So without further ado, let’s set our Poltergust’s strobe light to stun and get cracking, shall we?
#1 Cruise Ship
The biggest potential issue with this one is that a cruise ship is effectively a floating hotel, so we worry it would simply rehash ideas seen in Luigi’s Mansion 3.
That said, there’s a sense of isolation that only comes when you’re stuck in the middle of the ocean, so we reckon Next Level could have fun with this. A huge cruise ship also has a whole bunch of unique areas, including its own waterpark, fitness centres, promenades, and crew decks.
If a cruise ship wouldn’t work, then an oil rig similar to Still Wakes the Deep might be an idea.
#2 Isle Delfino
A generic tropical island came to mind first, but when we imagined Isle Delfino corrupted by darkness (even more so than in Mario Sunshine) and teeming with ghosts, we just couldn’t resist. It would make sense, too, since the F.L.U.D.D. (Flash Liquid Ultra Dousing Device), much like the Poltergust, was invented by Professor E. Gadd.
The original game played around with the idea of manipulating elements, including water, so how awesome would it be if Luigi could quickly swap between the Poltergust and F.L.U.D.D. on the fly?
You could also have levels set in core Mario Sunshine locations, such as Ricco Harbour, Bianco Hills, and perhaps most importantly, Pinna Park, ticking off the somewhat obvious choice of a haunted theme park for a new entry.
#3 Bowser’s Castle
Can we imagine a scenario in which Bowser, king of the Koopas, enlists the help of Mario’s brother for a Castle-wide exorcism? Heck yeah, we can! Peach’s Castle could be a potential contender, but honestly, this is much more interesting.
We’ve seen Bowser’s Castle featured many times over the years in various guises, but we’ve never really gotten a good sense of its scale and magnitude. What better way to showcase Bowser’s home than to give us full access for Boo-busting purposes?
The unlikely truce could also lead to some interesting interactions with classic villains like Iggy Koopa, King Bob-Bomb, and Bowser Jr.
#4 Village
When floating the idea of potential settings, one of the first things we all agreed on was that the series probably needed to ditch the titular setting for something more ambitious.
So, what about an entire haunted village? If you’ve ever played Medievil, we’re thinking something along the lines of the ‘Sleeping Village’ level; a Lovecraftian location filled with intriguing houses, shops, parks, and spooky schools. Although we’d also be quite keen on a more picturesque, countryside village like those in Edgar Wright’s Cornetto Trilogy. “No luck catchin’ them ghosts, then?”
Moving to a location like this might necessitate evolving the 2.5D ‘diorama’ setup of the previous games into a full-on 3D explorative experience. We’d be absolutely fine with that.
#5 Coconut Mall
Ah, curse you Dawn of the Dead for turning shopping malls into the perfect setting for horrific scenarios. We’re only kidding, we love it.
But yes, while Luigi’s Mansion 3 had its own floor dedicated to hotel shops (in which it cleverly took inspiration from Resident Evil‘s classic locked-door / themed-key setup), a full-blown Coconut Mall loaded with unique stores and restaurants would be awesome to explore.
You could extend it to the staff areas, including loading bays, big ol’ industrial elevators, parking lots, and more. Granted, there’s a danger here of limiting the potential environmental variety with a shopping mall, but if Dead Rising can do it, then so can Luigi’s Mansion.
#6 Space!
Okay, hear us out on this one. [But in space, no one can hear yo—I’ll see myself out. – Ed.]
We’re positive some people scoffed at the idea of Mario heading into space when Super Mario Galaxy was first announced, but why not let Luigi venture to the far reaches of the solar system?
Perhaps he finds himself lost in a sprawling space station stalked by malfunctioning robots and horrifying ghosts of former astronauts. Anti-grav sections could force Luigi to use the Poltergust as a thruster pack and propel himself around.
Plus, we’ll take any opportunity we can get for Rosalina and Luma cameo!
#7 New Donk City
What’s that? An entire village isn’t quite ambitious enough? Well okay, let’s go for New Donk City then.
We’re imagining a full-blown Ghostbusters-inspired scenario here with spectres roaming the streets, pink slime flowing through sewers, and a giant Stay Puft Marshmallow Man smashing his way through buildings. Okay, that might be a bit too similar, but you get the idea.
Naturally, a city-wide emergency necessitates radically different means of traversal and exploration. Could Luigi have his own Ecto-1-style vehicle? Maybe E. Gadd could whip something up, or function as a taxi driver of sorts.
Either way, done right, this could really elevate the series to a whole new level.
#8 Super Nintendo World
We mentioned Pinna Park in the Isle Delfino entry but what if Nintendo just went full meta and introduced a fictional, haunted version of its real-life Super Nintendo World theme park?
It could have a similar opening to LM3 in which you explore the park during the day and allow those of us who haven’t had a chance to visit in real life to get a feel for it. Then, night descends, ghosts rise out of the ground to take over Toadstool Café and Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge, and it’s up to you to clean things up before guests arrive the next day.
#9 Abandoned Prison
Now, we’re not thinking of anything quite as oppressive as Silent Hill 2‘s Toluca Prison, but we reckon an Alcatraz-inspired abandoned prison facility would be pretty awesome.
You could even have some sort of time travel setup in which you rescue a younger version of E. Gadd from the confines of his cell. Doomed to a life of imprisonment for his Doc Brown-inspired whimsy, E. Gadd’s ramblings about ghosts finally come true; but while the cowardly guards and inmates flee in terror, Luigi steps up to save the day.
So those are our ideas for potential locations in a hypothetical Luigi’s Mansion 4. Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long to hear about what Next Level Games has been working on. A new Luigi’s Mansion would likely be targeted for the upcoming Switch 2, so we’ve got high hopes for a new entry.
Now, the only thing left to ponder is which console Luigi will be using to communicate with E. Gadd. So far, he’s had the Game Boy Horror, the DS (Dual Scream), and the Virtual Boo. A Switch Fright, perhaps?
Be sure to leave a comment down below on where you’d like Luigi’s Mansion 4 to take place. If you have any ideas that we’ve not mentioned above, then we’d love to hear ’em.
