The Nintendo Switch has an identity to its library that fits the system: open, big games that elegantly combine the best parts of older ones. This game fits that, as Next Level Games continue their excellent work from Dark Moon/2 while making it fit the Switch and bringing back some of the first game.
3 has elements from both previous games, and it's seamless. The floors are large, and each has a theme and a boss ghost, who are defined caricatures like the Portrait Ghosts from 1. The game is one connected map, and you almost never have to return to base. Plot sometimes steps in, but not often. Each floor is an exciting jaunt through a theme, and the enticing mystery of each floor's concept keeps you from being disappointed that the last one ended. In 2, there were themed areas, but they were longer and in them, levels were driven by contrived plot turns and not the thrill of a new setting. For me, the best Nintendo games make each level new and fun, and this does it.
The combat is good. The slam makes crowds easier and allowing for high damage, and the burst clears away ghosts.
Puzzles are tied to your moves, with the character Gooigi added in. You can fire plungers to let you slam objects or pull things; a natural fit I know I'll miss when I return to 2, and the burst has some puzzle use as well. Gooigi adds a lot of dimension to each space. I wish the Spirit Ball illusions weren't reduced, but the new mechanic involving purple ones is a great expansion on the concept.
The bosses are good, and all of them are better fights than the Portrait Ghosts. Here, there's a back-and-forth for each rather than a test of how long you can hold each one, there's slightly more effort involved for each boss's puzzle, and the climax bosses fit with the other characters while working like 2's Possessors, which is great.
The regular ghosts aren't great. Most of them are blatant copies of 2's, and they don't have much charm because of it. They also don't get harder later on.
The oddest thing that didn't work for me was King Boo. Even though this series is about him and Luigi, he felt shoehorned into the game. Hellen, the hotel owner ghost, has more presence and is an interesting villain on her own. She's the foe motivating the player, and she's the more satisfying one to beat. But King Boo is here, and felt a little forced. It's baffling that I found the sudden new character to be a more compelling villain than the mainstay, and I feel like that's an issue.
The Gallery feature felt like a throwaway compared to the previous two games. Treasure ghosts aren't counted, and none of the types or bosses have flavor text or bios, leaving the new characters feeling a little less characterful.
In the end, this is a great time, and just what a Switch LM should have been. It just has some narrative flaws.
VideoGame A thoroughly enjoyable evolution.
The Nintendo Switch has an identity to its library that fits the system: open, big games that elegantly combine the best parts of older ones. This game fits that, as Next Level Games continue their excellent work from Dark Moon/2 while making it fit the Switch and bringing back some of the first game.
3 has elements from both previous games, and it's seamless. The floors are large, and each has a theme and a boss ghost, who are defined caricatures like the Portrait Ghosts from 1. The game is one connected map, and you almost never have to return to base. Plot sometimes steps in, but not often. Each floor is an exciting jaunt through a theme, and the enticing mystery of each floor's concept keeps you from being disappointed that the last one ended. In 2, there were themed areas, but they were longer and in them, levels were driven by contrived plot turns and not the thrill of a new setting. For me, the best Nintendo games make each level new and fun, and this does it.
The combat is good. The slam makes crowds easier and allowing for high damage, and the burst clears away ghosts.
Puzzles are tied to your moves, with the character Gooigi added in. You can fire plungers to let you slam objects or pull things; a natural fit I know I'll miss when I return to 2, and the burst has some puzzle use as well. Gooigi adds a lot of dimension to each space. I wish the Spirit Ball illusions weren't reduced, but the new mechanic involving purple ones is a great expansion on the concept.
The bosses are good, and all of them are better fights than the Portrait Ghosts. Here, there's a back-and-forth for each rather than a test of how long you can hold each one, there's slightly more effort involved for each boss's puzzle, and the climax bosses fit with the other characters while working like 2's Possessors, which is great.
The regular ghosts aren't great. Most of them are blatant copies of 2's, and they don't have much charm because of it. They also don't get harder later on.
The oddest thing that didn't work for me was King Boo. Even though this series is about him and Luigi, he felt shoehorned into the game. Hellen, the hotel owner ghost, has more presence and is an interesting villain on her own. She's the foe motivating the player, and she's the more satisfying one to beat. But King Boo is here, and felt a little forced. It's baffling that I found the sudden new character to be a more compelling villain than the mainstay, and I feel like that's an issue.
The Gallery feature felt like a throwaway compared to the previous two games. Treasure ghosts aren't counted, and none of the types or bosses have flavor text or bios, leaving the new characters feeling a little less characterful.
In the end, this is a great time, and just what a Switch LM should have been. It just has some narrative flaws.