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Luigi's dream vacation is a real nightmare

Hello everyone, how are you?

It's March 10 which means it's Mario Day! So today we are doing something really special. Like I mentioned before, I saw this collab on twitter last year known as the Super Mario Multiverse collab and I decided to see if I can contribute. So for my piece I will be talking about one of my favorite Switch games known as Luigi's Mansion 3. Also be sure to click on the image at the very end to take you to the hub where you can read even more great written pieces about different Mario games by different writers. Ih and if you have your volume up, try not to have it too high as a warning. So anyway, let's get started. Let's a-go!

                                                 Music in this game is really good ♥

So the game begins with a Toad driving what I assume is a bus, but seriously, has anyone ever said how talented they are behind a wheel? They are in Mario Kart afterall. Luigi, Mario, Peach, Polterpup, and an entourage of Toads are heading towards the luxurious Last Resort high-rise hotel thanks to receiving an invitation for it. They arrive at their destination but not everything is what it seems as it turns out that the place is haunted. This is the third time this has happened to you Luigi, geez. But in his defense Luigi didn't know that the place was haunted just like in the original Luigi's Mansion, even though in the first game there were already warning signs that the mansion was haunted. And he was forced in the second time. You can't expect the poor guy to assume every place he goes to is haunted. But if it's too good to be true then it probably is.

Luigi's expressions in this game are really amazing. Seeing him react to the situation he is in is priceless. Like you really want to root for him to succeed so you can see what he does when he defeats a boss ghost since Luigi does something different each time that happens. His smile definitely looks really genuine and wholesome too, like despite everything going on, no matter how scared he is, he manages to smile through at the end. You just want to cheer him on so he can do his best. Next Level Games did a wonderful job here capturing the essence of the characters through their expressions. They are a master of their craft if you've played any of their previous games.

Luigi is not alone this time around as he is sometimes aided by ghostly pet companion, Polterpup whenever Luigi needs a hint or where to go next. And yes you can pet the dog for those wondering. Not only that but he is also aided by what I think is the best addition to the game and that is Luigi's green goo clone, Gooigi. Gooigi can do everything Luigi can but Gooigi can do things Luigi can't like solve certain puzzles or squeeze through vents. I absolutely loved the puzzles that had you use both Luigi and Gooigi, I never felt like I did the same thing twice when using their combined efforts to solve a puzzle. A lot of the puzzles are really clever too. Gooigi knows no fear so there is something that he can do better than Luigi. But just don't let Gooigi go near the water.

 

                                  Luigi defeats a boss by doing absolutely nothing

The hotel itself is what I feel is the best part of the game. Each floor has a different theme to it and what I love about it is that they feel like their own little self-contained worlds. You have some traditional hotel floors but then they start getting more elaborate, like one of them has a shopping center and the higher you get the more crazier the themes of the floors get, like a museum and so forth. Each floor also contains its own collectibles as well as its own puzzles depending on the theme of said floors. The detail of these floors are insane, they all look really well detailed, even the stuff that isn't relevant to a puzzle is nicely detailed. Even the characters are nicely detailed, it looks like they used the same look or something close to the graphics from Super Mario Odyssey as in where you can see the detail on the clothing the characters are wearing.

Music in the game is really well done too. Each floor in the game has its own song that corresponds to the theme each floor is going for. You'll never hear the same song twice in another floor so there's no chance of getting bored listening to the same tunes over and over again for the whole game. One thing I love about the music is that it doesn't sound like something you'd hear in a Mario game but it still retains that charm you would expect in a Mario game if that makes any sense.

There's a ton of money to collect and you can find it in pretty much anything, from checking furniture to seeing it on the floor. I highly recommend you to be as greedy as Wario and collect every coin and dollar that you see. Trust me, you will want to collect money on sight. Not only will you be going for a high rank, or buying various useful items to aid you in your quest, but you will also make Wario proud, or green with envy. Most likely the latter that he would want to steal the money himself.

Final Thoughts: The first Luigi's Mansion felt like a horror game in a way, Luigi's Mansion 3 feels like a supernatural comedy akin to Ghostbusters which I really love. The game may have ghosts but they aren't intended to scare you, but rather leave this impression that "yeah even in the afterlife this ghost wants to continue to tend to his plants". They also serve the purpose to stop Luigi in his tracks in the most cool or mundane ways possible. Trust me, you'll be laughing a lot as you play through the game. The boss ghosts are really clever in design and in the way you fight, they will change their pattern depending on their health but the best part here is the different personalities the ghosts have. It makes them all unique.

The star here is the hotel itself with all the various floors it has. Each floor was different and it never felt like you were doing the same thing twice other than catching ghosts. You really have to see the floors they came up with and you have to wonder how did they come up with this stuff. My personal favorite floor is floor 8 known as Paranormal Productions and trust me this is by far the best level in the game with the most fun boss fight. The level also pays tribute to Next Level Games of you look closely. I feel like the structure of the game works much better here than it did in Dark Moon due to how you can just easily use the elevator to get to the floor of your choosing without having to exit the hotel or when you're at the end of a mission. There is a bit of backtracking but what game doesn't have that?

 

                                          The fan service in this floor is incredible

The game also has a multiplayer as well which you can team up with more players to tackle the Scarescrapper, which feature randomly generated floors so you never play through the same layout twice. The mode has both offline play as well as online so you can play with those near and far. I played this mode with my younger brother and it was really fun. The game also has a local mp mode known as the Screampark. I originally didn't try it but I went back to play it and it's a really fun mode but I prefer the Scarescrapper.

Luigi's Mansion 3 is a fantastic game that deserves to be in your Nintendo Switch library. Nintendo was on a roll with the games they released in 2019 and this might be the best one that they released that year. It's full of humor and charm with some really great level design and they really nailed the atmosphere of the game. Busting Boos never felt so good, especially when you slam them on the ground.

I really enjoyed the game and had such a wonderful time exploring every nook and cranny and uncovering the secrets of the hotel. Did I mention how satisfying slamming ghosts on the ground feels? Especially if it's multiple ghosts. I feel like with 3 games under his tool belt, Luigi has shown that he may not be as brave as his older brother Mario, but he is just as capable as being a hero and saving the day. Luigi may not have as many games as Mario but in this game he really is the star. I know who to call when there's something strange in the neighborhood, assuming he isn't too scared. Or if he's busy with more free real estate.

Wahoo! You are a Super Reader! But the adventure doesn't stop here... There's more of this project in another castle! This article is just one level in an entire Super Mario Multiverse, a galactic collaboration between writers around the world sharing a bit of our hearts and memories about our favorite Mario games. Visit the Center of the Multiverse to see more:

 

            

 

*Super Mario Multiverse collab piece written by me, @Captain_N64. Be sure to check out the Big Boss of the collab, @theWellRedMage*