Looking back at our 2013 review of Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon on 3DS gave us a timely reminder of why we love the game so much, yet we couldn’t get back to it before we originally played, which is strange. that in most of the games we enjoy, we are totally bent on uncovering every last secret.
It was control, you see. They were awkward in the first Luigi’s Mansion, and in the second game, the lack of an extra thumb on the 3DS made for an experience that was slightly marred by the shortcomings of the system it shipped on. It wasn’t a big deal – this author still very much agrees with the 9/10 score this site gave out at the time – it was always just one of those things with this series. Great idea, clever gameplay, excellent puzzles and lots of atmosphere, all held back a bit. A franchise that felt like it needed to let loose on a new platform.
This issue was then fully addressed in Luigi’s Mansion 3. A big slick Switch sequel that showed just how awesome this creepy sub-series could be if it got the right treatment and wasn’t held back in the controls department. It’s our favorite game in the franchise, an experience that transcends the scope and scale of the first two games, and a model that Next Level Games has honed in on with this HD adaptation of the first installment.
We’ve already discussed in our preview of the HD version how this glossy remaster definitely sticks to what’s found in the original package in terms of content. There’s no ‘Deluxe’ or similar moniker in the title, which signals that we’re only getting a resolution boost and some extra animations. And that’s largely how it is. This will be a problem for some, but Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is the one exactly the same game which many of you no doubt played 11 years ago – just looks so much better.
And we mean it much prettier. Yes, a lot of work is in the resolution – there was always a lot of detail and art to be seen in Luigi’s Mansion. Lighting and environmental effects are improved, animations have been improved, cleaned up and added – Luigi and his enemies are much more emotional than we remember – and the whole thing feels much more readable and efficient, as those fine details get a chance to shine in both docked and handheld mode. This is a very good looking version of a very good game.
And then we get to the real highlight, at least from a personal point of view, in that the control with the second stick is just much better. Your mileage will vary depending on how annoying you found pointing the Poltergust 5000 at specific locations in the original, but for us it removes the only real flaw we had back then. This now feels almost on par with 2019’s Luigi’s Adventure in terms of gameplay, and it’s a ten-year-old game that hasn’t lost its ability to entertain in the slightest.
If you’ve never played it before, Luigi’s Mansion 2 ditches the claustrophobia of the more haunted first game for a bigger, brighter adventure that gives Mario’s hapless brother multiple locations to explore rather than a singular mansion. It’s a surprisingly large game, somewhere around 30 hours if you dig in and explore the secrets, and each location is designed with a careful cleverness that makes it feel like a bonafide product made by Nintendo rather than the work of an outside party (Canadian studio Next Level Games, now owned by Nintendo).
Rumble has been effectively added to the Switch’s combat sequences, which now feel much better with ghoul brawls and aiming being smoother. Motion controls are used to fine-tune and point the camera at certain parts, and these touches, along with the refreshed look, add up to a redesign that looks and feels very modern indeed.
The five distinct areas that Luigi and co must fight their way through to collect the pieces of the Dark Moon have lost none of their ability to draw you in, with each new mission balancing just the right amount of subtle combat with puzzles that make the most of it. from your gorgeous surroundings – this is one of those games that makes you feel like you’re rummaging through bins and drawers great. Treasure, hearts, and secrets fly out of things in just the right way, which in turn throws us into the hunt to find every last hidden Boo and gem. We’ve never spent much time with ScareScaper, the game’s local and online multiplayer, to be honest it’s not really our bag, but it’s also there for those who enjoy that sort of thing.
So, with so many good things to say about all of this, how come (review spoiler!) did we end up with a lower score this time? Well, because we think this HD package is way too safe and workable for the premium price it’s being flogged at. Make no mistake, it’s a great game and it’s never been played better than here. But leaving the little pesky legacy issues unchanged…it just doesn’t quite sit right for the price.
We’re really wondering why there’s no reset save system – if you die, you have to restart the mission from the very beginning, and that hasn’t changed here. Load times haven’t seen the reduction we’d expect either, so there’s no advantage here in terms of being able to dip in and out of levels faster than in the original. We also noticed one moment during an early cutscene where the frame rate stutters a bit, which is just a little surprising. It doesn’t affect the gameplay at all, but it fits the overall vibe of “All very well, but a little push could make it awesome, lads.”
Talking to other people who have played this game in the past, there’s always a bit of backlash about how slow these games are able to cut down the time between missions. Luigi’s Mansion 2 suffers from this kind of plodding pacing in its menus and how often you feel like the professor is pulling you out of levels instead of letting you rip a little longer. It would be great to see some of these things set aside to make it all a little…faster, we guess. A little more nimble in how it moves us. However, this is for the deluxe models, not the HD ports of this world.
For the price, it would be nice to see these things fixed, to see more save/pause options, or some new supported player modes like the ones we see in those fancy deluxe reissues. However, those niggles aside, and minus the fact that they didn’t make climbing that big bloody staircase in Hollow Tree any easier, what we have here is a very straightforward – but also very shiny and pretty – HD remake. one of the best 3DS games. It looks great, it’s better than ever to play just enough to revisit it. All of these things are true.
Conclusion
Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is Luigi’s Mansion 2 with spectacular HD color. Surprise! It looks great, and the new models, animations, and improved visuals make for a game that’s close to the famous Luigi’s Mansion 3 in how modern and snappy it all is. It’s also much better controlled thanks to the second stick on the Switch. It’s just a shame we didn’t get any extras, ie no new mid-mission saves, added content or bonuses. This is 100% the best way to play the game since 2024, no doubt about it, but it would be nice to get a little something extra, especially considering the price. Maybe someday we’ll see a Deluxe edition as well.