Luigi’s Mansion 3’s developers are back again in another interview to discuss the upcoming Nintendo Switch game, this time with Eurogamer.net.
In their talk with Eurogamer’s Tom Phillips, game director Yoshihito Ikebata and developer Kensuke Tanabe discussed cut features, the possibly of Nintendo Labo support, how online play will function, why Luigi is so darn irresistible to women, and, of course, Birdo.
While the interview in its full form definitely needs to be checked out, we pulled some highlights that’re particularly interesting.
Firstly, it sounds like the developers weren’t very happy with certain aspects of Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon/Luigi’s Mansion 2, which helped inform game creation decisions for the third installment.
“I wanted to change the setting [for Luigi’s Mansion 3],” Tanabe said. “And, for me personally, I was not a huge fan of the boss battles in Luigi’s Mansion 2. I want people to feel excited fighting them, that’s something I was focused on.”
Ikebata added that they implemented elements like Slam and Burst in order to differentiate it from Dark Moon.
The choice of a hotel setting for Luigi’s Mansion 3 was a unique one — certainly different from the locales of the first and second games.
It seems like this was chosen partially due to the intriguing visuals a hotel offers players.
“With the overall hotel structure and different floors, we wanted players to be able to visualise how the hotel was set up,” Tanabe said. “So, for example, if there’s water dripping through the ceiling, maybe there’s a bathtub upstairs and you should look up there. Having that kind of three-dimensional exploration is something we put a lot of focus on.”
However, not all ideas the developers had for the hotel setting were used in the final game.
A teleportation method via television sets was thought up — but later scrapped.
“One idea was the puzzle gimmick of turning on a TV in one room and being able to emerge via a TV in another room – and go back and forth between them,” Tanabe said. “We had planned that warp feature throughout the game but ultimately we weren’t able to put a TV in every room, so we didn’t do it throughout the hotel.”
Something else left on the cutting room floor was implementing hotel areas with rollercoasters running through them; this idea didn’t move forward due to a desire to make things “even weirder.”
King Boo’s role in the game was explained, as well, and it sounds like he’s really not having any of Luigi’s nonsense this time.
“King Boo has been defeated by Luigi at least twice in previous games, so this time he comes back with a vengeance,” Tanabe said. “This time the whole gang comes to the hotel – they’ve received an invitation, but it’s a trap. He captures them all in portraits, except for Luigi, who somehow escapes. Now, he’s coming back to save everybody despite being very terrified.”
Some smaller details were also shared: Players will be able to enjoy Luigi’s Mansion 3 both with strangers and friends over the internet, Nintendo Labo support is also being considered by the team — if there’s “an opportunity down the line,” in-game money can be used to buy hints to find collectible gems, Mario, Peach, and the Toads will be placed in a “safe camp” when rescued, and the Polterpup will support Luigi throughout the game, offering help and hints.
Nintendo of America executive Bill Trinen’s comments about how Luigi is popular with females was also brought up, and Tanabe and Ikebata had plenty to say about it.
“At least from the comments I see online, people say he’s constantly terrified, very comical, and it’s adorable,” Ikebata said. “Mario is a star but Luigi is a bit more timid – a little bit more relatable, realistic. Maybe it’s that.”
The topic of Birdo was brought up near the interview’s end, with Phillips asking if Tanabe (who worked on 1987’s Doki Doki Panic, in which Birdo first appeared) could possibly get Birdo to return to the Mario Kart series.
Tanabe told Phillips to direct his request to Hideki Konno, head of the Mario Kart franchise.
Tanabe also shot down our dreams of Birdo appearing in Luigi’s Mansion 3, confirming that she will not be in the game while offering a reasoning.
“Birdo is such a unique character that you have to be careful when you put them in the game, in case it does not match the mood,” he said.
However, he did mention that in the games he makes, Birdo does appear, and she will make another appearance elsewhere… someday.
“In the future I will put Birdo somewhere,” Tanabe said.
The interview ended on the topic of… Metroid Prime 4? Yep, that’s right: Kensuke Tanabe is also working on the next installment in the Metroid Prime series, which was infamously delayed earlier this year, and Phillips was certain to ask of any updates after the title was a no-show at E3 2019.
“I shouldn’t say, it’s a little tricky… To be completely honest, at this E3 I just want people to pay attention to Luigi,” Tanabe said. “If I mention something about Metroid Prime 4, people will focus on that. But when the time comes, I am so ready to talk about it!”
What’re your thoughts? Let us know in the comments!
For more Luigi’s Mansion 3 goodness, be sure to check out our article on another interview Yoshihito Ikebata and Kensuke Tanabe did — with Kotaku!
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Written by Daniel Dell-Cornejo
Daniel is an editor at Nintendo Wire. Always with his head in the clouds, he is never apart from his creative thoughts – a blessing for an aspiring fiction writer. As a journalist and lifelong gamer, he aims to provide readers with the very best in Nintendo coverage.
