Luigi's Mansion

Luigi's Mansion (Japanese: ルイージマンション) was a launch title for the Nintendo GameCube, released in September 2001. The game started its development cycle as a Nintendo 64 title, but the N64 version was eventually canceled near the end of the system's lifecycle. It also marks the second time where Luigi is the main character, with Mario playing a supporting role, the first being Mario is Missing!. Professor E. Gadd and King Boo are also introduced in this game.

The Study of Ghosts
Professor Elvin Gadd, informally known as E. Gadd, had been researching the paranormal from his lab since he was a young man. Though not stated in the actual game, it is shown in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time that he moved to Boo Woods to study ghosts after his lab at Thwomp Volcano was destroyed by the volcano's eruption. As a result of his research he discovered methods of capturing and containing previously invincible ghosts. Using the Poltergust 3000, a vacuum-like device, was Gadd's preferred method for capturing ghosts. After capturing them, he was able to use the advanced containment equipment in his lab. The most powerful of these methods was called portrification, made possible through the Ghost Portrificationizer. Portrification locks spirits inside paintings. In his younger years Elvin traveled Mushroom World finding rare or troublesome ghosts to study and add to the Gallery in his lab.

One such specter was Boolossus, a massive beast formed of many individual Boos. Gadd was able to turn him into a painting. Unfortunately, news of this occurrence reached King Boo, the leader of the Boos, and he set out to get exact revenge on the professor. After waiting many years, King Boo finally attacked the lab and released all of the Portrait Ghosts; E. Gadd remained unharmed during this attack. This gave King Boo an idea of what to do with two other people who had been fighting against the Boos for years: Mario and Luigi. King Boo created a mansion from thin air next to E. Gadd's lab and sent a message to Luigi, telling him he had won the mansion. One of the portrait ghosts, Vincent Van Gore, began painting small, less powerful ghosts and bringing them to life in order to assist King Boo.

Traveling to the Mansion
One day, Luigi was surprised to receive a message informing him of the results of a contest. The note read, "You've won a huge mansion!" Despite the fact that he had not even entered a contest, Luigi was so excited he decided to claim the prize. Calling his brother, Luigi said, "Mario? It's me, Luigi.  I won myself a big mansion!  Meet me there and we'll celebrate, what do you say?"

So, Luigi and Mario set off independently after one another into Boo Woods. Mario arrived at the mansion first, where he was quickly kidnapped by the ghosts. King Boo forced Mario through the Portrificationizer and hung the painting in the Secret Altar deep within the mansion. Having seen Mario enter the mansion, E. Gadd entered with his Poltergust 3000 on his back in order to investigate.

Luigi left for the mansion with only his flashlight and the map that arrived with the message, completely unaware of his brother's fate. Although the map showed a highly idealized version of the mysterious forest, he pressed onward along the path, eventually arriving at the spot circled on the map, which had an image of a beautiful house. Looking up, he saw his new mansion was actually a horrifying, menacing building illuminated by two bolts of lightning.

Luigi's Mansion
Gathering his wits about him, Luigi walked through the gate and up the steps of the mansion, shining his light through the door and meekly asking, "Hello?" before entering. Arriving in the Foyer, Luigi found the door on the first floor to be guarded by a strange grate and the two on the second floor to be locked. As he turned to leave, a Gold Ghost appeared, leaving a key for Luigi. Terrified, Luigi used the key to open the second story door to the Parlor, where a Gold Ghost appeared and slowly advanced on Luigi, who screamed and fell over onto his backside. Suddenly, Professor Elvin Gadd burst out of hiding and began sucking up the ghost with the Poltergust. The ghost resisted, dragging the aging professor around the room before turning around and sending him into a backwards somersault with a punch. Fearful, the ghost disappeared.

As E. Gadd recovered, he and Luigi introduced themselves, but were interrupted by the reappearance of the Ghost with two of his gold comrades. Luigi followed E. Gadd at a run back to his lab.

The Plan
Following the professor out of the house, they entered E. Gadd's underground lab, where Luigi introduced himself and his situation. The professor responded:

"'So your name's Luigi? I think our paths were destined to cross. Well met, Luigi.  Hmm?  Where's this, you ask?  Why, these cozy quarters are where I do my ghost-studying.  Professor E. Gadd's Ghost research laboratory!  The Lab, if you're of a shortening mind.  You won this mansion in a contest you didn't even enter?  Sounds pretty fishy to me...  So, you believe the mansion actually exists, then... Strange.  I've been living here since I was a lad of twenty or so, and I'll tell you: that mansion appeared just a few days ago!  The spirits have fooled you!  I don't know if it's a dream, an illusion, or what-all, but I surely wouldn't be too happy winning a haunted house!  Now that I get a look at you, I just recalled... A guy with a red hat kind of like yours went up to the mansion without even stopping to chat...and he never returned.  Was he a dream, too?  What?  That guy was your brother? Oh no! That's horrible! He wouldn't stand a chance against those ghosts without my help! You have to go after him! Here's the plan: I'll teach you to deal with ghosts so you can rescue your brother, Luigi.'"

Agreeing, Luigi began his training. Elvin lent him the Poltergust 3000 and the Game Boy Horror, a device with a variety of communication and ghost tracking functions. To catch ghosts, E. Gadd instructed him to shine his flashlight at the ghosts when they came in close, scaring them stiff momentarily. At this point, the ghosts' hearts appear, and Luigi can begin sucking them into the nozzle of the Poltergust. In order to win the tug-of-war that follows a ghost being pulled in by the slipstream, Luigi would have to wear out the ghost by swinging it around until its energy, or HP, depleted. At this point the ghost would be pulled effortlessly into the vacuum. To test Luigi on the concept, E. Gadd placed Luigi in an enclosed room where he slowly released ten of his captured Gold Ghosts from their prison. Luigi saw that ghosts had methods of fighting back beyond running away, and would attack him if he did not petrify them with his light fast enough. After this, E. Gadd allowed Luigi to view his Gallery before sending him on his way towards the ominous mansion.

Area 1
Luigi stepped from the lab, shaking and shivering with every pace as E. Gadd waved encouragingly. When he arrived at the front door of the mansion, he cautiously opened the door and entered the Foyer. To his surprise, he finds Toad sitting on the floor crying, "Boo hoo hoo! Where did you go, Mario?  Waaaaaah! Wah!" Luigi walked forward, and recognizing him, Toad stood up, relieved and cheerful. He then addressed Luigi:

"'Huh? Luigi? Waa... Wow!  It's Luigi!  You finally made it!  Oh, joy!  Thank goodness!  Me?  Well, Princess Peach asked me to come here to look for Mario.  He left when he heard that you'd won a mansion, and he never returned!  Th...then when I arrived here, the mansion was full of ghosts and I didn't see Mario anywhere, and I kind of freaked out a little, and I didn't know what to do!!  It's been awful!  Please, please, please, you HAVE to help me find Mario!  If he doesn't get back, you have no idea how upset the princess will be!  She'll flip!'"

With enthusiasm, Luigi responded, "Leave it to me!" to which Toad exclaimed, "Yay! Thanks, Luigi!  You made my dark and stormy night!" Then the electric lights in the room suddenly turn on, and Toad continues, "I wish I could do something to help you... Talk to me for help anytime!"

Luigi again found the Parlor to be the only unlocked room, so he entered it again. When no ghosts jumped out at him, Luigi began to explore with his Poltergust 3000, snuffing out the six purple flames coming from the candles in the process. With the room pitch-black, the portraits surrounding Luigi began to shake and emit voices. They warned him about dark areas, saying that ghosts are quite fond of them. After defeating the ghosts that appeared afterward Luigi continued on to the next room where he defeated more ghosts and was able to receive a key to another room after clearing the Anteroom and Wardrobe Room, which held a Speedy Spirit, of their ghost infestation. Receiving this key Luigi went back to the main room and used the key to unlock the door to the left. Right before entering this room E. Gadd used the G.B.H to tell Luigi that there were strong portrait ghosts ahead. After entering the hallway, Luigi entered the first door on the north, where he found the first Portrait Ghost, Neville, reading a book in the Study. Before Luigi faced the ghost though, he inspected Neville's chair which concealed a Speedy Spirit. After he captured the ghost, Luigi looked behind Neville's chair and saw a piece of cheese. By inspecting the food product, a Gold Mice appeared and tried to escape. The hero captured the golden mouse too. Neville attacked Luigi by throwing books at him. Once Luigi dodged the attack, the ghost would yawn. Unfortunately, Neville revealed his heart whenever he yawned. Luigi eventually defeated the ghost and obtained a key that led to the Master Bedroom, the last door to the north. In this room, he found Neville's wife, Lydia, combing her hair. After capturing the wife, a key to the Nursery. As Luigi exited the door, he heard the sounds of a baby's cry from the hall. The plumber entered the room and found a baby asleep. By moving the rocking horse next to the crib, Chauncey wanted to "play" with Luigi. After Luigi hits Chauncey, the baby becomes enraged and shrinks Luigi. Luigi dodged giant rocking horses, giant bouncy balls, and even the baby himself. However, Luigi was easily able to defeat the toddler and obtain the key to the next area. Before doing so, however, Professor E. Gadd warned Luigi that after catching a boss, the Poltergust was near explosion. Luigi went to the lab where he turned the ghosts back to portraits and was able to save.

Area 2
After entering the mansion again Luigi used the dropped boss key to open the door in the Foyer leading to Area 2. Luigi opened a door to find himself in a hallway. As Luigi ventured through Ceiling Surprises, Purple Bombers, Bowling Ghosts and Bats, he found the only door open led to the Bathroom. Inside, Luigi had to defeat a few Pink Grabbing Ghosts. After the dilemma, a key appeared, which led Luigi to the Ball Room. In this area, Luigi sucked up all 6 Shy Guy Ghosts and was able to reveal the portrait ghosts in the area, the Floating Whirlindas. After Luigi captured them, he was able to enter the Storage Room after obtaining the key. He defeated all the ghosts in this room and captured a Speedy Spirit during this mayhem. The room brightened and revealed a switch adjacent to the mirror. The plumber pressed this and revealed another area of the room. Luigi sucked up the poster on the other side to reveal another switch. The green-clad hero pressed the button and, unfortunately, released 50 Boos and their leader. E. Gadd calls Luigi and warns him that they were the exact same Boos that caught his brother.

On E. Gadd's suggestion, Luigi went back into the Main Area 2 hallway and found a small bathroom containing Toad who announces he'll help Luigi whenever he needs help and after finding a key in the room, Luigi sets out to open the next door. The next door is the Fortune-Teller's Room, and Luigi found that he can bring any lost items he finds to the fortune teller, Madame Clairvoya. He found a door in the room that leads to the Mirror Room. Here, Luigi had to defeat Turquoise Grabbing Ghosts. After the hero defeated them, got the Fire Elemental Medal, enabling his Poltreugust 3000 to spew fire after capturing a Fire Elemental Ghost. Luigi used a Fire Elemental Ghost to light all the candles in this room to open the shut door. Back in the Fortune-Tellers room, Luigi lit all the candles to get the key to the Butler's Room.

With his new Fire ability, Luigi found floating candles, held by Shivers, the butler, who has a crush on Melody Pianissima. Luigi lit the candles on fire and chased Shivers to his room. Shivers sat down on the chair, revealing his heart. Luigi sucked up the old butler and he got the key to Melody's room. Luigi also found Mario's cap in the Laundry Room before the Butler's room by checking the washing machine. Luigi went to Melody's room. Here, Luigi found some instruments. Luigi had to check all the instruments. The instruments play themselves to the Super Mario Bros. tune when they are all checked, revealing Melody on the piano. Melody plays the piano, and after doing a music trivia with Luigi, forced Luigi to have a battle with her Music sheets. Luigi sucked up the music sheets and revealed Melody's heart. He proceeded to suck up Melody, getting the key to the next area.

In the Dining Room, Mr. Luggs ate food. Luigi sucked up the food, but Mr. Luggs had waiters to bring him more food. After Luigi sucked up the waiters, he sucked up the rest of the food until there was none left. Mr. Luggs, angered, shot fireballs at Luigi, but eventually got tired. That is when Luigi vacuumed him up and revealed a chest filled with many treasures. Luigi went through the door to the Kitchen. By checking the fridge, Luigi discovers a Flash. By using the newly obtained fire element, Luigi defeats the Flas and earns a Water Elemental Medal. The medal enabled his vacuum to spit water after sucking up a Water Elemental Ghost. Luigi used the water from the sink to put out a fire, revealing a door.

Luigi went through the door to the Boneyard, where Spooky the dog was sleeping. Luigi woke up the dog and the dog went crazy, trying to attack the armed plumber. Mr. Bones then popped up telling Luigi to make the dog be quiet. Luigi used his vacuum to suck up Mr. Bones, but one of his Bones remained, which Spooky started licking, revealing his heart. Luigi then sucked up Spooky the Dog and also watered the seed near the faucet. Using Spooky's Doghouse, Luigi got to the other side of the door to the Graveyard. By examining a gravestone, three more Skeleton Ghosts emerged. Luigi eventually defeated these ghosts, causing the big gravestone to give off a creepy blue aura. When Luigi walks up to it, the Cemetery Ghost known as Bogmire then appears in front of Luigi, coming it with a bolt of lightning. He then suddenly warps Luigi to a mystifying area. Once there, Bogmire spawns other Bogmires by his shadow to attack Luigi. The objective is to vacuum up one of these shadows, which will cause them to turn into a ball, then shoot them at the real Bogmire, entrapping him. Depending on how big the shadows were, the player will have a period of time to shine their flashlight onto Bogmire and suck him up. After Bogmire is successfully beaten, Luigi is transported back to the cemetary, where a golden chest shines right in front of him. When the chest is opened, a green key to Area 3 comes out. Once collected, it prompts E. Gadd to call Luigi, who tells him to come back to the lab. After turning the Portrait Ghosts into portraits, Luigi overviews the past ghosts of Area 2 and is able to save. Luigi then heads to Area 3.

Area 3
Luigi then goes back into Area Two and walks all the way to the back of the hallway. The thorns on the door disappear and Luigi is able to enter it. Luigi opens the door and finds himself in the Courtyard. The Courtyard is a huge area outside with many plants and dead trees and even includes a well. Many ghosts lurk here including Ceiling Surprises and Purple Bombers. If Luigi manages to defeat all the ghosts here, the lights will turn on and a green chest filled with money and a white diamond will appear. The hero should also water the four plants around the fountain to get some money. Luigi notices a shed. He then proceeds to knock on it from the side because he will lose money and health if he opens it from the front. The plumber finds Toad who says that there is something scary in the well. Luigi climbs down the well and goes through a narrow tunnel.

At the end, he sticks his head out of a statue and looks around the room. He can vaguely see King Boo, but that's not the least of his worries. The green-clad hero notices his brother, who has been trapped in a painting and is demanding to get out. Luigi vows to free his brother. As he walks back, a Ceiling Surprise blocks the exit from the well. Using his handy vacuum, Luigi sucks up the ghost which drops a key. Luigi informs Toad about the news. Toad, both shocked and relieved, tells Luigi that Mario dropped five items and Madame Clairvoya can tell him how Mario was trapped in the painting.

Luigi then proceeds opens the door near the shed and enters the Rec Room where he sees the bodybuilding ghost, Biff Atlas, lifting a barbel. By inspecting a yellow machine in the lower right corner, Luigi will reveal a Speedy Spirit. After the plumber catches the poltergeist, he proceeds to punch a punching bag into Biff. Biff is hit and becomes angered, but after two more hits with the bags, he reveals his heart. The hero vacuums up the ghost and reveals a green chest filled with money and a diamond. By running on the treadmill to the left, Luigi will reveal a key. This key opens the door to the left of the Rec Room, making easy access to Area 2. Luigi went through the door he just opened and headed to the Dining Room. Once inside, he captured a fire element and headed back to the stairwell. Luigi climbed up the stairs and entered the door across from the stairwell.

There was hallway that is perpendicular to the one Luigi was walking on. Luigi headed south and entered the door to the right. Luigi was then inside the Astral Hall. Using the fire element, He lit all of the candles up and stood in the middle. Suddenly, a few Shy Guy Ghosts and Grabbing Ghosts appeared and attacked the ghost hunter. Luigi then defeated all of the enemies that appeared and gained access to the Observatory. In here, Luigi inspected the telescope, which triggered a short cut scene displaying the moon and after the cut scene, the walls of the room disappeared. The plumber headed to the right and captured a shooting star with his vacuum. He aims at the moon and fires the star, which makes the top half of the moon explode, revealing Mario's Star. A new pathway formed and Luigi got the item. After that, he headed back to the hallway and to the upper right hand corner into the Tea Room. He went to the back of the room and inspected the cheese to the left to reveal a Golden Mouse. After capturing the rodent, Luigi opened the green box to the right of the table. A Flash appeared. Luigi then used the fire element to defeat the ghost and the lights lit up. A treasure chest appeared on top of the table. By using the gravity pad to the right of the room, Luigi could walk on the ceiling where another gravity pad brought him down. Luigi obtained the Ice Elemental Medal. E. Gadd called Luigi and explained that with his new ice ability, he could defeat ghosts with water protecting their hearts and can also freeze water in general.

Luigi then exited the room and opened the door to the left. He continued walking to the left and up the hallway into the door to the right, avoiding two Sparks. Inside Nana's Room, Luigi saw Nana knitting a scarf. Before he caught her, however, Luigi revealed a Speedy Spirit hiding in a chair to the right of the couch. When Luigi caught the spirit, he knocked the balls of yarn off its stand. The green-clad hero sucked up one of the yarn and hit Nana with it. Nana retaliated by firing two lasers at the hero. After Nana was hit three times with the yarn, her heart was revealed. Luigi sucked up the ghost and the lights lit up. A key appeared, leading to the Twins room. Before going there, Luigi visited the Bathroom. Inside, Luigi noticed a ghost showering in the bathtub. Luigi brought the curtain back and shot the water with the ice element and the ghost sneezed and revealed her heart. Luigi vaccumed up the ghost and got a key to the Billards room. Now Luigi used Nana's key to go to the Twin's room. Luigi span around 2 toy helocopters, waking up 2 identical ghost wins, Henry and Orville. They played hide and seek, but Henry accused Luigi of cheating. So, Henry and Orville started attacking Luigi. One drove a race car and one used an airplane. Luigi vacuumed up the vehicles and then the ghost children. Luigi then found a chest containing Mario's shoe. Luigi then used the key he previously found in the Bathroom to get to the Billards room. Luigi saw the Lone Poolshark. Luigi shot pool balls at him and then vaccumed him up. He then went on to the Projection Room.

Storyline (plot summary)
Luigi, having won a mansion in a contest he didn't even enter, enters the Boo Woods and finds it. He enters the mansion and is soon attacked by ghosts, but Professor E. Gadd appears and fights off the ghosts. He tells Luigi that the mansion appeared out of thin air and is an illusion, and that Mario was captured by the ghosts. He trains Luigi to use his vacuum invention, the Poltergust 3000, to vacuum up ghosts, and that he had several ghosts captured and turned into portraits, but they were released by other ghosts.

Luigi enters the mansion, sucking up ghosts and finding keys, while meeting Toad along the way, until he encounters a portrait ghost, Neville. He defeats him, sucking him into the Poltergust. He does the same to Lydia, Neville's wife, and fights their baby, Chauncey, who sucks Luigi into his crib and fights him as a giant ghost, but is defeated and sucked into the Poltergust, which begins to get full, so Luigi returns to E. Gadd's lab and empties the Poltergust, turning Neville, Lydia, and Chauncey back into portraits. What becomes of the common ghosts is unknown.

Luigi enters another area through a previously blocked door and fights more ghosts. After defeating the Floating Whirlindas, he enters the Storage Room and hits a switch, which opens a trapdoor that 50 Boos and their leader, King Boo, are hiding in. All of them escape. Luigi returns to E. Gadd's lab and E. Gadd tells him that the Boos were the ones who released the portrait ghosts, and Luigi must capture the Boos to weaken their power, as they are stronger in greater number. So Luigi goes through the many rooms of the mansion, vacuuming up any Boos he sees. He also meets Madame Clairvoya, a fortune teller ghost, who tells him to bring her any of Mario's items he finds so she can get details on his whereabouts. The items are: Mario's hat, Mario's glove, Mario's shoe, Mario's letter and Mario's star. After sucking up Shivers the butler, Melody Pianissima, Mr. Luggs, and Spooky the dog, Luigi enters the Cemetery and fights the shadowy ghost, Bogmire. He defeats him and sucks him into the Poltergust, which he then empties at E. Gadd's lab to turn all the Portrait Ghosts into portraits.

Luigi enters a third area into the courtyard. Down the well, he sees into King Boo's altar, and discovers that King Boo has Mario imprisoned in a portrait. He goes through new rooms of the mansion, finding Mario's items and vacuuming up ghosts, including portrait ghosts Biff Atlas, Miss Petunia, Nana, Slim Bankshot, and twins Henry and Orville. After Luigi brings Madame Clairvoya enough of Mario's items, she tells him that she sees Bowser in a vision, which is shocking because Mario defeated Bowser, and she suspects that King Boo revived him. With her job done, she tells Luigi to suck her into the Poltergust so she can return peacefully to her portrait. After he does so, and defeats enough Boos, he enters the balcony and fights Boolossus, a big Boo made up of 15 Boos. He throws him into a spiky statue to split him into the 15 Boos and sucks them all into the Poltergust. He then empties the Poltergust at E. Gadd's lab to turn all the portrait ghosts, including Boolossus, into portraits.

When Luigi enters Area 4 in the attic, the mansion is suddenly struck by lightning and it goes dark. Luigi goes to the breaker room to turn the power back on, but finds it locked. Luigi looks for the key and soon encounters a ghost named Uncle Grimmly and defeats him to get the key. After he turns the power back on, he catches more Boos and portrait ghosts, including the Clockwork Soldiers, Sue Pea, Jarvis, and Sir Weston, before entering the room of Vincent Van Gore, one of the most prominent portrait ghosts who is painting regular ghosts. He sends several waves of ghosts after Luigi, but Luigi defeats them all, causing Van Gore to go into a state of depression, and Luigi sucks him into the Poltergust without much resistance. He then goes to the Secret Altar down a creepy hallway in the basement and encounters King Boo, who reveals that he was the one who told Luigi that he won the mansion in a contest, and set it up as revenge for all the trouble they caused him (though they may not have met him before, they have been fighting against Boos for years, plus King Boo works for Bowser). King Boo goes into Mario's portrait (which turns into a Bowser portrait) and sucks Luigi into it. In an arena resembling the roof of the mansion (and with a slight resemblance to the arena at the end of Super Mario 64), Luigi fights Bowser (as Madame Clairvoya had seen), but when he hits him in the head with a bomb, it is revealed to be King Boo in a Bowser costume. Luigi defeats King Boo and sucks him into the Poltergust.

Luigi returns to the lab and turns all the portrait ghosts, including King Boo, into portraits again. E. Gadd reverses the Portrificationizer to release Mario from his portrait. After Mario goes through getting electrocuted, squished, being swirled around in a shell structure full of water etc... He enters through some tubes and ends saying: "Oof!". Then Luigi walks up to the part where he puts his Poltergust 3000 in and says: "Mario?". Then Mario flies out of the tubes falling on his head. Luigi ends up falling but sitting. When Mario gets into a sitting position, Luigi gets a well deserved laugh, after seeing a frame around his brother's neck. Since King Boo has been defeated, his illusion of a mansion fades away, though the money and jewels Luigi collected in the mansion was real, and with it he gets a new mansion or house. But if Luigi gets H rank, he can only get a tent.

Controls
Luigi's Mansion has some interesting controls that shaped the Nintendo GameCube controller (according to interviews in the Nintendo Players' Guide) The Poltergust 3000 is controlled by pressing and holding the R button. When the ghost(s) are being sucked, the player must tug the control stick in the opposite direction of the nozzle to take away HP. The player can move only the Poltergust but not Luigi with the C stick, most helpful in capturing the sneaky Boos.

The A button examines objects or makes Luigi call out for Mario (he'll sound increasingly distressed as his health goes down). The B button controls Luigi's flashlight in dark areas. Ghosts are naturally afraid of the light, and will freeze for a short time when Luigi points the flashlight at them. The trick to capturing ghosts is holding the B button to turn off the flashlight, then allowing the ghosts to come close, then releasing B. The ghosts stop right in front of the Poltergust, where the player can now suck them up with R. Finally, the L button emits an element once an Elemental Medal is collected. The X, Y, and Z buttons bring up the Game Boy Horror's different modes.

There is also the option to switch the control stick to either "standard" or "sidestep" mode. In standard mode, Luigi will turn to face a direction before walking in that direction. In sidestep mode, Luigi won't turn to face a direction before walking that way. In both modes, the c-stick is then used to change the direction he's facing manually. No matter what mode the player chooses, Luigi uses sidestep mode controls while vacuuming.

Portrait Ghosts
In his exploits, Luigi captures up to twenty-three gallery ghosts (five are optional). These ghosts (excluding the third and the final/fourth boss) have 100 HP, but their hearts are not automatically shown like other ghosts: Luigi must find each ghost's weakness before he can suck them up. The following are listed in order of appearance appear in the game:

Area Two
Note: Although Luigi first meets Madame Clairvoya in Area Two, he captures her after he begins Area Three.

The Boos


There are fifty one (including King Boo) Boos that hide in the various rooms of the mansion. Thirty-five of these are named to differentiate between them, and the remaining fifteen make up the third Boss of the game, Boolossus. The magic of the King Boo's spells increase based on the number of his minions nearby. Because of this, Luigi needed to capture twenty Boos to break the seal designed to block Boolossus from him. After capturing twenty more, the seal separating Luigi from King Boo was broken. If Luigi catches all fifty Boos, he will be rewarded will the extremely valuable Gold Diamond. Each of the Boos' names are puns. For example, "Booigi" is a pun on "Luigi" and "Game Boo" is a nod to the Game Boy.

Common Ghosts

 * Bat
 * Blue Blaze
 * Blue Mouse
 * Blue Twirler
 * Bowling Ghost
 * Ceiling Surprise
 * Flash
 * Flying Fish
 * Garbage Can Ghost
 * Grabbing Ghost
 * Gold Ghost
 * Gold Mouse
 * Purple Bomber
 * Purple Puncher
 * Purple Mouse
 * Shy Guy
 * Skeleton Ghost
 * Spark
 * Speedy Spirit
 * Temper Terror
 * Waiter

Other Spooks

 * Bogmire Shadow
 * Fire Elemental Ghost
 * Ice Elemental Ghost
 * Trapdoor
 * Water Elemental Ghost

The Money

 * Gold Coin - 5,000G
 * Bill - 20,000 G
 * Gold Bar - 100,000G
 * Blue Jewel - 500,000G
 * Green Jewel - 800,000G
 * Red Jewel - 1,000,000G
 * Silver Diamond - 2,000,000G
 * Red Diamond/King Boo's Crown - 5,000G
 * Gold Diamond - 20,000,000G
 * Small Pearl - 50,000G
 * Medium Pearl - 100,000G
 * Big Pearl - 1,000,000G

Professor E. Gadd's Gallery
Professor E. Gadd had trapped the Portrait Ghosts into paintings during his past ghost adventures and put them for display in his personal gallery – until King Boo released each of them. As Luigi recaptures gallery ghosts, they will be framed in three colors: bronze, silver, or gold. The color depends on how much HP (out of 100 for each non-boss gallery ghost) Luigi sucks in one try, which produce pearls:


 * Bronze. Only small pearls, which Luigi earns one for every 10 HP sucked at once. The portrait ghost itself is poor in quality.
 * Silver. At least one medium pearl, which the ghost gives up for every 50 HP sucked and every 10 after. So for 60, 70, and 80 HP at once, Luigi earns another medium pearl. The portrait ghost is shown in better quality. 90 is reserved for...
 * Gold. The only big pearl possible is given up if Luigi can suck 90 HP in one turn. The quality of the portrait ghost is most often just what it looked like when Luigi captured it.

If Luigi sucks all 100 HP at once, no extra pearl is awarded, but he made capturing a Portrait Ghost a lot easier. The max amount of money to be gained per Portrait Ghost is 1,600,000G: 4 small pearls, 4 medium pearls and 1 big pearl.

Boss gallery ghosts' (Chauncey, Bogmire, Boolossus, and King Boo) frames and quality are determined by how high Luigi's health is after capturing the ghost. Luigi must enter the battle at full health (100) if he wishes to have a chance to receive a gold frame, it won't do if he doesn't take damage but started out at 50 HP (that's a bronze frame). To gain a gold frame Luigi's health must not decline below 90.

Luigi's New Mansion
All the money Luigi collects in his adventure is used to build a new mansion on top of the old one. The more money he collects from treasure rooms, watering plants, catching Portrait Ghosts and examining furniture, the better the mansion will be (it will be a large / small house in the lower ranks). The house will become a painting at the front of the Gallery, with Luigi's total money on the bottom-left corner. The message will be "Welcome to Luigi's NEW Mansion!" unless Luigi achieved Rank A or H. The requirement to achieve Rank A was increased significantly during localization for PAL regions, hence the two values given for Rank A below.


 * Rank A: Finish the game with over 100,000,000G or 150,000,000G. + Message: Congratulations! Your mansion is complete!
 * Rank B: Finish the game with 70,000,001 to 100,000,000G.
 * Rank C: Finish the game with 60,000,001 to 70,000,000G.
 * Rank D: Finish the game with 50,000,001 to 60,000,000G.
 * Rank E: Finish the game with 40,000,001 to 50,000,000G.
 * Rank F: Finish the game with 20,000,001 to 40,000,000G.
 * Rank G: Finish the game with 5,000,001 to 20,000,000G.
 * Rank H: Finish the game with 5,000 to 5,000,000G. + The haunted mansion disappeared without a trace...

Oddly enough, it may be considered more difficult to achieve Rank H than Rank A, as Luigi will usually collect more than 5,000,000G without actively trying to get money. Thus, the player must work to avoid money if he or she wishes to achieve rank H.

It should be noted that the Rank A Mansion appears at the side of Luigi Circuit in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.

Hidden Mansion
Once the player beats the game once, the quest can be tried over again in the normal mansion or the "Hidden Mansion". It is the same gameplay, except for two things: a) Ghosts (including Boos) give double the damage to Luigi, b) The Poltergust 3000 has 1.5 times more power. This can help get more pearls, which means more money and nicer frames. One could say this is the hard mode of Luigi's Mansion.

PAL Differences
The PAL version of Luigi's Mansion (Europe and Australia) increased the number of changes for the Hidden Mansion than the NTSC (Japan and US, the first countries to get the game) version:


 * The PAL Hidden Mansion is mirrored from left to right when compared to the Normal Mansion. The NTSC version keeps the layout the same.
 * There are more normal ghosts around the mansion.
 * Bosses are harder, having different attacks (Chauncey's rocking horses, for example, are much bigger, and swerve left to right instead of going straight). A major change in the Boolossus battle is that the player rides around on the vacuum cleaner while trying to pop Boolossus, making movement more slippery.
 * Rooms are much darker in the PAL version; this, however, is only as dark as in the NTSC version of both mansions, the normal PAL mansion being lighter.
 * Most Boos have more HP in the PAL version, although some have less, and some of the Boos' HP(s) do not change.
 * Fewer hearts. Locations that always had hearts in the Normal Mansion no longer have them. Hearts that heal 50 HP no longer exist.
 * Speedy Spirits and Gold Mice always give up a Silver Diamond when caught, raising the maximum possible amount of money from 142,390,000G to 192,390,000G. Since the requirement to achieve a Rank A mansion in PAL regions is higher than the amount of money in the normal mansion, it is necessary to play through the hidden mansion to receive Rank A in those regions.
 * 45 rather than 40 Boos are required to fight the final boss.
 * Boos are, in general, more agile and harder to catch.
 * Five, rather than three ghosts each, fight Luigi in The Artist's Studio.

These changes were made after American and Japanese gamers complained that the Hidden Mansion offered virtually no changes. Shigeru Miyamoto himself thought up some things to add to the PAL version's Hidden Mansion. Most of the changes made seem to make the PAL version harder than the NTSC version.

Gallery
For pictures, see this subject's gallery.

References to Other Games

 * Mario Bros. and Super Mario World: Both games were mentioned during Melody's quiz.
 * Super Mario Bros.: One of the songs that Melody plays on her piano is a remix of the underwater stage theme. Also, the Luigi sprite shown on the Game Boy Horror is a sprite from the Super Mario All-Stars version of the game. The game's aboveground stage theme is played if Luigi checks all instruments in the Conservatory, and the underground theme is played during a part of the credits.
 * Super Mario Bros. 3: One of the other songs played on Melody's piano is a remix of the grass stage theme.
 * Super Mario 64: When talking to Toad, a remix of the theme heard when talking to Toads in Super Mario 64 is played. Several other sound effects were taken from this game as well.
 * Paper Mario: Although this reference was lost during translation, one of Neville's books (in the Japanese version) is titled "Mario Story" which is both Paper Mario's Japanese title and the title of the book Herringway wrote about the game's story also in the Japanese version.

References in Later Games

 * Super Smash Bros. Melee: There was a Luigi's Mansion trophy, where Luigi was using the Poltergust 3000.
 * Super Mario Sunshine: A Boo-based boss in this game is named King Boo in the English version, though the character is otherwise unrelated to the antagonist from Luigi's Mansion. Also, E. Gadd is said to have invented F.L.U.D.D. and Bowser Jr.'s magic brush, and is mentioned by Bowser Jr. as "a strange old man in a white coat". A guest in the level, Sirena Beach wishes that someone would suck up these ghosts with a vacuum.
 * Mario Kart: Double Dash!!: Luigi's Mansion appears as an unlockable battle course in this game. King Boo also appears as an unlockable playable character. Several of the Portrait Ghosts appear in the main area, including King Boo's gold frame.
 * Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga: Professor E. Gadd makes a cameo appearance, and Luigi occasionally takes out the Poltergust 3000. A few of the ghosts appear in the Starbeans Café and are vacuumed by E. Gadd, while the Luigi's Mansion theme plays.
 * Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door: When Luigi appears in the audience, he would occasionally have the Poltergust 3000 on his back. It does not effect anything in-game, though.
 * Super Mario 64 DS: King Boo appeared as a boss in this game. There was also a mini-game in the Rec Room that was based off of Luigi's Mansion called Hide and Boo Seek, where Luigi had to find a certain amount of Boos in the darkness by scribbling out the black to reveal them.
 * Super Princess Peach: King Boo appears again as a boss, and is destroyed again upon being defeated by Peach.
 * Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time: Professor E. Gadd appears again, and has a more major role than in the previous game. In addition, when the Mario Bros. travel into the past, they meet the younger E. Gadd whose lab is destroyed by a volcanic eruption, and he says he will set up a new lab in Boo Woods, foreshadowing Luigi's Mansion.
 * Mario Hoops 3-on-3: Luigi's Mansion appears as a basketball court, where the ghosts from Luigi's Mansion fly around trying to grab the basketball.
 * Mario Kart DS: Luigi's Mansion is a race course in this game. Plus, the Poltergust 4000 (based on the Poltergust 3000) was Luigi's first character-specific kart.
 * Mario Party 8: The ghosts from Luigi's Mansion re-appear in the mini-game (which may be somewhat based on Luigi's Mansion) Specter Inspector.
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl: Luigi's Mansion also appears as an unlockable stage and trophy in this game.
 * Super Paper Mario: The main foyer of the mansion appears to be the location of the Mansion Patrol arcade game.
 * Super Mario Galaxy: Luigi appears in the Ghostly Galaxy after being kidnapped by the ghost Bouldergeist, and Mario must save his brother. This is the exact opposite of what happens in Luigi's Mansion.

Trivia

 * Some rooms of this game have cheese in them; this cheese is used to summon Gold Mice. Nintendo published the Rare, Ltd. game Perfect Dark, in which wedges of cheese also appeared.  These were easter eggs rather than elements of gameplay.
 * The ending of this game is similar to the endings of the Wario Land series; The more treasures collected, the more beautiful the prize at the ending (in this case, the mansion).
 * The start of the music played on the press start screen is a remix of the tune that plays when the game is started in Donkey Kong.
 * A mistake on Page 30 of the US edition of the Luigi's Mansion instruction booklet shows Professor E. Gadd speaking in Japanese.
 * This game has dialogue from every character, including Mario & Luigi.
 * Totaka's theme can be heard by going to the Training Room and waiting at the tutorial screen, (the one where Luigi learns how to use the Poltergeist) for 3 minutes and 15 seconds.
 * Oddly enough, this game was released in the U.S. exactly one day before the release of the Ninendo Gamecube.