10 Surprising Things Luigi's Mansion Taught Us About Mario Canon
The Luigi’s Mansion franchise represents quite a departure from Nintendo norms. The original entry released on the GameCube back in 2001, a quirky adventure that saw Luigi take the reins after Mario was trapped in a painting by the dastardly King Boo. Far from the usual Mushroom Kingdom fare, it’s a sort of family-friendly take on the first Resident Evil, only without the hideous, flesh-hungry monstrosities that series is known for.
Poor old Luigi’s jump-scare-ridden journey through the Luigi’s Mansion series has given us some interesting insight into the wider Mario universe. Here are some surprisingly little details of Mario canon we’ve learned along the way.
10 Mario Isn’t Invulnerable
As Nintendo’s main man, Mario has played the hero more times than we care to count. Regardless of the odds, however powerful his enemies have been, he’s always saved the day. There’s no room to get complacent, though.
In the Luigi’s Mansion games, we discover that he himself gets kidnapped and needs rescuing on occasion. That’s the entire impetus behind Luigi’s ordeals, really. The longer, lankier Mario brother’s only other starring role was in 1993’s obscure educational title Mario Is Missing! Still, a horrifying, humbling experience like this is probably good for a hero. It keeps them grounded.
9 Ghostbusters-esque Tech Is Practical In This Universe
If you grew up with Ghostbusters, you probably have fond memories of running around your house pretending your backpack is a proton pack. Maybe you still do this at the age of 32—we’re not here to judge, we’re just here to tell you that your childhood was as awesome as ours.
Why are we reminiscing about this? Because, yet again, technology has failed to keep up with the expectations of eighties/nineties sci-fi, and it’s a darn shame. Still, in the Mario universe, it seems that a similar sort of technology (the Poltergust line of devices) is a reality. Modified vacuum cleaners, yes, but the concept is much the same.
8 Boos Aren’t Invulnerable, Either
If you’re a veteran of the Mario games, you’ll be familiar with the Boos and their annoying shenanigans. These sneaky specters tend to be found only in the puzzling ghost house stages and generally cannot be killed. What, with them being ghosts and all, the Mario Bros.'trademark head-stomp maneuver isn’t going to do him much good here.
In the world of Luigi’s Mansion, they tend to be optional ‘bonus’ enemies which the player can choose to hunt for more of a challenge. It takes some doing, but Luigi proves to be able to defeat them just like any other ghosts. Mario tends to rely on running away (after manipulating the mechanic that sees them hide their faces and stop moving when you’re facing them), but Luigi has no such problems. They’re still a pain, though.
7 Luigi Has A Fancier Home Than Princess Peach
Well, granted, this is a matter of opinion. After all, Princess Peach has her own castle, and it’s quite the pad. All we’re saying is, who’d ever have expected Luigi to be the richer brother?
As a general rule, money in the Mario universe is only really used in the standard platformer ‘collect 100 coins for an extra life’ sort of way. Luigi, meanwhile, is out in the mansion(s) sucking up every coin, note, and jewel like he’s in deep with a couple of Mushroom Kingdom mobsters. At the end of the original game, he gets himself a real mansion, and its design is based on the amount of money you managed to accrue throughout the game. The best one is so ostentatious that even Elton John would think it too garish.
6 Silly, Brilliant Pun Versions Of Nintendo Consoles Exist
As players will know, Luigi is aided throughout the series by a brilliant professor named Elvin Gadd. He’s the creator of the Poltergust systems and many other crucial gadgets, including the Game Boy Horror (from Luigi’s Mansion), the Dual Scream (from Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon) and the Virtual Boo (of Luigi’s Mansion 3).
Long-time Nintendo fans will recognize these devices as clever riffs on the Game Boy Color, Nintendo DS, and Virtual Boy, respectively. They’re handy tools that help Luigi to navigate the world and communicate with E. Gadd, but what if they became mainstream games consoles in this universe? What if people actually bought the Virtual Boo in this reality? It’s wild to think about.
5 Malevolent Pianos Are Actually A Thing In The Mario World
Super Mario 64’s many, many fans will never forget the first time they approached the iconic Mad Piano in Big Boo’s Haunt. While it looks like a harmless musical instrument, it will spring to life when Mario draws near and viciously buck and snap at him. It can’t be defeated, so all you can do is nab that Red Coin and get out of there.
Interestingly, this isn’t an isolated incident. In homage to the Mad Piano, Luigi’s Mansion 3 features a boss fight against Amadeus Wolfgeist, the pianist ghost. It’s a challenging battle in which Wolfgeist constantly mixes up his attacks in tandem with his piano itself, which will charge and snap at you in familiar fashion.
4 Gooigi Is A Thing Now
That’s right, friends. As Nintendo continues to release new installments in a successful IP, they feel the need to mix things up with some curious mechanics. With Pokémon Sword and Shield, for instance, Game Freak introduced Dynamaxing, a new battle mechanic that allows the player to transform one of their Pokémon into a gigantic, super-powerful version of itself for a brief time.
The 3DS remake of the original Luigi’s Mansion introduced Gooigi, a clone of Luigi made from a mysterious goo of E. Gadd’s creation. In that game, he really just existed as a means to make multiplayer a little more interesting, but he returned for Luigi’s Mansion 3 and is crucial to Luigi’s progress. Many of the game’s puzzles call for both Luigi and Gooigi’s talents (as the gooey brother can path through grates and slip through gaps Luigi can’t), making him both a vital and utterly bizarre new part of Mario canon.
3 The Most Brilliant Scientist In The Mario Series Is (Almost) Completely Forgotten
The Mario franchise, as long and celebrated as it is, consists of a huge variety of games in all sorts of genres. The countless spin-offs, side stories, and cameo appearances released over the years have taken in everything from sports games to RPGs and even questionable edutainment titles.
In some of these games, such as the Luigi’s Mansion and Mario & Luigi series, Professor E. Gadd is featured and acknowledged as the fantastic scientist and inventor he is. It’s very surprising, then, that he isn’t mentioned at all in the main series other than a throwaway mention in Super Mario Sunshine (which states that he was the creator of F.L.U.D.D. and—presumably—Bowser Jr’s Magic Paintbrush).
2 Ghosts Are Friendly... Sometimes
As we’ve seen from the Boos, haunted pianos, and other such nasties we’ve come across so far, the Mario franchise seems to be sending the message that ghosts aren’t always the friendliest of entities. Polterpup is the adorable and loyal doggy companion you’d expect, but otherwise? Ghosts are not our friends around here.
Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon offers up an intriguing little revelation, though: the ghosts of Evershade Valley were docile and harmless until King Boo shattered the Dark Moon that hung in the sky and broke its calming influence on them. What does this mean for these ghosts’ natural temperament? It’s interesting to think about.
1 The Mushroom Kingdom Is A Scary, Scary Place
Of course, the Luigi’s Mansion titles are still family-friendly, classic Nintendo games. Luigi suffers constant jump scares, but they’re much more of the silly slapstick variety than IT’s Pennywise hiding in your closet to chop you into guacamole variety.
Even so, there’s some super spooky stuff happening in this series. If the Mushroom Kingdom is such a happy place that even the clouds and hills have huge, silly grins, why are there also malevolent Bowser hands hiding in toilets in Luigi’s Mansion?
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