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

Early Ideas
Luigi's Mansion 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 an external Game Boy Horror in conjunction with the game. Ideas from this second add-on were reworked into the Nintendo GameCube-Game Boy Advance link cable, which allowed the GameCube and the Game Boy Advance to establish connection and play games. It is not compatible with Luigi's Mansion, as the cable was developed after the game was released.

It is speculated that the original plot of Luigi's Mansion involved Luigi having to save Mario within 24 hours or else be possessed by ghosts and/or watch the mansion disappear with Mario still trapped inside.

Early Iterations
The game was first revealed at Nintendo Space World 2000 as a Tech Demo designed to show off the graphical capabilities of the Nintendo GameCube.

Luigi's Mansion was later showcased at E3 in 2001, with notable changes to the design of the disc. A newer version of the game, more closely related to the final version, was later revealed at Nintendo Space World 2001.

Early Builds
Old issues of Nintendo Power (pictured below) contain details of early elements in screenshots and descriptions. The issue makes note of an unused Hunter Portrait Ghost who would have wanted to add Luigi's head to his collection of other heads. This Portrait Ghost would have appeared in the Safari Room and may have been removed due to the fact that his dialogue would have frightened younger children.

In earlier builds, the Poltergust 3000 was originally named the Poltergust 400. The Poltergust 400 featured a pressure meter ranging from one to ten, was slightly bigger and supposedly heavier. If the pressure meter reached ten, the vacuum would burst into flames, causing Luigi to fall over and lose health. In a boss battle, It was shown that Luigi could ride the on back of the vacuum and maneuver himself to capture the ghost.
 * Poltergust

Almost all of the meters in the game have gone through slight changes. The ghost meter was originally much more similar in design to the elemental meter, showing how many ghosts the player has captured instead. The Boo meter was shown as a whole number, and the amount of health remaining was shown as a fraction and written inside of the heart. In later revisions, the heart is shown as a whole number positioned outside of the heart, and the Boo meter is shown as a fraction. Interestingly, Coins had their own meter that was removed in later stages of the game's development.
 * HUD Changes

The Game Boy Horror also had features that aren't present in the final game. Originally, the Game Boy Horror had a rotating border which would show Luigi the locations of both Ghosts and Boos within a room, and had a clock function. It is speculated that this clock function was related to the original plot of the game. Minor changes include the design of the menu icons (earlier designs depicted icons that were cartoon-like) and that the Boo Radar's signal emitted a different sound. Early game play images reveal that instead of showing Luigi his current gold total, the Game Boy Horror would always display the first-person view, giving the player two perspectives in a room at once. This is not possible during normal game play. It was also stated that to summon Madame Clairvoya, Luigi had to check the crystal ball with the Game Boy Horror. In the final build, Luigi uses his flashlight instead.

A playable demo revealed many room layouts that differed from the final version.
 * Room Changes
 * The Foyer was originally called the Entrance, and the door to Area Two was not locked and featured a different texture. The mirror in the Foyer had no cloth covering it, and Toad was missing.
 * The Parlor was called the "Living Room" and it's furniture was arranged differently. The room had an extra side-chair pulled out in front of the china table (which had cloth on it), the paintings on the wall were ghosts (in the final game they are humans), and the door to Anteroom was boarded up. The table to the right had no tablecloth. One sofa was positioned at the left of the room and two other sofas were seen to the far right.
 * The early Wardrobe Room had a green treasure chest.
 * In the Study, the chair next to where Neville sat, had a table.
 * The Master Bedroom was originally called "Bedroom 1". It had two beds instead of one, with a shared drawer between them. A wardrobe was positioned at the far left of the room that is not there in the final game.
 * The Nursery was originally called the "Child's Room" and Chauncey was missing, as well as any pictures of him. Instead, the room was filled with ghosts. A stuffed rabbit and two teddy bears were to the far right on a shelf, and the crib was further from the wall. There was no treasure chest containing the key to Area Two, as the door was accessible from the start.
 * Many doors were originally boarded up. Doors leading to the basement, Ball Room, Laundry Room, Sealed Room, and Fortune-Teller's Room were boarded up.
 * The Dining Room was accessed by another door beyond the Area Two door, in it's own hallway. The Dining Room had many beta ghosts residing in it, and did not include Mr. Luggs. The doors to the Billiards Room and the Projection Room were boarded up, and a china cabinet was positioned between the two.
 * The Kitchen had many ghosts, including two unseen chef-like ghosts.
 * Skeleton Ghosts did not appear in the Boneyard. Orange Punchers and Flying Fish were originally present. The area where Bogmire resides was missing.
 * The Bathroom was called the "Lavatory" and had only Boos residing in it.
 * The second floor was blocked by stacked boxes.
 * The Conservatory had a saxophone and a french horn hanging on the wall, a staircase that Luigi could climb and a blocked door.
 * The hallway after the Area Three door lacked Flying Fish.
 * The Telephone Room had gold mice.
 * The Breaker Room had a different layout, and Flying Fish. The switch was absent.
 * The Sitting Room had no cloth on the table.
 * The Safari Room didn't have tiger mats on the floor, but on the tables.
 * Ceiling Surprises, Purple Bombers, and Bowling Ghosts did not appear in most hallways.

The Mansion had 3 top windows, no visible chimneys and no grave stones. A broken horse-drawn carriage resided outside the gates of the Mansion. E. Gadd's Lab was notably missing, and the front yard was bare.

The playable demo also revealed early ghost behavior and locations. Portrait Ghosts gave coins instead of orbs, and upon defeat the player was rewarded a green treasure chest filled with coins.
 * Early Ghosts
 * Neville had 50 HP, and was significantly easier to capture.
 * Lydia did not use a mirror, and looked at the player directly. Other ghosts had to be captured before Lydia.
 * Spooky's personality was different.
 * Nana did not cry while being vacuumed.


 * 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 up the stairs to the Parlor room, where there are many blue ghosts surrounding him in circles much like Boolossus Boo's. 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 a game of cards 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 or less HP than usual. White mice also were in the game, and bats were white, and gold. There was also lack of mini-ghosts, and some boss ghosts in many rooms.


 * 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 when finishing a room, instead of just regular coins laying completely on the ground, like in the final. Also, the red vases around the mansion were originally blue, although in Super Smash Bros. Brawl a blue vase is seen in the background. The door that Luigi opens to enter in the mansion is different in the final, as well Luigi's hand is shown more. 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 game's main menu was slightly different as 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 prairie and desert level when it was tentatively using the Mario theme. There would be a three stories mansion along with a basement. Most of these ideas were on the original Nintendo 64 plannings. Luigi's Poltergust 3000 could spray water for unlimited time, with no need for a elemental meter, possibly because the elemental medals hadn't been thought about yet. There were also other cutscenes, such as Luigi looking back and seeing all of the items in the hallway move (in a trailer).


 * On pg. 38 the area two door looks as if it's being opened, by having the vains removed just recently. 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 turquoise grabbing ghost seen in the mirror indicating that were originally supposed to be that color, for unknown reason(s).

Trivia

 * The Japanese version of the game kept Luigi's BETA hurt sound while US and Europe versions didn't.
 * The GBH's timer and first person view is still in the games code and has been found and made into AR codes.