Luigi

Luigi is the younger, taller fraternal twin brother of Mario and the deuteragonist of the Mario franchise. He is the main protagonist and playable character of every Luigi's Mansion game. Luigi's notable traits include a green cap, his smooth mustache, a cowardly personality, and a fear of ghosts.

Historically, Luigi has been recognized as the character controlled by player 2, especially before the Nintendo 64 era. His first overall appearance was in the 1983 Game & Watch title Mario Bros.. Luigi had his first starring role in the edutainment title, Mario is Missing!, which also has the premise of Luigi having to rescue Mario, and Luigi's Hammer Toss is the first game to both feature him as the sole playable character and to feature his name in the title.

Since Luigi appeared Nintendo GameCube title Luigi's Mansion, several of his later appearances in the Mario franchise and crossover games have associated him with the game, or later Luigi's Mansion titles when the first sequel, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, was released. Though Luigi has gained recognition, even having a real-world The Year of Luigi event dedicated to him, he is not officially recognized as having a standalone franchise.

Luigi's Mansion
In Luigi's Mansion, Luigi had won a mansion in a contest he had never entered. Overjoyed, Luigi tells Mario to go ahead and meet up with him there. Luigi walks through a gloomy, haunted forest that leads to a big haunted house. The mansion is actually the one Luigi is looking for and he gets nervous. Upon arriving, Mario is nowhere to be found. While searching for his brother, Luigi meets E. Gadd, who proceeds to tell him that the mansion is haunted and that Mario was taken captive. Handing Luigi his Poltergust 3000, a vacuum that can capture ghosts, Luigi sets out to find and rescue Mario. He captures all the portrait ghosts, the 50 Boos, and the game's main antagonist, King Boo, whom he has to fight with Bowser. Luigi defeats King Boo, gives the remaining portrait ghosts to E. Gadd, rescues Mario, and cries tears of joy.

Luigi's cowardice is more prominent in this game than most others; every time a ghost appears nearby or something makes a loud noise, Luigi gets startled, making him jump slightly into the air and preventing him from moving for a short time. Luigi also has a Health Meter that depletes whenever he takes damage, and if it reaches 0, Luigi dies. Unlike most other Mario games, Luigi cannot jump with a button command, which limits his movement. However, Luigi can use the Poltergust 3000 to suck in ghosts after stunning them with his flashlight and shoot out fire, ice, and water blasts.

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
In Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Professor E. Gadd calls for Luigi's help from Evershade Valley and transports him over there with E Gadd's Pixelator. Once there, Luigi is told the Dark Moon has shattered and that the valley's normally friendly ghosts have become mischievous and hostile. E. Gadd then sends Luigi to the first mansion, Gloomy Manor, to retrieve the improved version of the Poltergust 3000, called the Poltergust 5000, and to see what he can find out. In the process, Luigi catches ghosts, including the powerful Poltergeist, with the Poltergust 5000. He later enters the manor's cellar, where the Grouchy Possessor takes control of a massive spider and attacks Luigi. Luigi manages to catch this ghost, return the spider to normal, and recover the first Dark Moon piece. He is subsequently transported back to E. Gadd's lab.

Luigi's next destination is the Haunted Towers, which were revealed due to the collection of the Dark Moon piece. Here, Luigi catches more ghosts (such as The Three Sisters) and rescues one of E. Gadd's Toad assistants. In addition, he encounters Polterpup for the first time, but when Luigi captures this ghost, he escapes. Luigi eventually encounters a staircase being controlled by the Harsh Possessor. He catches this ghost, returns the staircase to normal, and recovers the second Dark Moon piece. He is then returned to E. Gadd's lab.

Next, Luigi goes to the Old Clockworks. Here, he catches more ghosts (including the Ancient Poltergeist) and rescues another Toad assistant. He also finds Polterpup and catches the ghost again, but he again escapes. After recovering the clock hands (that were stolen by a group of Greenies), Luigi goes to the top of the tower and locates the Overset Possessor. The possessor controls the clock on the tower to attack Luigi but is caught. Luigi then recovers the third Dark Moon piece and returns to the lab again.

Luigi then goes to Secret Mine. Here, it is discovered that certain ghosts are being powered up in the mine. Regardless, Luigi catches them and finds the Shrewd Possessor, who controls a pool of ice. This ghost is also caught, and Luigi recovers the fourth Dark Moon piece.

E. Gadd then tells Luigi that the final Dark Moon piece is in the Treacherous Mansion, although he warns that his Parascope is picking up extremely high paranormal signals from the area (which frightens Luigi) before sending Luigi there through the Pixelator with the mansion key. Just as Luigi goes to unlock the mansion's front door, the key is stolen by Polterpup. Luigi chases the ghostly dog and retrieves the key, finally catching Polterpup in the process. After entering the mansion, Luigi catches more ghosts (including the Strong Poltergeist) and rescues more Toad assistants. A photo received from one of the assistants reveals that King Boo and his Boo minions have trapped Mario in a painting (much like in the first Luigi's Mansion). Recognizing the location in the picture as the Train Exhibit in the Treacherous Mansion, E. Gadd sends Luigi there to rescue Mario. However, Luigi and E. Gadd soon discover that it was a trap, and Luigi is ambushed by Big Boo; a large Boo made up of many smaller Boos (who Luigi subsequently captures). Back at the lab, Luigi and E. Gadd ponder where King Boo and the painting are. Soon after, the Parascope picks up strong readings from the Treacherous Mansion's terrace. Luigi is sent there, where King Boo appears and opens the paranormal portal, which releases a large number of ghosts into the mansion, then escapes with the Mario painting inside. E. Gadd tells Luigi to capture the ghosts in the mansion, as the paranormal activity is so strong that their dimension could collapse upon itself. Luigi does this then enters the Paranormal Portal, arriving in King Boo's Illusion.

In the portal, Luigi finds the final Possessor ghost, the Tough Possessor, who clones himself and controls multiple suits of armor. The final Possessor is caught, and Luigi finds the final Dark Moon piece. E. Gadd attempts to transport Luigi back to the lab. However, King Boo interrupts and sends Luigi into an illusion. Here, Luigi and King Boo fight. Before the fight, King Boo reveals that he was the one who shattered the Dark Moon and captured Mario. Luigi is ultimately victorious, catching King Boo, taking his crown, and rescuing Mario with the Dark-Light Device. Luigi, Mario, and E. Gadd rejoice, and a Greenie takes a photo with them and the now once again friendly ghosts (due to the restored Dark Moon). Luigi then takes in Polterpup as his pet, and Polterpup is later seen sleeping on Luigi, with Luigi seemingly overcoming his fear of ghosts.

Luigi's controls and personality are mostly retained from the previous game. Luigi still can't jump, but he isn't as easily frightened from ghosts, being able to still move around while being startled. Luigi's Health Meter also returns, functioning the same way as it did in the original game, though players can recover from a Game Over if they have found a Gold Bone. While the Poltergust 5000 can't shoot out elemental blasts, Luigi can still use it to suck up ghosts and objects, cause a wider and stronger beam of light, and reveal hidden objects.

Luigi's Mansion (Nintendo 3DS)
In the Nintendo 3DS version of Luigi's Mansion, Luigi has the same role as in the original Nintendo GameCube version, though now receives a slime-themed counterpart in Gooigi, who appears in the remake's co-op mode.

Luigi's Mansion 3
Luigi appears as the main protagonist in Luigi's Mansion 3. He has a new Poltergust that can fire plungers and lift him off the ground, along with using the Strobulb and Dark-Light attachments, as well as storing Gooigi.

In this game, Luigi was invited to stay at The Last Resort hotel and brings Mario, Princess Peach, three Toads, and Polterpup. However, that night the hotel turns haunted and it is revealed that the invitation was set up by Hellen Gravely so that King Boo could trap Luigi and his friends in paintings. Just as King Boo was about to trap Luigi, he manages to escape through a laundry chute.

Luigi ends up in the basement where he finds the Poltergust G-00 in a car. He later finds Professor E. Gadd trapped in a painting on the second floor, and after releasing him with the Dark-Light Device, E. Gadd aids Luigi once more by providing him with the Virtual Boo for communication, and Gooigi.

To advance through the hotel, Luigi must retrieve the missing elevator buttons from the ghostly hotel staff, freeing the three Toads along the way. Once Luigi reaches the top and defeats Hellen Gravely, he rescues Mario, who leads him to the rooftop where Peach is. After releasing Peach, however, King Boo traps everyone besides Luigi, who was saved by Polterpup, in a single painting. King Boo, enraged that he missed Luigi, engages him in battle.

After Luigi defeats King Boo, the entire hotel collapses from taking the bulk of the battle. Polterpup saves Luigi once again and frees everyone from the painting. During the credits, Luigi helps rebuild the hotel with the newly-turned friendly ghosts, and after construction was complete, departs with Mario, Peach, Polterpup, and the Toads.

Related appearances
Since Luigi's Mansion was released for the Nintendo GameCube in 2001, several Mario titles have alluded to Luigi's appearances in the Luigi's Mansion series.

Super Smash Bros. series
Luigi has appeared as a playable character in every Super Smash Bros. title to date, usually as an unlockable fighter. Though certain Mario characters such as Yoshi, Wario, and Donkey Kong have emblems to represent their spinoff franchises, Luigi, along with any Luigi's Mansion-related material, uses the emblem for the Mario franchise.

Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee is the first Super Smash Bros. title to reference Luigi's appearance in Luigi's Mansion. The only reference to this is the Vacuum Luigi trophy, which shows Luigi holding the Poltergust 3000, and it depicts his exact appearance in Luigi's Mansion.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Luigi returns as an unlockable playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and he has his own stage titled Luigi's Mansion. Luigi can be unlocked by either playing 22 Brawl matches or by clearing Classic Mode without using any continues. In either case, Luigi's unlock match takes place on the Luigi's Mansion stage. Alternatively, clearing Subspace (Part 1), an Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary stage, not only unlocks Luigi as a party member within the mode but also as a playable fighter in other modes.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
Luigi is a playable character in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. He has his own course, Luigi Circuit, where the rank "A" mansion appears in the background, and his own battle course, Luigi's Mansion, set within the location itself.

Mario Kart DS
In Mario Kart DS, Luigi is also a playable character, and was given his own race course, Luigi's Mansion, set within a haunted nighttime setting. Luigi has three personal karts, the Poltergust 4000 (based on the Poltergust 3000), the Streamliner, and the Standard LG, each offering all-around stats for the speed, acceleration, and handling categories, but with poor drifting abilities. Luigi Circuit from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! returns as a Retro Course, part of the Shell Cup, as well as Luigi Circuit from Mario Kart: Super Circuit, although it does not have any references to Luigi's Mansion.

Mario Kart 7
In Mario Kart 7, Luigi is a playable character, and the Luigi's Mansion race course returns from Mario Kart DS.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, like every other Mario Kart game, Luigi is a playable character. The Luigi's Mansion battle course from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! returns, although not in the original Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U.

Fortune Street
In Fortune Street, one of the few games where Luigi talks in full sentences, he is a playable character in multiplayer mode. At the Ghost Ship, in one of Luigi's quotes, he states that he wishes he had brought his Poltergust 3000 along with him.