Luigi's Mansion

The Nintendo Gamecube console was released at some point in 2001, as you may be aware, and launched alongside it was one of the most obscure console-launching titles in recent times. Rather than a Mario platform game, Nintendo decided to give Mario's brother, Luigi, a starring role in a game whose main theme consists of wandering around a mansion, trying to catch ghosts by sucking them up into a special vacuum cleaner designed for such purposes. Bear in mind there is no jump button.

I got this game for Christmas a few years ago, and actually just picked it up for the first time since then a few months ago to play it. This game has been quite forgotten by mostly everyone, and hasn't made any kind of imprint on the world of video games. There's been no sequel, Luigi hasn't been a main character in any major Nintendo game since (to my knowledge), and this game itself got quite mocked and scorned for such things as its length, the whole concept, and other things.

Now, by most reviewing standards, you might think that all this is leading up to a heroic defence of Luigi's Mansion, saving the day from some kind of small-minded mass of people who don't like it much. Well, basically, no. It might take a while for you (not to mention me!) to get used to this, but I'm taking in as many angles as I can and treating them equally. When I review something, I like to give as many people as possible a better picture for them to judge by themselves.

When it comes to this game, you see, there are those who will love it, those who will hate it, and others who will like/not-mind/be-confused-by it. I'm not going to say, "this game is good," let alone "this game is bad." Because I don't think it matches either qualilty universally; you could say it's not really worth bothering to review, since it's so obscure, but I think there's value in this as much as in anything else.

Let's split the review into several sections, targetting some of the angles I think it can be interpreted from. But before that, some pretty pictures.

Or at least one. I can't get any more to appear in the one post. How strange...

Luigi's Mansion is a very one-track, esoteric game, in the sense that you're pretty much stumped if you can't enjoy sucking objects/ghosts with vacuum cleaners in a variety of different locations and for considerably branching purposes. You can't be picking this one up to run around and relieve stress - it's quite slow, you can't jump, and you spend most of the time performing a set sequence of operations on every enemy you encounter (aim your torch at them to freeze them, vacuum them, repeat). Puzzles exist in the form of using the vacuum cleaner on things, or perhaps sucking an object onto it to launch at another, or perhaps pressing the A button beside something. There are also times to use various elements (fire, water, and ice) on things to cause reactions, but nothing special.

In other words, many people will surely find Luigi's Mansion impossible to appreciate much. It makes no attempt to vary its format from vacuum-cleaning form, so you can't expect anything interesting to happen (that is, something completely off-track to take you by surprise. It's not going to be there).

However, there will be the people who take Luigi's Mansion for what it is and actually find enjoyment out of the whole concept. Indeed, the same could find ghost-catching quite addictive, warranting this one to be good on its own right. If you do love the whole concept of the game, then you will find there to be much variation, in the sense that your beloved concept is taken to many directions of intrigue and discovery.

But in any case, it's still rather short. This is the point where something else surfaces which I've discovered myself.

Something of a side-part to the whole adventure is that, during the entire game, there is an unmentioned object to find and collect as many valuable objects (coins, notes, gems, pearls) as possible. They can be found by vacuuming certain objects to reveal them from within, catching certain hidden ghosts, and some other subtle things. The only thing money seems to have to do with anything is to show a picture at the end of the game, and that picture will be better depending on the money you have. It's not much of a burden to find enough to get this picture, and it's hardly a reward, so this aspect of the game would not mean much to many.

But over some months ago, I became quite enraptured in the money. This is because I started to notice that, unapparent as it seems when playing, there are fixed amounts of money revealed from all things in the game, and (with apparently only one exception) they always come in multiples of five (anything from 5, 10, 15, 20, or 25 in coins and notes respectively, but usually 5 more coins than notes where applicable). It sounds simple, but this proved that there was a maximum money amount to be found.

And it's in this that the most fun part of this whole game has been found for me: getting all that money! This game becomes so much more interesting and rewarding when you find just how difficult it can be to actually get everything out of a chest, say, before the last few coins disappear. In the harder difficulty (a secret bonus!), you have to contend with being hit and losing some precious money.

I can't describe it, but to the right kind of mind for it, this is so groovy, it must be attempted! The European version apparently contains much more money in the harder difficulty, which ever-more encourages me to get that maximum.

Of course, once the max is reached, I guess that's it. Still, you'll forever cherish the game for uncovering this secret way of enjoying it. Especially if you're European.

So, let's recap on Luigi's Mansion. It caters for the kind of person who doesn't play video games simply for a basic form, type, or experience. People like me, who have been quite brought up in a wide verse of types of game, may have the open minds to find an enjoyment in this one. However, it's respectable that many of those people and others will simply not tune into what Luigi asks you to get to grips with. I don't like football, and that's just the way it goes. So too would many not want to dance with Luigi for too long.

They say this game had an ulterior motive when it came out - it was the 'graphical showoff', made in its unique style because it was expedient to putting out an 'our console is quite excellent in terms of graphical capabilities' way. Well, I have to say that even if this is true, it's not to say that it still can't be an enjoyable game in its right. It's also not to say that it is.

The cards are on the table, and you can pick it up if you wish, but only if you'd like to. Otherwise, might want to leave them and watch someone else instead.

Angle 1: It takes an innovative concept and executes it in a way that gets quickly boring, tedious, and just doesn't work.
Angle 2: The whole idea doesn't really work at all.
Angle 3: There's fun to be had here if you enjoy vacuuming things.
Angle 4: There's a genuinely pleasant experience to be had here.
Angle 5: There isn't any effort to spice up things from the vacuum. Something else must be there.
Angle 6: To collect the money is splendiferous.
Angle 7: The mind is captured and happy at the system of catching ghosts.
Angle 8: It all feels rather dull. Most rooms feel the same as each other, and they're all small and uninspiring.

So, browse and take your pick. There's something to be had for everyone here at Brins Reviews Things. Or at least, that's the idea.  ¶ 8:04 AM  

  The Grades

You might have noticed that I described the first review here as a Grade 2 review. What does that mean?

At the moment it doesn't mean anything, because I only put it in because I thought I'd like to grade the reviews on some scale or other. In several minutes after the time of writing this sentence, I will have hopefully written a grade scale which you can now read.

Grade 1: A small, summary-like review. Perhaps not to be taken too heavily, since it won't be taking in all the angles of the reviewed item like I would do with longer reviews.

Grade 2: A longer review than Grade 1, and one which tries to take in many angles, but which is probably reviewing something I thought of for fun.

Grade 3: If this blog works out well, these will be the reviews I'll be aiming to do most - reviewing things I would like to review quite genuinely, and with sincerity. The many things I've been through in life that I'd like to review, and when I say 'things I've been through', come to think of it, I might just take that idea further.

So, three grades made up on the spot to give this review blog a direction. The games will begin soon.

And, oh look! I was right! I did indeed write some grade definitions in the minutes between this sentence and the sentence where I said that I would. Congrations! I know, I missed out a syllable! Yip!  ¶ 7:42 AM