Luigi’s Mansion (GameCube, 2001)
So much emphasis was on Mario up until the release of the GameCube that it was easy to forget he had a taller, leaner, much more handsome brother on the side-lines. Luigi waited patiently, and was eventually rewarded with a launch title of his own. He didn’t disappoint, starring in the best-selling launch title for the console, eventually shipping over 2.5 million copies – though still less than half what his brother managed with Sunshine.
The game still featured famous characters from the Mario series such as King Boo, Bowser and even Mario himself, but the concept and gameplay were totally different. Played out in his recently-bought mansion, Luigi is tasked with saving his sibling, who has been captured by King Boo and his army of ghosts. With four separate stages housing keys which need to be used to unlock different locked doors and ghosts waiting to scare, Luigi’s Mansion was a short, but refreshingly fun game.
