La-Mulana series director Takumi Naramura has proven his chops at creating games inspired by the MSX computer, and now it looks like he's going to get his hands on one of the most well-known games on the system. The director has won a competition run by Konami to have the chance at remaking the 1987 classic, The Maze of Galious, IGN reports.
How did Naramura get the chance to direct this remake, then? By winning a year-long competition. Konami held this to allow indie developers the chance to show their skills and revive some of Konami's older titles. And Naramura won first place, as announced at this year's Tokyo Game Show.
The Maze of Galious is a sequel to the 1986 game Knightmare, and as well as releasing on the MSX, it also got a Japan-only release on the Famicom. Nowadays, this side-scrolling action RPG is considered to be one of the best games on the system, with reviews at the time praising the graphics and music. Now, the very game that inspired La-Mulana and its sequel will be reimagined by the director of those fiendish platforming indie gems.
In an interview with IGN, Naramura said that he didn't think that The Maze of Galious would even be on the original list of IPs developers could attempt to remake. So the La-Mulana creator contacted his team to see how they could bring back this obscure classic. Though he admitted he thought it might have limited appeal, telling the publication "I think most people saw that list and said 'Gradius, that's cool, Goemon, I like that,' so they might be disappointed that Galious was selected."
Well, we're not disappointed! It's always fantastic to see these oft-forgotten classics be brought back. We don't know what platforms this remake will come to, or even when it'll come out, but we're looking forward to hearing more about it. You can check out the original version of the game in the below video:
You can find out about all of the winners from Konami's competition right here. And it seems like Konami is feeling a bit generous with its classic IPs at the moment, as the company is bringing back the Suikoden series in 2023.
Have you played The Maze of Galious before? Are you a fan of La-Mulana? Let us know what you think of this in the comments.
[source ign.com]
Comments 31
Those who played the original version of La-Mulana will know this was a long time coming.
Companies should do this more often. If anyone is going to find a way to revive older, obscure franchises, it’s going to be the indie developers who truly appreciate these games.
still wish any of the other options had won frankly
Yeah I'm happy for the guy, he said in interviews before that Maze of Galious had been a huge inspiration for La-Mulana, it only makes sense that he would get the job, and you can be sure he'll do it justice.
@Waluigi-Donut
Yeah this is pretty cool. More developers should do this. Great way to breathe more life into some older games and franchises that the company has virtually no intention of doing themselves.
I'm so chuffed for him. It's a perfect match!
This sounds great! I remember reading news of this Konami promotion here back when it was announced, and it sounds like we found a worthy winner. I'll look forward to more news about Galious.
In the meantime, I will try some La-Mulana at some point and see if I can make any progress in it at all.
Great choice of game to remake! I played this a lot as a kid and it is one of my favorite games of all time! The music is fantastic! And so is the world!
More Publishers & IP Holders should do things like this to revitalize their dormant/neglected legacy titles/characters especially if they have no immediate plans to do anything with them themselves.
... Wun can only hope.
Btw Konami, it's also time for a new:
.. I mean we probably won't get any of these especially in the vein desired knowing Con-ami these days but..
... Wun can only hope.
I didn't own an MSX back in the 8-bit days so regret I never got the chance to play Penguin Adventure. I remember that game got great reviews at the time.
MSX had a good concept that different companies can share the same technology platform but their computers seemed expensive at the time. Looking back now it's weird to think Sony made an MSX computer.
I'd love the chance to finally play Penguin Adventure on the Switch someday.
@wuntyme8 Feels weird knowing that Suikoden has the biggest chance of getting a new game on that list now. Literal weeks ago the series was completely dead.
Not surprising.
Naramura did a custom tileset for a fan-remake of Maze of Galious over a decade ago, so he's no stranger to working on the game.
"The director has won a competition run by Konami to have the chance at remaking the 1987 classic, The Maze of Galious, IGN reports.
How did Naramura get the chance to direct this remake, then?"
...I'm going to guess he won a competition run by Konami
I played the original La Mulana. Hate is not a strong enough word. For those who enjoyed it, I am happy for you.
DeceasedCrab is gonna be THRILLED. And he's the only reason this means much to me either. Hell of an outcome. Clearly this dude earned it.
First time seeing this game but I hope more companies do something similar, I doubt anyone but the dedicated fans could capture what made the games special in the first place.
This is going to be awesome
I want my Snatcher remaster though
@Waluigi-Donut
How ironic to write something like that at Konami. 🙈
Okay, this game music is good and catchy 😃
Good for him, I know he'll do it justice if it inspired La-Mulana. I couldn't cut it with that game shy of a FAQ or something, but great news for those following his work. On another note, so... Is this what Konami is doing these days? I already know they're not trying to put in any work themselves for their IPs, but it's definitely better than nothing letting devs have a crack. I can only hope in time devs will get a shot at Goemon, Contra, and Castlevania to name a few.
this is great! I love both versions of maze of galious.(MSX, Famicom) this is the best in the series imo. its definitely best to leave it to producers that actually love the game to remake it. a lot of half hearted remakes out there.
Oh wow, that's awesome.
BTW, there's also a port of Galious to the Famicom (and two different fan translations for it). From what little I played of it, it seems a lot more faithful to the original than some of the other MSX/Nintendo ports that Konami did back in the day.
Would instabuy tbh
Never heard of The Maze of Galious. It looks fantastic. The MSX is one platform I do not own and I would love explore its library.
@BillyB Play the ROM on your PC with a pro controller.
@trcsf MSX was my first computer. I wanted a C64, but my dad insisted MSX was the future of computing. He was right in a way, but it was tough getting games. A lot tougher than my C64 owning friends who could just walk to the store, whereas I had use mail order. Just install Blue MSX and download some ROMS. Bluetooth is standard now, so it's easy to pair a decent controller.
@Chocobo_Shepherd It doesn't hold your hand and the back tracking is a little excessive by today's standards, for sure.
@Satan
Cheers for the advice. While Penguin Adventure hasn't aged too well, I was surprised to discover MSX has fine versions of many arcade classics including Bubble Bobble. I've also enjoyed replaying Boulderdash. Good stuff!
I think La Mulana is actually a remake of The Goonies and La Mulana 2 is the remake of Maze of Galious.
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