Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, known as Luigi's Mansion 2 outside of North America, is a 2013 Action-adventure video game by Next Level Games, for the Nintendo 3DS. Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon is the sequel to the 2001 game Luigi's Mansion.

Gameplay
Like its predecessor, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon is an action-adventure game starring Luigi as the main playable character. Using the Poltergust 5000, a specialized vacuum cleaner designed to capture ghosts, Luigi must explore a series of haunted mansions to find the missing pieces of the Dark Moon. To capture ghosts, Luigi must first stun them using the Strobulb attachment on his flashlight, then vacuum the ghost until its hit points are depleted. Some ghosts have protection against the Strobulb that must be removed before they are vulnerable to stunning. The Poltergust can also be used to manipulate items in the environment, and the Strobulb is needed to activate different mechanisms within the mansions.

Each mansion is split up into mission-based levels featuring specific objectives that Luigi must solve, ranging from retrieving objects to fighting bosses. Upon completion of each mission, Luigi will be given a score ranging from 1 to 3 stars based on a number of factors before being transported back to E. Gadd's bunker, and missions can be replayed again at will. A map of the current mansion's layout is displayed on the 3DS' touchscreen, indicating locked doors, unlocked doors, and objective locations. Early in the game, Luigi obtains the Dark-Light Device, which allows him to detect objects hidden in the environment. Both the Dark-Light Device and Poltergust can be upgraded by collecting treasure from the mansion.

ScareScraper
ScareScraper (referred to as Thrill Tower in Europe) is a cooperative multiplayer mode in which up to four players can play together (either through online or local co-op).

Plot
Professor E. Gadd has relocated to Evershade Valley, which is home to numerous ghosts. Thanks to a mysterious celestial object known as the Dark Moon, the ghosts in the valley are docile and friendly, even helping E. Gadd with his research.

However, one night, King Boo, who escaped from his portrait after it was sold at a yard sale, uses his powers to shatter the Dark Moon, causing the ghosts to become aggressive and an eerie fog to envelop the valley. E. Gadd escapes to his bunker and recruits/abducts Luigi in handling the crisis, remembering their prior experience. Upon teleporting Luigi to the bunker, Professor E. Gadd explains the situation and reveals a piece of the Dark Moon he found while heading to the bunker. Resolving to restore the Dark Moon in order to restore peace to Evershade Valley, E. Gadd sends Luigi to the Gloomy Manor to retrieve the Poltergust 5000 and begin the search for the missing Dark Moon pieces.

Despite his cowardly nature, Luigi makes his way through a series of haunted mansions, encountering ghosts, Boos, and E. Gadd's Toad assistants. As he collects the five missing pieces of the Dark Moon, he and E. Gadd learn of King Boo's involvement, and that King Boo has also captured Luigi's brother, Mario, inside of a painting. After retrieving the final Dark Moon piece, Luigi is transported to the Paranormal Dimension by King Boo, who reveals his plan to take over the human world. However, he is defeated by Luigi, who is promptly returned to his own dimension.

Luigi frees Mario, and restores the Dark Moon, returning the valley's ghosts to their normal friendly state. Upon being released from E. Gadd's storage vault, the ghosts immediately begin to play with Mario and company, with one taking a picture of the group. Luigi returns home, taking a Polterpup (a canine ghost) as a pet.

Development
Development of the game started in late 2010, with Shigeru Miyamoto overseeing the production. Miyamoto stated that he chose to work on the sequel simply because he "wanted to" after using the original game to test the hardware of the Nintendo 3DS. The original game for the Gamecube was tested for 3D effects, but this was later scrapped. This may have been a contributing factor for making a sequel that does support 3D effects. In Summer 2012, the release date was pushed from 2012 to 2013, Q1 in the West and TBA in the East.