Poltergust 3000
- This article is about the main item in Luigi's Mansion. For other uses of "Poltergust", see Poltergust.
- “That’s the vacuum cleaner I engineered to catch ghosts.... It’s the only way to foil ’em! This is the only thing they fear!”
- —Professor Elvin Gadd, Luigi's Mansion
The Poltergust 3000 is a vacuum invented by Professor Elvin Gadd to catch ghosts. It first debuted in Luigi's Mansion, where Luigi used it as his main weapon. It is the first model in the Poltergust line of devices.
Features
The Poltergust 3000 is a vacuum used by Luigi to hunt down ghosts in Luigi's Mansion. To suck up ghosts, Luigi first has to find their weakness (which usually involves his flashlight in some way) and exploit it. Once the ghost is open, Luigi needs to bring its health down to 0 before it can be sucked into the Poltergust and defeated. By sucking up certain ghosts (which can be found after collecting specific Elemental Medals), the Poltergust gains the ability to harness the elements of fire, ice, and water to fight certain ghosts and solve puzzles.
By linking up with E. Gadd's Ghost Portrificationizer, it can upload captured ghosts and turn them into portraits. This is demonstrated by the various portrait ghosts found throughout the mansion.
In the PAL version of Luigi's Mansion, the Poltergust 3000 has wheels, which allow the user to ride it. Luigi can perform this technique in the Boolossus battle, but it is not used elsewhere in the game.
Other game appearances
Mario Power Tennis / New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis
The Poltergust appears in Mario Power Tennis and Mario Tennis: Power Tour as a Defensive Power Shot known as the Poltergust Return. Like other Defensive Power Shots, its purpose is to hit the ball when it is out if range. Its offensive counterpart is the Squeaky Mallet.
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga / Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions
In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and its remake, a newer model known as the Super Poltergust 3001 appears. Luigi is shown to still own the original Poltergust, which he used in various cutscenes in Starbeans Cafe, using it on E. Gadd himself twice, the first time after Gadd taste-tests the Hoohoo Blend in order to prevent him from being forced to use the restroom inside the café (due to his neglecting to add restrooms in the place); the second time due to fear as a result of E. Gadd becoming a "ghost" via a specialized gown after test-tasting the Chuckoccino.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Occasionally, the Poltergust 3000 appears in the Audience on Luigi in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. It serves no purpose outside of a cameo.
Mario Sports Mix
The Poltergust 3000 appears in Luigi's Special Attacks in Mario Sports Mix. As there are four different sports in said game, its use varies slightly between each sport. However, each sport has him doing the same thing: Luigi sucks in the ball or puck, then he expels air from the Poltergust at his opponents to cause them to trip. After that, he either shoots the ball toward the goal (in basketball and hockey), toward the open ground (in volleyball), or at the opponents (in dodgeball).
Super Smash Bros. series
The Poltergust 3000 makes a cameo in Super Smash Bros. Melee on the Vacuum Luigi trophy's back, and it has a trophy of its own in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It does not reappear at all in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U in favor of its newer model, the Poltergust 5000, which appears as Luigi's new Final Smash, replacing the Negative Zone from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and is not seen in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate due to Luigi being given a Poltergust G-00 from Luigi's Mansion 3 for his grabs, throws, and Final Smash, replacing the Poltergust 5000 from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U.
Profiles
Super Smash Bros. Melee trophy
| Name | Image | Game | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vacuum Luigi | 
|
Luigi's Mansion 11/01 |
In a strange twist of fate, Luigi wins a huge mansion in a contest he didn't even enter, and the place turns out to be haunted! After meeting a weird professor named Elvin Gadd, Luigi enters the place armed with a flashlight and a ghost-sucking vacuum cleaner. Mario's trapped somewhere in there! Can Luigi save him? |
Super Smash Bros. Brawl trophy
| Name | Image | Game | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poltergust 3000 | 
|
GCN Luigi's Mansion | A vacuum cleaner developed by Professor Elvin Gadd of the E. Gadd Science Corporation. He gives it to Luigi, who uses it to trap ghosts in a haunted mansion after stunning them with his flashlight. It also absorbs elements like water, ice, or fire that it can then shoot out. An optional accessory to this fine product is a machine that converts the trapped ghosts into portraits. |
Future models
Throughout the Mario franchise, various upgrades to the Poltergust 3000 have appeared. These include:
- Super Poltergust 3001 – appearing in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, where it seems to be a more advanced model of the Poltergust 3000. It features a set of wheels similar to the Poltergust 3000 from the PAL version of Luigi's Mansion. However, it is much more optimized for travel and features a rocket booster in the rear.
- Porta-Gust – a Gaddget, another of Gadd's inventions, from Mario Party Advance appears to be a portable version of the Poltergust 3000 with Game Boy Advance-style controls.
- Poltergust 4000 – one of Luigi's special karts in Mario Kart DS. Like the Super Poltergust 3001, it is meant to be ridden on. It was originally designed for Professor Elvin Gadd but he was later removed from the game for unknown reasons.
- Poltergust 5000 – a vastly upgraded version of the Poltergust 3000 appearing in Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, the 3DS successor to Luigi's Mansion. It now includes a Strobulb, which replaces the flashlight from Luigi's Mansion. It can also make hidden objects appear with its Dark-Light Device. Unlike the original Poltergust, this one cannot use the elements or wheels.
- Super Poltergust 5000 – a stronger version of the Poltergust 5000 which appears as the final upgrade in Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon.
- Poltergust G-00 – the latest model, containing the features from the previous versions as well as a “goo” tank and a plunger launcher.
In addition, the main gimmick of the PolterCue browser game is named the PolterGust 1000.[1]
Appearances in other media
In volume 26 of Super Mario-kun, Luigi uses the Poltergust 3000 when facing against Huff N. Puff in a Paper Mario arc and King Boo in a Luigi's Mansion arc.
Gallery
Professor E. Gadd with the early design for the Poltergust 3000
Luigi's Mansion
Luigi's Mansion
Luigi's Mansion
Luigi's Mansion
Luigi's Mansion
Nintendo UNO
Nintendo UNO
Nintendo UNO
Video for New Year's Eve 2019 from Nintendo Co., Ltd.'s Instagram account
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | オバキューム[?] Obakyūmu |
Portmanteau on "vacuum" and「お化け」(obake, ghost); shared with the other main Poltergust models | |
| Dutch | Spookzuiger 3000[?] | Pun of spook (ghost) and stofzuiger (vacuum) | |
| German | Schreckweg 08/16[?] | From Schreck (fright) and weg (gone), as well as 08/16. In german 08/15 is a figure of speech used to describe something ordinary. So the 08/16 means, that the Schreckweg is specifically not ordinary. | |
| Italian | Poltergust 3000[?] | - | |
| Korean | 유령싹싹 (Luigi's Mansion remake)[?] Yuryongssakssak |
유령 (Yuryeong) means "ghost", and 싹싹 (Ssakssak) is an onomatopoeia for sweeping; same as the Poltergust 5000. | |
| Portuguese | Sugospectro 3000[?] | Pun of the Portuguese words sugar (suck) and espectro (ghost) | |
| Russian | Полтергаст-3000[?] Poltergast-3000 |
Poltergust 3000 | |
| Spanish | Succionaentes 3000[?] | Pun of succionar (vacuum) and ente (ghost or spirit) |
Trivia
- The Poltergust 3000 is named after the terms "poltergeist", which is a ghost who makes itself known through things such as noises, and "gust", a reference to wind. The "3000" part of the name is probably present because of the "thousand" numbers after mad scientists' inventions in typical science fiction movies.
- In Super Mario Sunshine, a Pianta at the Sirena Beach hotel asked Mario to "get rid of these ghosts with a vacuum or something" when the hotel was infested with Boos. This is likely a reference to the Poltergust.
- The Poltergust shares some similarities to Mario's F.L.U.D.D., as Mario and Luigi use their respective weapons for the entire game and wear them on their backs. It was also made by the same person, Professor Elvin Gadd.
- In Fortune Street, Luigi mentions that he should have brought the Poltergust 3000 with him.
- In the American English version of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, there is a trophy called "Luigi (with Poltergust 3000)", however Luigi is actually carrying the Poltergust 5000 in said trophy. This error was corrected in the British English version of the game as "Luigi (with Poltergust 5000)". It is likely this error stemmed from each version of the Poltergust that Luigi uses having the same name in Japan, resulting in an oversight during translation.
Reference
- ^ Title screen of PolterCue, where the PolterGust 1000 is mentioned as such
