Luigi's Mansion
Luigi's Mansion[b] is a 2001 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo. The game was a launch title for the GameCube and was the first game in the Mario franchise to be released for the console; it was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the third video game in which Luigi is the main character instead of Mario, after Mario Is Missing! and Luigi's Hammer Toss. Players control him as he explores a haunted mansion, searches for Mario and deals with ghosts by capturing them through a vacuum cleaner supplied by Professor E. Gadd.
This article is about the first game in the series. For the series as a whole, see List of Luigi video games § Luigi's Mansion series.Luigi's Mansion
Luigi's Mansion received a positive critical reception overall, with reviewers praising the gameplay, setting, and soundtrack, though its short length was criticized. The game has sold over 3.3 million copies, and is the fifth-best-selling GameCube game of all time. It was one of the first games to be re-released as a Player's Choice title on the system, and achieved a cult following.[1] The game was followed by two sequels – Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013, and Luigi's Mansion 3, which was released for the Nintendo Switch in 2019. A remake of Luigi's Mansion for the 3DS, co-developed by Nintendo and Grezzo, was released in 2018.
Plot[edit]
Luigi has been notified about winning a mansion in a contest he did not enter. He informs Mario and they agree to meet up outside the mansion that evening. Luigi follows a map to the mansion, located in a dark forest, and finds it more sinister-looking than the supplied photo. With Mario nowhere to be found, Luigi enters the mansion alone. He encounters a ghost, which attacks him, but is unexpectedly saved by a scientist who unsuccessfully tries to suck up the ghost with a vacuum cleaner. They escape as more ghosts appear, and the scientist introduces himself as Professor Elvin Gadd, or E. Gadd for short. He explains the mansion is supernatural in origin and only appeared a few days prior.[2][8] E. Gadd tells Luigi that he saw Mario heading towards the mansion, but has not seen him since.[9] Upon learning that Mario is Luigi's brother, E. Gadd entrusts Luigi with his ghost-hunting equipment, including the Poltergust 3000 vacuum cleaner and Game Boy Horror communication device, and Luigi re-enters the mansion to look for Mario.[10]
As Luigi explores the mansion, he discovers that it is an illusion built by King Boo, to shelter the now-freed special ghosts that E. Gadd had previously captured and trapped in portraits with a large machine dubbed the "Ghost Portrificationizer"; King Boo subsequently created the false contest to lure the Mario Bros. into a trap in retaliation for the boos they defeated in the past. Working his way through each of the darkened floors, halls, and locked rooms, Luigi recaptures the escaped portrait ghosts and discovers that Mario has been trapped inside of a portrait by King Boo in a secret ritualistic altar in the basement of the mansion. While recapturing the last portrait ghost, Luigi finds the key that unlocks the door to the secret altar, confronting King Boo. Angered over Luigi capturing his fellow Boos, King Boo causes Mario's portrait to transform into an image of Bowser, which sucks Luigi into a hellish pocket dimension with a fiery sky. Using his powers of illusion, King Boo creates a suit-like copy of Bowser to combat Luigi in an arena resembling the roof of the mansion, albeit detached from the rest of the building.[11] Using the Bowser illusion’s abilities against it, Luigi is able to knock the head of the Bowser suit off, forcing King Boo to emerge from within, leaving him vulnerable enough to be captured. Escaping the painting and returning to the real world, Luigi finds Mario unconscious but still trapped within the portrait, which he triumphantly carries out of the mansion.[12] Returning to the lab, E. Gadd informs Luigi that the mansion has disappeared, they trap King Boo in a portrait along with the last of the recaptured portrait ghosts, using the Ghost Portrificationizer's reverse function, Luigi and E. Gadd free Mario from his portrait.[13] The epilogue states that E. Gadd used the treasure Luigi collected on his adventure to build him a new house on the former site of the mansion. Its size depends on how much treasure the player gathered during the game.
Development[edit]
The game was revealed at Nintendo Space World 2000 as a technological demo designed to show off the graphical capabilities of the GameCube.[14] The full motion video footage had scenes seen in later trailers and commercials for the game, but were not used in the final release. This footage includes Luigi screaming in horror at the camera, running from an unknown ghost in the Foyer, ghosts playing cards in the Parlor, ghosts circling around Luigi, and a gloomy-looking Luigi standing outside the mansion with lightning flashing. These were animated at three graphic houses to pay homage to the GameCube. Soon after its creation, Nintendo decided to transform the demo into a full-fledged video game. A year later, Luigi's Mansion was shown at the Electronic Entertainment Expo alongside the GameCube console. Development was led by Hideki Konno, Shigeru Miyamoto, and Takashi Tezuka.[15] A newer version of the game, more closely related to the final version, was revealed at Nintendo Space World 2001.[16]
The original plan for Luigi's Mansion involved a game where the levels revolved around a large mansion or complex. Tests were later done with Mario characters in dollhouses and such. Once it was transitioned into a GameCube project, Luigi was selected as the main character in order to keep the game original and new. The other gameplay ideas, such as ghosts and the ghost-sucking vacuum cleaner, were added later. Older concepts, such as a role-playing game-like system which made real-time changes to rooms, as well as a cave area located under the mansion, were scrapped due to the inclusion of the new ideas.[17][18]
Luigi's Mansion's music was composed by Shinobu Tanaka and Kazumi Totaka,[19] and as such contains "Totaka's Song", a song featured in almost every game that Totaka has composed.[20] It is found by waiting on the controller configuration screen at the Training Room for about three and a half minutes.[21] The main theme of Luigi's Mansion was orchestrated and arranged by Shogo Sakai for Super Smash Bros. Brawl.[22] The game featured voice actors Charles Martinet as the voice of Mario and Luigi, Jen Taylor as the voice of Toad, and an uncredited Totaka as the voice of E. Gadd.[23] Luigi's Mansion received an award for its audio by BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards in 2002.[24]
All GameCube systems support the display of stereoscopic 3D, and Luigi's Mansion was planned to utilize this feature;[25] however, 3D televisions were not widespread at the time, and it was deemed that compatible displays would be too cost-prohibitive for the consumer. As a result, the feature was not enabled outside of development.[26]
for GameCube (in Japanese)
