Summary
Three games in, the title ‘Luigi’s Mansion’ has become increasingly disingenuous. In the first outing, it made sense: it was set in a mansion won, and therefore owned by, Luigi. Hence, Luigi’s Mansion. However, in the sequel, there are a whoppingfivehaunted establishments for the plucky plumber to explore – only two of which could realistically be called mansions, and none of which belong to Luigi.
Still, in doing so, Luigi’s Mansion 2 brings a wealth of variety to the table. One minute you’re in a tumbledown botanist’s dwelling, while the next you’re in an ancient clock factory. The game’s HD Switch remaster has brought a whole new band of ghost-sucking fans onboard, so what better time to rank every area?
A quick heads-up for those diving into this 3DS classic for the first time: our list will begiving away the order and plot details of every stage in the game. Given that discovering the nature of these mansions is part of the fun, we’d exercise caution if we were you!
5Secret Mine
Too Chilly And Too Brief, With An Infuriating Boss
The Secret Mine is the fourth stage of Luigi’s adventure, and represents a bit of a low point that often causes players to bail. After an unending stream of creative ideas in the first three mansions, the fun begins to stall as we’re presented with what amounts to yet another generic ice world. Complete with irritating ice physics; andcome on, nobody likesthose.
It’s especially saddening because it starts off rather promising. At first, it appears you’ll be exploring a cozy log cabin chateau, and indeed the bulk of the first act is spent snooping around its smokehouse and sauna. Alas, all too soon we’re plunged into a labyrinth of icy caverns, and things devolve into the usual slippery business for these sorts of worlds.
Topping off Secret Mine’s position in dead last is that it, inexplicably, boasts the smallest number of stages in the game. While all its spooky cousins have five acts, followed by a boss, this frigid zone will run you a meager three. And don’t even get us started on the abysmal Possessor fight, spent launching cannonballs into a gigantic face with poor hit detection.
4Gloomy Manor
Been There, Vacuumed That
When fans sit down to a Luigi’s Mansion title, they come armed with certain expectations. Chief among them is that they’ll be puttering around a classic ‘haunted house’ at some point or other; so the game’s opening area, Gloomy Manor, feels like Nintendo paying lip service to that concept and getting it out of the way early, so they can start delivering more exciting locales.
Gloomy Manordoescome alive in its last handful of stages, however. The fight in the Library against the Poltergeist is a highlight, thanks in no small part to the banging piano track that plinks in the background. And the climactic duel against a spider queen in the mansion’s basement is in serious contention for the game’s best, most puzzle-centric boss battle.
3Old Clockworks
Wibbly-Wobbly, Timey-Wimey
Constructed in the middle of a desert (perhaps the planning permissions were easier to come by?), the Old Clockworks once manufactured the finest timepieces in the kingdom. Eventually, the literal sands of time did the place in, and it was abandoned; but you may still see remnants of its proud heritage littered around, which makes it irresistible to ransack.
The clockmakers' chambers show signs of a hasty evacuation, while many of the facility’s conveyor belts and gears remain functional, which could prove deadly to a certain plumber if you aren’t careful. The ghosts that have set up shop here treat it like an amusement park, and it’s a riot to see them setting off cuckoo clocks and messing with blowtorches.
The Old Clockworks really tips its hand, though, when a Poltergeist swipes some vital clock hands and flees underground. It’s then that you realize the factory sits atop an archaeological tomb, complete with mummies to unravel and sarcophagi to rummage around in. It adds a creepy extra layer to the lore, and it all comes together to form a stellar middle act for Luigi’s Mansion 2.
2Haunted Towers
Green Stache In The Greenhouse
If Gloomy Manor was a rote opening area, Haunted Towers dispels any lingering doubt about the game’s creativity and makes it clear you have no clue what to expect. These overgrown lodgings were the former home of the Three Sisters, Belinda, Herlinda, and Lucinda, plant enthusiasts who courted botanists from all over the world. Sadly, once they perished, their estate was left to return to nature… in a big way.
Strangling figs and hanging vines dominate every walkway; voracious Venus flytraps snap at poor Luigi as he toddles on by; and the towers' hydro-powered electricity system, which formerly kept a grip on the plant population, has been clogged up by ghosts. Those with hay-fever need not apply.
You’ll be up and down the Towers, restoring order, trimming the weeds – and even doing battle with the ghosts of the Three Sisters themselves, in a standout segment. The puzzle design is also at its best here, with cash and gems to be found in every square inch of the lush foliage, and even in the skies above, courtesy of floating bubble plants.
1Treacherous Mansion
A Fitting Home For The King Himself
Treacherous Mansion is, in a nutshell, Gloomy Manor on steroids. Representing the pinnacle of the game’s selection of mansions, this is every bit the vast, horrifying, surreal environment you’d expect from a finale, and even puts the first game’s dusty domicile to shame.
A rotting museum, the Treacherous Mansion was owned by an eccentric collector who stuffed its halls with relics from across the globe. Now that he’s passed on, it’s a Boo’s paradise – and therefore, Luigi’s nightmare. From the very first mission, which sees you teetering on razor-thin ledges above a chasm to reach the museum’s entrance, you know King Boo means business.
There’s a prehistoric exhibit, where dinosaur bones rattle with uncanny life; an Ice Age display, where you might want to inspect that mammoth taxidermy a bit more closely; an Ancient Egypt section, whose residents are not quite as dead as you would have hoped; and a Medieval area with possessed suits of armor, to name a few. This is all to say nothing of the Paranormal Portal on the museum’s roof that punches a hole to the spirit realm. Gozer would be proud.
You’re never quite sure what unnerving tableau lurks behind each door, and it keeps you perpetually on edge, right up until the conga line of memorable bosses that close out the game. Those fans who clamored to see Boolossus make a grand comeback (all four of you) will be very happy.
