The path Nintendo has taken to say goodbye to the Switch has some real last-minute gems to offer. Mario & Luigi: Brotherly Connection and The Legend of Zekda: Echoes of Wisdom seem to be the heartfelt farewells all fans want before looking forward to a successor in 2025, but there are still many months left until then, during which the company in Japan will be heavily dependent on its third-party partners and a return to past successes. Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD fits into this group, but I’m not sure it’s the most attractive project to revisit in this twilight summer of the Switch.
And not because it’s a bad game. Almost eleven years ago, in this same newsroom, Luigi’s Mansion 2 delighted us on the Nintendo 3DS, offering a refreshing sequel to the Gamecube original. Its impeccable graphics, variety of puzzles and ghost collection were and are wonderful. Dark Moon Adventure offered so many levels and more than worthy replay value. Luigi once again teamed up (against his will) with Professor Fesor to restore order among the noisy ghosts of Shadow Valley after the Shadow Moon broke. It seems that King Boo has an evil in his grasp and along with his lackeys, only Mario’s cowardly brother can face them, thanks to a new Succionaentes 5000, his ever-faithful flashlight and the blackout device.
Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD completely revamps the 2013 classic, adding improved graphics and online multiplayer where previously only local co-op was available, but otherwise it’s identical to the original. There are no new collectibles, no new ghosts, no variety in the puzzles. Even in the scenes between stages, we see the exact same movement in the professor’s pony, the same rewards for hoovering up gold bars and bills, the same Boos stashes. If you remember that title, you know nothing can surprise you. Absolutely. It’s just as good, yes. But the same.
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In fact, Luigi’s Mansion 2 improved on the formula with a host of new features that now return, but there’s an even bigger problem justifying this HD version: Luigi’s Mansion 3. It’s not because Luigi has expanded the puzzles and tools in both depth and inventiveness in its third installment for hunting ghosts, and Luigi’s Mansion 3 is also a much more well-rounded title than that one. Luigi Gumi offers a lot more gameplay, the levels are a lot nastier, and even the story is more fun. I find it very hard not to recommend this game, and offer both at full price.
I had my doubts about this 1:1 port of Luigi’s Mansion 2 on the 3DS. When I wrote down my first impressions, I had a feeling that there were remastered audio tracks, and I was still hoping to come across some scares (for the better) that I hadn’t seen yet. I didn’t find it in the campaign, but at least in online mode I could see potential for meeting up with friends and their Switches. However, I don’t think this part of the game will make much progress, because in order to coordinate well in the various cooperative modes (which aren’t exactly easy either), you have to resort to an audio chat system that Nintendo has always avoided so far. If we ever see Luigi’s Mansion 4 on the successor console, here’s my only request: voice chat with friends.
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There’s no perfect solution for moving the small laptop to your new home, either. The Nintendo 3DS had two screens for gaming, and Luigi’s Mansion 2 took advantage of them with specific mechanics and features that were built into the Switch’s HD version instead. The minimap is the most obvious, and the way you use it now is awkward at best, even more so if you want to lower the time stamp to get all three stars in a level.
Don’t get me wrong, this game still has a charm and a certain level of charisma that makes it enjoyable. It’s still a fun platformer with interesting gameplay mechanics, unique, varied and detailed locations to explore, a long list of enemy types to face and defeat, and a ton of secrets to find in nooks and crannies. But at the same time, this HD remaster is inferior to Luigi’s Mansion 3 in almost every way, and there’s no sense of nostalgia here strong enough to save it, like there was with Super Mario RPG or even Paper Mario: The Millennial Door.
If you want to get into the Luigi’s Mansion series, go straight to the third installment instead, as you’ll have a lot more fun with it than with this Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD. Or at least play this HD version before the third game, as it’s very difficult to go backwards. Either way, it’ll give you a few nights of pleasant scares this hot summer.
