Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon Review

It turns out plumbers can not only save princesses, but also be Ghostbusters.

Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon for the 3DS is a sequel to the original Luigi’s Mansion from the Gamecube back in 2001 on the Gamecube as a launch title. The game starts off with the brilliant, and perhaps crazy, Professor E. Gadd who is studying paranormal activity in Evershade Valley. He studies with a group of friendly ghosts, until they start to go hostile. It’s soon discovered that their change is linked to the Dark Moon than hangs over the valley,  that was broken into shards by an unknown perpetrator. Professor E. Gadd once again employees the help of Luigi to pick up a flashlight and ghost-sucking- vacuum once more to discover the mystery of Evershade Valley and return the Dark Moon to normal. And by employ I mean take Luigi from his nice safe house to his lab via television portal.

This action/adventure game has a simple set up. The player controls Mario’s brother, Luigi, as he travels through five haunted mansion defeating ghosts and solving puzzles to progress. In order to capture ghosts, Luigi has to stun the ghosts with his flashlight, and then use the vacuum to suck them up. Players have to move in the opposite direction of the ghost trying to escape the ghost sucking vaccum in order to bring down their health. Every single type of ghost is different leading to all kinds of different strategies to fighting ghosts. For example, some ghosts will show up with sunglasses, making it impossible to stun then. Therefore Luigi has to suck the sunglasses off before he can stun them. Other ghosts can attempt to attack Luigi, and only after evading an attack and they become tired out are the open to being sucked in. Along the way to traverse through each room, Luigi will have to solve a number of puzzles to unlock rooms as well discover clues to what he searching for.

Progression in the game departs from the formula of the original game. There are five mansions instead of just one large one. Each mansion is also divided up into a series of missions. Each mission provides a different goal as each mission slowly opens more parts of each mansion. It breaks up gameplay, and the game automatically saves only once upon completing a mission. This is very different compared to the original where the player wandered around a very large mansion filled with rooms having to go back and forth continuously with Toads scattered through the mansion that would save the game for you. While the player will collect cash just like in the original, in “Dark Moon” the player receives upgrades when reaching certain amounts of money, which gives much more incentive for gathering up cash as quick as possible.

The exploration of each mansion is just good fun as each one has a different theme leading to all kinds of exploration. From the icy underground caverns of one mansion, to the sandy relics of an old factory. Each new room offers new ways to explore as well as new items and upgrades to help along the way.

However one problem that stood out at first where the controls. Several times it’s easy to get X mixed up with Y, and often times you’ll perform the wrong action causing you to lose a ghost or get hurt doing do. However the largest flaw at times can be the vacuum control. Once the vaccum starts sucking up ghosts, Luigi has to change direction based on where the ghost is traveling so he can rope them in faster. However it is nearly impossible to rotate Luigi, only move him. This gets very annoying when locked within close corridors, which happens very often. So it’s very important to figure out one’s surroundings before going after the ghosts.

If anything gets major points though, it’s the boss battles that happen within the game. Each one is unique and creative. At most times it brings in a completely new element of catching ghosts making the player think on their feet which is a very fun challenge. While at times its funny causing the player to laugh, it’s also knowing that the game is presenting a challenge. So it’s very safe to say that the game keeps you on your toes. 

An interesting addition to the game is multiplayer. The multiplayer is called ScareScraper where players connect over the internet and challenge others to a series of levels in a tower with different modes. One mode is just simply clear all of the ghosts off every floor as quick as possible. However gets the most points, wins. A different mode has players chase after a Polterpup (a ghost dog) that players will have to scan floors for clues to its whereabouts.  While it is impossible to verbal communicate to players over the 3DS, with the directional buttons players can select a few phrases Luigi to talk to teammates such as “Help! Help!” or “Good Job!” With a variety of modes and difficulty levels, ScareScraper is something that can be played over and over again and not get bored of.

Playing “Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon” has been a fun and rewarding experience. At times the puzzles can be a little more than challenging, and several different varieties of ghosts keep up the intensity. However if players want they can simply go back and replay previous missions. This allows them to find more cash or possibly find hidden secrets. There is a hidden Boo in every mission in the game, and once finding every boo in a mansion, a new secret mission unlocks. It’s satisfying to see a game in the original idea that to get new levels, players have to earn their way to get it instead of having to put out some cash for DLC.

Total Rating: 92/100

Fire Emblem: Awakening Review

Review was originally written in Early March 2013

It’s very rare to find a game where you can’t stop playing just because you want more and more.

The Fire Emblem series is a strategy RPG that has been around since the original Nintendo system in Japan and still continues to date in its latest installment. However out of the 13 games of the series, only 6 have been released internationally. Over time the series has been growing popular internationally. With the release of Awakening, Nintendo actually had problems shipping the first day of release in the States due to the overwhelming amount of pre-orders to be filled. This caused most copies of the game to be delayed for a few days before owners could play the new title.

You begin the game by creating your own character who wakes up in field with amnesia. You are taken in by Chrom, the prince of the fictional Halidom Ylisse and leader of the Shepherds. He lets you join the Shepherds, a group of fighters sworn to protect the innocent after you prove to be a skilled tactician. The plot follows Chrom, yourself, and the Shepherds as they go through many battle against invading kingdoms and mysterious creatures that have risen from the ground known as Risen. Every battle will bring the characters in your army closer as you can recruit certain units on and off the battlefield, making your numbers grow. The plot goes over 30+ chapters as characters go through war, betrayal, love, time travel, and ancient dragons rising to power.

Gameplay happens on a number of different maps, divided into a grid structure, each unit taking one space. On a player’s turn, the player can tell each individual unit on where to move and if to attack enemy units or to support fellow soldiers. When a player moves all their units or decide to do nothing more, the enemy takes its turn and follows suit. Characters wield swords, axes, bows, lances, magic, staffs, dragons, and many other forms of combat. Certain weapons have an advantage over one another. Sword beats ax, ax beats lance, and lance beats sword like rock, paper, scissors. Each unit has different advantages and disadvantages. This puts the strategy in the game as the player must decide who will go into battle and where they will move. 

One of the big assets of combat is having two characters positioned next to each other, as they can boost each others attacks and defenses in battle. Doing so repetitively will increase the chance of them helping as well as the characters growing relationships with one another. If two characters really work together well, they can even become married. And through a plot device involving time travel, that couple’s child can also join forces and fight besides them.

Fire Emblem Awakening has only one flaw and that the difficulty curve goes up very fast. The first five chapters may seem easy but the enemies get stronger and stronger. And if you lose a unit in battle, they are dead for the rest of the game and can never return. Unless you choose to play on the new Casual setting which lets units come back after said battle. 

Overall Fire Emblem: Awakening is possibly the best RPG the 3DS has ever had at the time. Players will find themselves one moment planning attacks, to buying new upgrades and weapons, and then playing match maker. The player feels for all the characters, cheering them on in victory to mourning the loss of a friend. And then if players want more they can purchases additional maps to play through Nintendo’s eShop. Fire Emblem: Awakening is a must for any 3DS owner.

5/5 Stars

Additional Notes Since Original Review:

The game is definitely still fun and something I often keep going back to on my 3DS. I finally got to try out the multiplayer aspect, which is playing with one friend with the game locally and taking your units together to pair up to fight a series of enemies. While it is disappointing not to play on maps against each other (but you could say that's what the Street Pass of others teams). However just like the game, the difficulty curve ramps up very quickly in the challenges. On a side note, the difficulty settings in Fire Emblem get VERY ridiculous hard, and are there for those who are dedicated to the game. Still a must buy in my opinion.