Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (known as in Japan, Australia and Europe) is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Next Level Games and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. It is the second installment in the Luigi's Mansion series, following Luigi's Mansion (2001). The story follows Luigi as he explores Evershade Valley, capturing its corrupted ghostly inhabitants with help from Professor E. Gadd. In order to restore peace to Evershade Valley, Luigi must defeat the recently-escaped King Boo and restore the eponymous Dark Moon.
In Dark Moon, the player controls Luigi, who captures ghosts using a vacuum cleaner called the Poltergust 5000. In the single-player mode, the goal is to rescue Mario from King Boo and retrieve the shattered pieces of the Dark Moon, which can pacify Evershade Valley's ghosts. Exploration is divided into five unique areas, which are each split into multiple mission-based levels containing obstacles and puzzles. The Poltergust 5000 is equipped with features to capture ghosts and solve puzzles. Dark Moon also offers a cooperative multiplayer mode that can be played locally or online via the Nintendo Network on the Nintendo 3DS or via Nintendo Switch Online in the remaster for the Nintendo Switch.
After experimentation to create a glasses-free 3D variant of the original Luigi's Mansion on the GameCube, the Luigi's Mansion series would remain dormant for roughly a decade. Dark Moon was outsourced to Next Level Games, a company that had worked on Nintendo titles in the past. Shigeru Miyamoto and select Nintendo employees supervised the project, but overall were hands-off with the project. The overall design goal was to create diverse experiences for the player, exploring how each game element could be used to its fullest. Many of these elements were altered to conform to the technology of the Nintendo 3DS, such as its dual screens and 3D capabilities.
Dark Moon was announced at E3 2011, with further details revealed throughout 2012. When the game was delayed into 2013, Nintendo decided to promote the game as part of a "Year of Luigi", with additional Luigi-themed games and merchandise announced for the character's 30th anniversary. Dark Moon released in Japan on March 20, 2013, with other regional releases later that same month. The game received generally positive reviews from critics, praising its graphics, worldbuilding, and new features, while also attracting criticism for its mission-based structure and lack of checkpoints. The game was nominated for several awards, and sold 6.44 million copies as of December 2020, making it one of the bestselling video games for the Nintendo 3DS. An arcade cabinet based on Dark Moons assets, titled Luigi's Mansion Arcade, was released to arcades worldwide on June 18, 2015. A third entry in the series, titled Luigi's Mansion 3, was released worldwide on October 31, 2019, for the Nintendo Switch. A remaster titled Luigi's Mansion 2 HD was released on the Nintendo Switch on June 27, 2024.
Gameplay
Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon is a 3D action-adventure game in which the player controls Mario's brother Luigi, who is sent by Professor E. Gadd to explore abandoned haunted areas in Evershade Valley and capture hostile ghosts using the Poltergust 5000, a specialized vacuum cleaner. In the main single-player mode, the player explores five different "mansions" in search of pieces of the Dark Moon, a crystal moon with the power to calm the ghosts of the valley, which has split shattered apart. Each location is designed around a specific theme, such as a wet and overgrown set of towers with a graveyard, a clock factory covered in sand, a mine filled with ice and a haunted museum.
Exploration through an area is divided into multiple mission-based levels that focus on completing a number of objectives, such as retrieving an object, accessing a particular room or defeating a stronger boss ghost. At the end of each mission, the player is scored based on various factors such as the treasures and ghosts collected. If Luigi takes too much damage from ghost attacks or environmental hazards and loses all his heart points, he will faint and the player must restart the mission. If the player finds and collects a golden bone, Luigi will be revived and continue the mission instead of starting over. The Nintendo 3DS touchscreen shows a mini-map of the areas' layouts, with the main objective being highlighted with an exclamation mark. Toad accompanies can be found in certain missions, where Luigi has to escort each one out of the area they are found in. At the end of each area, the player battles a "Possessor", a boss ghost that possesses objects, in order to get the Dark Moon piece inside of it.
To capture a ghost, the player first stuns the ghost using Luigi's flashlight equipped with the Strobulb attachment. While Luigi's Mansion required the player to shine the light on the ghost, in Dark Moon, the player charges the Strobulb to release a burst of light that acts similar to a flashbang. When stunned, the ghost's health meter is exposed, allowing Luigi to vacuum the ghost to decrease the meter until it is weak enough to be captured. In addition to capturing ghosts, the suction and blowing functions of the Poltergust 5000 are used to manipulate and carry objects in the environment. Many of the game's puzzles are designed around this concept. For example, the player uses the vacuum to carry buckets of water, yank pull switches, spin valve handles and propel small objects. Other objects, such as certain types of switches and locks, react only when exposed to the Strobulb flash. Early in the game, the player obtains the Dark-Light Device, which reveals invisible doors and furniture. Every mission features a hidden Boo that can be uncovered with the Dark Light Device, which can unlock a bonus mission in each mansion if every Boo in a mansion is caught. Alongside Boos, each mansion houses a set of thirteen gems for the player to find. The Poltergust can be upgraded to increase its power by collecting money scattered throughout the mansion.
Dark Moon features a cooperative multiplayer mode called "ScareScraper" ("Thrill Tower" in Europe), in which up to four players each control a differently colored Luigi. The players explore each floor of an area and complete the specified objective within a time limit. When the objective is completed, the players ascend to the next floor. The floors are all randomly generated, with different floor layouts and placement of ghosts and items, and the players may select whether the area has a limited or endless number of floors. Four different objective types are available: Hunter, in which all the ghosts on the floor must be captured; Rush, where players race to find the exit to the next floor; Polterpup, where players pursue and capture ghost dogs; and Surprise, in which one of the other three objectives is randomly chosen per floor. "ScareScraper" can be played locally or online via Nintendo Network on the Nintendo 3DS or via Nintendo Switch Online on the Nintendo Switch.
Plot King Boo, who had recently escaped from his painting imprisonment, shatters the Dark Moon, a large and crystalline object suspended above Evershade Valley which has a pacifying effect on its ghostly inhabitants, using the magical jewel embedded in his crown. This causes the ghosts to become hostile, forcing Professor E. Gadd to take shelter in his bunker while a dark fog covers the valley. From the bunker, E. Gadd contacts Luigi and unwillingly teleports him to the bunker, with E. Gadd showing a shattered piece of the Dark Moon to Luigi. to help recover the pieces of the Dark Moon. The professor reveals that five other pieces have landed across the Evershade Valley, leading to E. Gadd enlisting Luigi to recover the remaining Dark Moon pieces and to capture and contain the ghosts before they leave the valley and wreak havoc on the rest of the world. To aid Luigi, he provides him with several gadgets: a flashlight; the Poltergust 5000, an upgraded version of the Poltergust 3000; the Dual Scream, a Nintendo DS-like device used for navigation and communication purposes; and the Dark-Light Device, a special lens used for uncovering hidden objects and Boos.
Luigi makes his way through the five mansions of the valley, recovering a piece of the Dark Moon from powerful "Possessor" ghosts, entrusted by King Boo to guard them, in each area and saving the professor's Toad assistants, who have been trapped in paintings. The Toads share security images that provide valuable clues to the whereabouts of the Dark Moon pieces and each one shows a pair of Boos carrying a bag with a painting inside. Whenever a Dark Moon piece is recovered, parts of the dark fog is lifted. Eventually, Luigi and E. Gadd find out that King Boo is behind the whole crisis in the valley and is detaining Mario in the painting. After Luigi obtains the final Dark Moon piece in a parallel dimension accessed in the fifth mansion, King Boo intercepts him as he is being returned to the bunker. King Boo reveals to Luigi his intent to use the corrupted ghosts in conquering the world before battling him and being defeated once more.
When Luigi returns to his world, he frees Mario from the painting and reunites with E. Gadd and the Toads. They reassemble the Dark Moon, returning the ghosts back to their former selves. E. Gadd then releases the captured ghosts from their detainment in the bunker and they celebrate by taking a picture. The game ends as Luigi returns home with his newly adopted ghost dog, Polterpup. The credits show Mario, Luigi and the professor paying visits to Evershade Valley and spending time with the ghosts.
Development
Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon was developed by Next Level Games, a Canadian developer who had previously worked on Nintendo-published titles Punch-Out!! for the Wii and the Mario Strikers series. Bryce Holliday served as the game's overall director and Chad York was the lead composer and audio director. Brian Davis was a lead programmer, primarily boss battles. Shigeru Miyamoto was a producer and creator for the original Luigi's Mansion, but for Dark Moon Miyamoto stayed hands-off and instead supervised the project. He compared his role to that of a shepherd, by which he let Next Level Games take control of most of the project, and rather than telling them what to do, he instead intervened when he felt they were going in the wrong direction. Due to location differences—Miyamoto in Japan and Next Level Games being located in Canada—Yoshihito Ikebata also served as a supervisor, who had previously worked on the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, and transcluded info between both companies frequently. Ikebata would report updates to Miyamoto biweekly and would relay Miyamoto's opinions to Holliday. Ryuichi Nakada served as an assistant supervisor and performed similar tasks. Yoshikami Kuzuki also helped advise. According to Holliday, Miyamoto did a good job supervising and the project never lost focus. Development began in 2009 and was completed in 2012.