Despite being the star of his own games, Luigi doesn’t get much love compared to Mario—or even any of the other characters in Nintendo’s most popular setting. For whatever reason, the green-clothed, taller, and arguably handsomer Mario brother gets less love than his brother in red overalls. Nintendo had so little love for Luigi that they even forced him to use the same voiceset as Mario in New Super Mario Bros Wii.
That’s since changed in the release of New Super Mario Bros 2 for the 3DS, which affords Luigi as much love as his brother, replete with a voiceset of his own.
To play as Luigi, you’ll have to run through the game as Mario and defeat Bowser in World 6. Having done so, go to the game’s save file screen and hold down the L and R shoulder buttons while selecting the savegame you want to play in with the A button.
That’ll unlock Luigi so you can play through the single player game in its entirety as Luigi. For confirmation, you’ll hear Luigi bellow “It’s Luigi time!”
Other New Super Mario Bros 2 Guides:
New Super Mario Bros 2 Secret World Unlock Guide
New Super Mario Bros 2 Unlimited Lives Cheat Guide
New Super Mario Bros 2 Rainbow Levels Unlock Guide