This week brought some disappointing news for fans of the other mascot brother, the one who wears green and can often be found sitting in the corner, twiddling his thumbs and waiting to get involved. Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon was spooked into 2013 in North America, while European release news is still up in the air. Also in the past week we had an NA release date for Paper Mario: Sticker Star, with the main man gracing 3DS handhelds on 11th November, and we’ll assume for now that the European release will be at a similar time.
Ah, some may say, maybe Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon isn’t ready yet, and it’s being finished off to be polished to perfection. We wouldn’t be so sure of that, especially as demos have been at gaming expos since summer 2011, with the playable levels being boosted further at this year’s E3. It would have also made sense for this title to have arrived in time for Halloween, seeing as it features haunted mansions, ghosts and all manner of spooky goings-on. If there was a Nintendo franchise perfectly suited for some harmless fun during the scariest time of the year, then Luigi’s Mansion would surely be it.
Of course, it’s possible that the delay of Dark Moon is to allow development time, and that the new Paper Mario title just happens to be ready first for the busiest shopping period of the year. We would speculate, though, that this is another case of the man in red pulling rank, pointing at his frighteningly intimidating sales figures and saying, “stand down, brother, I’ve got this”. Luigi once again has to doff his green cap and step aside, while Mario gets the glory, attention and, as always, the girl.
Life is tough for Luigi: always player two, always holding the door open and playing second fiddle. In times gone past he was little more than a sidekick, popping up in various adventures as an extra character but never standing on his own two feet. When his big break came, with Luigi’s Mansion, he was finally given star-billing as Nintendo’s launch title for GameCube. It’s an excellent game, with a group of loyal fans, but it was arguably outshone by the graphically stunning Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II, and struggled to match the impact of Nintendo 64’s big launch title, Super Mario 64. It’s also a pity for Luigi, though it’s in no way his fault, that GameCube went on to become Nintendo’s lowest selling home console, trailing in third place behind the PlayStation 2 behemoth and the first Xbox.
Luigi has had plenty of appearances, of course, but the GameCube title is his only starring role to date. He has at least been a named as a co-star in the Mario & Luigi handheld RPG titles, a series that should be compulsory for portable gamers. Unfortunately for Luigi, he’s often portrayed as a frightened, cowardly figure, not a mascot with the heroic determination of Mario. We shouldn’t be surprised of course, as even his own adventure involved being in a state of pure, albeit comical, fear.
Still, Luigi fans have plenty of chances to play as their hero in various games. He features in both Super Mario Galaxy games, for example, and despite struggling to control his gangly legs he actually has the advantage of being able to jump higher than his rather portly brother. He is, likewise, available in Super Mario 3D Land, though his spirits are surely crushed when playing through the final level to rescue Princess Peach. In a touching cut scene, the captured princess sees Luigi enter the room and cries out his name as a warning. The problem? The game appears to use the same animation, so that while Princess Peach’s voice says Luigi, her lips say Mario. Even when “Mr Video Game” — as Mario is apparently known within Nintendo – isn’t on the scene, Luigi still struggles to be recognised as the hero.
Another blot on Luigi’s copybook is that, unfortunately, he’s a bit rubbish in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
But still, we’re looking forward to Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, giving the green brother a chance to steal the headlines. He’s also a mean platformer, who with good control can make jumps and leaps that would leave Mario behind, wheezing and struggling to utter ‘wahoo’, as he often does. Luigi is the champion for underdogs, under-appreciated siblings and for those in the shadow of others. Given the chance he can undoubtedly be a real hero.
Comments 74
Glad to see an article about Luigi.
@Happy_Mask Exactly my thoughts. But I think people prefer to pretend that game never existed <_<, so maybe that's why they leaved it out (or the game never got in EU, but idk)
Luigi is cooler than Mario. From what I've seen, it's pretty evenly divided when asked Mario fans which brother they like better, with a very slight lean toward Luigi. Luigi is the greatest, man.
Super Luigi Sunshine.... it must happen.
Why?!
The only "Mario" game I have ever really wanted is Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon.
I'm not getting Paper Mario: Sticker Star, I'm not getting Super Mario 3DS Land, I'm not getting Mario and Sonic at London Olympics, I'm not getting Mario Tennis Open and I'm not getting any download game from Nintendo e shop containing Mario. I might get New Super Mario Bros. 2, if my boyfriend gets it too, so we can play together.
I say, we get a new platformer where you unlock MARIO after beating the game!
Luigi is Nintendo's real superstar. Mario is just a shell with no personality for the gamer to play as. Luigi actually has a personality, and an awesome one at that.
It seems like Nintendo has been giving Luigi a lot more love these days. I just wish Nintendo made Luigi available to play as at the start of the recent Mario games rather than making him an unlockable character. I highly doubt there is anyone who likes Mario over Luigi, simply because there is nothing to like about Mario.
Why cant we get Super Luigi as a series, where he saves Princess Daisy from some large and mean creature that could be equivalent to Mario's Bowser?
@MrWalkieTalkie: Daisy isn't worth saving. Now Rosalina on the other hand...
Luigi >>> Mario
Luigi doesn't get enough love and yet I find him one of the better brothers to play as.
In spite of being one of the best characters to play as in a few games, especially Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario 64 DS, Luigi always gets talked down to.
Have you seen the way that the Toads talk to him in SM64DS? They're relentless in their scathing.
http://i.imgur.com/4XAZz.png
@MrWalkieTalkie That would be amazing.
I think we should get a full blown game based on the battles in Super Mario Bros. 3 and have Luigi beat Mario at his own game.
@Knux
Now that I think of it, it's a good thing that Luigi is used so sparingly. Even though I would love to see a lot more Luigi, I don't want to see him turn into the shell that Mario has become.
@RupeeClock Lol Toad is so mean! XD
"Hes a bit rubbish in super smash bros brawl" hes still wayyyyyy than Mario at least, I can get about 3 kos with luigi, Mario? Your lucky if you even make 3rd place with that trashy character
I think the delay of dark moon is due to all the other great titles that are coming out when dark moon was GOING to release. Luigi would probably be left sitting in the corner while mario got the glory. Again.
Gotta love Mister L
Here's to one of the best Ninty characters along with Kirby and Samus (at least if she doesn't go even more Other M in the future.)
LUIGI RULES!!!
I love the Austin Powers reference
I rock as luigi in SSBB!
I'm getting pretty sick of Luigi being treated like this, He's WAY better than Mario. Back during N64 he was so COOL! But, when Gamecube came out they changed his character to a wimp! >
I'm glad Luigi's getting his game next year. Between the Wii U, all of its launch titles, the slew of 3DS X-mas releases plus all the stuff coming out on the PC/PS3/360, my green isn't going to be plentiful for the Brother in Green. He'll get more hype and more people will buy. Maybe Ninty has finally figured out to spread out some of its major releases over the year.
We need a Luigi and Yoshi adventure.
My mom (who plays and enjoy the Mario games) knows the name of Mario, Peach, Bowser and Toad, but calls poor Luigi "Mr. Green Guy". Burn!
I want to play through Luigi's Waffle Kingdom adventure.
I tend to prefer Luigi as well. It was pretty sad to see how nerfed he was in SMG2, after making those awesome jumps in Galaxy 1.
What is the problem if you need to unlock him? You are supposed to unlock special and cool characters!
For me he is the one fit to do each and everything the hero can do without attracting the attention to him. So he is actually quite humble in that regard. And he has a lot more fun than Peach, that is for sure.
Green is better than red; tall is better than short; Luigi is better than Mario.
I wouldn't classify Luigi as "suffering," though. Sure, he might not be as famous as his shorter brother, but he still has his own game series. If you really want suffering, then Waluigi fits the description to a tee. Give us a Waluigi platforming series, Nintendo!
Wario is my main man ;P
@Happy_Mask Of course. Who would forget Weegee.
Even though Luigi was just a re-skinned Mario in the original Super Mario Bros, I still preferred playing him, and sometimes I'd play a two-player game by myself just so I could play him. I love Luigi's Mansion and I can't wait for the sequel.
I fit in with this, should've got first comment. NEW SUPER LUIGI BROS.
What about Toad? You guys talk about Luigi all the time, but what about Toad? Toad never gets talked about, despite being a helpful hint in almost each and every Mario game. And even a playable character in New Super Mario Bros Wii.
Luigi is said to be the one behind Mario's shadow, but clearly people love him. Toad is behind both Mario and Luigi's shadow, where he's barely talked about.
I always play as luigi as soon as I can. Once I unlocked him in SM3DL I never went backed to Mario.
@shinpichu: I've always wanted to see what happened in the waffle kingdom and what happens to princess eclair. Oh, to know the mystery that is Luigi...
@Deviant_Mugen: There is. Have you, perchance, ever played Wario Land? [Edit: Whoops! I thought that said "Wario." I do agree that there needs to be a Waluigi series, but I believe a platformer will weaken the character by making him "just another character with a platformer". He doesn't seem like the character that would do a platformer because he has no story; we can't just throw him into a situation where he's been revealed to be greedy like Wario, or secretly a hero; because his personality needs to be revealed a little bit at a time. He could start the game as just another character until he lands in a bad situation FORCING him to take action; he can't just go outside and say "I'm going to rob a bank today" or "I'll save a princess!" He'll seem foolish and random.]
I like both of the Mario Bros., but there is a character that needs more love; has anyone ever heard of WALUIGI? Does anyone talk about how great he is? Probably not, he's usually just THERE. You'll usually only see him in sports and party games, but you'll see every other character everywhere else! We know virtually nothing about him; which is why we should finally have a reason for his existence! He may be the worst character ever, but we should try to change that with a great Waluigi RPG title; if they gave him a platformer he would become more of a cheesy knock-off character. If the game is good enough we could finally see him step out of the fat shadow of Wario and his tennis racket and become beloved despite his flaws.
I guess there's not much love for the bro...
Still wished,we had Luigi Mansion 2,before NSMB2.
@A-Hungry-Banker
Probably better that NSMB2 came first, it's a system seller.
There'll be more people to play Luigi's Mansion 2 when it arrives.
@Korbin64 He said Waluigi, not Wario.
@Knuckles : Thanks for pointing that out; I misread that. I saw "Wa-" and thought "Wario." This proves Waluigi is neglected as a character!
Wait, hold on?@Deviant_Mugen: Did you change that from "Wario" to "Waluigi"? I swear it said "Wario" hours ago when I posted my comment. My head hurts...
Can anyone that posted at the time Deviant_Mugen posted his post help me?
The problem I had with Luigi's Mansion GameCube was the controls were abominable! Also, I think if Luigi had a Princess to rescue in Dark Moon, people would find the game more endearing. So you rid the Mansions of ghosts and then what? Luigi goes into real estate? Why can't the story be: "Luigi and Daisy go on holiday when Daisy is kidnapped by King Boo and Luigi must rescue her"? I think Luigi and Daisy would make a good match (even if Daisy is Mario's throw-away).
I still would like to see Waluigi in an actual game! I think the anger towards Mario is stemmed from Nintendo having so many great background characters, like Luigi, Waluigi, Daisy, Toad, etc., but they're only used in the Party games and their characters are never developed beyond that. I guess Nintendo doesn't want to develop their characters with real background stories to keep out the drama.
Where's the cat-fight between Daisy and Peach over Mario?
Is Luigi just a farmhand among the Toads at Peach's Castle?
Is Luigi supposed to represent Lennie from "Of Mice and Men"?
So many unanswered questions...
Luigi>Mario (in my opinion)
There's a reason why I dressed up as Luigi for Halloween, and not Mario.
<= Also, why avatar is wearing a Luigi costume
LUIGI RULES!
Great article, but Waluigi is the one who's really suffering.
WHERE MY SUPER WALUIGI RPG NINTENDO?
Why Nintendo is t release Luigi's Mansion at during October and Paper Mario next spring, I don't understand.
Rubbish??? As far as I'm concerned, Luigi is an overpowered character in SSBB... I fear anyone who can use Luigi properly...
Ugh, can't they get some firm dates out for ANYTHING for 3DS?
They are holding a few games till xmas just for the sales rush and pushing everything else back until next year "sometime in 2013". What the heck are we supposed to be playing in the meantime??? At least a firm-ish date would help the wait... Gee, if they hadn't cancelled MML3 so they could release a Sour Patch Kids game (cause that was oh-so-important apparently, even though NO ONE is going to play it) I could be playing the crap outta some legends 3 right now..
Its Ah Me Luigi , Thats all i wanna hear !
Super Mario 64 DS anyone?
and mario gets the girl?
yh thats why peach so easy gets kidnapped by bowser his 8 kids are probaly from her>.>
Ahem, Luigi isn´t rubbish in Smash. That flying uppercut of his is lethal ffs.
> [...] while European release news is still up in the air
I wouldn't say so, on the official italian Nintendo website this is also marked as a 2013 release, so it seems to me that it has been officially postponed.
whatever. luigi is already the best character in the mario series. just the fact that he only has one starring role means that nintendo hasn't milked out luigi as they have mario. and sadly, this is the reason why i hate mario. nintendo relies too much on mario. plus, the fact that luigi is a coward just gives him character. mario is just this short fat plumber. it's surprising enough to me that peach is even attracted to mario. i always thought that chicks liked tall guys... oh well. luigi has his own princess...
I actually kinda like Luigi better. Even though my name is Super-Mario-Fan im a Super-Luigi-Fan too. Luigi should have more of his own games or at least have a better role in the Mario games then just being a unlock able character and the second player.
@Korbin64: My comment always said Waluigi, so obviously you misread. Don't worry, it happens...
@Philip_J_Reed: Hear! Hear!
Luigi should have a game like sunshine where he is in the jungle trying to rescue daisy from donkey kong diddy kong also wario should have more involvement in mario games. but waluigi needs his own games maybe like mario&luigi there hould be wario&waluigi
Nice article. Good to see support for good ol' Green-Stache.
However, I must disagree with him being "rubbish" in Brawl. After all, he was one of the three who rescued nearly everyone else during the Subspace Emissary. Plus, he's quite the fighter if you can use him right.
Luigi really is an awesome dude. It isn't his fault that he's not appreciated as much as his brother, but if you think about it, it's just cuz he doesn't get much opportunities to be the star in the video game world. Sure we see him here and there (and i disagree with him being called "rubbish" in the Smash Bros. games), but NIntendo has really only given him these two chances to star. The first time was good but wasn't praised due to the Gamecube not getting much praise, but now he has a crap load of more opportunities to be truly awesome. So Nintendo, if u read this, give the bro a chance! Its called Super Mario "BROS." not Super Mario and the sad, lonely green dude in the Back
Long-suffering? Luigi should be glad he can ride on the coattails of his famous brother
As a kid, I actually preferred Luigi due to his color scheme. The red and brown Mario from SMB never did it for me. In any case, Luigi's fine as Player 2, or in a game like SMB2, where you can select him right from the start of the game. Was a solo Luigi game necessary? I would say "no," and I would say we certainly didn't need "Luigi's Mansion." The entire concept is so off-putting to me. It's a Ghostbusters ripoff, complete with gun and backpack. I'm surprised nobody sued Nintendo over that. If we're to be given a Luigi game, though, why not just have something more like a traditional SMB game, but in a world unique to Luigi, with unique characters and settings that Mario will never encounter? It would have been a great way to freshen up the "New SMB" franchise, as the next two games just seem to be somewhat unimaginative rehashes of the two we've already had. How about a game where Luigi fights a Koopa invasion in the real world? Better yet, how about Nintendo stops watering down the Mario franchise and tries coming up with something new?
Wow! even Nintendo fans threat Mario like he's the bad guy in the series
Luigi may have gotten a the reputation as an underdog, but the real loser is Waluigi.
Of the four plumbers, Mario, Luigi, Wario have each had their own spinoff series, and Donkey Kong, Peach, Bowser, Yoshi got to star in their own games as well. Toad even got to play the hero in an obscure starring role in Wario's Woods (NES & SNES). However, Waluigi's sole purpose was created as a partner for Wario in Mario Tennis, then to add some small personality, he cameoed as a villian in Mario Party 3. Likewise, Princess Daisy was Introduced as a sidekick for Peach (what are they, like cousins or something?). Since then, Waluigi's sole existance has been delegated to the playable character rosters for Party, Racing, and Sports titles. Ditto for Princess Daisy, although Daisy can be seen more as a female love interest to Luigi, just like Peach + Mario or Birdo + Yoshi. Then add Rosalina to the MarioKart roster too, but at least she has personality and a mysterious back story, playing an integral role in the Mario Galaxy saga. Waluigi's such a forgotten nobody that he got dropped from the MarioKart7 roster, even though they have a track named after him. Sad but true, he's the only cast member in the Mario Party roster who's never made a cameo appearance in any core-series platform/adventure/rpg style Nintendo game. Even Princess Daisy appeared in Super Mario Land.
Sorry, but I still favor Mario over Luigi. Luigi is cool, I favored him in the old Super Mario Bros 2 but Mario has always been my favorite, and shame on those who claim Mario has no personality. You don't need dialogue to have personality. Mario is pure, heroic, kind, funny and virtuous. Luigi's got plenty to offer as well but still, I vote Mario.
Luigi has to be the sidekick, is not for him we will not enjoy Mario as much.
Good job Luigi.
Definitely a sidekick. Luigi is to Mario what Robin is to Batman. You cannot have one without the other, except for a couple games Luigi's not in. I believe Mario 64 and Sunshine have Mario in the game but no mention of Luigi. While not in the actual game, Luigi can also be seen leading the parade during the ending credits of Super Mario RPG.
For every Mario-only game, Luigi should get his own game. For example, Super Luigi Planet, Super Luigi 64, Super Luigi Moonshine, Luigi's Time Machine, Super Luigi Ocean, Super Luigi Universe, and Waluigi Land: Super Luigi Land 3.
@Philip_J_Reed Right! Even Wario has Wario Ware and Wario Land Shake it! The least they could do is include him in the Wario Ware series.
Luigi Land or Waluigi World must exist before the end of the 3DS' life cycle or else I'll--I'll be okay, actually.
The eternal understudy... nuff said.
@Deviant_Mugen : Thanks! Now I can stop wondering about that and get back to rallying support for Waluigi! Poor, misunderstood WA-WEE-GEE...
I don't care if the Gamecube sold the least amount of consoles, it was still the best console Nintendo has ever put out with the best games Nintendo had as well as having the best controller any console has seen. It also thoroughly beating down what little content Xbox had and still lacks. Luigi's Mansion was a fun game and I hope the second one is just as fun.
Whoa. I forgot that waluigi existed too. He needs a game of his own too.
I like only Yoshi better than Luigi of all the Mario characters. Seriously, who doesn't love the lean bro with the stripy socks?
look... Luigi is my favorite mario charicter. I love Luigi. But I do think that Waluigi should have a game of its own, Mario has 100's of games of its own
Luigi has a lot of games of its own
wario has a lot of games of its own.
but know Waluigi. I want Waluigi to start a hole game series.
somone please reply because I know that I'm missing somthing.
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