I purchased this game for myself for the GameCube as I had heard it was a good puzzle solving / adventure game, and Mario & Luigi are classic characters we have enjoyed in the past. I prefer this type of game to racing or 'blow 'em up' games also available. This game is a ton of fun with challenges, puzzles and some very unexpected surprises. Initially I wasn't sure about how appropriate the game was for our seven year old, but there is no gore - just a scared and shaking Luigi who is looking for his brother - trapped in the mansion. After playing for a bit, we saw no problem with it and since the kids were begging to play and we had no objections to the graphics, soon everyone was trying to solve the puzzle.

The game is more difficult as you go, which is great - less of a bore factor. It is not too advanced for the kids, though - they did better in a few areas than I did... shameful to admit! There are also virtually no instructions. There is an initial training session, however afterwards you are pretty much on your own. There are a few clues along the way, but trial and error exposes ghosts and how to 'vacuum' them up (treasure, too!). Instead of being hand-held, both adults and children have to figure things out as they go. Trial and error, and puzzle logic are all tested in a fun way. There are little bits of information that are given to you throughout the game. They are not 'in your face' explanations, just nudges in one direction or another to help with an upcoming ghost or event.

Remember to save your game often! There are prompts to save after each "Boo" you vacuum up, but other times you must seek out the method to save your game at this point.

The only thing that has been frustrating is with a few of the ghosts and some discussions with the Professor (who speaks Japanese, I think!!), some 'conversations' can seem to take FOREVER. If you lose at one of these crucial points, you have to go through the lengthy text explaination all over again. It doesn't happen often, fortunately.

This has been one of our family's favorite GameCube games. I would highly recommend this game for any family member!