Luigi's Mansion 3 Release Date, Trailer, Co-Op And Gameplay
Despite often taking the brunt of the video game industry's jokes, Luigi — brother of Mario — has had a long-standing influence across multiple gaming generations. This includes some famous games alongside his brother, as well as some of his own experiences, the most well-received being his Luigi's Mansion series. It's no secret that plenty of people have reverence for the Nintendo GameCube's Luigi's Mansion, and the 3DS sequel Dark Moon made its own strong impression despite a more mission-based format.
Now, in 2019, fans are just a few months away from the third game in the series — a true successor to the original. Luigi's Mansion 3 will release on the Nintendo Switch, with plenty of love for its predecessors as well as some exciting new elements. Thanks to some lengthy presentations at E3, the industry now has an understanding of what this game will offer, but there's still plenty that will be revealed over time. Let's take a look at what the gaming world knows about Luigi's Mansion 3 so far.
Luigi's Mansion 3 trailer and gameplay
During a pre-recorded Nintendo Direct during E3, the company showed off the first major trailer for Luigi's Mansion 3. As soon as that wonderful mustached man hit the screen, the excitement began. With some minimalist, spooky music as a backdrop, fans got a look at the brand-new setting for the newest entry in the acclaimed series. Entering a lavish hotel with all his friends — usual suspects including Mario, Peach, and Toad — things "take a dark turn" as the voice-over revealed. With Luigi alone and frightened, it's up to him to find his friends and fight off the ghostly beings inhabiting the hotel.
Alongside the three-plus-minute trailer, Nintendo also showed off some gameplay during E3. GameSpot gave fans a look at that during a ten-minute video, which offered a good look at the game's combat as well as how the hotel's different floors will vary. In most of the video, Luigi traverses a medieval-themed floor featuring spike traps and ghosts donning shields.
What's the release date for Luigi's Mansion 3?
After holding the release date in their pocket for a while, Nintendo has finally confirmed that Luigi's Mansion 3 will release on Oct. 31, 2019. Halloween makes for a perfect debut for this spooky (but still family-friendly) adventure; in addition, it also neatly sets the title up for the holiday season.
In fact, it almost seems like the franchise has been trying to get to this date all along. If you recall the first game's release back in 2001, it came out on Sept. 14 in Japan and Nov. 18 in North America. The 2018 3DS re-release came out even closer to Halloween, hitting shelves on Oct. 11. Now the third game in the series will finally hit on the scariest single day of the year.
Luigi's Mansion 3 heads to a haunted hotel
Sure, the game may still be called Luigi's Mansion, but the newest entry takes place in a much different setting: a hotel. During the trailer, Nintendo showed off the extremely tall, skyscraper-like building that Luigi must climb in order to free Mario and the rest of his friends. Throughout his adventure, he'll traverse at least 17 different floors, each with its own unique theme, such as the medieval concept shown off during the gameplay demo. Another floor shown during a playable demo featured a movie production theme.
With Nintendo moving the setting from a mansion to a hotel layout, it gives off a completely different atmosphere compared to the previous games, and that's exactly what producer Kensuke Tanabe wanted. It allowed for a unified setting, but one that gave the team the flexibility to create a wide range of themes to help keep the game from feeling stagnant. There's quite a lot to be excited about when it comes to Luigi's Mansion 3, and that includes this new hotel setting.
Luigi's Mansion 3 has more of that ghost hunting goodness, and some new twists
Those familiar with the first two Luigi's Mansion games will feel right at home when the third game releases. Based on gameplay footage, it looks as though the core gameplay concepts are consistent with the previous titles. Luigi has his trusty ghost-sucking vacuum as his main way to combat enemies. He'll use that vacuum, given to him by the wonderful Professor E. Gadd, to suck in ghosts after stunning them with a burst from his flashlight. This is all familiar, but what's new is that after grabbing an enemy with the vacuum, a meter starts filling up. Once full, Luigi can activate a new move called Slam, which hits the ghost into the ground repeatedly, helping to deplete its health.
Alongside this move come a few other new techniques, such as a burst technique that allows Luigi to blast his vacuum at the floor, clearing whatever is near him while he jumps straight up in the air. There are also techniques that can help with puzzle-solving, including a plunger that he shoots from the vacuum. When it sticks to certain environmental pieces, he can tug at the plunger and it'll reveal secrets and hidden rooms.
Gooigi gets his time to shine in Luigi's Mansion 3
If you never played the Luigi's Mansion remake on the 3DS, or just weren't a huge fan of its multiplayer mode, you likely saw your first glimpse of the bizarre Gooigi during the third game's E3 reveal. This character is exactly what he sounds like: a goo-based version of Luigi. Picture the movie Flubber, combine it with Mario's loveable brother, and you have the game's helping hand. As shown in the gameplay, Gooigi will play an instrumental role in the single-player story. Throughout Luigi's hotel exploration, he'll encounter puzzles and hard-to-reach places that only his slime-based clone can get to.
If you caught the gameplay videos, you saw an example of this. During one of the medieval-themed rooms, a series of spikes jutted out of the floor, preventing Luigi from accessing the other side of the area. However, he summoned Gooigi, who slid right through those spikes unharmed. He'll play a big part as you play alone, but you can actually hand a controller to a friend and have them control him, making for a fun couch co-op experience.
Co-op multiplayer in Luigi's Mansion 3
In addition to the story mode, which allows for cooperative Gooigi-centric gameplay, Luigi's Mansion 3 will see the return of the multiplayer ScareScraper mode that developer Next Level Games introduced in Dark Moon for the 3DS. This mode allows for up to four players, either locally or online, to team up for a series of timed objective-based missions. Actually, you can even add another four players locally, allowing those people to each control a Gooigi.
The missions will have players completing tasks like clearing out floors of enemies, rescuing Toads, and surely some other variations. Through coordination and communication — which you can do via a series of D-pad-based messages — players will look to complete these given tasks before time runs out. This mode should offer endless replayability, as every floor is randomly generated, meaning that no two scenarios will look exactly the same.
King Boo returns in Luigi's Mansion 3
As many probably expected, it looks as though King Boo will return as the main villain in Luigi's Mansion 3. His evil forces have plagued Luigi since the first game in the series. After multiple defeats and subsequent escapes, he returns to not only punish Luigi but also capture the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom favorites. Fans got their first look at him during the E3 trailer, as he chased our protagonist through a hallway.
Through gameplay and interviews, it's known that the giant evil ghost captures all of Luigi's friends during their stay at the hotel. Luring them there under the guise of a lavish vacation at this resort, King Boo locks the gang away in this completely haunted, not-at-all luxurious tower. Somehow, Mario's brother escapes, which throws him into the hero role once again, forcing him to navigate the giant hotel to save his pals and defeat his enemy for the third time.
Luigi's Mansion 3 has an adorable ghost dog
The gaming community always features a multitude of arguments about how to make better video games. They need story modes, cooperative play, online modes, etc. The list goes on and on, without any definitive consensus. However, there's one clear trait that automatically makes for a better gaming experience: dogs. Who doesn't love dogs, in real life or in video games? And if you can pet them, that's even better.
Thankfully, Next Level Games understands this fact and has implemented a lovable ghost dog into the Luigi's Mansion series. And, yes, he'll make his return in the upcoming game. Known as Polterpup, this tongue-wagging companion has often been a mischievous nuisance. However, in LM3, he'll act as more of a support character, helping Luigi take down enemies and providing him with hints along the way. Also, hopefully, the dev team programmed in a way to "pet" or interact with Polterpup. Otherwise, the infamous Can You Pet the Dog Twitter account will have a serious bone to pick with Nintendo.
Luigi's Mansion 3 is a true successor to the original
Looking back at the original Luigi's Mansion, it's easy to see the roots that make up the third iteration. While Dark Moon featured a more mission-based structure that took place over the course of five mansions, the first game found Luigi confined to one central location. As that story goes, our protagonist won a huge mansion, but it ended up as an unfortunate ruse, one that saw him battling for his life and the life of his brother Mario. Throughout this storyline, Luigi traveled through four different areas of the mansion, taking on bosses along the way.
While Dark Moon somewhat abandoned the structure of the first game, Luigi's Mansion 3 appears to return to the series' roots, relying on various areas of one central location: the hotel. Throughout its 17-plus floors, Luigi will find himself in plenty of predicaments that will surely lead him to a final battle involving King Boo. When all is said and done though, hopefully, he'll free his brother and friends.
Money, money, money
You can't have a Mario-based video game without at least some coin collecting. As a staple of the juggernaut franchise, it's no surprise that Next Level Games implemented some of that gold coinage into its latest Luigi's Mansion title. In LM3, Luigi will encounter a myriad of coins throughout the skyscraper hotel. Whether obtainable easily, through secret areas, or via Gooigi-centric puzzles, these coins can certainly help the protagonist during his quest to save Mario and Co.
Using these coins, Luigi can purchase unique items like the Golden Bone, which is a "once-per-level" item that allows Polterpup to revive him. Whether during difficult rooms or boss fights, this item will come in handy, and that means it's definitely beneficial to seek out those coins. Additionally, players can use the currency to unlock hints for the collectible gem locations. Greed isn't often good, but it will certainly benefit Luigi during his excursion.