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.

SKTTR yeah the holy grail makes things much beareable, at sometimes i'm near death, on water or tough enemies, and just warp back... but it isnt forgiving as automatic checkpoints, you have to be always aware

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!

who's first?

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.

The jump physics are the exact same as in Maze of Galious. Not surprising, considering how much La-Mulana borrows from that game.
That said, there is a way around the dropping straight down thing. Instead of walking off platforms, just stand on the edge and jump vertically. On your way down, you will be able to steer the professor however you want.

The jump physics aren't hard to get adjusted too...at least for me. Now, where do I put this Ankh????

Trust me, you'll know when you find it.

A fair warning:
There's a tablet in the Mausoleum of Giants that says something like "You are forbidden from reading this tablet again".
Don't read it a second time.
Just don't do it.
Why? Because that's how you activate Hard Mode, which makes everything significantly harder, even bosses, and it can't be turned off.

Hahahahaha yes. Awesome.

Yeah, the controls aren't the best, but after playing lots of all 3 Castlevanias, I've perfectly adjusted to it. I'm not always a fan of intentionally worse controls but it works exactly how it should for the type of game they made and for once isn't just an excuse.

Are you serious? I read that tablet. I figured it caused all the enemies to spawn in that room, but I didn't realize it also caused global, irrevocable changes. That is annoying. I would have wanted to do it anyway, but I'd have made a separate file for it. I thought maybe this area was just harder than the others.