Modders are hard at work making big changes to older games, and the latest Luigi’s Mansion mod allows Mario to take the reigns and fight off ghosts while his brother takes the bench. The cult classic spinoff series is well known for providing Mario's beloved brother a chance to shine, and it recently benefited from a third title on the Switch, released on Halloween in 2019.
Though most people would consider Luigi’s Mansion part of the Mario franchise, the game itself solely spotlights the lesser-known brother in the green jumpsuit. The game features a twisted story, in which Mario has been kidnapped and Luigi is tasked with hunting down ghosts and freeing him from the painting. The first title appeared on the GameCube system back in 2001, a year before that console's landmark Mario title, Super Mario Sunshine. Now, one modder has given the spotlight to the iconic red plumber once more, leaving Luigi out of his own mansion.
According to PCGamesN, the Mario’s Mansion mod completely transforms Luigi’s Mansion, exclusively for PC players. The ROM hack has been freshly updated with an enhanced Mario character model, with its own set of scared expressions and detachable hat. The mod is completely comprehensive, in that it completely replaces Luigi, trapping him in the painting this time around and giving Mario a crack at the infamous haunted mansion. The mod overhauls Luigi’s Mansion with fresh voice clips, new in-game text, and even a Mario’s Mansion title screen. The full conversion swaps the character model from Luigi to Mario, as well as all voice lines, giving full immersion with the transition. The mod is courtesy of Nintendo 64 Wizard, with character models by The HappyFaceKing.
The mod is specifically for GameCube emulators on the PC and won’t work on the traditional Luigi’s Mansion game on consoles. Players who wish to install the mod will need an emulator like Dolphin to play the game, and provide their own copy of Luigi’s Mansion. The mod will make the game feel new again with various internal changes, such as modified dropped items like Mario’s hat, as well as other details like a Mario icon present when the player speaks, red arms appearing when opening doors, and a red-roofed mansion as an end-game reward.
The mod completely transforms an older video game, proving that Luigi’s Mansion, and other classic Nintendo games, aren’t quite dead. Modders can still have their field day with them, providing fresh content for nostalgic players to explore. Hopefully, more GameCube games will make a comeback as modders improve and overhaul gameplay components, giving players new angles and reasons to come back. The modding community is hard at work to keep older systems alive, and it seems to be working like a charm. For Mario fans, the iconic plumber has finally taken front and center of Luigi’s Mansion where he belongs.
Source: PCGamesN, Nintendo 64 Wizard