10 Luigi’s Mansion 3 Tips And Tricks You Need To Know Before Playing

Today, I’ll be telling you 10 great things about Luigi’s Mansion 3 you should know before you start playing this Nintendo Switch game.

Luigi’s Mansion 3 is a standalone entry in Nintendo’s silly series about catching ghosts and solving puzzles. Learning the controls of this adventure while revisiting each area and utilizing all abilities will lead to success. If matters get too hard, the game can be played solo or with a friend from beginning to end.

There’s much more to learn about this game before you start playing, so let’s take a look.

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What Is Luigi’s Mansion 3?

Luigi’s Mansion 3 is the third game in a comedic-horror themed series made by Nintendo in which you do not have to play the previous entries to understand.

Luigi must solve puzzles, sucks up ghosts with his vacuum, and defeat many bosses along his epic adventure.

Luigi’s Mansion 3 launched exclusively on Nintendo Switch October 31st, 2019.

Should You Play Luigi’s Mansion 3?

You should play Luigi’s Mansion 3 if you want a

family-friendly experience
a single player or two player adventure
a challenging yet relax-paced adventure
cool boss battles
top-notch visuals and music
unique Nintendo charm

Luigi’s Mansion will not disappoint if you enjoy these things.

10 Things You Need To Know Before Starting Luigi’s Mansion 3

Luigi’s Mansion 3 is a fun solo and cooperative puzzle game with beautiful visuals, music, atmosphere, and fun puzzles. Getting the most out of the game comes down to key tips and tricks that will help players solve puzzles, find hidden treasures, and defeat bosses better than before.

1) Playing the Previous Games is Not a Requirement

Luigi crawling away from a giant ghost in a hotel hall

You do not need to play Luigi’s Mansion 1 or 2 to enjoy Luigi’s Mansion 3.

That’s a good thing, because the first game released on the Nintendo GameCube in 2001 while the second game released on the Nintendo 3DS in 2013.

Besides 1 or 2 unexplained minor bits of information that occurred in previous games, this game can be played from beginning to end without needing to know Luigi’s Mansion lore, story elements, and so on set forth by prior entries.

Luigi’s Mansion 3 is a wholly contained narrative and plays out from start to finish in a quite easy-to-understand manner.

2) Learn The Controls

Luigi slamming a ghost with his vacuum in a hotel main room

Although the story is easy to understand, the controls might be a little tougher to conquer. Getting used to controlling Luigi and his ghost-sucking vacuum throughout each 3D diorama-esque room can be tough at times.

You might even find yourself confused on how to interact with an ornament mid way up a wall. Catching ghosts by utilizing both analog sticks might feel difficult to master as well.

But with practice and patience, you’ll be a ghost hunting pro fairly quickly.

Know Your Analog Sticks

The left analog stick controls Luigi while the right analog stick controls the direction your vacuum faces.

Practice In Safety

If you are having trouble controlling both at the same time, play around with the controls in a safe area before moving forward until everything feels right.

Focus On The Flashlight

Having trouble pointing your vacuum at a certain object in a room?

Try focusing on where your flashlight is pointing before using your vacuum’s suction or blower powers. This technique is pretty easy to do.

Use your flashlight as a marker by moving the light with the right analog stick until the light is pointed at what you want to interact with.

Then, use your vacuum for better results. This is the same tip my spouse and I used during our playthrough with awesome results.

Play With The Controls

Getting used to the dual analog setup is key to catching ghosts, too.

I recommend testing out moving Luigi, using his suction ability, and aiming his vacuum at the same time in a safe area first before moving onward and battling ghosts.

Use Motion

Luigi’s Mansion 3 supports motion control aiming if you do not want to use the right analog stick.

Tilting your Joy-Cons or Nintendo Switch Pro Controller up and down will change your aiming direction. The choice of how you aim is up to you.

I believe with enough practice with the game’s controls, you will be sucking up ghosts like a pro in no time.

3) This Is A Puzzle Game

Luigi’s Mansion 3 is not a horror game or action game but a puzzle game and a fun and unique one at that.

Every room is a puzzle and almost every hallway has something to interact with.

A Range Of Difficulties

Some puzzles are harder than others but none are overly complex if you are used to puzzle games.

Some Take Longer Than Others

If you aren’t used to puzzles games, then you may spend a bit more time solving some of the mysteries littered throughout the giant hotel.

What Should You Do?

Often, most puzzles require you to think of the best way to interact with an object in any given room.

Should you use your suction ability or your blower?

Would jumping shake something loose or do you need Gooigi to slip into an area Luigi cannot?

A Sequence Of Events

Other times, you will need to figure out how to interact with an element in a room in order to set motion to events.

You may need to blow on a fan until it twirls fast enough which will reveal a hidden door (or object) that allows you to get a key or access to a treasure.

Play this game as a puzzle game, and fun will follow.

4) Pay Attention

Luigi sucking a pipe with his vacuum and there are coins everywhere

The key to not getting stuck in this game is to pay attention to everything in every room.

You never know what you might find. An odd vase or picture may be the clue to solving a Luigi’s Mansion dilemma.

Here are a few suggestions I used to spot secrets and solutions in each room.

Look Into Mirrors

The answer to a mystery (or a hidden treasure) might be out of sight, to be seen only within a mirror’s reflection.

Treasure chests, coin paintings, and other invisible objects can be found throughout the length of the campaign by simply looking at Luigi’s reflection.

Make it a habit and check every mirror in the game.

Stretch The Screen

Make the camera pan out by moving your characters to opposite sides of the room so you can survey what’s up and below.

This is a great way to find hidden coins and treasures that were often found tucked away in rafters.

Keep in mind you need Luigi and Gooigi to be able to maneuver them to different sides of the screen in order to have the camera pan out for a better view.

Study Every Detail

Look at every detail in every room if you are stuck. Interact with anything that looks out of place or might be of interest.

Doing so might be the key to solving a puzzle.

Pay attention to everything you come across in the haunted hotel and puzzle solving will eventually become second nature.

5) Use Abilities To Solve Puzzles

Luigi posing with his vacuum, flashlight, and ghost dog in a garage

Use each of your abilities in order to find a solution if you ever become stuck on a puzzle or if you don’t know what to do next.

My spouse and I used this technique to clear nearly every room on every floor in the hotel: we used each of our abilities one at a time whenever we were stumped.

And doing so proved essential in solving many of the puzzles throughout the game.

Flashlight

Shine the flashlight on suspicious looking places

Jump

Use Luigi’s jump to disturb objects for possible items

Gooigi

Summon Gooigi to solve Gooigi-specific puzzles (Gooigi can pass through fences, gates, sewer grates)

Blacklight

Shine the blacklight on everything, specifically background paintings and suspicious areas to uncover hidden objects

When in doubt, use all your abilities until you figure it out!

6) Backtrack

Stumped? Retrace your steps and revisit previous locations in the hotel to find the solution to a confusing puzzle or plot point.

You may find a useful hint or solution that will help solve whatever has you stumped.

In fact, backtracking is necessary at certain parts of the game in order to solve story related puzzles. Moving up and down between hotel floors is a pivotal part of the gameplay experience, after all.

Backtracking is also a good idea

to obtain secrets
collect coins
find hidden objects
and do so much more

Using items you had gained since visiting a particular room inside said room can help you find hidden items that could not be obtained before.

For Example

The blacklight can be used on items only visible in mirrors and Gooigi can slip through sewer grates.

Look for objects such as these when you first visit a room and revisit rooms every once in a while after obtaining new abilities.

Remember to backtrack if you ever reach a dead end (pun intended).

7) Boss Fights Provide Clues

A woman ghost holding her cowl out, looking ominous

Bosses provide subtle clues on how to defeat them so pay attention to their every move.

The 3 Keys To Boss Fight Success

Watch a boss’s movement patterns to see where they’ll go
Pay attention to a boss’s various attacks and attack patterns
Analyze a boss’s rest periods

Perform these three actions on every boss fight before actively trying to defeat the ghost.

Understanding the foe will then help the boss fight turn in your favor.

Be patient, watch how each boss acts and reacts, then go in for the win.

8) Don’t Worry About Collecting Everything

You do not have to collect everything on your first time through the hotel.

The game will not prevent you from returning to a certain hotel floor.

This means you are never obligated or burdened to collect each gem, coin, or finding every Boo on each floor the first time through a new area. Unless you want to.

Something To Keep In Mind

All secrets won’t be able to be found the first time through a new room or area. Hidden objects and items require abilities obtained later on.

Collect easily obtainable gem, coins, and Boos your first pass through then backtrack through the grand hotel later on to finish your collection. This way, your time will not be wasted.

Just have fun playing through the story while collecting objects. But never feel pressured doing so.

9) Play With A Friend

Red on-screen menu with Luigi and Gooigi face icons with the option to play Co-op

Play with a friend if you are having a hard time getting through the game.

The cooperative mode is unlocked fairly early in the game, allowing the story mode to be played with another player in the same room on the same Nintendo Switch.

Introducing Gooigi

Once Gooigi is introduced, one player can play as the green goo while the primary player takes control of Luigi himself.

The game is built around a multiplayer experience, although one can play the entire game alone as well.

Multiplayer Opinions

My spouse and I played the entire story together and the game is much smoother when playing with another player.

Many moments in the campaign mode focus around puzzles that require both characters to solve. These puzzles can be easier to accomplish if two players are controlling the Luigi duo instead of just one.

Ask a family member or friend to be your co-player if the Luigi-Gooigi puzzles start feeling a bit too complicated to handle.

Playing with another person can make the game more enjoyable and smoother to experience. Give it a try.

10) Play Online To Collect Everything

Luigi’s Mansion 3 online modes must be played in order to collect all ghosts.

Rare Ghosts, specifically, can only be found in the online multiplayer portion of the game.

How To Find And Capture Rare Ghosts

Play the online Scarescraper mode
reach the fifth floor (and the fifth floor only)
capture the Rare Ghost

This one tip will save you a lot of time, and potential headaches, by stopping you from looking all over the story mode for these elusive spirits.