Today’s Nintendo Direct address was mostly about Luigi. The green-garbed Mario brother is making his second canonical solo appearance later this year with a sequel to Luigi’s Mansion, one of the GameCube’s most underappreciated launch titles. Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon will be out on March 24.
More unexpected, however, is the announcement of Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, the first 3DS title in the Mario & Luigi series of role-playing games. Unlike its predecessors, it features polygonal graphics, and a storyline that takes place largely in Luigi’s dreamscape. From the video shown, it appears that Mario delves into his brother’s dreams and influences the environment in broad ways. It is due out in the summer.
Luigi will also appear in a new 3DS entry in the Mario Golf franchise, which will likely be well-served by the handheld’s 3D effect. It, too, is coming this summer. Further, he will star in DLC for New Super Mario Bros. U. The download, titled New Super Luigi U, will feature an entirely new story focused around Luigi, with new courses, and no Mario in sight. The DLC is coming this year to the Wii U eShop.
It’s nice to see the less famous Mario brother getting his due, but he isn’t the only one with a big year ahead of him. Donkey Kong, too, is seeing increased attention in the form of Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, a 3DS port of the Retro-developed Wii entry in the Donkey Kong Country series.
It’s a 3DS-heavy Nintendo Direct, but that’s okay. Nintendo’s handheld is picking up tremendous momentum coming into this year. All it really needs now is an original Zelda title. And a new Metroid.
Source: Nintendo Direct