The year was 2001. After years of playing second fiddle to his more famous, red-hatted brother, Luigi finally got his own game on the shiny new Nintendo GameCube. It wasn’t a platformer, it was a bizarre, spooky, and brilliant action-adventure game that swapped stomping Goombas for vacuuming up ghouls: Luigi’s Mansion.
This game was a refreshing and unexpected twist on the Mario universe, and it remains a cult favourite for good reason — which is probably why it’s not available to play on the Nintendo Switch 2.
The most unwelcome housewarming party ever
The story starts on a high note for our perpetually anxious hero. Luigi gets the unexpected news that he’s won a huge mansion in a contest he didn’t even remember entering. Overjoyed, he immediately calls up Mario and invites him to celebrate the exciting news.
But when Luigi arrives at the suspiciously massive and frightening estate—where Mario was supposed to have gotten there first—he finds the place empty and is immediately ambushed by a ghost!
Luckily, he’s saved from peril by the eccentric inventor Professor E. Gadd. After Luigi expresses his panic that Mario is nowhere to be found, the good professor reveals he has the perfect tools for the occasion.
Armed with a vacuum and a Game Boy
To brave the spooky halls and find his brother, Luigi is kitted out with two essential gadgets that define the game’s unique mechanics:
- The Poltergust 3000: A powerful vacuum cleaner built for one thing—sucking up spectral nuisances. This is the weapon you use to battle the mansion’s ghostly inhabitants.
- The Game Boy Horror: This handy, green-cased device, gifted by the professor, acts as your map, clue tracker, and communication hub, proving that even a ghost hunter needs a little vintage tech.
The core loop of the game is simple, yet intensely satisfying: you explore the mansion’s frightening rooms, solve environmental puzzles, and engage in ghostly combat.
I never played this game, and as a latecomer to the world of Nintendo, wasn’t aware that Luigi had his own games until recently. From some brief research, I understand that the key to subduing a spirit is timing and technique. You first need to shine your flashlight on a ghost to surprise and stun them. Once they are exposed, you activate the Poltergust 3000 and begin the arduous process of draining their spectral energy.
(I mean, this doesn’t sound all that different to Ghostbusters on the C64, but…)
When ghosts struggle and try to run away, the trick is to quickly tilt the control stick in the opposite direction and back again repeatedly to weaken them
Play Luigi’s Mansion now on Nintendo Switch 2
While you might be thinking this classic is restricted to old hardware, the original Luigi’s Mansion is now available to play on the Nintendo Switch 2 system. The game was recently added to the Nintendo GameCube – Nintendo Classics library, which is accessible to subscribers of the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service.
Are you more of a Poltergust person or a jump-and-stomp purist? And are you ready to face the ghosts of the GameCube era on your Switch 2?
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Christian Cawley is the founder and editor of GamingRetro.co.uk, a website dedicated to classic and retro gaming. With over 20 years of experience writing for technology and gaming publications, he brings considerable expertise and a lifelong passion for interactive entertainment, particularly games from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras.
Christian has written for leading outlets including TechRadar, Computer Weekly, Linux Format, and MakeUseOf, where he also served as Deputy Editor.
When he’s not exploring vintage consoles or retro PCs, Christian enjoys building with LEGO, playing cigar box guitar, and experimenting in the kitchen.
