Luigi’s Mansion 3DS tech analysis and GameCube comparison

Digital Foundry shared a new video today for the 3DS version of Luigi’s Mansion. In addition to exploring the remake on a technical level, we’re also able to get a better understanding of how it compares to the GameCube original.

First, some of the more notable points Digital Foundry discusses:

– Higher level of detail and nuance compared to Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon
– Character models smoothly rendered
– New texture work
– Visuals have been revamped
– Most of the art is entirely new
– 3DS version presented as darker, more sinister
– Opening cutscene shows moodier-looking mansion with improved lighting effects and higher resolution textures
– As Luigi opens the front door, GameCube version has a slight increase in level of geometric and texture detail on the door
– Some short loading added on 3DS
– This could be due to the small size of the 3DS version and needs to decompress data when loading between areas
– Dynamic shadows on 3DS are casted in a different way than the GameCube version; fewer shadows being drawn on 3DS
– Doesn’t seem to be based on Next Level’s engine for Dark Moon
– Opening doorknob scenes are 30 FPS on 3DS compared to 60 FPS on GameCube
– Doorknob geometry reduced on 3DS, and reflection of Luigi’s hand isn’t in the 3DS version
– Taller and lankier model for Luigi on 3DS to reflect his current look
– Ghosts are rendered differently on 3DS, so they appear more opaque
– Gameplay targets 30 FPS on both platforms
– Some cutscenes on New 3DS drop to 20 FPS
– Original 3DS has some frame rate drops during gameplay
– Some characters have lower polygon counts on 3DS
– Reflective mirrors and cloth physics are back on 3DS
– 3DS version isn’t just a port

And here’s the full video: