La-Mulana- Wiiware, Steam

[evil_ash_xero]

This was a freeware game that was made to look like an MSX game. It looked accurate, but terrible. The company that made it is making a remake for it on WiiWare to be released by Nicalis(Cave Story porters). The vids and pics look really good. Reminds me of Castlevania mixed with Indiana Jones.
Hopefully it'll be sweet.

Here's a trailer:

http://la-mulana.com/en/blog/new_trailer_apr1st.html

And here's the English language site:

http://la-mulana.com/en/

[Drum]

This was a freeware game that was made to look like an MSX game. It looked accurate, but terrible.

No it didn't - it looked beautiful. Some of the sprites are masterpieces of detail within limitations and there is a really macabre/creative streak running through all the monsters/environments. The remake looks good, but in a different way. Your post offends me.

[evil_ash_xero]

This was a freeware game that was made to look like an MSX game. It looked accurate, but terrible.

No it didn't - it looked beautiful. Some of the sprites are masterpieces of detail within limitations and there is a really macabre/creative streak running through all the monsters/environments. The remake looks good, but in a different way. Your post offends me.

I dare to be controversial.

Well, it's all a matter of taste, I suppose. Here's the old, here's the new:

[Ruldra]

I still prefer the "old" look, but then again I played the hell out of the MSX when I was little, so I'm used to that kind of graphics.

Really good game, but the hidden walls eventually killed my enjoyment. To hit every single wall in the game to find that secret room that holds the item you need to progress is quite frustrating.

[Ghegs]

Really good game, but the hidden walls eventually killed my enjoyment. To hit every single wall in the game to find that secret room that holds the item you need to progress is quite frustrating.

I've been interested in the game for a long time but stuff like this has kept me from it. I also understand (do correct me if I'm wrong) you have to do some stupidly obscure things at times to proceed, like jumping up at some fairly arbitrary place or combining the roms in some specific way at some specific place to solve a puzzle with only the slightest resemblance of a shadow of a hint helping you to it. I'm not looking for an EZ-mode in the Wiiware-version, but maybe a "let's keep it a bit more sensible and fair"-mode would be nice.

...does this mean I no longer get to wear my "über-hardcore gamer"-badge?

[MX7]

La Mulana had gorgeous graphics, but the music was the real star of the show. I still boot it up just to hear the main theme Hopefully there'll be an option to listen to the original music, a la Dokutsu Monogatari.

[JoshF]

Really good game, but the hidden walls eventually killed my enjoyment. To hit every single wall in the game to find that secret room that holds the item you need to progress is quite frustrating.

So it's such a throwback it even has that "this is why strategy guides were invented" Legend of Zelda bush burning style. I remember playing it briefly a while ago and I got killed by a statue or something, for daring to EXPLORE in an ADVENTURE game.

[Ruldra]

I've been interested in the game for a long time but stuff like this has kept me from it. I also understand (do correct me if I'm wrong) you have to do some stupidly obscure things at times to proceed, like jumping up at some fairly arbitrary place or combining the roms in some specific way at some specific place to solve a puzzle with only the slightest resemblance of a shadow of a hint helping you to it.

Yeah, there are some tips around but they are so obscure you only understand what they mean AFTER you solve the puzzle...most of the solutions you find purely by chance. I also forgot about the roms combination thing, you are completely on your own about that.

Beating the game without a spoiler is doable but it'd take you ages and lots of patience. The wiiware version is pretty much required to have some sort of help to appeal to the less-hardcore players.

[Warp_Rattler]

Man, I really do not like the new graphical style at all. It would be one thing if the game was made to look like that from the start, but the MSX-style artwork is so good that such a severe departure from it feels like sacrilege.

[Ed Oscuro]

+1 in with the "old" and out with the new

Did they screw up the music too?

On the plus side (I guess) this reminds me a little of the ~95-ish remake of Lode Runner, which I found on an old Mac I bought some time ago. HIGHREZ but simple.

[Drum]

Really good game, but the hidden walls eventually killed my enjoyment. To hit every single wall in the game to find that secret room that holds the item you need to progress is quite frustrating.

I've been interested in the game for a long time but stuff like this has kept me from it. I also understand (do correct me if I'm wrong) you have to do some stupidly obscure things at times to proceed, like jumping up at some fairly arbitrary place or combining the roms in some specific way at some specific place to solve a puzzle with only the slightest resemblance of a shadow of a hint helping you to it. I'm not looking for an EZ-mode in the Wiiware-version, but maybe a "let's keep it a bit more sensible and fair"-mode would be nice.

...does this mean I no longer get to wear my "über-hardcore gamer"-badge?

Just dip in, see if you enjoy it, keep going if you do. Really, the whole game is obscure so stuff like that just fits right in and doesn't feel cheap or anything.

[Drum]

Did they screw up the music too?

They just released some tunes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BETIHWtDr_k

[saucykobold]

Wow, this makes The Immortal look warm and inviting.

[ZOM]

Awesome game. I too do not like the new look compared to the old... at all.


Also, remember this one:



I wish you a good sleep.

I've been interested in the game for a long time but stuff like this has kept me from it. I also understand (do correct me if I'm wrong) you have to do some stupidly obscure things at times to proceed, like jumping up at some fairly arbitrary place or combining the roms in some specific way at some specific place to solve a puzzle with only the slightest resemblance of a shadow of a hint helping you to it.

If you've already done "obscure shit" with Popolon & Aphrodite on the MSX, you're good to go for this one.

[Ruldra]

Did they screw up the music too?

They just released some tunes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BETIHWtDr_k

I'll take the old soundtrack any day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv9f7q-GKcY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB97J5YAbIM

This thread is making me want to go back and try beating the game again. As frustrating as it was, I still had a lot of fun with it.

[evil_ash_xero]

I have been trying to play the PC one, but it feels like my game is going in slow motion. Is that just the way it is, or could it be a compatibility problem(i'm in Windows 7)? It doesn't look that floaty in YT vids.

EDIT: Oh yeah, it is definitely running slow. I was watching some vids, and something is definitely wrong. Ideas?

[landshark]

I recently went back and played this again in Windows 7 with no problems. It ran full speed.

[evil_ash_xero]

I recently went back and played this again in Windows 7 with no problems. It ran full speed.

Weird. I put it on my sister's computer, which is far less powerful than this one, yet runs on XP, and it ran properly.

Ah well, you know how funky these computers can be.

And screw you guys, I like the new graphics. I don't have MSX nostalgia going on.

And don't take that comment to heart.

[Drum]

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nigoro

There's a live stream going on right now if anyone's interested.

[Ghegs]

Thanks for the link, I caught the last 15 or so minutes of it. As I still haven't played the original I can't make any comparisons so all I saw is a very cool-looking game. Following the chat was equally if not more interesting, many veterans of the original game were surprised many times during the stream and they seemed positive about the changes. Something about how the combat has been tuned to be more interesting, for example. Some of the developers were in the chat as well and they confirmed the Wiiware remake will not have the old graphics even as an option. Simply no space for them.

Somebody also recorded the stream, not sure where it can be found, though.

[Drum]

People were worried they'd make it baby easy, but that's not the case from what I saw - looks like the game has just been re-balanced. Bosses are tougher but other things are more accessible. I like.

[evil_ash_xero]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8y5YNlx ... re=channel

[Drum]

Thanks for that. Broadly speaking I like the look of the og version more, but this looks classy too - and you can finally see wtf some of the monsters are supposed to be.

[evil_ash_xero]

I just wish it'd get a release date already!

[Shatterhand]

I always thought La Mulana looked impressive.. for the small amount I played, it always looked like a game that could be pulled in a real MSX, and it would be an awesome MSX game..

..except by the fact that's frustrating as hell. Either I was more patient when I was younger, or this is way more frustrating than Maze of Galious. I never looked at a guide for La Mulana, and I got stuck very early with no idea of what to do.

[BulletMagnet]

Some more footage is here.

[evil_ash_xero]

Anyone been playing the JP version of this?

The U.S. version keeps getting put on hold, so I just gave up and started working on the JP one. I'm using a walkthrough, which cheapens the experience, but there really isn't any option, since there are so many clues, that are in Japanese.

Anyway...the bosses in this are killing me. Ellmac(the running lizard) took me like 2 hours or something to figure out. It was one of the most shameful gaming performances of my life. I had less trouble with Fatboy and Slim from Dark Souls. By a good margin!

The game is really good. Obviously, it's like the Metroids, or the Metroid-vanias. If it ever gets here, snag it.

WORD TO THE WISE: This is getting a PC Release.

[Aisha]

The U.S. version keeps getting put on hold, so I just gave up and started working on the JP one. I'm using a walkthrough, which cheapens the experience, but there really isn't any option, since there are so many clues, that are in Japanese.

Aeon Genesis released an English patch quite a number of years ago, here.

EDIT: Sorry, I wasn't aware that the Japanese WiiWare version is out. I thought you were playing the original PC version.

[Ed Oscuro]

Well, I'm confused about the PC release that evil ash is talking about, since it already did get a PC release. Are they releasing it again with the censored music and terrible new graphic? The original was more than sufficiently pretty.

[Moniker]

Well, I'm confused about the PC release that evil ash is talking about, since it already did get a PC release. Are they releasing it again with the censored music and terrible new graphic? The original was more than sufficiently pretty.

I haven't heard about it, but after Cave Story+, I wouldn't be surprised if Nicalis did something similar with La Mulana. The main thing I'm looking forward to is the revamp of items and hints and so forth so resorting to spoilers isn't quite so necessary.