Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD Review
Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre:
PEGI: 7
Comments:
Luigi’s Mansion 2 was originally a game for the 3DS. Now its back, in HD on the Nintendo Switch. Is it worth checking out? Here’s our review of Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD for Nintendo Switch!
We originally reviewed Luigi’s Mansion 2: Dark Moon on the Nintendo 3DS – part of that review is below, but you can read the entire review here!
Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is a remaster of a 3DS game. The story is the same as it was on that system: Luigi is recruited to hunt down ghosts and save the day. Its a story full of humor with a tiny bit of horror. It can be spooky but in a fun way. Its definitely a game anyone can enjoy. What about the gameplay? Has it changed any?
Story in more Detail
In the opening cinematic, we see Professor E. Gadd researching the seemingly friendly ghosts that reside in Evershade valley. Out of the darkness of the night, King Boo appears and shatters the Dark Moon into five pieces; spread to each mansion of the valley, making the ghosts act all aggressively again.
Luigi is then unexpectedly pulled into Evershade valley through the use of E. Gadd’s pixelator, a device that allows Luigi to be pixelated and reformed in different areas (this is also how Luigi travels to each mansion). Without giving Luigi much of an option, E. Gadd equips him with the latest Poltergust 5000 model, an original Nintendo DS which is utilized as a map and flashlight. With the guidance of E. Gadd, his intuition (and a lot of luck), Luigi must traverse the premises of each mansion, reunite the shattered Dark Moon pieces and restore balance to Evershade Valley.
Transition to Nintendo Switch
Editor’s Note: Despite not playing Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, I’ve always been incredibly intrigued by games that have been ported to home console, especially when they originally lived on handheld devices. 3DS games pose a very specific challenge that I’m excited to see Nintendo tackle. Having two screens, and a touch screen as well, makes gameplay on Nintendo 3DS games incredibly unique. Some games only used the second screen as an inventory or map screen, but others did a lot more. It’s worth remembering that porting a game from the Nintendo 3DS to the Nintendo Switch is probably easier said than done. Anyways, back to Daniel’s thoughts on this HD remake!
On the Switch, there is no second screen and so Luigi has a DS system that he can take out to communicate and pressing the minus button will show the map. This is not the only change that’s found in Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD though. There are areas that have been remixed. Some of the ghosts that were in certain parts are not there and other places have ghosts that were not in the 3DS version. Most people might not even notice this. I looked at some gameplay of the 3DS game and noticed that, plus some other differences such as cobwebs that were in new places.
If you played the 3DS game, you still might want to check out the Switch version. Luigi’s Mansion 2 is mission based like it previous was and is not as open as Luigi’s Mansion 3. It also still has local and online multiplayer, though we were not able to check that out. The game still plays very much like a portable game and feels really good in handheld mode on the Switch. Its a fun game and we’re glad it got a second chance on a new system.
Graphics and Audio Upgrades
Of course, the biggest difference in Luigi’s Manson 2 HD are the graphics. Most remakes that have landed onto the Nintendo Switch are games that originally appeared on home consoles, and not handheld devices. Think about things like Pikmin, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, and Super Mario RPG. Those graphics and audio updates are noticeable of course, but you would expect a game transitioning from the Nintendo 3DS to the Nintendo Switch would be much more impressive.
Luigi’s Manson 2 HD is a big upgrade from the 3DS. The graphics look much more colorful and detailed, although as many reviewers so far have noted, it can be hard go into this experience and be satisfied with what you see when Luigi’s Mansion 3 was so brilliantly done. The game doesn’t look as good as Luigi’s Mansion 3 of course, but it does look pretty good, and is a definite improvement over the original 3DS version. The music, sound effects, and limited vocal sounds are all really good too.
Overall, Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is a good game. Its very much a portable game, because it did come from the 3DS and not as open as Luigi’s Mansion 3, but the new additions and the graphical upgrade make it worth checking out on the Switch. Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is a slightly spooky, fun time.
Thank you to Nintendo Canada for providing a digital code for this review. Luigi’s Mansion 2 comes out on June 27th, 2024.
Article By Daniel Fugate
Daniel Fugate has wanted to be a writer since he was seven years old. He has a bachelor's degree in English and he's a huge Animal Crossing fan. The Wii U and 3DS are currently his favorite video game systems!
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Twitter: @df2506