Summary
The developer behind the upcomingLuigi’s Mansion 2 HDhas been revealed as Tantalus Media, the studio behind other big Nintendo remasters ofThe Legend of Zelda: Twilight PrincessandSkyward Sword. The originalLuigi’s Mansion 2, orLuigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon,was released on the Nintendo 3DS as a follow-up to the 2001 GameCube classicLuigi’s Mansionduring Nintendo’s Year of Luigi celebrations. In this installment, Mario’s legendary green-capped brother must collect the fragments of the titular Dark Moon and capture the evil King Boo by exploring ghost-filled mansions in Evershade Valley.
Nintendo announced a Nintendo Switch remake ofLuigi’s Mansion 2during a Nintendo Direct last September, and officially confirmed that it would launch on June 27 at this year’s Mario Day back in March. A few months later,Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD’s file size was revealed, shortly after Nintendo dropped a new teaser trailer detailing its main story premise. WhileLuigi’s Mansion 2 HDis only a few days from launch as of this writing, the developer in charge of bringing the handheld title to the larger Switch console has remained a mystery until now.
VGCrecently reported that Australian studio Tantalus Media is taking over for originalLuigi’s Mansion 2developer Next Level Games, as listed inLuigi’s Mansion 2 HD’s credits. The name Tantalus Media might be familiar to some Nintendo fans, as it previously developedThe Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HDon Wii U andThe Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HDon Switch. It also worked on the Nintendo Switch port ofSonic Mania, the PC port of the originalHouse of the Dead, and helped Forgotten Empires with the Definitive Editions ofAge of Empires 1-3.
Zelda Remaster Studio Tantalus Media Revealed As Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD Developer
So far,Luigi’s Mansion 2 HDhas been met with good reviews from critics, who consider it to be another solid Nintendo remaster in the spirit of November’sSuper Mario RPGand this year’sPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Unfortunately,Luigi’s Mansion 2 HDrecently ran into the same pre-order problems that affectedPaper Mario, resulting inWalmart canceling orders earlier this month.
Regardless, Tantalus Media has been confirmed as the developer behindLuigi’s Mansion 2 HD, just a few days before the remake is set to launch on the Nintendo Switch. This wouldn’t be the first time that Nintendo has kept behind-the-scenes information close to the vest until a game was nearing release, asSuper Mario RPGremake studio ArtePiazza wasn’t identified until a few days before launch. Likewise,Mario and Luigi: Brothership’s developeris still unknown, and will likely stay that way for a while judging by the patterns of previous Nintendo releases.
Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD
WHERE TO PLAY
Friendly ghosts turned fiendish?Sounds like a job for Luigi!The magical Dark Moon that hangs over Evershade Valley seems to calm the ghosts that live there. But when it suddenly breaks apart, the once-friendly ghosts become unruly! Luigi must stumble into action and find his courage to restore the Dark Moon to its rightful place in the sky.Pick the mission: Follow leads across a neighborhood of haunted mansions to find the missing shards of the Dark Moon. With a little help from Professor E. Gadd, you can pixelate from his bunker to your destination and get started! (Luigi will…probably be OK on the other side.)Solve puzzle-y mansions: Each mansion has a distinct vibe and tricky puzzles to solve. You’ll have to use your noodle to find your way through.Discover treasures: Use the awesome air-blasting abilities of the Poltergust 5000 to turn every room upside down and build your fortune. Spend it on equipment upgrades and stuff!
