I won’t lie when I say I went into Luigi’s Mansion 3 worried. After coming off of its predecessor, 2013s Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon for the 3DS, I was thinking of all the flaws that game had. I believed that those flaws would carry over to this game. I saw Dark Moon as one step forward and two steps back, but let me say this, Luigi’s Mansion 3 shines above the rest in the series. It blew my expectations out of the water and became my favorite in the entire series. It is by far one of the prettiest, and funniest games I have played.

Story

While Luigi’s Mansion 3 doesn’t take place in a mansion, this time being a luxury hotel. The Hotel still carries 17 beautiful floors of different varieties, that just pour out charm and life. While Luigi’s Mansion 3 uses some of the ghost types previously found in Dark Moon, these ghosts are still such a joy to see and fight with the newly built Poltergust- G00. The game doesn’t stop there with the ghosts, because they brought back the fan favorite “Portrait Ghosts”. Ghosts that have names and have importance to the floor that they inhabit. These types of ghosts are the main bosses of each floor of the Hotel. Leading these new ghosts is the hotel owner Helen Gravley, which invited Luigi and his friends to enjoy time off from the Mushroom Kingdom. Little did they realize that she had bigger plans for them.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Luigi’s Mansion 3 is mostly the same from previous installments. The ease of the suck and blow mechanic returns with the Poltergust. The Strobulb comes back with its powerful flash to stop the ghosts in their tracks. Even the Dark Light returns and works the same as it did in that game. Helping to reveal hidden objects such as furniture and treasure chests. One of the new mechanics that Luigi’s Mansion 3 brings is a helper for Luigi, named Gooigi. Gooigi is a creation by Professor E. Gadd to help him out when Luigi isn’t around. With Gooigi, players can slip into areas Luigi could never get into, help solve puzzles and even help fight certain bosses. The magic of Gooigi doesn’t stop there, because another person can even take the reigns of Gooigi in Co-op play. Another new mechanic is the Slam. When sucking up a ghost you can fill up a meter and when it’s full you can hit A and start slamming. Slamming takes a good chunk of health off of each ghost. You can even slam multiple ghosts at the same time as well.

As I said above, Luigi’s Mansion 3 has 17 different themed floors that Luigi needs to take down to save his friends. These floors consist of all different themes such as a floor themed around a Disco Hall. This floor has Luigi run around in the 70s neon disco colors we have grown to love while battling out a Ghost DJ with some hot beats. You also need to watch out for her ghost back up dancers as well! Another floor has Luigi go into a Pyramid and take on mummies while trying to evade traps. One of the traps has Luigi trying to solve a puzzle before the room fills up with sand.

MultiPlayer

Luigi’s Mansion 3 also brings back the fan favorite ScareScraper mode from Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon, where 4 players on their choosing of 5 or 10 floors must go through different objectives such as suck up all the ghosts, rescue the toads or collect a said amount of money. In the end they face off against one last boss to see if they can fully conquer the ScareScraper. Luigi’s Mansion 3 also introduces a new multiplayer mode called the Screampark where up to 8 players locally can play an assorted amount of mini games against each other. One team of Luigis and one team of Gooigis face off in mini games where you collect the most coins or see how many ghosts you can suck up before time runs out. I have tried both of these modes out and they are a lot of fun, especially Screampark. Once you get 8 players in a room, it gets chaotic but ultimately it is a great time!

The Flaws

Luigi’s Mansion 3 in my eyes is nearly perfect, but it has its few flaws the should be addressed. ScareScraper comes with the problems of online. Sometimes when playing, players can leave the game and it won’t immediately kick them, so you are left doing what should be 4 players of work with just 3 players. It gets frustrating watching one Luigi sit in place while everyone else is doing the objective. Keep in mind that if you want to fully 100% the game you are going to need to play ScareScraper. This is the only way you can find the Rare Ghosts that are in E. Gadds Gallery. Another flaw is when Luigi loses health. Once you reach 50% and below the game starts beeping. It won’t stop beeping until you recover health. The worst part about the beeping is that it lowers the music in the background and all you hear is beeps non stop. 

Boos also feel like an afterthought in Luigi’s Mansion 3. Why yes it is nice to have them back, it doesn’t help that they get randomly tacked on halfway through the game. While not a big flaw, it just feels like Nintendo could have done something more with them.

Most of the cash you collect in the game by sucking up ghosts, furniture and opening chests doesn’t really matter in the end. Yes, you can use the money at E. Gadds shop buying Boo Finders, Gem Finders and Extra Lives, but those aren’t necessary. Only reason to collect all the money is for the ranking at the end, which the Luigi’s Mansion Series has done since the first game. I had used all my money closer to the end of the game, so I had around 24,000 and got Rank C.

Verdict:

While Luigi’s Mansion 3 may have a flaw or two, those don’t stop it from being an amazing adventure. It exudes so much charm, being downright gorgeous, fun to its core, and just so brilliantly designed. Luigi’s Mansion 3 is a gem that should not be overlooked.