It’ll all the time be Luigi’s Mansion: Darkish Moon to me.
I keep in mind again when Luigi’s Mansion Darkish Moon (or Luigi’s Mansion 2 relying in your area) was introduced for Nintendo 3DS, my preliminary response was stunned confusion. Whereas I loved the unique Gamecube recreation again at launch, it by no means struck me as one thing that may grow to be a sequence. Then I performed Darkish Moon, and all these doubts melted away. I completely liked Luigi’s Mansion Darkish Moon again in 2013. Subsequent Stage Video games’ interpretation of this universe is charmingly animated, visually astounding, and simply enjoyable to discover. Now in 2024, this remaster of Luigi’s Mansion Darkish Moon involves us by way of Tantalus, the crew behind the remasters of The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword. I can say with out a second of hesitation, that is the perfect remaster they’ve ever produced of a Nintendo recreation.
Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is precisely what you’d count on from the title. That is, from a content material perspective, the very same recreation you performed on 3DS a decade in the past. That comes with each the positives, and the negatives. The sport is break up between a number of completely different mansions this time round. Every one has its personal distinctive visible theme and mechanical hooks. As Luigi you’ll enterprise into these mansions seeking items of the titular Darkish Moon, which has been shattered by King Boo. Navigating these mansions will imply fixing puzzles, combating ghosts, and uncovering secrets and techniques. Many of the recreation’s problem comes right down to determining the best way to get the place you’re making an attempt to go. Locked doorways and secret passages weave via each mansion making exploring your environment totally the important thing a part of each mission.
Distinctive to Darkish Moon, is a mission system that breaks up your journeys to every mansion into particular aims. As soon as an goal is full, you’ll be whisked away again to a bunker to plan your subsequent outing with Professor E. Gadd. Early on these missions are very brief and the fixed journeys to and from the mansion is usually a little grating. Nonetheless, by just a few missions in, your aims will grow to be extra expansive, and also you’ll be free to discover the mansions extra totally. You’ll even be given incentive to return to missions later to search out hidden aims and see should you can greatest your earlier rating. Whereas this construction actually has its moments of being overbearing early on, I discover that it jogs my memory a little bit of 3D Mario. Sure you’re visiting the identical space a number of occasions, however every time issues could have barely modified to accommodate your present goal.
I discovered that Luigi feels a bit extra intuitive to manage on a conventional twin analogue controller moderately than the 3DS. The appropriate stick can now be used to change Luigi’s purpose independently of his motion. Whereas it is not as fluid as both of the opposite video games which had been constructed with residence consoles in thoughts, it does quite a bit to assist Darkish Moon slot in with the remainder of the trilogy. However apart from controls, Darkish Moon is gentle on modifications. That is primarily the 3DS recreation in HD. That being mentioned, the HD within the title means rather more than a decision enhance.
Whereas not as instantly apparent as one thing like Metroid Prime Remastered, Luigi’s Mansion Darkish Moon has acquired a radical visible overhaul. That is the place I’ve to offer Tantalus plenty of credit score, as whereas practically the whole lot within the recreation has been rebuilt to the next diploma to element, chances are you’ll not instantly discover. This all comes right down to how flawlessly they’ve preserved the unique creative intent of Subsequent Stage Video games. I’ve all the time liked the best way Darkish Moon regarded in comparison with the opposite video games within the sequence. It’s clear with plenty of straight edges used to construct a barely off stability world. All of this has been highlighted within the Change model with model new or modified 3D fashions in each scene. The purpose was very clearly to not get this to the identical take a look at Luigi’s Mansion 3, however moderately to easily current the artwork of the 3DS recreation in a manner that would maintain up on the massive display screen, and I’d say they succeeded.
When it does come to technical efficiency and determination, I can’t actually give you any complaints. In actual fact this is likely to be the perfect picture high quality we’ve ever seen in a primary get together Change recreation. Enjoying docked you’ll hit a full 1080p whereas handheld hits the Change display screen’s native 720p. Each of those configurations not solely hit their most potential decision, additionally they each have a pleasant cross of put up course of anti aliasing. I believe that is particularly essential given the sport’s artwork model. All the cruel straight edges seen all through the mansions would present very apparent pixel stair stepping with out correct remedy. As is, even performed on a giant 4K TV, this seems to be improbable. Body price additionally smooths out the considerably uneven efficiency of the unique and maintains a gradual 30 fps all through. The one occasions I used to be capable of see any fluctuation in efficiency was when taking part in the net Scarescraper mode. However I’d attribute that to on-line connectivity moderately than an precise efficiency drawback. I’ll be aware on the subject of Scarescraper, that whereas I’m glad the mode stays from the unique recreation, I do want it had an up to date system for becoming a member of video games. Quite than simply with the ability to shortly discover the subsequent obtainable recreation, you’ll must sift via an inventory on the lookout for the mode and problem you need, then hope it hasn’t stuffed up earlier than you hit the A button.
Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD doesn’t reinvent the unique by any means. If the mission primarily based gameplay construction bothered you on 3DS, it received’t be any higher right here. Whereas that specific challenge largely goes away as the sport goes on, I might have preferred some high quality of life updates for multiplayer. That being mentioned, that is unquestionably the definitive model of Darkish Moon. The love and care with which it has been remastered deserves calling out. Tantalus has finished an unbelievable job right here. The unique work of Subsequent Stage Video games actually shines as their animation and underlying artwork path stay unchanged. That is simply one of the simplest ways to play Luigi’s Mansion Darkish Moon.