Luigi's Mansion 3

Luigi's Mansion 3[lower-alpha 1] is an action-adventure video game developed by Next Level Games and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the third installment in the Luigi's Mansion series following Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon and was released on October 31, 2019. The game sees players taking on the role of Luigi who must explore a haunted hotel, incorporating different themes on each floor, and rescue his friends from the ghosts that inhabit it, after the group is tricked into visiting it for a vacation by an old foe, King Boo.

Luigi's Mansion 3
Icon artwork, featuring Luigi and Gooigi
Developer(s)Next Level Games
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)Bryce Holliday
Producer(s)Alex MacFarlane
Bjorn Nash
Kensuke Tanabe
Designer(s)Devon Blanchet
Jason Carr
Programmer(s)Brian Davis
Artist(s)Barret Chapman
Writer(s)Ryunosuke Suzuki
Composer(s)Chad York
Darren Radtke
SeriesLuigi
Platform(s)Nintendo Switch
ReleaseOctober 31, 2019
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Alongside a number of returning gameplay elements from the previous installments, the game incorporates new features, including additional moves for ghost catching, an ectoplasmic doppelgänger assistant known as Gooigi, and expanded multiplayer functionality that allows for players to engage in cooperative and competitive gaming both locally and online. The game received critical acclaim from critics and was nominated for several awards, even winning the award for "Best Family Game" at The Game Awards 2019. As of December, 2020, the game sold over nine million copies worldwide.

Gameplay

Luigi's Mansion 3 is an action-adventure game, in which players control the character of Luigi from a fixed third-person perspective, as they capture ghosts across a large hotel setting. The game features two modes of gameplay – a single-player story mode, and a set of multiplayer game modes – in which ghost catching functions in the same manner as previous installments: players stun ghosts with Luigi's flashlight, snag them with his Poltergust, and weaken their health down to 0 in order to capture them.

Single-player

In the single-player story mode, players explore a large hotel with 17 floors – each floor consists of a different theme and atmosphere, and a variety of ghosts, including a boss ghost that the player must defeat. Unlike the story mode of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, which focused on pre-defined mission structure of gameplay across several mansions, Luigi's Mansion 3 is more open-ended allowing for greater exploration of the game's setting, with the only restriction being that players cannot explore floors in the hotel via the elevator until they have found the button that allows access to it; the hotel's main lobby and basement are the only floors to have a staircase between them that circumvents the need for the elevator.

Treasure can be found during exploration of the hotel's floor from various objects and solving some puzzles, including special gems on each floor, alongside the capture of Boos (a regular enemy in the Marioverse), while Luigi can find hearts to recover health lost from the attacks of ghosts and other environmental hazards. Some of the features introduced by Dark Moon are available in the game, including a stun charge function that can make ghost catching easier, and a darklight function that can reveal hidden items and animate certain portraits. New to the series include new functions to the Poltergust – an area burst attack that can help keep multiple enemies back; a suction cup attachment, which allows the player to fire a plunger onto obstacles and then remove them by using the Poltergust on the plunger's cord; and a slam attack, which allow players to slam ghosts they are capturing into the ground, both for greater damage as well as a weapon to hit other ghosts around them.

The most notable addition to the game is Gooigi – an animated goo clone of Luigi previously introduced in the 3DS remake of the original Luigi's Mansion. Gooigi can conduct similar moves to those of his real counterpart, and can be controlled by the player (switching between Luigi and Gooigi) or a second player in local co-op. Gooigi can be used by the player to help in battles and with solving some of the game's puzzles, some of which require the use of Gooigi and Luigi to complete. Unlike Luigi, Gooigi can squeeze through gaps in vents and grills, and walk across spiked floors, but is weaker than his real counterpart and will dissolve if he comes into contact with water or fire.

Multiplayer

The game's multiplayer mode allows for up to eight players to play together locally and online. In this mode, players can engage in cooperative gameplay through "ScareScraper", a returning feature from Dark Moon, or competitive team matches in "ScreamPark". Both modes use the same style of controls in the single-player mode, with players able to control four colour variations of Luigi or Gooigi. ScareScraper focuses on cooperative team work between players to clear out each of the 5/10 floors of a randomly generated high-rise building by seeking out the ghosts hiding on each floor. "ScreamPark" focuses on team-based matches - one side as Team Luigi, the other as Team Gooigi - and scoring points in three different match types: Ghost Hunt, in which teams score points by catching ghosts, with tougher ghosts worth more points; Cannon Barrage, in which teams score points by securing cannonballs, some held by ghosts, loading them into a cannon and firing them at targets, with trickier targets scoring more points; and Coin Floating, in which teams use floats to collect coins that drop in a pool, avoiding mines that are dropped as well or face losing the coins in their possession and allowing their opponents to steal them.

Plot

Luigi, his pet ghost dog Polterpup, his brother Mario, Princess Peach and a group of Toads receive an invitation to the luxurious high-rise hotel of the Last Resort, and decide to visit it for a vacation. The princess and Mario are talking, the Toads are playing catch, and Luigi is sleeping with Polterpup. After arriving and settling in, Luigi awakens from a scream by the princess during the night to find the hotel deserted, transformed into a haunted building, and the others missing. He discovers that the hotel's ghostly owner, Hellen Gravely, had lured the group to the hotel as part of a trap by King Boo, whom she had freed from his imprisonment after Luigi's last ghost-catching adventure in Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon. King Boo reveals he is enraged with Luigi and wants to end things with him once and for all. Learning that the others have been imprisoned in portraits, Luigi is forced to flee to avoid the same fate and narrowly escapes to the basement by using a laundry chute. With the help of his flashlight and Polterpup, who also avoided capture, Luigi explores the basement and comes across a car in the underground garage carrying a new Poltergust model G-00. Using it, Luigi makes his way to the lobby, following his ghost dog, and finds that Professor E. Gadd was also captured.

Searching the lobby floor, Luigi comes across his Dark Light bulb in a safe and uses it to free E. Gadd, who asks him to take him into the basement. Setting up a portable lab in the garage, E. Gadd explains how he had been tricked into visiting the hotel and was captured by Hellen, who stole his ghost collection from him to staff the building. Believing that Luigi's friends are likely trapped on the upper floors, E. Gadd recommends that Luigi finds the elevator buttons for the upper floor that had been taken from the main elevator after he secures two from a ghost he had defeated earlier. While exploring the floors, each featuring a different theme to them, Luigi is aided further by the professor with two new gadgets: the Virtual Boo, a device that allows E. Gadd to communicate with Luigi; and Gooigi, a doppelgänger of Luigi made of lime-green goo. Left with no choice, Luigi begins his search for the missing elevator buttons in order to visit each of the hotel's fifteen floors.

As Luigi makes his search, he comes across and defeats a variety of different ghosts while reclaiming the elevator buttons and rescuing the Toads from their portraits, which angers Hellen. After rescuing the Toads, he reaches the top floor where he confronts Hellen, who is furious about him capturing her staff and attacks him. He manages to capture her and rescue his brother. Luigi finds himself following Mario to the roof and finds Peach's portrait through his help. Upon freeing Peach, the group finds King Boo (who had long lost faith in Hellen and the ghosts' capabilities) waiting to deal with them. King Boo recaptures E. Gadd and the Toads in front of their faces, throwing them into a painting. King Boo swiftly imprisons everyone except for Luigi, who is saved at the last second by Polterpup. Luigi finds himself forced to defeat King Boo once again, aided by Gooigi. During the battle, an increasingly livid King Boo enlarges the portrait frame in an attempt to pull in the whole hotel with Luigi still on the roof. Luigi defeats King Boo and manages to recover the portrait moments before the hotel collapses into a ruined mess due to the battle. After freeing his friends from the portrait, the ghosts Luigi captured are released and slowly return to being friendly after King Boo's control over them fades away after the large gem from his crown vanishes. E. Gadd, seeing them upset that the hotel was destroyed, elects for the group to build a new hotel, whereupon Luigi and his friends depart after its grand reopening. King Boo is also shown to have been imprisoned next to Hellen. Depending on how many coins Luigi collected, the hotel will be a different size. Luigi then returns to sleeping on the bus.

Development

Luigi's Mansion 3 is developed by Next Level Games, who previously developed Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, and is published by Nintendo.[1] The game was originally planned as a Wii U title, with early prototypes introducing the Slam and Burst as new abilities; however, development started for the Nintendo Switch system in earnest following the completion of Next Level Games' Metroid Prime: Federation Force.[2] The change in setting from a mansion to a hotel was done so that players could have "three-dimensional exploration" with Kensuke Tanabe explaining that they "wanted players to be able to visualize how the hotel was set up".[3] Despite the new setting, the team deliberately made the choice for some of the settings to "make it as unexpected and even un-hotel-like as possible". The team noted that as long as they connected the settings through a traditional hotel setup they could get away with the diverse settings.[3] Some features that were previously present in or planned for the Nintendo 3DS remake of the original Luigi's Mansion were expanded on for the third installment, such as same screen local co-op play and the aforementioned new abilities.[4] Prior to the game's formal announcement, Luigi's new gadget, the Poltergust G-00, was shown for the first time in the August 2018 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Nintendo Direct as part of the trailer announcing Castlevania content for the game. The Poltergust G-00 was also incorporated into Luigi's moveset, now being able to grab opponents from a distance with the Suction Shot and pull opponents in with it for his Final Smash.[5]

Luigi's Mansion 3 was announced during a Nintendo Direct presentation on September 13, 2018, with the title at the time being listed as tentative and planned for release in 2019.[6] The game was a part of Nintendo's E3 2019 showcase, with a new trailer highlighting the premise, gameplay mechanics, and game modes, including the return of the online multiplayer mode, ScareScraper.[7] A demo was also made available to play on the show floor. Nintendo of America's Nate Bihldorff stated that the game's primary campaign would be longer than that of Dark Moon. He also stated that the finalized title was changed to a simple number "3" rather than a subtitle because the time gap between the second and third installments was much shorter to the point of calling the series an established franchise, as opposed to the 12-year gap between the first and second installments.[8] A new trailer shown during the September 4, 2019 Nintendo Direct showcased some areas of the hotel setting and debuted the ScreamPark, a new party-oriented game mode for up to eight players on a single console.[9] Luigi's Mansion 3 was released on October 31, 2019.[10]

Expansions to the multiplayer modes via downloadable content were announced in December 2019 and will roll out its contents in two waves. Both DLC packs each contain three new minigames for the ScreamPark, six new themed ghosts, three new cosmetic outfits, and three new floor themes for the ScareScraper. DLC Pack 1 was released on March 3, 2020, with DLC Pack 2 releasing on April 29, 2020.

Reception

Luigi's Mansion 3 received critical acclaim, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[11] Chelsea Stark of Polygon praised the use of Gooigi, as well as the variety of levels throughout the game, saying that "this is our scaredy-cat hero’s best adventure yet".[32] Ryan McCaffrey at IGN also praised the level design and variety, saying "Luigi's Mansion 3 is so fun, charming, and smartly designed that I hope we get more than three of these every 20 years."[22]

Sales

As of December, 2020, Luigi's Mansion 3 has sold 9.13 million copies worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling Nintendo Switch games of all time.[33]

Awards

YearAwardCategoryResultRef
2019 Game Critics Awards Best Console Game Nominated [34]
Best Action/Adventure Game Nominated
Best Family/Social Game Won
Gamescom Best Family Game Nominated [35]
Best Nintendo Switch Game Nominated
Titanium Awards Best Art Nominated [36][37]
Best Adventure Game Nominated
Best Family/Social Game Won
The Game Awards 2019 Best Family Game Won [38][39]
2020 New York Game Awards Big Apple Award for Best Game of the Year Nominated [40][41]
Central Park Children's Zoo Award for Best Kids Game Won
23rd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Outstanding Achievement in Animation Won [42][43]
Adventure Game of the Year Nominated
NAVGTR Awards Animation, Artistic Nominated [44][45]
Game, Franchise Family Won
SXSW Gaming Awards Excellence in Animation Nominated [46]
Excellence in Art Nominated
Excellence in Design Nominated
Excellence in SFX Nominated
16th British Academy Games Awards Best Game Nominated [47]
Animation Won
Family Nominated
Multiplayer Nominated

Notes

  1. Japanese: ルイージマンション3, Hepburn: Ruīji Manshon Surī

References

  1. "Nintendo Direct - 06.11.2019". Nintendo. June 11, 2019. Archived from the original on December 17, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2019.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. Phillips, Tom (June 19, 2019). "Luigi's Mansion 3 developers talk cut ideas, Labo, and why Luigi is a hit with the ladies". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on June 19, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=Q6p-3VwcD6c
  5. Seedhouse, Alex (September 18, 2018). "Luigi's Mansion 3 Trailer Analysis Uncovers Secrets And Easter Eggs". Nintendo Insider. Archived from the original on January 17, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  6. Nintendo (September 13, 2018). "Luigi's Mansion 3 (Working Title) - Announcement Trailer - Nintendo Switch". YouTube. Archived from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=RSGgCfbYrg0
  8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llzJ5p783f0
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2019.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. Holt, Kris (July 17, 2019). "'Luigi's Mansion 3' is coming out on Halloween". Engadget. Archived from the original on December 12, 2019. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  11. "Luigi's Mansion 3 for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  12. Schmid, Matthias (October 28, 2019). "Test: Luigi's Mansion 3". 4Players. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  13. Andriessen, CJ (October 28, 2019). "Review: Luigi's Mansion 3". Destructoid. Archived from the original on October 31, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  14. Bloodworth, Daniel (2019). "Review: Luigi's Mansion 3". Easy Allies. Archived from the original on September 2, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  15. "Luigi's Mansion 3". Edge. No. 339. Future Publishing. December 2019. p. 96.
  16. Goroff, Michael (October 28, 2019). "Luigi's Mansion 3 review". EGMNow. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  17. Tom Phillips (October 29, 2019). "Luigi's Mansion 3 review - a sometimes daring sequel, haunted by the past". EuroGamer. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  18. Shea, Brian (October 28, 2019). "Luigi's Mansion 3". Game Informer. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  19. Knezevic, Kevin (October 28, 2019). "Luigi's Mansion 3 Review - Family Friendly Frights". GameSpot. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  20. Wald, Heather (October 28, 2019). "Luigi's Mansion 3 review: "Proves the green plumber can be the star of the show"". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  21. Swalley, Kirstin (November 5, 2019). "Review: Luigi's Mansion 3". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on November 9, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  22. McCaffrey, Ryan (October 28, 2019). "Luigi's Mansion 3 Review". IGN. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  23. Anagund (October 28, 2019). "Test : Luigi's Mansion 3 : La surprise spooky de cette fin d'année". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  24. Olney, Alex (October 28, 2019). "Luigi's Mansion 3 Review". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  25. Koopman, Daan (October 28, 2019). "Luigi's Mansion 3 (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  26. Jon Mundy (October 30, 2019). "Luigi's Mansion 3 review - "Creeps into the A-league"". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  27. Chelsea Stark (October 28, 2019). "It took three games, but Luigi's Mansion 3 has that Nintendo magic". Polygon. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  28. Hawkins, Josh (October 28, 2019). "Luigi's Mansion 3 review: Local haunts". Shacknews. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  29. Tola Onanuga (October 31, 2019). "Luigi's Mansion 3 review – a hilarious, captivating ghost hunt". The Guardian. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  30. Oxford, Nadia (October 28, 2019). "Luigi's Mansion 3 Review: Only the Poltergust Sucks". USgamer. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  31. Wise, Josh (October 28, 2019). "Luigi's Mansion 3 review". VideoGamer.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  32. Stark, Chelsea. "It took three games, but Luigi's Mansion 3 has that Nintendo magic". Polygon. Archived from the original on April 1, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  33. "2nd Quarter Results for Fiscal Year Ending March 2021 Financial Results Explanatory Material" (PDF).
  34. Nunneley, Stephany (June 27, 2019). "E3 2019 Game Critics Awards – Final Fantasy 7 Remake wins Best of Show". VG247. Archived from the original on August 28, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  35. Milligan, Mercedes (August 15, 2019). "Gamescom Award 2019 Nominees Revealed". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on September 13, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  36. "Titanium Awards 2019". Fun & Serious Game Festival. Archived from the original on November 21, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  37. "Ganadores de los premios Titanium del Fun & Serious 2019". Generación Xbox (in Spanish). December 10, 2019. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  38. Winslow, Jeremy (November 19, 2019). "The Game Awards 2019 Nominees Full List". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 23, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  39. Makuch, Eddie (December 13, 2019). "The Game Awards 2019 Winners: Sekiro Takes Game Of The Year". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 13, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  40. Sheehan, Gavin (January 2, 2020). "The New York Game Awards Announces 2020 Nominees". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on January 4, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  41. Meitzler, Ryan (January 22, 2020). "The New York Video Game Awards 2020 Winners Revealed; The Outer Worlds Takes Game of the Year". DualShockers. Archived from the original on January 29, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  42. Chalk, Andy (January 13, 2020). "Control and Death Stranding get 8 nominations each for the 2020 DICE Awards". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  43. Van Allen, Eric (February 14, 2020). "Untitled Goose Game Wins Top Bill at the 2020 D.I.C.E. Awards". USgamer. Archived from the original on February 14, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  44. "2019 Nominees". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. January 13, 2020. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  45. "2019 Winners". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. February 24, 2020. Archived from the original on February 25, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  46. Grayshadow (February 17, 2020). "2020 SXSW Gaming Awards Nominees Revealed". NoobFeed. Archived from the original on February 18, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  47. Chilton, Louis (April 2, 2020). "Bafta Games Awards 2020: The results in full". The Independent. Archived from the original on April 4, 2020. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.