Topic: La Mulana Hype/Discussion Thread

So...the game was released today. And...silence. No one bought it? Or is everyone busy playing it right now?

I downloaded it today but i haven't played it yet

I'll copy my impressions from somewhere else:

I played La-Mulana for two hours. And it's just what I expected (a challenging 16bit-style platformer/exploration-adventure with great music). Two unexpected things though: 1. It's flooding you with puzzles and secrets much like Super Metroid, which is a positive for me. 2. It takes a bit of time to get the controls down due to the unique jump physics and the slightly confusing menu navigation and button mapping. ACCEPT & BACK (1- and 2-button) are reversed. It should play better with a Classic Controller.

Anyway, I was just playing for fun, going deeper and deeper into the ruins to see how far I can get, and it never seemed to stop. There are almost no barriers. Found the water world, the endless corridor, the lavaworld, interesting puzzles and traps and new monsters at every corner, and had problems to find my way back to the village on the surface (missed an important item to get the maps). Then I found out what the weights are for. They must be used on switches. Now I'm back at the beginning grinding for money to buy all the stuff in the shops. Is the pistol good, or is it a one time waste item?

So far I like the game. I already found better shoes and double-HP. It's not as difficult as I thought... maybe the puzzles are, but not the action. You can bring yourself into difficult situations though, if you save with low HP somewhere deep down in the ruins.

So far the only way to refill your HP is going all the way back to the surface's hot spring. I hope you can find shortcuts, teleports, or a way to heal yourself later on.

Been playing a bit but I also got DoReMi Fantasy on VC, so I am playing that more then this, since it's more my thing but this isn't bad. SKTTR there's a teleport way to teleport very early on.

Poor Mulbruk...her name is spelled differently all over the place. It was "Mulburk" in the beginner's video (when she introduces herself), "Mulberk" in Nintendo Life's article about the video, and "Mulbruk" in the game's instruction guide (the thing you view in the Wii Shop). I like "Mulbruk" best.

Here's the link to the article with "Mulberk" in the article text and "Mulburk" in the video:

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2012/09/la_mulana_beginners_...

Found it. Was backtracking to the first area. Teh holy grail. Sends you back to the village instantly.

... and who is Mulburuk? Is she actually a character in the game? Haven't seen a female character yet, other than the few women in the village that carry clay jugs around you can't talk to.

And I found a secret item... description says "NIGOROS first flash game" but I couldn't figure out how to play it. Hint?

You can refill health by gaining experience,I've read. Green dot drops from enemies seem to be exp. Hard to track when you gain life since the health meter is so small. Also, you can change button mapping in options, but I don't know if that changes the cancel/confirm mapping weirdness... Of course, that doesn't take long getting used to.

I've gotten the same impressions so far. This is just what I wanted.

Anyone know how to use the map? I got it, but it isn't in my inventory screen.

Edit: Ah, you need both the individual area's map and a map reader program for the laptop found in the village PC shop.

I've now beaten the first boss and uncovered the next two areas. The Egyptian area is kind of frustrating. Be sure to save after doing anything important as there are traps that seem impossible to get out of. One had a switch next to a bunch of skeletons under a platform. I activated it and doors closed on both sides of me. It was a very tiny space so I know I stepped on, pushed on, and hit every pixel of it several times and nothing happened. Had to reset the game. Easily the low point of what has otherwise been an exciting adventure.

I found her! She's called "Mulbruk".

Played for 3 hours and defeated the first boss. The game is getting better and better.

what's a contra. it sounds like a thing that was turned into a better game called metal slug /controversy (also castlevania is a direct influence on the game and isn't most known for a cheat code)

i have the points card. it begins

So I started playing the game today, and I was not disappointed. I can tell it's gonna be a huge game.
After buying some essentials in the Surface, I went into the ruins and explored the entire first area. I solved quite a few puzzles, earning myself some stuff like the Holy Grail, a shuriken sub weapon, and plenty of gold. But there are still some secrets I couldn't figure out yet. At one point I managed to get myself trapped in a room with a puzzle that involves three pushing blocks. I didn't have the Holy Grail at the time, so I had to reset the game. But I save often, so I didn't lose much progress. I even found the boss room of the first area, but I'm missing one of the two things required to unlock the actual boss battle. But yeah, it was a lot of fun so far, just like I thought it would be. I think I'm going to explore one of the other areas next.

This game can be played with a keyboard. Mind blown. Seriously, can any other Wii games do that?

Wow, didn't realize that, that's neat. Of course, if I had to guess, I'd say it's only really practical if you are used to playing it that way from the original and don't want to take a few seconds getting used to a Classic or Wii remote. There aren't that many different inputs that I can imagine a keyboard having any advantage.

Another explore session this weekend.

The first boss I've found was actually from the Sun Pyramid (3rd area), in the minecart. Looked awesome (best of the four bosses I've seen yet) but couldn't bring him down. I figured he might be impossible to beat at that point in the game. Much later, and by accident, I found the real first boss which was easy with all the items and weapons I've found while checking most other areas first.
Now, 12 hours in I've found the second boss, but he's hard. And man that second area (Giant Gods) was really puzzling. Love it!

One of the challenging things is to figure out the puzzles. Sometimes you can do puzzles but they look impossible so you skip them, and sometimes you try hours solving a puzzle that can't be finished at the time. So lots of try/error. But it is absolutely enganging.

Also, the freedom is crazy. You can get lost (if you haven't found the map in that area) and you can fall into traps as well. So one of the first things you'll want to do is getting the Holy Grail so you can warp yourself back to earlier areas, to the safety of the Surface where you can refill your energy at the hot springs, buy items, and save your progress.

So far the difficulty only spikes in bosses, but I'm sure you can make it easier if you find items, power-ups, and stock up on wepaons/ammo. The rest of the game is fair once you get the Holy Grail and have access to warp/refill/save anytime. And since the Holy Grail is one of the first items in the game I think some people are overreacting with the difficulty. It is a challenge but nothing seems over the top hardcore so far.

I don't think most people reading this have seen the original bonus area that was taken out of this version. I have. Never played it but I've seen it. And if the new version of that is remotely similar, you should thank them. Because it is almost IWBTG level of unfun and unfair. It's apparent, especially by how it ends, that it was just a middle finger to anyone who likes difficult games even at the sacrifice of quality and good game design.

They group of rebels apposed the reconstruction of the new government in Nicaragua.

I'm happy to see this game is #2 on the NA Wiiware charts. Hopefully the sales keep up!

I can't remember. Pokemon Rumble, maybe? I'll look it up in a little while.

About a half hour in and I already have 4 puzzles in the beginning that I have no idea how to complete. I would have been dissappointed with anything else.

I've only made it about 30 minutes into the game. I like it, but I feel it could be better. The jump physics seem wonky, and I don't like how you drop straight down without control of your movement in midair. Also, is anyone getting a problem with the Display on the top of the screen? On my TV, the HP, money, and item gauges are all cut off at the top of the screen, making it nearly impossible for me to tell how much HP I have at a time.

So far, I feel like Cave Story was a much more engrossing game. But, I'm still at the beginning, so IDK.

Everything you said man. I manually changed the HP to show a bit lower.