Game Review: Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon

      Luigi once again steps out of the shadow of his brother in the sequel to the popular 2001 hit Luigi's Mansion. In Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon Professor E. Gadd gives Luigi the task of finding the missing pieces of the shattered Dark Moon and revealing who's behind it. You make your way through 5 haunted mansions, each having 5 stages, a main boss fight (excluding Secret Mine, which only has 3 stages and a main boss fight), and a bonus stage. 

     Luigi only has 3 tools to help him on his mission: a flashlight, the Dual Scream, and the Poltergust 5000. The Dual Scream, or the DS (which is shaped like the original Nintendo DS), is the first thing Luigi is given at the beginning of the game. It is used as a two-way communicator and as a map of the location you're currently exploring. E. Gadd also uses it to mark important locations. The flashlight has 2 attachments crucial for beating the game. The Strobulb attachment is used to stun ghosts, open certain doors, and solve puzzles. The Dark-Light Device is used to reveal objects hidden by boos, paths left by ghosts, and to reveal coins, gems, and Toads trapped in paintings. The Poltergust 5000, upgraded from the Poltergust 3000,  is a powerful vacuum invented by E. Gadd. Although its primary use is to capture ghosts and poltergeists, it can also be crucial in solving different puzzles throughout the game. 

     The music in the game does a great job expressing what Luigi's feeling. When you're capturing a ghost the music speeds up and it's like you're hearing the rhythm of Luigi's heart pounding in his ears. When you're just exploring, the music plays like Luigi's thoughts. It jumps here and there and kind of goes along with Luigi's actions. When he's celebrating the music is triumphant and exciting, and when he's entering a door for the first time the music gets eerie and mysterious. The music makes the game all that more enticing and exciting and it plays a key part in telling Luigi's story.

     Luigi himself makes the game for me. He runs around as if he's trying to hold himself back at the same time, like he knows there's and outside force controlling him. His hands tremble when he's opening a door for the first time, he hums to himself  to try to make himself feel better, and he cowers away when Gadd pixelates him. He jumps at every sound and when he calls out "Hello" or "Mario" his voice cracks. While Luigi is afraid of his own shadow, he's also very brave and heroic, which shown very well in all aspects of the game.  

Luigi using the Strobulb to stun a ghost.

Luigi using the Dark-Light Device to find the polterpup.

    


    

    
                                                                                 
        8.5 out of 10
          ~Tiffany~