Catching Luigi's Mansion 3 Boos is basically a rite of passage for anyone who thinks they've mastered the Last Resort hotel. Honestly, these spectral jerks are the most frustrating part of the game if you don't know the trick. You’ve just cleared a floor, beaten a boss, and you’re feeling like a total pro. Then the controller starts vibrating. Your palms get sweaty. You know there’s a Boo hiding in a trash can or a dresser nearby, and if you pick the wrong one, the whole thing resets. It’s stressful.
The Boos in this game aren't just collectibles. They are a test of patience. Unlike the main ghosts—your Goobs and Hammers—you can't just stumble into a Boo. They require a specific rhythm of searching and hunting that feels totally different from the rest of the gameplay. There are 16 of them in total. One for every main floor, plus King Boo himself at the very end.
Why the Luigi’s Mansion 3 Boos are different this time around
In the original GameCube classic, Boos were everywhere. You had to catch 50 of them. In the third installment, Next Level Games scaled it back but made each encounter more of a "find the needle in the haystack" puzzle. You don't see them until you’ve cleared the floor’s main boss. Once that Boss Ghost is safely tucked away in Professor E. Gadd’s Polterpod, the floor enters a "Boo-able" state.
You’ll know one is nearby because the HD Rumble on your Switch goes nuts. The closer you get to the object the Boo is hiding in, the more intense the vibration. If you're playing on a Switch Lite or with a controller that doesn't have Rumble, you’re basically playing on hard mode, though the game does give you some visual cues through the Gooigi pulse.
Finding the rhythm of the hunt
Here is the thing: if you guess wrong, the Boo mocks you and teleports to a different room. It’s annoying. You’ll rumble over to a crate, smash it, and just see a bunch of bats fly out. Now you have to walk three rooms over to find the vibration again.
To avoid this, pay attention to the intensity. Don't just interact with the first thing that shakes. Walk around the object. The vibration should be at its peak when you are standing directly in front of the specific container.
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Once the Boo pops out, the fight is pretty standard across the board. They have names like Boodini (found in the Twisted Suites) or Boofus (the master of the Grand Lobby). They all have about 20 Health. You need to use your Dark-Light Device to reveal them. Once they are stunned, grab their tongue with the vacuum and slam them into the floor. Two or three slams and they are done.
The tricky ones you probably missed
Most players find the early ones like Boobell or Boo-nanza without much trouble. But as you get higher in the hotel, the hiding spots get meaner.
Take Boogira on the Castle MacFrights floor. The floor is huge. You can spend twenty minutes just wandering through the arena where you fought the medieval boss before realizing the Boo is actually hiding in a tiny suit of armor back near the elevator. Or Boolossus (a tribute name to the classic boss) who hangs out in the dance hall.
The hardest part isn't the fight; it’s the trigger.
- You must leave the floor and come back after the boss is defeated.
- The Boo will not spawn if you stay on the floor immediately after the boss fight.
- Check the "Boos" section in E. Gadd’s gallery to see which floors are still missing their resident ghost.
Tracking down the full roster
There isn’t a "perfect" order, but most people grab them as they backtrack for gems. Kung Boo is tucked away in the Ninja Training Room on the 10th floor. He is a nightmare to find because that floor has so many breakable objects. If you aren't careful, you’ll spend forever smashing vases.
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Then there is Booseum, found in—you guessed it—the Unnatural History Museum. This one is actually one of the easier ones because the room is so small, but the vibration can be deceptive because of the large dinosaur bones.
The names are always puns. It’s a Nintendo game; of course they are. Boo-bi-trap in the Boilerworks is a personal favorite just for the sheer silliness of the name, though catching him in the murky water areas is a bit of a chore.
What do you actually get for catching them?
Is it worth it? Sort of. If you catch all 16 Luigi’s Mansion 3 Boos, you unlock a special cosmetic. It’s the Flashlight Type-B, which projects a Boo’s face onto whatever you’re looking at. It doesn't change the gameplay. It won't make you faster or stronger. But it’s a badge of honor. It shows you put in the legwork.
Expert players usually wait until the very end of the game to do a "Boo Run." Once you have all the elevator buttons, you just start at the bottom and work your way up. It’s faster than trying to hunt them one by one during the main story.
Common misconceptions about the Boos
A lot of people think you need to use Gooigi to find them. You don't. While Gooigi is great for puzzles, the Dark-Light is the only thing that actually forces a Boo to materialize once you've found their hiding spot.
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Another mistake is thinking the Boos are randomized. They aren't. While they can move to different objects if you fail to find them on the first try, their initial spawn points on each floor are fairly consistent across different save files. If your friend found one in a specific dresser, there’s a high chance yours is there too—assuming you haven't scared it off yet.
How to optimize your hunt
- Check the Map: If the floor icon is glowing or has a specific marker, it usually means the Boo is active.
- Sound Cues: If you play with headphones, you can actually hear a slight spectral chiming sound that gets louder as you approach the right object.
- Don't Rush: If you smash an object and the Boo isn't there, take a second. The "reset" animation takes time. It’s better to be sure than to be fast.
- The Dark-Light Trick: Sometimes, even if you’ve found the right object, the Boo won't pop out until you shine the Dark-Light on it for a split second.
Catching these guys feels like a giant game of Hide and Seek where the seeker has a vacuum and the hider is a jerk. But honestly, the satisfaction of seeing that 16/16 in the menu is worth the vibration-induced hand cramps.
Actionable Steps for Completionists
If you are currently sitting at 12 or 13 Boos and can't find the rest, your first move should be heading back to E. Gadd’s lab. Talk to him. Sometimes the dialogue triggers a "Boo Alert" that can help narrow down which floors are currently haunted.
Next, head to the Fitness Center (Floor 13) and the Dance Hall (Floor 14). These are the two most common floors where people forget to go back. Because the boss fights there are so intense, players usually just grab the elevator button and bolt.
Finally, make sure you have the "Super Suction" upgrade from the later stages of the game. While not strictly required for Boos, it makes clearing out the rooms to find them much faster. Once you have the Flashlight Type-B, equip it in the settings menu of the lab to show off your 100% completion status.