Highlights

  • Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, a sequel to the original game, is receiving an HD remaster for the Switch. A two-minute trailer showcased the ghost-busting gameplay and the game's high-definition graphics on the Nintendo Switch.
  • The release date is expected to be in the summer of 2024, breaking the fall release pattern of previous Luigi's Mansion games.
  • However, given how other Nintendo remakes have not stuck to their planned dates, the game could end up dropping in September or October like other titles in the franchise.

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon was released on the 3DS in 2013, over a decade after the original game launched alongside the Nintendo GameCube. Due to such a large time gap between the two games, Dark Moon was a sequel that many fans weren't expecting. Although the first game sold over three million copies and was received positively by both fans and critics, the subpar performance of the GameCube led many to believe that Nintendo wouldn't experiment with the franchise again. In even more surprising news, it was announced in a Nintendo Direct earlier this year that Dark Moon will be receiving an HD remaster for the Switch.

A two-minute trailer revealed in the September Nintendo Direct showcases the series' classic ghost-busting gameplay, as well as Luigi's cowardly, yet heroic, personality. Most importantly, fans were able to catch a glimpse of how the 3DS game looks in high definition on the Nintendo Switch. The preview concluded with a tease of a release date, confirming that the game can be expected to launch sometime in the summer of 2024. Since there are only four installments in the Luigi's Mansion franchise (including a remake of the first game), it's a little more difficult to predict the launch date, as there aren't any concrete previous release patterns. However, a general window of September or October 2024 seems like a solid guess despite a Summer 2024 window being officially teased.

Mario 64 Luigi Multiplayer
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Old Footage Shows Luigi in Super Mario 64

Some really old footage of an early build of Super Mario 64 shows that Luigi was planned to be playable in the game before being scrapped.

Breaking Down Previous Luigi's Mansion Release Dates

Luigi addressing the ghosts of two surly looking teens.

Most Luigi's Mansion titles appear to launch around the fall. The first Luigi's Mansion game was released on November 18, 2001, and the 3DS remake of that title was released around the same time, 17 years later. The most recent title, Luigi's Mansion 3, was released on Halloween Day of 2019. Dark Moon was released on the 3DS in March around ten years ago, however, and it seems like the Nintendo Switch remake of the game is also aiming to break the pattern of the franchise games launching in the fall. However, that plan might not work out.

  • Luigi's Mansion (November 18, 2001)
  • Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (March 20, 2013)
  • Luigi's Mansion (3DS) (October 12, 2018)
  • Luigi's Mansion 3 (October 31, 2019)

It's possible to narrow down the launch date for the remaster of Dark Moon by taking the alleged "Summer of 2024" release window with a grain of salt. By simply looking at previous Nintendo remake release dates, it's clear that the season the company plans to release by doesn't always align with the time the games actually do launch. For instance, the announcement trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D claimed that the game was slated for release in the spring of 2015. Yet, the game launched within the first two weeks of February of that year, around a month earlier than Nintendo's stated goal. While it may seem like a superficiality, it very well could mean that the HD remaster of Dark Moon could follow the precedent set by most Luigi's Mansion titles and be released sometime in September or October of next year, even if the suggested window says otherwise.

What Nintendo's Future Of Remakes Could Mean For The Company

Mario and Donkey Kong in a cutscene for Mario vs. Donkey Kong

Nintendo has an extensive lineup of remasters set for the Switch in 2024, such as the GameCube's Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door and the Game Boy Advance's Mario vs. Donkey Kong. Furthermore, a remake of the SNES classic Super Mario RPG was released earlier this November. This long list of remasters is important to note in the context of the plethora of rumors surrounding a new Nintendo console that could launch next year, as the company seems to be winding down on major blockbuster titles. The Switch seems to be aging like fine wine, however, as it is currently the third best-selling console of all time entering its seventh year on store shelves. Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon was well-received by fans and critics alike, and will compliment the large library of high-quality Mario games that already exist on the hybrid console today. When Nintendo ports the game to the Switch, fans will be able to access the complete Luigi's Mansion trilogy in high-definition.

luigi's mansion 2001
Luigi's Mansion

First released for the GameCube in 2001, Luigi's Mansion is an action adventure game in which players must vacuum up ghosts using a special device known as the Poltergust 3000. The game sold over three million copies and won several awards but was criticized by some for its short length.