| Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon | |
|---|---|
.png) North American packaging artwork | |
| Developer(s) | Next Level Games[a] |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Director(s) | Bryce Holliday |
| Producer(s) |
|
| Designer(s) | Jason Carr |
| Programmer(s) | David Catlin |
| Artist(s) | Neil Singh |
| Writer(s) | Eric Smith |
| Composer(s) | Chad York Darren Radtke Mike Peacock |
| Series | Luigi's Mansion |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | Nintendo 3DSNintendo Switch
|
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (known as Luigi's Mansion 2[b] in Japan, Australia and Europe) is a 2013 action-adventure video game developed by Next Level Games and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. It is the sequel to the 2001 Nintendo GameCube game Luigi's Mansion, and the third Mario franchise game where Luigi plays the lead role instead of the usual protagonist, Mario. The story follows Luigi as he explores a series of mansions in Evershade Valley, capturing ghosts using a specialized vacuum cleaner invented by Professor E. Gadd. In order to restore peace to Evershade Valley, Luigi must collect the pieces of the Dark Moon and recapture the main antagonist, King Boo.
In Dark Moon, the player controls Luigi, who captures ghosts using a vacuum cleaner called the Poltergust 5000. In the single-player mode, the goal is to rescue Mario from King Boo and retrieve the shattered shards of the Dark Moon, a magical object that can pacify the ghosts of Evershade Valley. Exploration is divided into five unique mansions, which are each split into multiple mission-based levels containing obstacles and puzzles. The Poltergust 5000 is equipped with features to capture ghosts and solve puzzles. Dark Moon also offers a cooperative multiplayer mode that can be played locally or online via the Nintendo Network on the Nintendo 3DS or via Nintendo Switch Online in the Nintendo Switch remaster.
After a failed attempt to create a glasses-free 3D variant of the original Luigi's Mansion on the GameCube, the Luigi's Mansion series would remain dormant for roughly a decade. Dark Moon was outsourced to Next Level Games, a company that had worked on Nintendo titles in the past. Shigeru Miyamoto and select Nintendo employees supervised the project, but overall were hands-off with the project. The overall design goal was to create diverse experiences for the player, exploring how each game element could be used to its fullest. Many of these elements were altered to conform to the technology of the Nintendo 3DS, such as its dual screens and 3D capabilities.
Dark Moon was announced at E3 2011, with further details revealed throughout 2012. When the game was delayed into 2013, Nintendo decided to promote the game as part of a "Year of Luigi", with additional Luigi-themed games and merchandise announced for the character's 30th anniversary. Dark Moon released in Japan on March 20, 2013, with other regional releases later that same month. The game received generally positive reviews from critics, praising its graphics, worldbuilding, and new features, while also attracting criticism for its mission-based structure and lack of checkpoints. The game was nominated for several awards, and sold 6.44 million copies as of December 2020, making it one of the bestselling video games for the Nintendo 3DS. An arcade cabinet based on Dark Moon's assets, titled Luigi's Mansion Arcade, was released to arcades worldwide on June 18, 2015. A third entry in the series, titled Luigi's Mansion 3, was released worldwide on October 31, 2019, for the Nintendo Switch. A remaster of Dark Moon, titled Luigi's Mansion 2 HD, was released on the Nintendo Switch on June 27, 2024.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).