List of Luigi's Mansion pre-release and unused content

These are the beta elements for Luigi's Mansion

Beta Elements
Luigi's Mansion was originally a demo but Nintendo decided to make it a game. It was also supposed to be for the N64 version but was eventually canceled near the end of the system's life. The Luigi's Mansion disc was slightly different while shown at E3 2001. Luigi's Poltergust 3000 was originally called Poltergust 400 and was supposed to have a heat meter ranging from 1-10. If Luigi kept his vacuum on for too long, it would burst into flames, causing Luigi to fall backwards and lose some HP. The beta ghost meter was similar to the elemental meter but would show how many ghosts have been caught. The life bar was different; the health numbers were supposed to be out of the heart and written as a fraction (100/100) not inside the heart. The Boo meter would sometimes not be shown as a fraction but just a number. The Poltergust 3000 was slightly bigger and heavier.

Originally a pink ghost much like an orange ghost would appear; the ghost would scream behind Luigi causing him to lose 50 HP especially when the player was in a hallway. Orange ghosts were originally supposed to be white and had smaller eyes, fangs, many teeth, and different shaped heads. Purple Punchers were also a lot different; they had fangs, were taller, were orange in color, had smaller eyes, and had a big nose. Flashes were supposed to be silvery ice in color and were much like pink ghosts. Blue Twirlers were similar to the Purple Puncher having a purple color, fangs, teeth, and small eyes around a big nose. Blue ghosts playing poker were also seen in the Parlor. There were many more beta ghosts. The original plot was that Luigi walks in to the Foyer and a blue ghost scares Luigi out of his wits. The blue ghost then chases Luigi as Luigi slides down the stairs handrail. Luigi avoids falling chandelier lights while being chased by the blue ghost and dashes to the Parlor room, where there are many blue ghosts surrounding him in circles much like Boolossus.

Originally, the Boo Radar was supposed to show the player where ghosts were, not just Boos. Also, the Game Boy Horror was supposed to show the player what Luigi was seeing without going into first-person view. The Game Boy Horror was also supposed to be a Game Boy Color. The Game Boy Horror would have a light which would move left and right to tell where the ghost was. The Boo Radar's beep was different. The icons on the Game Boy Horror would have cartoonish icons as well as the heart icon. Originally the mansion had an RPG-type quality which included real-time changes of rooms and also an underground dungeon-like basement. There were also other cutscenes, such as Luigi looking back and seeing all of the items in the hallway move. The Game Boy Horror also had a clock. In a Nintendo Power Magazine, it was stated that Luigi had to save Mario in 24 hours or else Luigi would turn into a Zombie. This could also be done if the player lost and got a game over. The clock's function was probably to show Luigi how much time he had left.

The foyer was originally called Entrance and the giant 2-doored door with vines was open and there was no need for a key. In the first picture below it shows the beta parlor which was called Living Room at that point. In the room, it had an extra side-chair pulled way out in front of the china table and an extra chair; the table also had a cloth on it, and the painting on the wall was a ghost. Finally, two sofas were seen to the far right, one which was not used in the final game. The beta Wardrobe Room had a green treasure chest of some sort. Not many changes were made to the Study from beta, but the Master Bedroom was originally called Bed room 1 and there were two beds; sucking up Lydia was slightly different since the window could not be used but she would look at the player instead. In the Nursery, Chauncey was missing and the room was instead filled with ghosts; a rabbit was on the shelf instead of a bear and the room was originally called Child's Room. The Dining Room was also accessed through a door after entering the giant door in the Foyer. Then moving left many beta ghosts were supposed to be in the Dining Room. The Kitchen was also supposed to have many beta ghost as well. In the Boneyard many beta ghosts were supposed to be sucked up, possibly replacing the Skeleton Ghosts in the final version. The Bathroom was not supposed to have any ghost other then just Boos, but the washroom next to it had ghosts that were supposed to be caught, and it was originally called Lavatory. To go to the door to the second floor there were a bunch of boxes blocking the door. Many doors were boarded with wood much like the Sealed Room. In the Conservatory horns were originally on the wall and Luigi could probably go on the stairs and shake the horns. Nana's Room had the yarn spinner at the back of the room instead of in the front and Nana had a severe lack of emotion while being sucked up. The Telephone Room originally had gold mice. The Breaker Room was slightly different since there was no switch to flick. The Sitting Room had no cloth on the table. The Breaker Room had pink Flying Fish. Finally the beta Mansion had 3 top windows and no chimneys. All main ghosts had 50 HP.

There was an unseen gameplay element, where whenever a ghost popped up behind Luigi, the scene would close up on Luigi and he would scream, and the word "AAHHHHH" would show up in a comic style. Luigi would end up crawling backwards on the ground as a result. Also spinning coins could be collected while finishing instead of just laying on the ground like regular coins. Also, the red vases around the mansion were originally blue, although interestingly in Super Smash Bros. Brawl a blue vase is seen in the background. The door that Luigi opens is different in the final. Candles were red in the beta but the final candles were blue. Also when finishing any room different music would be played much like Christmas music. White mice also were in the game, and bats were white and gold. Coins would be shown right next to the heart. Luigi would normally hold his flashlight with two hands instead of one, and he would scream very differently than in the final. Finally, light didn't stun ghosts but could possibly hold them a little longer to suck them up.

Multiple small Boos were seen in several rooms at the E3 presentation. They came out of the walls and could be in dark or light. They had no tongues, more fangs, and they bounced and floated and could be sucked in using the vacuum easier. Because of this there were probably more Boos than the current 50. King Boo's design also changed; he was smaller, had smaller fangs, and had no crown. Boolossus also changed in that he was slightly smaller and had no tongue. In the boss battle Luigi could ride on the Poltergust 3000 and maneuver himself on it to catch Boolossus. Many Boos had more HP than usual.

The game was originally built with the intention of being in 3D. The GameCube was built with 3D components which could be activated by an unreleased add-on (that would have cost more than the console to buy). A Game Boy Advance could be used as a controller for the game but it also had an unreleased add-on.

External References
Luigi's Beta elements Extra

Luigi's Mansion - The Cutting Room Floor