2013: The Year of Luigi

The title of this port is not a prediction, nor an outline world view. It is in fact a declaration by Nintendo that 2013 will be Luigi’s year to shine. Not that he wasn’t a glowing character in the first place, and has always been synonymous with many of the titles his brother Mario arguably gets all the credit for. But why this year? What makes it so different to all the others?

Firstly, Luigi’s Mansion 2 has already been released this past month (here’s my review), in which once again like the title suggests, Luigi is the star, not Mario. So, a very good start so far. But Nintendo don’t think that’s enough, not by a long shot.

Luigi will also get to be the star of the show again in new levels for New Super Mario Bros U, courtesy of DLC. Dubbed New Super Luigi U, these all-new levels have been designed solely with Luigi in mind. I’m all for that, just need to get myself a Wii U now!

Also in development is the latest Mario & Luigi RPG series game, Dream Team, for the 3DS. With the focus squarely on Luigi once again, he and his brother will this time battle through Luigi’s dreams. As you do. Making use of the touchscreen, which consists of Luigi’s face, will cause events to happen on the upper screen, such as moving platforms, to assist throughout.

The previous games in this RPG series were excellent, and it’s good to see some potentially fantastic originality thrown in. Look out for this one in the Summer.

So, quite the hat-trick to come for Luigi, in 2013. Of course he will also be appearing in the upcoming Mario Golf title, and the 3DS incarnation of Super Smash Bros, both as a playable character. Mario may often pull rank, but this year, Luigi has really been let off the leash. Ho-hoo!

Finally, I’d like to announce the launch of my own personal site for all things Luigi, The Weegee Board. Always a fan of the underdog, Luigi was always my first choice over anyone in all Mario Kart games, Super Mario 2, even opting to be player 2 (heaven forbid) in previous Super Mario games, just to be Luigi. So this is my ‘shrine’ if you like, with artwork, news and retro views. Hope you like it.