Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, also known as Luigi's Mansion 2, is an upcoming follow up to the 2001 Gamecube classic. If recent footage is any indicator, the new game looks like it's doing a great job of translating the spirit of the original to a new platform.
A new Japanese trailer has been released that reveals over four minutes of in game footage. There aren't any subtitles, but the gameplay speaks for itself.
The game centers around the adventures of Luigi, Mario's less famous brother, who is sent by Professor E. Gadd to clear five haunted mansions of ghosts. To get the job done, Luigi is once again paired with his trusty Poltergust (a new model this time), a ghost capturing vacuum cleaner. The new Poltergust doesn't just nab ghosts this time around though, it can also be used as a hose, air pump, or even a flamethrower.
Shigeru Miyamoto has stated that the new game will be more puzzle-oriented than the original, and will also feature Toad as a side character. King Boo, the primary antagonist of the first game, will also be making some kind of appearance.
As the game will be on the 3DS, a number of new motion controls have been implemented. For example, some of Luigi's movements can be controlled by with the buttons, or with motion control using the 3DS's gyroscope and accelerometer. The game will also use the Nintendo Network for multiplayer, allowing multiple Luigis to explore the "ScareScraper" mansion together. Multiplayer will feature three different game modes and can be accessed with Wi-Fi, Download Play, or LAN.
The original Luigi's Mansion is the most successful GameCube launch title, as well as the best-selling game of November 2001. The sequel, Dark Moon, was originally announced at E3 2011 at the Nintendo press conference, and will be released on March 20 in Japan and March 24 in North America on the 3DS.