10 Video Game Spin-Offs Nobody Asked For (That Were AWESOME)

Despite not being the name on the poster, many sidekicks of major heroes are just as beloved. The series might be called “Super Mario” but the plumber’s younger sibling has just as many fans.

For a long time though, he was simply “player 2”. After all, when Mario went fully 3D for the Nintendo 64, his brother had no place in the title and was nowhere to be found. It was a swift 180 degree turn then to launch the Nintendo Gamecube with Luigi’s first real opportunity to shine.

What needs to be understood is that before Luigi’s Mansion, the younger brother was far less defined as a character. For a time, he was just a lankier Mario with an extra high jump. There had been some references to his more sensitive soul, but it was this game that really carved out Luigi’s niche as the pragmatic fraidy-cat that we all now know today.

The idea of Luigi having his own starring role wasn’t completely impossible, but nobody expected such a wild shift. After all, until now the Mario series was largely all about running and jumping.

Not only did Luigi’s Mansion help to define Luigi’s temperament but it also gave him his own playstyle as he cautiously skulked through haunted abodes, interacted with his environment, solved puzzles and Ghostbusted his way to side-series success.