Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Luigi's Mansion: Area 4

After defeating the ghosts of Area 3, we return to the balcony and water any remaining plants. The Diamond door we can now unlock is on the left side of the balcony. As soon as the door is unsealed and the thorns are gone, lightning strikes the mansion and the power goes out. Gadd tells us that the ghosts will have the run of the mansion now. Ghosts will appear everywhere now, even in the rooms and hallways you've cleared. Boos will not appear, however. All of the Toads have fled the mansion as well. We open the Diamond door and go to the end of the hallway on the right to the Telephone Room.

Telephone Room
A room dedicated entirely to telephones? This mansio has everything. Aside from a cabinet and some trunks, there are three telephones in the room. One of the phones is ringing. We answer it and the caller asks if Luigi or Bowser is speaking. If you answer Bowser, the caller will hang up and another phone will ring. This time, the caller knows it's Luigi and says it is Toad calling. The Toads don't like the dark and left when the power went out. They want Luigi to turn the lights on and mention the breaker switch in the Breaker Room. Gadd calls on another phone and mentions a Portrait Ghost named Uncle Grimmly. He likes the dark and hides in rooms with mirrors. After we're done talking, ghosts appear. The trunks and cabinets have money. Even though the room is cleared, the lights will not come on. We go in search of Uncle Grimmly.

Wardrobe Room
Uncle Grimmly is in this room. He floats in front of the mirror, saying that people find him old and cranky and people are afraid of him. When Luigi's not looking, he'll say "Booooo!" When he does that, shine the light on him and vacuum. Defeating him will make a chest appear with the key to the Breaker Room.

Breaker Room
Once in the Breaker Room, throw the switch on the back wall to make the lights come on again. The Toads will reappear, as well as the Boos. Boo B. Hatch, with 200 HP, is in this room. The chest has a key to the Cellar across the hall.

Cellar
The Cellar is full of shelves, barrels, and dust. The piles of dust regenerate when you leave the room, making this a tedious room to chase Boos into. There are grabbing ghosts, as well as a Speedy Spirit in the shelf on the left wall near the door to the stairs. The shelves have money and hearts. To move further into the room, vacuum up the dust piles. The chest has the key to the room behind the Telephone Room, the Clockwork room. Booripedes is also in here, with 100 HP.

Telephone Room
We haven't cleared all of the ghosts in this room. There are skeletons in the trunks. This makes a chest appear with money. Boomerang, with 300 HP, also appears.

Clockwork Room
This room has several cuckoo clocks, some of which play the mansion theme when you check them out. There are three Clockwork Soldiers standing at attention in the center of the room. Once you activate all of the clocks, the Soldiers will start moving around. Vacuum up the wind-up key on their backs, then vacuum them up. The blue one has the pearls. Booscaster will appear, with 300 HP. Once that's taken care of, go into the center "house" to go up the chimney to the Roof.

Roof
On the roof are some masked ghosts around a fire. After you deal with them, a couple of ice ghosts appear, so use the Fire Element. The chest will appear on top of the left chimney, with a key to the room across from the Telephone Room. Before we go there, we go the the right chimney and drop down into the Sealed Room.

Sealed Room
Like the Hidden Room, this room is gold and sparkly. There are several chests in the room with money, but one chest will release all the ghosts in the room. This room is the room on the second floor with its doors barred. Once all the ghosts are gone, the chest with a key to another room on the second floor appears. Vacuum up the piece of cloth on the back wall to reveal a mirror and check the mirror with the Game Boy Horror to warp to the Foyer. It's the only way out of there.

Sitting Room
The key from the Sealed Room opens the door near the stairs to the third floor. The door is sealed behind us. Water the plants and light the candles to make the ghosts appear. Both elements are in the room, so don't worry if you didn't bring either. There are a few fire ghosts that require the Water Element to defeat. The Boo in the room is Boolivia, with 100 HP. We go into the room to the right.

Guest Room
This room is upside down. The ceiling lights are on the floor and the furniture is on the ceiling. There's a small ghost, named Sue Pea, in the bed, promising not to wet the bed. She says not to try to wake her up. Spray water on her to wake her up, then vacuum. She'll try to run away and will remain upside down for the duration. Once you defeat her, the chest will appear on the ceiling. Leave the room and the whole mansion will shake. Go back inside to find the room right-side up and get the chest with money. Boonita, the Boo, has 100 HP.

Armory
This room is across the hall from the Telephone Room. It has several suits of armor. There are ghosts and money in the trunks. Check out the suits of armor to make the ghosts appear. Check them from the side or behind them to avoid their maces hitting you. There are six ghosts total, including a banana ghost, and a pounding ghost. The chest contains a key to a room in the basement. Catch UnderBoo with 150 HP and go through the door in the back.

Ceramics Studio
There are several vases in here, some with money. Check them all out and a red ghost, Jarvis, appears in one of the vases. He asks our opinion of his jar collection and says we'll have to challenge him to look at them. We'll have to freeze him seven times. Grab the Ice Element coming out of a jar on the right and hit him with ice every time he appears from a jar. I recommend standing in the middle of the room so you can see all the jars at once. If you do not complete the challenge, he warps you out of the room. Once you do complete the challenge, vacuum him up. He'll try throwing vases at you. Once he's defeated, get money and a diamond from the chest, and TamBoorine, with 200 HP.

Pipe Room
This room is in the basement. Leave through the left door of the Cellar and go down to the last door on the left side of the hallway. There are grabbing ghosts in the room. Once the lights come on, the chest will appear behind a waterfall. There's a valve in the room that will shut off the water, but it's on the other side of a river of green stuff. Use the Ice Element in the room to freeze the green river so you can cross it safely. The chest contains a key to the room next door. Get Boofant, with 300 HP.

Cold Storage
This room is filled with ice. The icicles on the ceiling will drop down on you. There's a fire going from a propane lighter in the room. Use the Fire Element from it to light the two sets of firewood in the left corner. After lighting the first one, a ghost frozen in ice appears. He's Sir Weston, and he says he likes the cold. Light the other fire and the ice melts. He says we've made it too hot and sends waves of ice towards us. We have to use fire to melt the ice that reforms around him. Keep moving while thawing him to avoid his attacks. Once the ice melts, vacuum. After you defeat him, get Boolderdash, with 150 HP. The chest contains a key to a room on the third floor. Gadd calls to mention a ghost named Van Gore. Gadd thinks Van Gore's been painting and releasing the smaller ghosts we've been dealing with all over the mansion.

The Artist's Studio
This is the room on the third floor, next to the Safari Room. There are six paintings of the small ghosts we've seen in the mansion. The door is sealed. Van Gore says we're interfering because he gives life to his creations. The paintings come alive one by one, with three of each ghost coming from a single portrait. Once you capture all the ghosts from one painting, another will come to life. Once all six types are taken care of, vacuum Van Gore. After you defeat him, his last painting comes to life: an open chest with the Spade Key, which leads to a room in the basement. Get Bootique, with 300 HP, first, and get a Gold Diamond for catching all the Boos.

Secret Altar
In the basement, at the end of the hallway outside the left door of the Cellar, is a door. It leads to a winding hallway to the Spade door, which is sealed. Opening it leads to the Secret Altar This is the room we saw from the Bottom of the Well. Get money from the lights and pillars to the right. King Boo is admiring his Mario painting. He calls the Mario Bros gullible for checking out the mansion. He enjoys his Mario painting and wants a Luigi painting to match. Unlike the other Boos, he'll fight us. The room spins and the Mario painting turns into a Bowser painting, which inhales Luigi.

Luigi winds up on the roof of the mansion, which is surrounded by flames. Bowser lands on the roof, adjusts his neck, and breathes fire. He can also inhale Luigi, which should be avoided at all costs, because once he spits Luigi out, he'll immediately breathe fire and Luigi can't escape it. Bowser will also make spike balls appear. Pick them up with the vacuum and wait until Bowser lowers his head to breathe fire. That's when you should release the spike ball, which makes Bowser's head come off. King Boo will appear from the neck, revealing that the Bowser is mechanical. Now's the time to vacuum King Boo, who has 500 HP. You can move around while King Boo leaves Bowser, so make sure you know where you are. While you're trying to catch King Boo, the Bowser head will float around, shooting ice at you, so keep moving. King Boo will eventually return to Bowser and the cycle will start again. I recommend going to the other side of the roof once this happens. It's somewhat difficult to vacuum King Boo when he's floating off the roof. Once you drain his HP under 200, the Bowser head will reattach upside down, so Bowser will run around aimlessly. Keep out of his way. This is a difficult battle, so keep at it. I finally drained the last bit of HP from King Boo and it's over. I had 2 HP remaining, so I'm not getting a gold frame on this one by any means. Luigi returns to the Secret Altar and grabs Mario's painting. Mario's fallen asleep. Gadd summons us to the lab. He tells us that everything we've gone through took place in a single night. The mansion was fake, but all the money and treasures we collected were real. We make our portraits and tally our money.

Uncle Grimmly- Gold
Jarvis- Silver
Sue Pea- Bronze
Sir Weston- Bronze
Clockwork Soldiers- Silver
Vincent Van Gore- Silver
King Boo- Bronze
23 Ghosts Total
50/50 Boos Caught
83,720,000 G Collected

Gadd puts Mario's painting in the machine and runs it in reverse. Mario gets stuck in the machine and comes out dizzy. Luigi finds this hilarious. We're done here! Roll Credits!

At the end of the credits, it is revealed that Gadd used the money Luigi collected to build him a mansion. Depending on how much you collected will determine the size of the mansion and the rank you get. I got a large, Rank B mansion. I'll take it!

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Luigi's Mansion: Area 3

Now that we have the Club Key, we can go further into the mansion. The Club Door is in the very back of the mansion, near the bathroom. It leads to the Courtyard.

Courtyard
There are several plants, a fountain, some statues, and a well. Watering the plants will give you an emerald and money. As we approach the center of the Courtyard, we hear Mario's voice saying, "Help me!" from far away. Vacuum the statues for some money and check the birdhouse for Mario's Letter. There are ghosts that dangle from branches and pink blob ghosts that appear from the ground. To the right is a tool shed with a crying Toad. The door will hit you as it opens, so open it from the side. The Toad says there's something terrible in the well. The well is in the center of the Courtyard and has a ladder leading to the bottom.

Bottom of the Well
There isn't much water at the bottom of the well, but there is a short path. It leads to a lit area. Luigi looks through the mouth of a lion statue into a well-lit room. Mario is in a painting on the wall, saying, "Get me outta here!" Luigi is frightened and looks away. If Luigi goes back, he can see King Boo looking at the painting. Back near the ladder is one dangling ghost. Vacuum it up to turn the light on and make a key appear.

Courtyard
We talk to Toad again. He wonders how the Boos could do that to Mario and he lost it. He ran around the mansion looking for a hiding place and noticed Mario left some things lying around the mansion. He didn't pick up anything, nor remembers where he saw them, but knows there were five items in total: Mario's Hat, Glove, Shoe, Letter, and Star. We tell Toad we'll find them and he'll save our game. We clear out the ghosts to make the lights come on and get a chest with money. The key from the Well leads to the door on the right that leads back into the mansion.

Rec Room
This room is full of exercise equipment, where a ghost named Biff Atlas is working out. He says he's buff and wonders if Luigi would like to be his punching bag. There are three punching bags surrounding him, so we hit him three times with the punching bags, dodging the backswing. After the second hit, he'll start moving around, flailing his arms. After the third hit, we can vacuum him up. This can be a little difficult with the many obstacles in the room. Once we defeat him, a chest with money will appear. The Boo in the room is Booregard, with 100 HP. We can leave through thte door in the front of the room. The door to the left is locked and leads to Area 2. To the right is a set of stairs leading to the second floor. One of the doors is on fire. Extinguish it so you can enter the Tea Room.

Tea Room
The Tea Room has two long tables. There are some grabbing ghosts in the room. Behind the left table is a piece of cheese hiding a Gold Mouse, which has a ruby. There are special panels on the floor and ceiling which allow Luigi to walk on the ceiling. Once the ghosts are gone, a large white chest will appear on the table, so flip onto the ceiling and flip down onto the table. The chest contains the Ice Element Medal. Gadd tells us we can find Ice Elemental Ghosts in cold places, like the refrigerator. The medal also allows us to shoot balls of ice. We can use ice on water ghosts to make their hearts appear. We also find Mr. Boojangles, with 50 HP. We leave the room and go through another door to a hallway. The vases have money. There are electric ghosts that appear from the walls that explode, so avoid them. All the doors on the left side of the hallway are open, so we go into the Washroom.

Washroom (Second Floor)
The toilet in this room has a leaky tank, so we can get the water element. We'll need to use it on the ghost in the toilet. The lights come on and a chest with money appears.

Bathroom (Second Floor)
In this bathroom, there's a ghost named Miss Petunia taking a bath in the tub. She says she enjoys the hot shower. We add ice to the tub and she sneezes. We can now vacuum her up. Try to keep her away from the tub as pearls can get stuck behind it. The chest has a key to a door on the first floor. Before we go there, we'll check out the room across the hall.

Nana's Room
There's a knitting grandmother ghost named Nana in the rocking chair. She wonders if she should play with Luigi. The chest of drawers on the right and the chandelier have money. Tap the table near Nana to make her balls of yarn fall on the floor. We have to pick up each ball of yarn and hit her with it. She starts moving around the room once the balls of yarn are on the floor. We can vacuum her up after hitting her with the three balls of yarn. The chest has a key to a door on the second floor. The Boo LimBooger appears after we defeat Nana. He has 100 HP. We have two keys to use, so we'll go to the room on the second floor.

Astral Hall
In the center of the room is a star-shaped platform surrounded by candles. We must light the candles to go to the next room. Once the candles are lit, their flames turn purple, ghosts appear, and the door to the hallway is covered in thorns. The ghosts have spears and masks, just as in the ballroom. Grabbing ghosts appear after you get the masked ghosts. Once the lights are on, get money from the chandelier and cabinet, as well as the Boo Boonswoggle, with 100 HP. The Boos have much more health now. Go through the door on the right to the Observatory.

Observatory
There is a telescope in the room. Luigi looks through it into space and sees the moon. The walls of the room seem to disappear and falling stars appear "outside". Pick one up with the vacuum and shoot at the moon from the edge of the room. It lights up and explodes, creating a celestial path to Mario's Star. We go downstairs to the locked door on the first floor.

Billiards Room
In the Billiards Room, there's a ghost named Slim Bankshot shooting billiard balls all over the room. He asks if Luigi wants some of this. Vacuum up a billiard ball and hit him so you can vacuum him. Once defeated, open the chest, which contains money and a diamond. Chase down Boo Hoo with 50 HP and go into the room on the right.

Projection Room
There's a large screen on the wall and a projector on a table near the front wall. The cabinet has money. We have to turn on the projector to make the ghosts appear. That didn't quite work the first time I went in the room, so I tried vacuuming the screen. It wouldn't let go, so I let it go, revealing an image of Boo saying, "Get out of here!" I left and returned, and the projector started working. There are around six grabbing ghosts in the room. Once we defeat them, a red chest with Mario's Glove appears. ShamBoo's in the room with 50 HP. We head upstairs.

The Twins' Room
The room has a set of bunk beds and lots of toys. We spin the mobile on the ceiling with the vacuum and the twins Orville and Henry appear. They want to play hide and seek, so we leave the room while they hide. They'll say when they're ready. There will be several boxes in the room. We have to find which ones they're hiding in. If we mess up once, we have to leave while they hide again. Once you find both of them, they'll say you cheated and grab their toys. One will fly on an airplane and the other will ride a car and they'll both attack you. Vacuum up their toys, then vacuum them up. They each have 100 HP. Once you get rid of them, a red chest with Mario's Shoe will appear. Booris is also in the room with 100 HP. Now that we have all of Mario's items, we go to a room in the first floor.

Fortune Teller's Room
We shine the flashlight on the crystal ball to make the resident fortune teller, Madame Clairvoya appear. Talking to her reveals that she can give us insight on what is happening using Mario's items. With the Glove, she can tell us that Mario is still alive, but is neither completely with the living nor in the spirit world. The Shoe tells her that Mario is imprisoned in a painting at an altar. The Letter tells her that Luigi should look out for Boos and beware of King Boo. King Boo wears a crown and caught Mario. The Star tells her that the Boos have strength in numbers, but fear the Poltergust 3000. Nothing we didn't already know. The Hat shows her an image of Bowser. She thinks King Boo may have revived him. That's interesting information. She can now return to her painting satisfied. Now is the time to vacuum her, but treat this as a regular portrait ghost battle as she can escape. The chest has a key to a door on the third floor. To get to the third floor, go up the stairs near the Rec Room, go past the Tea Room and towards the front of the mansion where the hallway splits. When the hallway splits again, go to the right to reach the stairs. There are two doors, but only the front one is real.

Safari Room
Get the ice element before entering. This room has animal pelts, trophies and crates. There's a piece of cheese by the crates. There are water ghosts that need the ice element to show their hearts. Other ghosts include the banana ghosts. The chest key has a key on this floor to the outside. Catch Little Boo Peep with 100 HP, then leave the room through the left door and go to the very end of the hallway.

Balcony
The Balcony is very large. There are several plants near the railing and some Boos spinning in a circle in the center. They say that we've made it this far. It's their turn now to assume their true form. They disappear and circle Luigi and form a giant Boo, Boolossus. Boolossus bounces around. We can hold Boolossus in the vortex of the vacuum, then lead it over to one of the two statues of unicorns. The horns will pop Boolossus into the fifteen Boos that made it. Grab the ice element and ice the Boos overhead. They will avoid you when you use the ice, but you can get some of them. Once they drop to the ground, immediately vacuum them up or they'll thaw and fly around again. The Boos will reform Boolossus, who'll get smaller as you vacuum up more Boos. At the end of the ordeal, I had 35 HP left, as the Boos dive to attack you when you're not using ice. A large gold chest appears with the blue Diamond Key. Gadd calls us to the lab.

We make our portraits and count our money:
Madame Clairvoya- Gold
Biff Atlas- Silver
Nana- Gold
Miss Petunia- Gold
Slim Bankshot- Silver
Hnery and Orville- Silver
Boolossus- Bronze
Total 16 Ghosts
43,945,000G collected
35/50 Boos caught
End Area 3

Not bad. I got a bronze frame on Boolossus, but that's understandable when you're being attacked by fifteen Boos at once. There's only one area left.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Nintendo Direct 1/23/13

It's time for another Nintendo Direct! Nintendo has already announced two new Pokemon games for the 3DS: Pokemon X and Pokemon Y. This Nintendo Direct will focus on upcoming Nintendo titles for the Wii U.

The Wii U will receive two system updates in spring and summer to launch software faster and return the the menu faster. The Virtual Console will be added after the spring update. The first titles will be for the NES and SNES and you will be allowed to save a back-up of your progress, play off the TV, and access the Miiverse community. Game Boy Advance games are also in the planning stages. If you purchased a Virtual Console game on the Wii and would like it on your Wii U, it will be available for a reduced price of $1.00 for NES games and $1.50 for SNES games. As it is the NES's (Famicon)30th Anniversary, selected NES and SNES titles will be available for 30 days at the price of 30 cents. This price is for everyone, regardless of whether you purchased it on the Wii. The following titles will be released, in order: Balloon Fight, F-Zero, Punch Out! Featuring Mr. Dream, Kirby's Adventure, Super Metroid, Yoshi, Donkey Kong.

Miiverse will receive changes, including the ability to browse Miiverse from smartphones. Changes will be made one by one to improve Miiverse.

Nintedo will not be releasing any new Wii U titles in January or February, but has several titles launching in March onward. These titles include Game and Wario, Wii Fit U, The Wonderful 101, and Lego City Undercover.

Iwata Asks will have a new format, including focusing on the game development studio and its culture, rather than just one of the games it is developing.

The Super Smash Bros for the 3DS and Wii U will have the first screenshots revealed at this year's E3. The game is on track and is taking a lot of work.

Other new games include a 3D Mario game and a Mario Kart game for Wii U. They will be playable at E3. Another Wii Party for the Wii U is in the works. There is a Yoshi game in the works that has a similar style as Kirby Epic Yarn. In a partnership with Atlus, Nintendo is creating Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem.

Nintendo has a Legend of Zelda game in production for the Wii U. They hope to change the conventions of playing alone and completing dungeons in a certain order. It's going to take a while, so to tide fans over, they will offer a Wii U version of Wind Waker. They plan to release it Fall 2013.

Monolithsoft, makers of Xenoblade Chronicles are making a new game called X.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Luigi's Mansion: Area 2

This part of the mansion is much larger and has many more ghosts. Go to the Foyer, and approach the double doors covered with thorns. Now that we have the Heart key, the thorns will disappear and we can unlock the door, which has a heart design on it. The door leads to a dark hallway, where a Gold Mouse may appear. If we go down the hallway to the right, at the end is a door to some stairs down into the basement.

Breaker Room
This is the only room we can access right now. Other than a Speedy Spirit that gives us a lot of money hiding in the table on the left, there's not much we can do here.

Back on the first floor, in the dark hallway, go down the fork in the hallway and make a left. In front of another door with thorns are more rooms. One of the rooms on the left is unlocked.

Bathroom (First Floor)
This room has a large bathtub. Two white ghosts with 10 HP each will appear and try to grab you. Move the Control Stick back and forth to shake them off. Once you take care of them, the key will appear on the shelf. This key unlocks the Ball Room.

Ball Room
The Ball Room is located in the fork of the two hallways on this floor on the right side. There are lots of spear-wielding ghosts wearing masks in this room. Vacuum off the masks, then vacuum them up before they disappear. If they disappear, they will reappear wearing masks. Once all of the masked ghosts are gone, the two circular dance floors will start spinning and a ghostly couple called the Floating Whirlindas appear. They will dance over the dance floor. Stand on the dance floor facing away from them. When they say, "Dance", now's your chance to vacuum them up. There aren't many obstacles in the room, which makes it easy to get them in one go. After you take care of them, vacuum the chandeliers for money and gold bars. The key in the chest leads to the Storage Room, which is just behind the Ball Room.

Storage Room
There are three grabbing ghosts with 20 HP in this room. Once the lights come on, we check out the left wall. Luigi says it sounds funny. In the mirror on the back wall, there's the image of a switch. We walk directly in front of it to the front wall, and press the switch we can't see. The left wall moves farther back, revealing a grate on the floor. There's a sign on the back wall that says "Danger". Vacuum the sign to reveal another switch. Pressing it opens the grate and several Boos, including a Boo wearing a crown, are released. They say they're going to do the same thing to us as they did to Mario. They notice the Poltergust 3000 and flee. Gadd says the Boos released the Portrait Ghosts. It was a good idea that we found them, but we ideally should not have let them go all at once.

We return to the lab, where Gadd explains that Boos increase in power when they travel together. We have to catch them individually to weaken their power as a group. We have to find them because they hide in furniture and other objects. The Game Boy Horror has a Boo Radar on the top that flashes red and beeps when something round is hidden nearby. There are 50 Boos total. We return to the mansion to begin the search of the Boos.

Parlor
Boos only register on the Boo Radar once the lights come on. To begin our search, we return to the rooms of Area 1, because all of the lights are on there. We wander around the room, going near objects to see if the radar starts flashing red. Check the object with (A) or use the vacuum to draw out what's hiding. Sometimes, it's a bomb or a Boo Ball. When you find the Boo, it will appear, then fly around the room, and try to leave. Just vacuum it up. It won't drag you around like the other ghosts. If it escapes, if you can, follow it. If you follow it immediately, it will be visible, but if you wait a while, it will hide again. The Boo in the Parlor is Bamboo and has 30 HP. When you catch a Boo, Gadd offers to save your game. Once all round objects are found, the Boo Radar will stop beeping. It will continue to beep even if you've caught the Boo, but haven't found the other object.

Study
Taboo- 50 HP

Anteroom
Bootha- 50 HP

Wardrobe Room
Game Boo Advance- 30 HP

Master Bedroom
Boolicious- 30 HP

Nursery
Turboo- 50 HP

Ball Room
Boo La La- 60 HP

Storage Room
Game Boo- 50 HP

After we clear all of the Boos from the rooms with the lights on, Gadd tells us to go splash our face with some water in the washroom. It's next to the bathroom. (The difference is that the Washroom has a toilet and a sink and the Bathroom has a bathtub.)

Washroom
There's a Toad crying in the Washroom. He says hed dropped something really important into the toilet. The vacuum makes a key appear out of it. It's gross, but it makes the lights come on. The Toad will save our game. The key leads to the Fortune Teller's Room, which is on the front wall next to the door to the stairs to the basement.

Fortune Teller's Room
There's a table in the center of the room with a crystal ball. If we shine our flashlight on it, a ghost named Madame Clairvoya will appear. We will deal with her later. In the left chest in the room is a gold bar. We go through the door to the right into the Mirror Room.

Mirror Room
This mansion has just about everything if it has a room with just a large mirror in it. The door locks behind you and is covered in thorns. There are blue grabbing ghosts that appear in the mirror, but are actually on your side of the mirror. Vacuum them up as if you could see them on your side. They have 20 HP each. Once the lights come on, a large red chest appears with a red medal inside. Gadd tells us this is the Fire Element Medal, which allows us to use the Fire Element, meaning the Poltergust turns into a flamethrower. We have to vacuum up Fire Element Ghosts, which appear from sources of fire. A meter will show us how much fire power we have. We will need this power to make events happen and make us able to catch some ghosts. We catch Kung Boo, with 40 HP, then use the Fire Element from the torch in the room to light the candles. The door unlocks and we return to the Fortune Teller's Room.

Fortune Teller's Room
We light the candles in the room to get make a key appear on one of the posts near the crystal ball. The key opens the door to the far left of the heart double doors, to the Laundry Room.

Laundry Room
Luigi checks the washing machine and finds Mario's Hat, freshly laundered. There are grabbing ghosts and punching ghosts in here, each with 20 HP. The door on the back wall is fake and will hit you, causing you to lose money and HP. The chest that appears when the lights come on has lots of money. The Boo, Boogie, has 40 HP. The door on the front wall leads to the Butler's Room.

Butler's Room
There's no one in the Butler's Room besides some mice. On the right wall is a mousehole. Check it out with the Game Boy Horror and a gust will come out of it that draws you into another room.

Hidden Room
This room is only accessible via the mousehole. Even in the dark, we can see it's gold and sparkly. Be sure to bring the Fire Element ability in here. There are several chests in the room, with money and ghosts that can only be caught after being weakened with fire. There are several obstacles in the room, so it can be difficult to catch the ghosts. The large chest has several gemstones, so be sure to collect them. The Boo in this room is Gumboo, with 40 HP.

We leave these rooms and go into the hallway, towards the back of the house. There's a set of three candles floating around. Use fire to light them. This will reveal the butler, Shivers, who is afraid of fire. He will return to his room slowly, so you can beat him back.

Butler's Room
Once Shivers returns, he will go sit in his chair. That is when you can vacuum him up. Pick up the key in the chest and catch Peekaboo, with 40 HP.

Conservatory
The key from the Butler's Room leads to the Conservatory, which is near the door with the thorns in the back of the mansion. There are several instruments. Touch them to make them start playing music, specifically, the original Super Mario Bros. theme. This will make a ghost, Melody Pianissima, appear at the piano. She's moved by the musical performance. She then plays another tune on the piano and asks us to guess what inspired the piece. It's the water theme from the original Super Mario Bros. She then says she won't hold back on us and sends sheet music flying at us. Vacuum it all up and you can then vacuum her up. Once she's taken care of, the chest contains a key to the door across from the Ball Room. The Boo in the room is Boomeo, with 40 HP.

Dining Room
This room has a long dining table, with one ghost chowing down. There are several banana peels in the room, so vacuum them up before you trip. In the cabinets are money and a Speedy Spirit. Under one of the chairs is a piece of cheese hiding a Gold Mouse. Light the candles and two more ghosts appear to serve the dining ghost, Mr. Luggs, more food. Vacuum the attending ghosts first, then vacuum what Mr. Luggs is eating. When he notices the food is gone, he becomes angry and starts breathing fire at Luigi. Dodge his attacks and wait for him to pause, which is when you can vacuum him up. The chest that appears has lots of money, including a diamond and two gold bars. Catch Boodacious, with 80 HP while you're here. The door to the left leads to the Kitchen.

Kitchen
In the kitchen, there are flying pots and pans. There's a Gold Mouse here, as well as a Speedy Spirit in the ice box. Use fire on the oven to get a ruby. Open the refrigerator and use fire on the ghost inside. Once the lights come on, a large blue chest will appear with the Water Element Medal. Gadd explains that it works similarly to the Fire Element Medal, but we can access only one power at a time. With water, we can shoot a large ball of water. Water also has purifying properties, so we should water the plants to make good things happen. The door to the outside of the mansion is on fire, but we can put it out now and go outside. Before you do, track down Booligan, with 80 HP and get him.

Boneyard
This is a small patch of land outside the mansion. There's a ghostly dog named Spooky in his dog house. He will try to attack Luigi. Near the right wall is a bean in the ground. Water it to make it grow a little. Put a little water in Spooky's dish to make him happy and bark. Someone will ask Mr. Bones to keep the dog quiet. A skeleton appears with 30 HP. We vacuum it up, except one bone remains, which attracts Spooky, so we can vacuum him up. He has 100 HP. The lights come on. We check the dog house using the Game Boy Horror and another gust appears, just like with the mousehole. This takes us into the Graveyard.

Graveyard
There's no way out of here until you defeat all the enemies, so be prepared. Extinguish the torches with water to make more of the skeletons appears. They'll throw things at you and hide behind the tombstones. Getting all of them makes the largest tombstone light up. We approach it and lightning strikes. A ghost appears and takes us to a new arena. This ghost is Bogmire. He makes shadows of himself that try to attack us. One of them is much larger than the others. Vacuum up a smaller shadow and carry it around until you see the real Bogmire, who is more pink/purple in color. Release the shadow onto him and then begin vacuuming. When he breaks away, get another shadow and repeat. He has 100 HP. Once he's defeated, a large gold chest appears with the green Club Key. Gadd summons us back to the lab, after assuring us that the lightning didn't damage the Poltergust 3000.

We make our portraits and count our money.

Mr. Luggs- Gold
Spooky- Gold
Shivers- Gold
Melody Pianissima- Silver
The Floating Whirlindas- Gold
Bogmire- Silver
9 Ghosts Total
24,725,000 G collected
10/ 50 Boos caught (some got away into inaccessible areas of the mansion)

This was a lot more difficult, with more ghosts to capture, plus the Boos. We'll see how it goes in the next area.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Luigi's Mansion: Area 1

Luigi returns to the mansion to find a Toad crying by the stairs. Peach told him to look for Mario, but the ghosts freaked him out. Luigi offers to help and the lights come on. Toad will now save our game whenever we ask. Avoid standing under the chandelier, as it will drop on you. All we can do now is go into the Parlor.

Parlor
It's still dark in the Parlor, but some candles with purple flames are lit. Luigi vacuums up the flames and the portraits in the room start shaking. The portraits say that darkness is dangerous because the ghosts will appear and get you, like they got Mario. Three orange ghosts appear with 10 HP each. Vacuum them up to make the lights come on and a chest appear. The chest contains a key to the door in the back of the Parlor, leading to the Anteroom.

Anteroom
Once you enter the room, the door locks behind you and is covered in thorns. This room has more ghosts. There are four orange ghosts and two pink ones with 20 HP each, that try to punch Luigi. After the lights come on, a chest in the middle of the room appears with the key to the door to the left. The cabinet has a lot of money in it and the vase on the left has a gold bar. The door leads to the Wardrobe Room.

Wardrobe Room
There are three orange ghosts and 2 green ghosts with 40 HP each that throw bananas. Vacuum the bananas up before you slip on them, which will cause you to take damage, lose money, and stop vacuuming any ghosts. Before you vacuum up all the ghosts, open the wardrobe on the right. This will release a blue ghost called a Spooky Speedster with 10 HP. Vacuum it up to make a lot of money and a large gemstone appear. Open the other wardrobe for another ghost. Once the lights come on, the key to the room to the left at the top of the stairs in the foyer will appear on top of the closet rack. There's a door to the left that leads outside.

Outside is a small balcony with another crying Toad. He, too, is looking for Mario. The light comes on and Toad will save our game. We go back to the foyer because the door to the Parlor is no longer locked. Gadd gives us a call on the Game Boy Horror, saying he detects stronger spirits on the other side of the door. They might be the Portrait Ghosts, who don't show their hearts easily. We can check their hearts for clues using the Game Boy Horror.

In the hallway are ghost mcie and a trail of coins. There are more doors that we can see than there are on the map. Doors not on the map are fake and will hurt Luigi, so avoid them. The only unlocked door is the first door on the back wall. It leads to the Study.

Study
There's a ghost named Neville rocking in the rocking chair. We can't immediately vacuum him up, so we check his heart. He says he can see us, but we can't see him. We'll have to surprise him to make his heart appear. There's a Spooky Speedster near the bookcase, but he gets away. Behind the desk is a piece of cheese most visible using the Game Boy Horror. Check the cheese with the Game Boy Horror to make a gold mouse appear. Vacuuming it up will make a lot of money and a gemstone appear. Unfortunately, this one got away. On the bright side, this is just the surprise needed to make the ghost in the rocking chair reveal his heart. Vacuum it up. It has 100 HP and produces pearls. If you can drain at least 90 HP in one shot, a large pearl will appear. I couldn't get the large pearl to appear, but I got the ghost. The lights come on and a chest with a key appears. It opens the door at the end of the hall on the back wall, which leads to the Master Bedroom.

Master Bedroom
There's a gold bar in the nightstand. At the vanity, there's a ghost named Lydia brushing her hair. She likes her beauty. Pull open the curtain on the right to reveal that the window is cracked. A draft rushes in and upsets the ghost. She will get up to close the curtains. This is when you can vacuum her up. The chest has a key to the room just down the hall on the front wall. Once we leave the room, we hear a baby cry coming from the door the key unlocks. This leads to the Nursery.

Nursery
Inside the Nursery are many toys and a baby ghost named Chauncey floating in his crib. Use the vacuum on the rocking horse to make it rock, which makes the baby happy. He'll get out of the crib and start making his toys fly around the room. There's a ball on the floor. Pick it up with the vacuum and hit him with it. This will upset him and he'll shrink you down. Luigi finds himself standing in the baby's crib. The baby is now larger than Luigi. He cries and sends giant rocking horses aimed at Luigi. Stand in one spot so they lock onto your location, then dodge them. Stand in the center to dodge the two rocking horses that appear at the same time. Once you dodge them, giant bouncy balls will appear in the crib. Dodge them and pick up the one remaining on the crib bed with the vacuum and aim it at the baby. This will make his heart visible so you can use the vacuum. Drain as much HP as you can before he breaks free and the cycle repeats. Try to keep your HP over 90 for something special. Once he is defeated, Luigi will return to normal size. There's a large gold chest with a pink heart key. We get a call from Gadd saying that when you vacuum up a boss ghost like we just did, the Poltergust 3000 is full and we should return to the lab.

Gadd shows us a special piece of equipment: the Ghost Portrificationizer. It turns ghosts into portraits and also works in reverse. We plug in the Poltergust 3000 and let the machine work. We get to check out our portraits once it's done. So far we've captured 3 Portrait Ghosts. The frame tells us how well we did in capturing them, with gold being the best. If you keep your HP above 90 with boss ghosts or drain 90 HP in one shot with other Portrait ghosts, you'll get gold frames.

Neville- Study- Silver Frame
Lydia- Master Bedroom- Silver Frame
Chauncey- Nursery- Gold Frame

Afterwards, the value of all the treasures you've collected so far is tallied. My total was 2,695,000 G. Not bad for my first try.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Luigi's Mansion: Luigi goes Ghostbusters

Luigi walks in a dark, spooky forest. He checks his map, which has directions to his mansion. There is a large mansion ahead, looking nothing like the one on his map. He goes through the gate and approaches the mansion as crows watch. Cautiously, he opens the door, shines his flashlight inside, and says, "Hello?"

Inside the foyer are stairs and some doors. The door on the first floor is glowing and covered in thorns. The double doors at the top of the stairs are locked. Luigi hears a laugh after trying to open them. All other doors on the second floor are locked as well. After going back downstairs, he sees a key floating in a transparent orange blob. The key falls and the blob goes through the double doors upstairs. After picking up the key, Luigi goes to the double doors on the second floor and opens the door. This leads to the parlor.

In the parlor, the orange blob reveals itself to be a ghost. Also in the room is a small old man with a vacuum strapped to his back. He tries to catch the ghost with the vacuum, but fails. The old man introduces himself as Dr. E. Gadd. He says the mansion has more ghosts everyday and would like to talk to us in his lab. Three orange ghosts appear and Luigi and Gadd make a run for it.

In the lab, E. Gadd tells Luigi that he studies ghosts. Luigi's in the area because he won a mansion in a contest he never entered. Gadd says the mansion appeared only a few days ago and that a man in a red hat went into the mansion and never returned. Luigi has to go after him because the man in the red hat doesn't stand a chance against the ghosts. Gadd will teach Luigi how to deal with the ghosts.

Luigi enters the training room wearing the vacuum, the Poltergust 3000. While in the dark, Luigi must first stun the ghost(s) with his flashlight to reveal their heart (and HP), then vacuum them up. After training is completed, Gadd takes Luigi to his gallery, saying that there were 21 paintings in his Famous Ghost Collection, but there are only frames now. He gives Luigi a communication device called the Game Boy Horror, which lets him check his inventory, his location and floor plans for the mansion, as well as check out things around the mansion. There is a gold, sparkly room in the back of the gallery, but there's nothing of interest there now. Luigi heads off to the mansion, in search of the man in the red hat, Mario.

This is my first time playing the game, so I may miss a few things. It may take a few tries to get used to the controls (intially, I only got one ghost in training). We'll see how things go.