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 supposed to be for the Nintendo 64 but was eventually cancelled near the end of the system's life. The game was first revealed at Nintendo Space World 2000 as a technical demo designed to show off the graphical capabilities of the Nintendo GameCube, but Nintendo decided to make it a game. Luigi's Mansion was later shown at the E3 in 2001, and the Luigi's Mansion disc was slightly different while being shown there. A newer version of the game, more closely related to the final version, was later revealed at Nintendo Space World 2001. Luigi's Poltergust 3000 was originally called Poltergust 400 and was supposed to have a pressure meter ranging from 1-10. If the meter went to 10, the vacuum would burst out flames, causing Luigi to fall backwards and lose some HP. The Poltergust 3000 was slightly bigger and heavier. The early 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 outside of the heart and written as a fraction (100/100) or no fraction in later versions. The Boo meter would be shown as just a number, not a fraction. Coins would have a coin meter, as well.

Originally, the Boo Radar was supposed to show the player where ghosts were, not just Boos within a room. The Game Boy Horror was supposed to be a Game Boy Color. 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 would have a animated Clock Radar or Border which spinned around the screen from 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 style as well as the heart icon. 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. It is believed if the player lost and got a game over or didn't save Mario in time, the mansion along with Mario would disappear or also thought Luigi to been extremely depressed. The clock's function was to show Luigi how much time he had left. In a boss battle Luigi could ride on the Poltergust 3000 and maneuver himself on it to catch Boolossus.

The original plot was that Luigi walks in to the Foyer and sees a blue ghost in the mirror that scares the wits out of him. 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. Later Professor E. Gadd comes in and saves him from the ghost.

Originally a Purple Basher 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/Light Pink (similar to the Grabber Ghost's color) and had smaller eyes, fangs, a row of teeth, and different shaped heads. Purple Punchers were also a lot different; they had fangs, were lanky, 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 Purple Puncher 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 Oddly enough, a variation of this image appears in the final on E. Gadd's machine. There were many more early ghosts. All main ghosts had 50 HP and lack of many HP orbs. 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. Many Boos had high amounts of HP. King Boo and his minion's designs also changed; he was smaller, had smaller fangs, and had no crown. The regular Boos resembled less thicker versions of their final appearance. Boolossus also changed in that he was slightly smaller and had no tongue. Many Boos had more HP than usual. White mice also were in the game, and bats were white and gold. There was also lack of mini-ghosts in many rooms.

The Foyer was originally called 'Entrance' and the door to area 2 with vines was already open and there was no need for a key, it also has a different texture instead of the normal heart-shape. The mirror in the foyer had no cloth. In the first picture below it shows the original 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; the table also had a cloth on it, and the painting on the wall were ghosts, while the final were humans. Finally, two sofas were seen to the far right, one which was not used in the final game the table to the right had no cloth on it as while. The early Wardrobe Room had a green treasure chest of some sort. Not many changes were made to the Study, but the Master Bedroom was originally called 'Bed Room 1' and there were two beds and a wardrobe; sucking up Lydia was slightly different since the window could not be used but she would look at the player. Many ghost would also inhabit the room. In the Nursery, Chauncey was missing and the room was instead filled with ghosts; a rabbit was on the shelf to the far right instead of 3 teddy bears and the room was originally called Child's Room; the crib was slightly far from the wall. The Dining Room was also accessed through a door after entering the giant door in the Foyer then moving left. Many early ghosts were supposed to be in the Dining Room. The Kitchen was also supposed to have many early ghosts as well and some kind of Chef Ghost holding an Apple or food. In the Boneyard orange Punchers were suppose to be thought possibly replacing the Skeleton Ghosts. In a early build of the game, Spooky doesn't appear to be a ghost, he's more so full of life. The Bathroom was not supposed to have any ghost other than just Boos, but the washroom next to it had ghosts that were supposed to be caught, and it was originally called Lavatory. The door to the second floor there were a bunch of boxes sacked up blocking the door. Many doors were boarded with wood much like the Sealed Room, probably because it was a demo and they hadn't finished most rooms at that point. In the Conservatory horns were originally on the wall as well as steps and Luigi could walk up the steps 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 and a complete different layout, the Breaker Room also had pink Flying Fish. The Sitting Room had no cloth on the table. Finally the original Mansion had 3 top windows, no chimneys and no grave stones. E. Gadd's Lab and other things are not outside of the mansion.

There was an unseen gameplay element, where whenever a Purple Basher ghost popped up behind Luigi, the scene would close up on Luigi and he would scream, and the word "BAAHHHHH" 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 originally but the final candles were blue. Also when finishing any room different music would be played much like Christmas music. 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 that much but it could possibly hold them a little longer to suck them up. The games main menu was slightly different it said Skip Intro From The Beginning. Originally the mansion had an RPG-type quality which included real-time changes of rooms and also an underground cave-like basement. There was also a prarie and desert level when it was tentatively using the Mario theme. There would be a three stories mansion along with a basement. The Game Boy Advance was originally thought to be used instead of the Game Boy Horrar. Most of these ideas were on the original Nintendo 64 plannings. There were also other cutscenes, such as Luigi looking back and seeing all of the items in the hallway move.

Nintendo Power (pictured below) contains most early elements in screenshots, but in issue 149 pg. 39 also makes note of an unused and unpictured Hunter Portrait Ghost who would have wanted to add Luigi's head to his collection of other heads. He would have appeared in the Safari Room, and may have been removed due to the fact that his dialogue would frighten younger children. According to Nintendo Power in the Luigi's Mansion guide section, many early elements are presented. One of the which is where in a picture of the mirror room the player sees a turquiose grabbing ghost seen in the mirror indicating that were originally supposed to be that color, for unknown reason(s). Also, the guide said that to summon Madame Clairvoya, Luigi had to check the crystal ball with the Game Boy Horror instead of his flashlight.

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). Another unreleased add-on would have allowed the Game Boy Advance to be used as a controller.