈́Ė̘̩͔̻̟̘ͬ̐̈̓͐̈́͜Ñ̥̦͉̾̒̄̽D̠̘ͩ͑̆" |
The ghosts have gotten smarter; Greenies disguise as mummies by wrapping themselves in tape and holding fake limbs. Good, the regular ghosts weren’t creepy enough. Then there’s that one, who’s not only figured out telekinesis, but also loves to summon wave after wave of enemies. A gauntlet of ghosts!
If Toads annoy you and make you want to hurt them, in this game you an stun them, toss them around, and scare them. They're still more tolerable than the ghosts. |
More ghosts every minute! |
The next area is the Secret Mine, a small chalet on top of a snowy peak with a gigantic mine beneath it. Our first task, this time, is to retrieve another Toad assistant. Once again, we rescue the Toad from a painting he was stuck in, but as the Toad celebrates, he breaks the icy floor and both he and Luigi fall into the mine below. It’s an adventure to come back to the chalet by reaching the only elevator. With the Toad saved, Luigi is taken back as well.
So many Gems! Are they useful? No? ...then why should I care about them? |
We’re told to explore the deepest reaches of the mine, since that seems to be where the culprit behind all this seems to hide. Luigi now has access to portals! And the first thing he does with them is act like the loveable dork he is.
“Hello!”
If only the Gems I collected powered ME up against all these damned ghosts! |
Not a fan of ledge walks. |
On the next mission, we learn that the Mansion is also a museum, and E. Gadd sent a Toad inventorize what’s in there. Let me guess, we’ll have to save him? So we’re pixelated there (though Luigi’s cap arrives a moment after him, uh oh), and we open the door…
This one first involves going around the mansion to activate portals on the four corners of the place, and then carrying items between rooms to reach the Toad paintings. Yes, plural – turns out there are two Toads here. Not really more difficult than usual, really. Luigi takes them to a Pixelator and then also comes back to the Bunker.
E. Gadd had forgotten about the second Toad, and thought it was a ghost who tricked the Pixelator. ...Wait, you mean ghosts can do that? Shouldn’t you be more worried about it? That seems like some critical information to have! One Toad brought back a 3D picture that reveals Boos carrying… Mario trapped in a picture! And King Boo! …Who turns towards the camera in a still image! WHOA!
E. Gadd had forgotten about the second Toad, and thought it was a ghost who tricked the Pixelator. ...Wait, you mean ghosts can do that? Shouldn’t you be more worried about it? That seems like some critical information to have! One Toad brought back a 3D picture that reveals Boos carrying… Mario trapped in a picture! And King Boo! …Who turns towards the camera in a still image! WHOA!
Beating 10 Boos at once; Luigi has proven he could do it. |
With the power of its crown, the ghost summons a portal that lets loose dozens of ghosts all over the Treacherous Mansion! And because nothing is ever simple, Luigi has to hunt every single one of them down before he can go fight his nemesis. Again: You walk an inch forward, they push the goalpost back by a mile, I fucking swear. Luigi does eventually catch the several dozens of them and returns to the Bunker to empty the Poltergust. Thankfully, the portal on the terrace is still open, so we can jump into that fight.
You were expecting King Boo? Nope, have another Possessor first. One that splits itself to take control of multiple suits of armor… then, later, a kaiju-sized armor. Okay, this might be the most awesome moment in the whole game. And how do you defeat these? You trip each one of them up by sucking in the rugs beneath their feet. Soon enough, the Possessor is taken care of, and we get the last shard. I can’t wait to take this back to E. Gadd!
Luigi will remember this nightmare for a long time. |
"You were-a the hero today, Luigi!" |
Sure, it had become mean due to the Dark Moon being broken, but… uh… damn it… no, not the puppy-dog-eyes… no no no… augh… shoot…
Okay FINE! You’re forgiven. Anyway, barring one instance, I'm bad at keeping grudges.
Luigi gets to revel in the glory of being the hero for once, and even gets a nice picture to hang on his wall for it. He has vanquished his fear of ghosts, has proven his worth, and got a nice pet out of it. Yep, he adopted the Polterpup. Happy ending, roll credits.
Advantage of owning a ghost dog: It's not heavy. Probably doesn't need to poop or to be fed, either. |
Quadruple the Luigis, quadruple the courage! And the scaredy cat attitude. |
After all this, time for my final words. I’m somewhat divided on this one. I admit it’s a well-made game that works perfectly fine. The greater story is good, the music is pretty decent, and the graphics are great. The mansions are, for the most part, pretty fun to visit and the rooms are diverse. I didn’t mind that the game was split into missions; I heard the first Luigi’s Mansion wasn’t, but since I haven’t played it, I don’t have a point of comparison. It’s also good to have a new goal on every mission, for variety. I'll admit that it’s a bit disappointing that you can’t freely explore the mansions. Otherwise, there’s a pretty good dosage between the three genres of action, puzzle and exploration. The game also has a decent length, although I felt it dragged in several places in order to increase the game’s actual length. The boss battles are pretty creative, and the overall difficulty is just right. It also has a fairly decent amount of collectibles and extra quests. Lastly, the game makes use of the 3DS’s bonus capabilities, such as its tilt detection. So no, it isn’t a bad game at all, and whatever negative points I’ll make afterwards are based solely on my own experience with it.
Most of my issues with the game relate to the story and how it’s brought up. Several times during missions, E. Gadd will call Luigi on his portable DS and break the flow of the story; it’s usually necessary exposition, but it can get annoying fast nonetheless. Luigi also has the bad habit of reacting to things in mini-scenes that cannot be skipped; every mission is always treated like you’re playing through it for the first time, so even if you do know what’s coming (as an example, you know a ghost is hidden in a shower), Luigi will always react the same way (by being startled, giving the ghost enough time to flee). It’s understandable as a design decision, but it’s pretty annoying. This also sets up the mischievous ghosts and their behavior, and they always, I mean AL-WAYS, are a pain in the ass. If there’s a door you need to get through, they’ll lock it. If there’s a critical item you need, they’ll run away with it. When you think you’re done catching them, surprise! There’s more waiting. It’s a battle every step of the way. Again: Plot-wise, it makes sense. The ghosts were turned nasty by the Dark Moon’s destruction, after all. Doesn’t make them any less infuriating to fight. It says something when the friggin’ Toads are tolerable in comparison. Thankfully, most cutscenes and E. Gadd calls can be skipped by pressing the Start button.
Some things aren’t explained; I didn’t know about the Gold Bone and how the Polterpup could revive Luigi if the plumber had picked it up. It was a nice surprise the first time, but it also means you need to find the damn bone. And if you don’t and Luigi loses all his HP in the mission, you have to start it all over. We’re talking missions that can be fairly long to complete, too, especially the first time you’re playing through them. Imagine being 25 minutes into a mission and dying without a Gold Bone in your inventory, and having to do it all over. You might know what to do now, it’s still tedious.
I think the early game’s annoyances had turned me off from playing the game. I saw all of these issues very early on and didn’t want to go through all that. Ultimately, I forced myself to play through the game. While in the end I don’t regret beating it, I think I understand why it took me so long to get through it. It really started to feel enjoyable only after a few hours in.
Anyhow, that’s my thoughts. I recommend it, as I do think it’s good, but be aware of those issues. Now that this is done, I think I’ll be reviewing a bunch of shorter games on Steam.
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