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Luigi's Mansion

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 34 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 36 votes
Read user comments
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Game Info
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre(s): Adventure
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Release Date: November 18, 2001
Summary
Luigi steps out from the shadow of his brother Mario and into the gloomy shadows of a very haunted house in this, his first-ever starring role. Armed with a flashlight and a customized vacuum cleaner, Luigi must rid the mansion of Boos and ghouls - and find his missing brother to boot! [Nintendo]
Cheat Codes & Hints: Adrenaline Vault Cheat Code Central Game Revolution GamePro GamePro Guide IGN
Also On The Web: Official Website
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Cinescape
The mansion is beautiful. From the vacuum cleaner sucking up dust and objects such as tablecloths, to the mirrors and lighting effects, Luigi's Mansion is very impressive.
Read Full Review >GamePro
It's not quite the flagship title you might expect for a Nintendo launch, but Luigi's Mansion is still a must-have.
Read Full Review >Nintendophiles
This game was created with gamers in mind it combines a great mix of fun with a great story and best of all a franchise character to suck you in.
Read Full Review >Game Informer
If you can overlook the strange nature of this title, the gameplay is brilliant and up to par with Miyamoto's best. [Nov 2001, p.114]
Armchair Empire
The animation is first rate and there are no load times to speak of.
Read Full Review >NintendoWorldReport
When it comes down to playing the game, it is just fun; sucking up ghosts is somehow addicting.
Read Full Review >GameShark
It gets a bit repetitive after the halfway point, and then it ends quickly after that. There's no real replay value to it once you have amassed everything.
Read Full Review >GameCube Europe
The graphics are top-notch, the sound is catchy and simply lovable, the controls are delightful and the gameplay is original and just so much fun. But the whole thing is dragged down by the frighteningly short game time.
Read Full Review >Gaming Maxx
Game mechanics may be tedious, but they are also very enjoyable nonetheless.
Read Full Review >Gaming Age
It wasn't the visuals that impressed me the most; it was the design of the audio. On paper, the audio might scare someone away as it only has one basic tune through the entire game. Yet that one tune never becomes tiresome.
Read Full Review >Yahoo! Games
There's a lot of action to play through, it's fun to get to grips with and looks great, so if you love the Mario Brothers "plumb" for this one.
Read Full Review >Hot Games
The hardest part of the game is listening to E. Gadd, and the biggest challenges are the patterned and easily beatable bosses.
Read Full Review >Next Generation Magazine
The game gets a little repetitious. Luigis Mansion is short and fairly easy; it took us about 8 hours to beat it. [Dec 2001, p.82]
Nintendo Power
The game is on the short side, but it's very enjoyable while it lasts, with its clever puzzles and innovative game play. [Nov 2001, p.142]
G4 TV
All the action in the game takes place in and around a single mansion. It may be a richly textured mansion with little visual surprises in every nook and cranny, but it's still just one house and can sometimes feel a little claustrophobic.
Read Full Review >GameSpot
Luigi's first solo excursion has flashes of brilliance and is fun while it lasts, but the short amount of time it takes to complete it makes it a hard recommendation.
Read Full Review >Into Liquid Sky
On the plus side, it's long enough to keep the gameplay elements from getting stale over a long period. On the down side, though, if Nintendo could have added a few more elements to the game, they could have extended the game life by at least 1/3rd.
Read Full Review >GameSpy
The game will take the average player only about six hours to beat, but those six hours will be spent experiencing some really great visuals, imaginative game design and some classic Nintendo magic.
Read Full Review >Electronic Gaming Monthly
Every room is like an Easter Egg hunt filled with surprises thatll make you tingly all over. [Dec 2001, p.256]
Core Magazine
When youre talking about a Miyamoto launch title, "pretty good" just wont cut it.
Read Full Review >Game Revolution
The replay value is suspect and the one enormous dungeon mansion can grow tiring, but the graphics are quite beautiful and the interesting game mechanics are enjoyable.
Read Full Review >Nintendojo
Fun. In fact, it's five or six of the best hours you can spend on any system this year. Unfortunately, that's all that it is.
Read Full Review >Cloudchaser
While it doesn't deliver the experience many were hoping for, there is very little wrong with this game.
Read Full Review >GamerWeb Nintendo
Exploring the mansion and capturing ghosts is an engrossing experience, despite being a tad light in the depth department.
Read Full Review >Eurogamer
A competent, atmospheric adventure and truly a new direction for the characters, but at this length it simply isnt worth the £35, let alone the cost of the console.
Read Full Review >IGN
What makes Luigi's Mansion so subpar, is the predictable, formulaic gameplay. I wonder what new, revolutionary gameplay Miyamoto-san thought he was hiding from everyone.
Read Full Review >Gamestyle
Potential tension is sorely lacking. However, the challengingly physical and rewarding nature of the actual ghost-catching sequences does go a way to make up for this.
Read Full Review >GMR Magazine
Like getting socks for Christmas, it's good and comfortable, but not what we wanted. [Feb 2003, p.96]
All Game Guide
Despite being a stunning title in many ways, with some unique gameplay to boot, Luigi's Mansion ultimately fails to deliver a cohesive gameplay experience over the long-term.
Read Full Review >netjak
This is an incredibly short game... and short lived. I'm all for games that are a romp to play, and is classic "renter" material. But, for their flagship release; I question the integrity of Nintendo.
Read Full Review >Adrenaline Vault
Despite stylish graphics and fun gameplay, the lack of any revolutionary concepts coupled with the short play time means potential buyers should pass up Luigi in favor of other GameCube launch titles.
Read Full Review >Cheat Code Central
If you are a Mario fan, you'll probably walk out of the store with this one anyway, just don't expect the second coming.
Cincinnati Enquirer
A lighthearted and humorous action/ adventure for younger players who will enjoy collecting coins and keys as well as exploring the mansion's many rooms.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this game is 7.7 (out of 10) based on 36 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Paul W gave it a9:
Luigi's Mansion remained one of the best demonstrations of the Cube's fire, lighting and water effects- in fact only the Resident Evil remake rivalled it in that respect. It's essentially Luigi being a 'Ghostbuster' in an old Resident Evil-type mansion, all in a cartoon style. The animations are charming, the game has lots of atmosphere, it achieves what it clearly sets out to do and, in that respect, it's superior to Super Mario Sunshine and The Wind Waker to me. It also seems to have been more successful than Rare's similar in some respects 'Grabbed by the ghoulies', which is also a charming looking game.
DivineStorm gave it an8:
This was one of the games I really enjoyed. It has nice graphics, sound and gameplay. Unfortunately, It doesn't last very long with its low replayabilty and the game is very short. However, I can still recommend the game to those who like adventure games and mario fans will probably going to love this one.
Melody gave it a9:
It's a very nice mansion. I just feel sorry for the ghosts that have got captured. I love the things about the mansion. The mansion is big and I love it! I wish they do a second game of it.
Mike H. gave it a10:
I truly enjoy this game. Its one of the best on the gamecube, in my opinion.
John P. gave it a10:
The best GameCube game I have ever played.
[Anonymous] gave it a 9:
Could use some improvement but it's pretty cool.
Ryan M. gave it a 1:
This game is absolute sh.t.
