With the release ofLuigi’s Mansion 3on Halloween of 2019, theNintendotitle has received both praise and criticism from critics and gamers. However, the release was given a positive rating compared to the 3DS title released in Spring 2013,Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon. But the one that starts it all was the 2001 release ofLuigi’s Mansionon the Nintendo GameCube, which was eventually remade in late 2018 for the 3DS. With the three games out in the world, one question can be asked.
RELATED:10 Things Everyone Completely Missed In Luigi’s Mansion 3
Out of the three games, which is better? Well, it truly depends on personal game preference and how much one wants out of a game as far as replay value, story or gameplay. But here’s 5 reasons why the third installment is the best, as well as why it’s lacking in comparison to the other games.
10Game Length [Impaired]
Theruntimefor the originalLuigi’s Mansioncould be anywhere from six to seven hours, and increased to nine or ten hours on a 100 percent run, whileDark Moon, in most completionist runs, could take anywhere from 20 to 25 hours.Luigi’s Mansion 3does have a slightly lower level of completion requirements in comparisonDark Moon, havingone Booand six gems to collect on each floor.
RELATED:Luigi’s Mansion 3: The 10 Biggest Fixes The Game Needs
With the inclusion of the Boo and Gem Finder, however, this can cut down the time of collecting those hard to find gems and Boos significantly, making a completionist run border on 15 to 20 hours. Without the collecting, however, most runs can take from 11-15 hours, much higher than the regular run of bothLuigi’s MansionandLuigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, but much shorter on the complete run.
9Replay Value [Impaired]
Luigi’s Mansion: Dark MoonandLuigi’s Mansion 3suffer from the same problem oflack of post-game content.
The originalLuigi’s Mansionhad a mode called the Hidden Mansion, where Luigi would delve back into the haunted manor and replay the story, however, things would be changed. Luigi would have a stronger Poltergust 3000, more treasure would be found, but Luigi himself would take double damage. This was furthered in the 3DS remake, where boss ghosts would have more health, and fewer hearts would be available around the area.
After completingLuigi’s Mansion 3in its entirety, there is little reason to replay the main story aside from pure interest. No true endings or bonus content.
8Boss Fights [Improved]
Luigi’s Mansion 3boss fights are not only dynamic spectacles, but creative and unique. From fighting a chef in his kitchen to duking it out on the dance floor, Luigi has a tall task in front of him, not only in creativity but in difficulty.
RELATED:10 Games to Play on Switch for 2019
The game offers fights at the beginning that allows Luigi to hone his skills, but then quickly shoots him into using his new abilities strategically, having to utilize Gooigi, the Burst or other similar abilities. The ghosts themselves are filled with personality, with some being scared of Luigi, while others want nothing more than to see the ghost-hunter’s destruction.
7Money [Impaired]
In the originalLuigi’s Mansion, money was plentiful and useful for increasing the rank of the mansion you get at the end of the game. The game featured ranks A-H, while the 3DS version also included an S rank.
However,Luigi’s Mansion 3changes things a little bit. Money can still be found all over the haunted hotel, but the ranks have fallen to A-C, significantly lowering the creativity that occurred at the end of the game. Also, with the amount of money that is found in the game (withno hidden monetary gems) collecting money can feel meaningless at times. You have a money count in the left-hand corner, but nothing beat seeing the millions of dollars Luigi collected at the end of every area in the original game.
6Puzzles [Improved]
The originalLuigi’s Mansiondid not have a lot of complex puzzles that took more than three or four minutes.Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moonsought to improve that by including more item-collecting puzzles and Dark-Light ones as well.
RELATED:10 Best Co-Op Games of 2019
ButLuigi’s Mansion 3shines in its puzzle creativity. Making use of Luigi’s new abilities, puzzles in the game are just the right amount of difficult to cause you to scratch your head at times. While most of them aren’t game-stopping mental puzzles, they’ll give you just the right amount of problem-solving that will make you crave them more.
5Variety of Regular Ghosts [Impaired]
While the creativity of boss ghosts is good, the others…well, not so much.Luigi’s MansionandLuigi’s Mansion: Dark Moonshined with the different types of ghosts, ranging from the weak ghosts you fight in the beginning, to elemental or enhanced versions of said ghosts, sometimes doubling or tripling their HP.
Luigi’s Mansion 3falls short on this by reusing many enemies. After you’ve seen the 20th Goob or Hammer ghost, it starts to get repetitive, even with the different attire they sport. While their personalities are enhanced from other games, this game required different enemies with different, unique abilities, especially in the story mode. More ghosts could be found in the ScareScraper mode, but adding them into the main story wouldn’t have hurt.
4Story [Improved]
The story for the original game was simple; Luigi won a hidden mansion in a contest he never entered, and he learns that Mario had wandered inside and got captured. He traverses the mansion, collecting treasure and capturing ghosts to reach the basement, where he defeats King Boo and saves his brother.Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moonadds the artifact known as the Dark Moon, a stone that eased the ghosts and made them friendly. King Boo destroyed this item, causing the ghosts to go berserk. Luigi had to travel to five different mansions, collecting pieces of the Dark Moon to repair it and return the ghosts to normal. Oh, and save Mario and some Toads.
RELATED:10 Things Luigi Can Do That Mario Can’t
Luigi’s Mansion 3mixes both of these into a superior story. Mario, Luigi, Peach, and the Toads had been invited to a hotel known as The Last Resort. King Boo had escaped from E. Gadd again, and Luigi had to dawn the vacuum again, collecting elevator buttons and capturing ghosts to defeat him, as well as save Mario and friends.
3Cutscenes [Improved]
If it wasn’t obvious,Luigi’s Mansion 3looks visually stunning for a Luigi’s Mansion game, especially in its cutscenes. Luigi’s fearful humor is highlighted more in this game than inLuigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon. The original game didn’t have many cutscenes, aside from bosses and certain moments, andDark Moonestablished the humor that Luigi has while being his usual, scary self.
With the added personality of ghosts, cutscenes feel more alive and help to make you understand how Luigi feels at that moment. And with a cutscene with every boss, it also makes this game the most immersive in the series.
2Difficulty [Impaired]
Luigi’s Mansion 3is not very difficult, although mostLuigi’s Mansiongames are not that difficult to beat. However, the originalLuigi’s Mansionhad a separate mode called Hidden Mansion, where more money could be found, and his vacuum was stronger. However, Luigi would take double damage from all attacks. The Hidden Mansion in the 3DS remake, notably, was one of the hardest installments in the Luigi’s Mansion series. That version added different ghosts in every room and gave them more health, as well as adding a new rank to area bosses, the Platinum Rank.
RELATED:10 Pro Tips For Luigi’s Mansion 3 You Should Know
Some bosses inLuigi’s Mansion 3can give some trouble…for a couple of minutes until you figure out what you need to do. But most are pretty self-explanatory for what you need to do.
1Abilities [Improved]
In the originalLuigi’s Mansion, Luigi had the power to expel fire, ice or water by collecting elemental medals hidden within chests in the mansion. InLuigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, he obtained the new Strobulb, letting him charge a burst of light to stun ghosts, as well as the Dark Light, allowing him to reveal hidden items and free them from paintings.
Luigi’s Mansion 3contains most of the abilities from Dark Moon, and then some. With the addition of Gooigi, you have to use teamwork in many parts of the hotel to progress. The Burst ability is useful for being bosses and freeing yourself from traps or being surrounded. And the Suction Shot and Slam abilities can allow Luigi to break his environment as well as deal damage to enemy ghosts.
NEXT:10 Hilarious Mario Vs. Luigi Memes That Only Brothers Will Understand
