My name is Lemeza Kosugi and when I am not busy teaching archeology, I
seek out undiscovered ruins and their secrets. Not too long ago, a note
arrived from my long-lost father, exclaiming “Eventually, I found it. I’ve
won!”. Seems like the old man finally did it: he found La-Mulana, the
ancient temp...
My name is Lemeza Kosugi and when I am not busy teaching archeology, I
seek out undiscovered ruins and their secrets. Not too long ago, a note
arrived from my long-lost father, exclaiming “Eventually, I found it. I’ve
won!”. Seems like the old man finally did it: he found La-Mulana, the
ancient temple that holds the ancient knowledge hidden from mankind for all
these years. With my trusty laptop and my whip, I have set out to plumb the
depths of this ancient temple to see what treasures I can find...
La-Mulana is an “Archaeological Ruin Exploration Action Game” in the vein
of classic MSX platformers. As a daring archaeologist you venture inside
the ancient ruins of the Mayan city La-Mulana, seeking out the Secret
Treasure of Life. Apart from the plethora of traps lying in wait to stop
intruders, there are also monsters on the prowl, protecting the ruins. Head
for the innermost depths of the ruins while solving a variety of mysteries,
fending off monsters, and disarming traps. Forging ahead will be no simple
task – the further into the depths you reach, the more difficult the
mysteries become. Will you fall prey to treacherous traps and gruesome
guardians or unravel the secrets of La-Mulana?
A free roaming platformer adventure with over 18 secret-filled unique areas to explore.
Jam-packed with a slew of weapons, sub-weapons, quest items, and riddles.
Take on the Hell Temple Time Attack for the ultimate challenge!
The original free version is a cult classic, and this version makes the game a little bit more accessible. Hardcore players will give this game 5 stars, casual players 1 star.
The game has an abundance of frustrating platformer mechanics though having a focus on the puzzles. And the puzzles hints are also so obscure that it leads to a lot of frustration.
But frustrating design decisions are all deliberately, so it's hard to criticize the game for it.
I don't like the graphics and the art style of this version.
On one hand I prefer the retro feeling of the original.
On the other hand I prefer the cleaner graphics, since it makes the game a bit easier.
And the game has already hardcore difficulty.
The user interface is difinetly more accesible than the original version,
but could also be better, without sacrificing the gameplay.
I came into La Mulana expecting "just another" metroidvania title that had been described to me as "difficult," but what I ended up experiencing was a level of high adventure and challenge that ended up dominating my thoughts and free time for months.
Before I add my voice to the choir of people who are rightfully proclaiming La Mulana as the heir apparent to the metroidvania throne, the idea of the game's "difficulty" needs to be addressed.
The difficulty isn't so much a part of the platforming as it is the unraveling of the game's mysteries and is in fact one of the best aspects of this great game.
While the game has all that you would expect from a good metroidvania such as tight controls, expansive areas, tons of upgrades for your character, and good music, it is the actual sense of exploration and discovery that La Mulana nails better than any metroidvania before it.
You're not just exploring a ruin; you're deciphering ancient texts, solving millenia-old riddles, and applying all of that to solve the game's puzzles, of which there are legion.
You're unraveling secrets of the past like a real whip-wielding archaeologist all as a fundamental part of the gameplay.
This is a game where the challenge primarily rises from the need to write down copious notes in order to unlock the secrets of the ruins. It's amazing fun.
Buy it.
This game is a masterpiece. For people easily impressed by loud noises and shiny objects, the game looks great and has a fantastic soundtrack.
What we all care about in a videogame though is the actual gameplay, the interaction. The game has a very well done platforming aspect and combat that aren't just "good enough", but fine tuned and fair to make it incredibly rewarding to master and a game that can stand on its own on just those merits as a 2D platformer. Momentum based jumping is used, so plan your actions out. But where the real value lies is in the puzzles. The platforming aspects are great, but this truly feels like it is supposed to be played as a puzzle game. It puts you right into a ruin like Indiana Jones and gives you full reign to discover it and find your way deeper.
The puzzles are everywhere, be prepared to have a full chapter added to your game notebook at your desk, because you will want to write clues down often as they come up so you can read them all back later and put them together. The rewarding sense of accomplishment from mastering the puzzles of La Mulana is its biggest strength. Along the way you will make use of your trusty adventurers laptop that you can find different software for throughout the game, which is a very novel idea that I've never seen in a game before. The boss fights are difficult exercises in platforming and combat, and each one is a treat to savor and remember after they are gone, but you will always know that you earned it once you defeat them.
If you have low amounts of patience, want awesome buttons, or are the type of person that uses guides to play games, don't bother playing this because the charm and quality is lost on you, you are not the target audience. Frankly, trying to force the game to conform to your lack of spacial memory, lack of critical thinking, and lack of ability to do anything without quest markers only degrades the quality of La Mulana and other good games that are rarer and rarer these days.
I am one of the people who have not played this game prior to its GOG.com release. It was only $10, and looked interesting, so I decided to buy it. Moments into the game, the surface was incredibly boring, but I decided to stick with it. And, all I can say is this:
This is the best game I have played, if not one of them.
This is a game that does take a while to build up, but only a short while, and once it does, it is possibly one of the best games you will ever have the joy of playing. Played Super Metroid, Castlevania, Dark Souls, or any of those? You have no reason not to play this; everything about this game, you will love. If you have not played those? You probably will still love this, if you do not mind games that take a long time to beat and are quite a challenge. Bear in mind that, like I just said, this game is very long; it took me 24 hours to beat the game, and that was with heavy guide usage. Oh, and, by the way, prepare to use a guide/wiki. This game has hints, but they're scattered everywhere, and sometimes are all the way on the other side of the ruins from where you need to be. I suppose it's supposed to make you 'clean up' the areas that you've visited in order to progress, but it's a little annoying. Regardless, whether you use a guide or not, the game is still amazing. The gameplay is great, with interesting, yet solid platforming, fun combat, incredible bosses (I do really mean this. They're really hard, as well!), and a ton of content. For its current price of $15, you are really getting a lot more than the price of entry.
Probably the best way to describe this game, once you've gotten sucked in, is, just fun. It's fun. It's fun when you're trying to get that treasure past a room full of spikes. It's fun when you've finally found out what that puzzle to get the flail whip is, and you retrieve it, and now have the best overall weapon in the game. The game puts secrets everywhere, and challenges, and expects you to solve them and have fun doing so. Most modern games don't do this. Either they're too afraid of scaring customers away, or they want the ride to be smooth. La Mulana, on the other hand, knows why we enjoyed Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Super Metroid, or A Link to the Past. It knows what made these fun, despite their seemingly user-unfriendlyness, and it uses it to its advantage. This is a game you will just have fun with. If this was released on the SNES or the Playstation years ago, it would not have just fit in; it would have been heralded as a classic, to be remembered for years to come. It probably will be remembered as that in the future, as well; this is the very definition of a classic, a game that got everything 'fun' right.
Maybe my review wasn't for the best, and I am trying to keep it spoiler-free. Regardless, this is a game that everyone needs to play, at least to see if it is to their fancy. If you like Metroidvania games, you already know the answer: buy this game right now, and play away. If you have never played them, well, try it anyway.
Who knows, it might just be that game you will never forget, for years to come.
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