This review contains spoilers
They really made controls for Luigi's Mansion work on the 3DS in 2013 then messed it up on the remake of the original game 5 years later? The only problem here is the lack of being able to turn fully left and right when using the vacuum, dark-light device or strobulb.
Anyway, to fit being on a handheld the creators went for a mission based approach in this game. It does add a bit of repetition as this is used as justification to make you traverse the same rooms over and over, but the majority of missions have end up in new areas at least. It also means they can make 5 completely separate mansions, each with its own style and personality. It is more gimmicky than the original, but it's exciting to unlock a brand new mansion to explore.
There's a complete lack of portrait ghosts in this game, which is a huge shame. It's somewhat made up for by an increase in variety of regular ghosts. But while areas 1 and 2 slowly introduce new types, it kind of just falls of fast from there. Anything introduced after this point is just a variation of the most basic ghost which has an extra element (usually they'll have something to shield their eyes so you have to wait for the window to be able to stun them), then area 4 and 5 just gives us the exact same ghosts we've been fighting and makes a powered-up form, which is the same thing but with more health.
There's weirdly only one instance I can remember with a unique non-boss enemy, which happens in the 2nd mansion. Why this happened here and never again I have no idea.
The bosses themselves are generally more involved this time. Though the first boss sets a standard that isn't fully followed up on. I swear the order is messed up. Boss 1 is pretty much a full on puzzle/timing boss with quite a lot of moving parts. Boss 2 on the other hand is as basic as it gets with a simple "dodge their attacks then use vacuum to suck them up" mechanic. Bosses rarely ever reach the level of complexity as that first boss again. Though boss 4 is a very memorable fight which changes things up completely.
I briefly mentioned it earlier, but a big extra mechanic in this game is the dark-light device. A method for finding hidden objects in the areas. it's used for either optional bonuses or mandatory progression. The boo hunting mini game is almost entirely placed behind this mechanic. What I like most about it is how they clue the player in to where to point the strobe light. It can be either via context clues (a series of items in a uniform pattern with an obvious gap), an item that was present in past missions but is suddenly missing now, or in some cases the seemingly only atmospheric lightning can light up hidden objects in the room.
What's great about this game is that money is used for more than just a bragging rights reward rank. Now the cash you collect will power up your poltergeist at various milestones. This does max out far too quick though, as I found myself at the full upgrade only half way through the game, meaning any further cash I collected was useless if I wasn't going for max rank for each mission.
Speaking of, another thing the mission-based structure allows the devs to do is create a lot of reasons to replay levels. Either for max ranks or collectables. Not a bad idea at all, though I think Luigi's Mansion isn't the best game to try and force this type of replayability on, given that it's slow paced, and many things which stop the action cannot be skipped in a mission.
There's an extra arcade-style mode which can be played solo or multiplayer. It's obviously designed for multiplayer (the fact you can even play it alone is easily missed), but it's still worth a go or two by yourself just to test it out. While I think this mode would be fun with friends, it's definitely just a bonus feature that you could make use of if you had friends who owned the game - no one is going to be going out of their way to buy this game to play this extra mode with friends.
A great game which introduces many new concepts to the existing formula, while unfortunately removing a few too (along with portrait ghosts, elements are also gone - except fire which is used in different ways for some levels).
My ranking of the mansions goes: 4 > 3 > 5 > 1 > 2.
Anyway, to fit being on a handheld the creators went for a mission based approach in this game. It does add a bit of repetition as this is used as justification to make you traverse the same rooms over and over, but the majority of missions have end up in new areas at least. It also means they can make 5 completely separate mansions, each with its own style and personality. It is more gimmicky than the original, but it's exciting to unlock a brand new mansion to explore.
There's a complete lack of portrait ghosts in this game, which is a huge shame. It's somewhat made up for by an increase in variety of regular ghosts. But while areas 1 and 2 slowly introduce new types, it kind of just falls of fast from there. Anything introduced after this point is just a variation of the most basic ghost which has an extra element (usually they'll have something to shield their eyes so you have to wait for the window to be able to stun them), then area 4 and 5 just gives us the exact same ghosts we've been fighting and makes a powered-up form, which is the same thing but with more health.
There's weirdly only one instance I can remember with a unique non-boss enemy, which happens in the 2nd mansion. Why this happened here and never again I have no idea.
The bosses themselves are generally more involved this time. Though the first boss sets a standard that isn't fully followed up on. I swear the order is messed up. Boss 1 is pretty much a full on puzzle/timing boss with quite a lot of moving parts. Boss 2 on the other hand is as basic as it gets with a simple "dodge their attacks then use vacuum to suck them up" mechanic. Bosses rarely ever reach the level of complexity as that first boss again. Though boss 4 is a very memorable fight which changes things up completely.
I briefly mentioned it earlier, but a big extra mechanic in this game is the dark-light device. A method for finding hidden objects in the areas. it's used for either optional bonuses or mandatory progression. The boo hunting mini game is almost entirely placed behind this mechanic. What I like most about it is how they clue the player in to where to point the strobe light. It can be either via context clues (a series of items in a uniform pattern with an obvious gap), an item that was present in past missions but is suddenly missing now, or in some cases the seemingly only atmospheric lightning can light up hidden objects in the room.
What's great about this game is that money is used for more than just a bragging rights reward rank. Now the cash you collect will power up your poltergeist at various milestones. This does max out far too quick though, as I found myself at the full upgrade only half way through the game, meaning any further cash I collected was useless if I wasn't going for max rank for each mission.
Speaking of, another thing the mission-based structure allows the devs to do is create a lot of reasons to replay levels. Either for max ranks or collectables. Not a bad idea at all, though I think Luigi's Mansion isn't the best game to try and force this type of replayability on, given that it's slow paced, and many things which stop the action cannot be skipped in a mission.
There's an extra arcade-style mode which can be played solo or multiplayer. It's obviously designed for multiplayer (the fact you can even play it alone is easily missed), but it's still worth a go or two by yourself just to test it out. While I think this mode would be fun with friends, it's definitely just a bonus feature that you could make use of if you had friends who owned the game - no one is going to be going out of their way to buy this game to play this extra mode with friends.
A great game which introduces many new concepts to the existing formula, while unfortunately removing a few too (along with portrait ghosts, elements are also gone - except fire which is used in different ways for some levels).
My ranking of the mansions goes: 4 > 3 > 5 > 1 > 2.