Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, known internationally as Luigi's Mansion 2 (ルイージマンション2 Ruīji Manshon 2, lit. Luigi Mansion 2), is a Nintendo 3DS game that serves as the sequel to Luigi's Mansion, a Nintendo GameCube launch title. The game was released on March 20th in Japan, and will be released in North America on March 24, and Europe and Australia on the March 28, 2013, but on March 27 in other selected countries in Europe. The game is also being planned for release in Hong Kong.

Story
Professor E. Gadd has been researching ghosts in Evershade Valley, with some assistance from his friendly Greenies. When King Boo appears and shatters the Dark Moon, breaking it into six pieces and scattering them to each Mansion of the valley, the once friendly ghosts become aggressive.

Luigi, who is at home sleeping with his TV on, wakes up when E. Gadd suddenly appears on his TV screen. He informs Luigi about the situation and ask for his assistance. E. Gadd uses his Pixelator to teleport Luigi through the screen, much to Luigi's objections, into E. Gadd's Safe Room in the Evershade Valley to search for the scattered pieces of the Dark Moon and solve this problem.

Gameplay
In this game, the Dark Moon has shattered and Luigi needs to find the Dark Moon pieces. So far six mansions have been confirmed (with one mansion being exclusive to multiplayer mode.), which will have multiple missions each in them. This game also introduces the Poltergust 5000, an upgrade to the 3000 model. Shining light via flashlight is no longer sufficient to stun all the ghosts in the game; players now need to activate the Strobulb to stun ghosts. Luigi is also now able to jump while capturing a ghost to dodge incoming projectiles. The Flash Light has another feature called Dark-Light, which will shine a rainbow colored light to find things such as the path of Boos or invisible objects. Luigi will also be given the Dual Scream, which is an original Nintendo DS. It will act the same way as the Game Boy Horror and will display a map on the 3DS's bottom screen. Cash and gems help with the mission score, as well as with upgrades to the Poltergust 5000. There is also an "extra life" system. The Gold Dog Bones will serve as extra lives; this will cause a Polterpup to take the bone and revive Luigi just by licking his face when Luigi loses all of his HP. Luigi can still yell using the D-pad, as well as hum with the music if standing still for a while. The various Toads that are trapped in paintings, in the game each have a different phobia which requires more problem solving. There is a Boo in each mission that when captured works towards an unknown item. The game is said to be a lot more puzzle-oriented.

ScareScraper
Unlike its predecessor, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon includes a multiplayer mode called the ScareScraper (known as Thrill Tower in European and Australian versions), a series of floors where up to four players can play. The ScareScraper may have a chosen amount of rooms. They are 5, 10, 25, infinite. There is also 3 difficulty settings option namely normal, hard and expert. Along with being local multiplayer, it is also online multiplayer. There are at least four modes confirmed, these include:
 * Hunter Mode - Players will need to capture all the ghosts in order to advance to the next floor.
 * Rush Mode - Players will need to reach the hatch within the allotted time.
 * Polterpup Mode - Players will need to chase down and capture all the Polterpups.
 * Surprise Mode - A combination of Hunter, Rush and Polterpup mode.

Protagonists

 * Luigi

Supporting
It should also be noted that Mario is referenced by a Blue Toad in the game.
 * Professor E. Gadd
 * Toad
 * Toads (Blue & Yellow)

Species

 * Boos
 * Ghosts
 * Polterpups

Locations
Unlike the first game, where there was only one mansion, Dark Moon features different themed mansions that Luigi can explore, thanks to E. Gadd's Pixelator teleport system. The game has six mansions in total (one mansion is exclusive to Multiplayer), each with a theme in a similar fashion to the mainstream Mario games, as well as a various number of missions within each mansion.

Mansions

 * Gloomy Manor - A standard mansion (Similar to the mansion in the first game). (Plains)
 * Haunted Towers A greenhouse mansion built around a giant tree. (Forest)
 * Old Clockworks - A clockwork mansion in a desert environment. (Desert)
 * Secret Mine - A snowy mansion built near a abandoned mine. (Snow)
 * A fifth mansion which is presumably King Boo's main hideout in the game. It also has a muesum theme.

Other

 * ScareScraper (Thrill Tower in European and Australian versions) - A Multiplayer-exclusive mansion.
 * Safe Room - E. Gadd's Lab.

Items and Treasures

 * Coins
 * Bills
 * Treasure Chests
 * Keys
 * Gold Bars
 * Hearts
 * Dark Moon pieces
 * Gold Dog Bones. They will serve as extra lives and a Polterpup will take one and revive Luigi when his HP is depleted.
 * "New Amethyst"
 * "New Sapphire"

Enemies
(Some Ghosts have sunglasses which protect them from the strobe light. The sunglasses must be vacuumed before capture.)
 * Greenie (ルノーマ, Runōma) - A green ghost with 10 HP. (May appear in different forms. Examples are, one has a pan on its head and is holding a rolling pin and others may appear with sunglasses)
 * Slammer (ルブリー, Ruburī) - A red, burly ghost with 30 HP.
 * Hider (ルハイド, Ruhaido) - A blue poltergeist ghost with 15 HP. It will throw anything it can find at Luigi.
 * Gobber (ルゴーバ, Rugōma) - An obese yellow ghost with 100 HP. It will throw paranormal goo at Luigi.
 * Trapdoor
 * Boos
 * Polterpups - White ghost dogs. One will revive Luigi, if his HP is depleted, and take one Gold Dog Bone from Luigi, if any at all. Some also appear as enemies in Scarescraper.
 * Mummy-like ghosts which rise from the ground.
 * Suits of armor which attack with their swords if Luigi goes near them.
 * Spiders (red, gold, purple, and brown).
 * Gates that are similar to the vines that block doors from the original Luigi's Mansion. Unlike the vines, though, the gates block not just doors but also paths like the middle of a stairway.
 * A gold ghost. It seems to be the golden version of a green ghost. Appears to be playing hockey and one is found in a mirror. Yields a large amount of money when vacuumed in similar to Gold Mice and Speedy Spirits.
 * Robotic-like bombs. Can be activated and deactivated by the strobe light
 * Carnivorous plants that resembles Venus flytraps.
 * Purple gelatinous ghosts that can engulf Luigi inside. It has infinite HP.
 * A Yellow-Green ghost with at least 398 HP. (Multiplayer only)
 * Pink ghosts that will sneak up behind Luigi.
 * Beds that will jump and change their place.
 * A ghost that stays invisible to Luigi, requiring him to locate it by watching for moving objects.
 * Gold versions of the robotic bombs.
 * Spirit Ball
 * Bats

Bosses

 * A giant, purple spider which is possesed by a large Ghost, that has multiple layers of "skin", each a different color. First layer is white, second is yellow, and the last is reddish-pink. (Gloomy Manor)
 * Stairs that are possessed by a ghost. (Haunted Towers)
 * A White Ghost with a horn on its head. (Old Clockworks)
 * King Boo

Sub Bosses

 * Poltergeist (Gloomy Manor)
 * The Three Sisters : A fat purple one, a small yellow one and a slim light-green one. (Haunted Towers)

Nintendo eShop Description
''This action-filled follow-up to the original Luigi's Mansion for the Nintendo GameCube launches for the Nintendo 3DS this holiday. Players can expect more haunted mansions to explore and new ways for Luigi to take on a wild assortment of ghosts in this new adventure. In addition to using the strobe function of his flashlight to stun ghosts, Luigi must solve various puzzles and reveal hidden details in the environment to unlock new areas in the mansions.''

References to Other Games

 * Luigi's Mansion: The map featured in the this game can be seen behind him on the wall during the opening. Luigi's house bears a strong resemblance to the Rank D Mansion from the ending. In the first Mansion, Luigi opens the main door and says "...Hello?" in a scared voice. This is a tribute to the first game's opening sequence. The Toads trapped in paintings is very similar to Mario's situation from Luigi's Mansion.
 * Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time: The Safe Room is shaped like E. Gadd's head on the outside, much like his lab on Thwomp Volcano.
 * Mario Strikers Charged: In the 3DS Software Showcase at E3 2012 trailer, an arrangement of pause menu BGM of Mario Strikers Charged is heard at the last elevator scene. Both games were developed by Next Level Games.

Trivia

 * The game features some references and Easter Eggs, most of which appear in the intro sequence:
 * There is a trophy over the fireplace which has a plunger and a wrench on it, suggesting that Luigi does work as a plumber from time to time.
 * The scene when Luigi inspects his TV is a reference to a scene in the movie Poltergeist.
 * This is one of the rare Nintendo games that is not scheduled for a Friday release in Europe. The game is scheduled for release on Thursday March 28, 2013 because Friday March 29, 2013 is Good Friday. In some European countries, the game is released on March 27, 2013. Also, the European cover of the game will glow in the dark.
 * In the first game Luigi puts his flashlight away in a lit room, but in this one he keeps it out.
 * A Swapnote message regarding this game was sent by Shigeru Miyamoto prior to the game's release. According to the note, the Polterpup is Miyamoto's favorite ghost in the game.

Official Sites

 * Japanese website
 * North American website
 * European website

Videos

 * E3 2011 Trailer
 * New Luigi's Mansion 2 gameplay
 * Luigi's Mansion 2 TGS Trailer
 * Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon Gameplay
 * Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon Overview Trailer
 * Luigi's Mansion 2 Commercial (Japanese)
 * Luigi's Mansion 2 Commercial (European)