The newly-released WarioWare: Get It Together! has unexpectedly helped fans in their quest to rebuild the original 2001 E3 version of Luigi's Mansion thanks to pre-release assets featured in the title's microgames. The WarioWare series finally made its debut on Nintendo Switch earlier this month, with Get It Together! offering over 200 microgames for one or more players. Fans have been waiting for the series to come to Switch, but didn't expect the release to aid the Luigi's Mansion fan project.
Like previous games in the series, WarioWare: Get It Together! is comprised of fast-paced microgames, many of which are based on popular Nintendo IPs. Players can expect to see a number of recognizable Nintendo titles show up in the latest WarioWare game, including Super Mario Bros. U, Yoshi's Story, Splatoon 2, and even The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Each microgame lasts just a few seconds, and typically features characters, backgrounds, and a gameplay feature seen in the full title. The WarioWare Luigi's Mansion microgames task players with finding ghosts, in a setting similar to the original GameCube game.
As spotted by VGC, Luigi's Mansion fans who have been rebuilding an early 2001 E3 version of the game have discovered that WarioWare: Get It Together!'s microgames don't use assets from the final Luigi build, but instead much earlier ones. The pre-release assets seen in the new WarioWare are more detailed than those seen in the released version of Luigi's Mansion, and due to their higher resolution, provide a much better basis for the fan restoration mod. The higher-resolution tablecloths, sofas, and chairs have already been incorporated into the "Luigi's Mansion Beta Restoration" project from Portable Productions on Twitter. Details on the mod, and the original 2001 video, can also be found on Portable Productions' YouTube channel.
The unexpected WarioWare discovery has been a boon for the Luigi's Mansion project, with the pre-release assets looking considerably better than those used in the final game. The E3 2001 footage of Luigi's Mansion showed off features, characters, and scenery that didn't make it into the final release, leading to Portable Productions' quest to recreate the original vision. On Twitter, Portable Productions speculated that the E3 version of Luigi's Mansion featured better graphics and textures than the final release due to file size limitations.
WarioWare: Get It Together! might be one of the last places that restoration enthusiasts may have looked for pre-release assets, but their inclusion has not only benefited the Nintendo Switch game, but also the Luigi's Mansion project. Players who encounter the microgames in WarioWare should look out for any differences between the mini ghost hunts and the original GameCube release, with much higher resolution seen when playing WarioWare on Nintendo Switch.
WarioWare: Get It Together! is available now on Nintendo Switch.
Source: Twitter/Portable Productions (via VGC)