I have to admit, I’m pleasantly surprised. This game is not nearly as bad as I remember. I felt underwhelmed after playing the original Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon. I didn’t like the mission structure, and I thought the art style was lacking compared to the original game. For this Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD Review, however, I enjoyed the game a lot more. But how much more?
While this version of the game has some improvements, it also has some glaring flaws that cannot be overlooked.
The Good
I’ll start with what I thought was good about the game. I think the graphics look pretty good. It is an upgrade from the 3DS version and makes the game look much smoother. In Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, the graphics look much jagged and pixelated, and while it was fine for the time, it’s pretty hard to go back to now. Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD improves this, making it much easier to look at and making the game look much nicer.
Like the original release, Scarescraper is a great mode. It’s fun to try and see how many floors you can clear with other players online. The vast number of special ghosts in the Scarescraper also makes you want to keep playing to fill out your ghost collection. With that being said, though, Scarescraper isn’t as fun as I remember it being, especially compared to Luigi’s Mansion 3’s version of the mode. It just feels lackluster in comparison with similar missions on every floor. However, the mode is still fun to play, and the ghosts are still fun to collect.
The updated controls for Switch make the game much more intuitive to play. The ability to use the second control stick makes controlling the vacuum much less painful than how it was in Dark Moon. The game is more fun to play and allows me to enjoy the game without being hindered by the controls.
The Mediocre
Now, I want to discuss some things that I don’t necessarily love but don’t really hate either. For starters, I’m not the biggest fan of this game’s art design. Compared to the original game, the ghosts feel less creative. The lack of portrait ghosts also gives the main villains less personality. Instead, we get the possesors, the most boring bosses in the series. While the art design in Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD isn’t horrible, it’s very uninteresting compared to the other games in the series.
The gameplay in this game is pretty good, but it feels lackluster compared to the gameplay in Luigi’s Mansion 3. The groundwork set for the Luigi’s Mansion series gameplay by Dark Moon is essential, specifically with the Strobe Light and the Blacklight. However, missing the ability to slam ghosts and use Gooigi makes the gameplay feel much less interesting. This game is just a remaster of the original game on 3DS, but not changing anything hinders it, especially with its price. Other than that, the gameplay is serviceable, and there are definitely some great utilizations of the gameplay mechanics, but it could be a whole lot better.
I’m not the biggest fan of the mission structure. Now, I have come to appreciate it more since I first played the original game back in 2013. It’s nice to pick up the game, play a few missions, then carry on with my day. That said, it doesn’t feel like Luigi’s Mansion. The five mansions make this game feel nothing like the rest of the series. I liked the ability to explore one singular mansion or hotel and constantly unlock new areas. In Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, and the original Dark Moon for that matter, since you’re on a set track, you can’t go off and explore on your own unless you’re looking for the gems or the boos. That sense of exploration and discovery is part of what makes Luigi’s Mansion Luigi’s Mansion, in my opinion.
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The Bad
Now, we are in the territory of what I didn’t like about this game. First of all is the story. Mario games aren’t known for this story; honestly, this is a minor issue, but I figured it would be worth mentioning. The story is kind of just there. That’s not necessarily bad; the story doesn’t need to be complicated. My one big gripe is that they brought Mario into the story. Mario has once again been trapped in a painting by King Boo and has to be saved by Luigi. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? I don’t even mind them reusing this plotline; I wish they would have changed it up like they did in 3. I think the game’s ending is pretty great, but I wish they had done something a little different.
The lack of new content actively makes this game worse. Not a single new piece of content was added, just improved graphics and some quality-of-life improvements. That’s it. I’m glad we have these changes; they improve the game overall, but not adding any new content at all is annoying for what the game costs; I’d expect there to be a new mode or something, at least. Maybe add some of the minigames from Screampark in Luigi’s Mansion 3. But instead, Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD adds nothing to the original Dark Moon. I understand the game is just a remaster, but some new content could’ve helped justify the price.
The Ugly
The price. This game is grossly overpriced. For what was changed, charging $60 is highway robbery. If some new content had been added, I could maybe understand the price, but the fact that only some graphical and quality-of-life improvements were made to the game, I don’t see a world where that price could be reasonable. The original Dark Moon was $40 at launch and was reduced to $20 with Nintendo Selects. I don’t understand why Nintendo feels the need to charge $60 for what are essentially minor enhancements.
This is a trend we’ve been seeing with Nintendo lately. The upcoming Donkey Kong Country Returns remaster will also be $60 and likely won’t add much content to justify the price. If Nintendo had just bundled Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD with a remaster of the first Luigi’s Mansion game, then I think the cost would have been more than justified. Even if they had just lowered the price to $40, I wouldn’t have complained. Charging full price, though, is a bridge too far.
Conclusion
While this game has many flaws, I still think it’s good. It may not be as good as the other two games in the series, but I still enjoyed playing it. My main gripe is the lack of added content for the game’s price. I can’t recommend picking up the game for full price. If the game goes on sale, it may be worth picking up. Otherwise, steer clear of Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD.