La-Mulana; One of the kings of indie games.

So, you thought Cave Story was huge and amazing?

Obviously you've never played La-Mulana. Allow me to post my review of this game from TIGdb.

"I’ll be the first to admit it; when I first played La Mulana, I tried my best to get through the Guidance Gate (the first “stage”). I remember that I just kept thinking, “What’s all the fuss about? This isn’t anything special,” and, “Sweet Lord, you’ve gotta be kidding me! Why the hell did they make this game so difficult?!” After dying about 10 more times (not realizing that you REALLY had to think about the puzzles), I finally closed the game, and put it down for about a year…

After hitting a freeware indie dry spell, I was searching through my games folder and saw La Mulana. “Well, I might as well try it again.” About half an hour later, I was facing the first Guardian of La Mulana, and it instantly sparked a new found love for this game. I played through it in about a month on and off, and am going to attempt the Hell Temple… When I work up the nerve!
Now, I’m going to be honest here. La Mulana is a game that doesn’t pull any punches, it isn’t going to hold your hand, and there are no lengthy tutorials or an abundance of hints. You don’t gather avatar strength, you don’t get weapons upgrades aside from a few stronger whips, and the puzzles are something maddeningly difficult. I’m almost ashamed to admit that I needed a walkthrough to get through about 50% of this game.

If you have a true love for the retro, don’t mind a grand challenge, and have about 20 hours to spare, La Mulana is your new bandwagon. Everybody rants and raves about how AMAZING Cave Story is, and while I’ll admit it’s a really fun game and everyone should check it out, I honestly believe that La Mulana is far, FAR superior. The graphics style is truly reminiscent of old school PC games (the MSX, specifically) and the HUGE labyrinth is colorful and varied. The controls take some getting used to, but once you get the hang of how Lemeza’s jumping works they’re as smooth as butter. The difficulty, as I’ve stated, is absolutely mind-numbing, so don’t be afraid to bring up a walkthrough or a Let’s Play if you’re stuck. The level design is something to behold; some levels require pixel-perfect precision, while some areas require you to swim through water (and lava?!). The music is probably the shining star of the game, though, as each track fits more than perfectly with every area; Inferno is pulse pounding, exciting, and makes you feel like you’re really traversing a volcano, and the song for the battle with Tiamat (Interstice Of The Dimension) may be one of the best boss battle themes ever composed.

All in all, La Mulana is a freakin’ GAME, and it’s highly recommended to retro gamers who don’t mind a little punishment. I know it brought out the masochist in me. Once you realize just how massive this game is, it’ll blow your mind. Even more mind-blowing is the fact that this was made by a very small group of people, and it’s obvious that a lot of love and attention went into the development. It doesn’t get NEARLY the amount of recognition that it deserves, as it is now near the top of my top 10 favorite games of all time list. There is a WiiWare port of the game coming (if Nicalis would kick dragging their damned feet!) and I’m looking forward to it! This game really should set the bar for independent (hell, even MAJOR) developers, and should send a message that even a game that’s made to look, sound, play and FEEL like a game from over two decades ago can be better than most modern blockbusters. Download this, and get ready to have your world rocked. The adventure starts here!"

http://db.tigsource.com/games/la-mulana

 

I didn't get to finish before my computer exploded, but I got pretty damn far. I really don't want a Wiiware port because of what happened to Cave Story after that. Especially since Nicalis is handling that one too, ugh.

Yes I get it ROMS aren't relevant anymore that doesn't mean you have to change them to EXEs.

 

Actually, Nigoro were the ones who worked on the WiiWare port, and it looks phenomenal. Nicalis are just in charge of bringing it over to the US and UK. They're driving me fucking bonkers though... We were supposed to have it in the summer of 2011.

 

Oh, that's different. When I saw their name on the port I kinda flipped shit because of what they did to Cave Story.

I mean, a Cave Story PC remake? Really? Who would want to pay $10 for updated graphics and one extra level (That was poorly structured)

 

Yeah, I hear you. Cave Story + or whatever the fuck it is. I am somewhat excited for Cave Story 3D though. It has an interesting art style.

 

I belieeeve Cave Story 3D's already out. Danny Baranowsky (of Super Meat Boy fame) made the music.

Spoiler

On topic: I have not played La Mulana. Actually I may have brought it up once and then gone "THIS LOOKS BOOOOOOORING" and never touched it again.

 

Holy shit is that a shame. I felt the same way until I gave it another go... Once you get into it and start figuring out puzzles it's a fuckin' riot.

 

Bee Tee Dubs: Cave Story+ was fine. What's wrong with re-playing CS, but this time giving some cash to Pixel?
Less-Off-Topic: I played a little bit of this some years ago. Then my computer crashed and burned, and I forgot about it. Thanks for reminding me of it's existence! :)

 

Any time good sir.

As for money going to Pixel, I can only imagine that a fraction is going to him since Nicalis is probably reaping most of the rewards.

 

I don't know about you, but the download link for the game is broken for me.

 

Yeah, it is. However, you can get it many other places as well, not just there. :)
E.g.

 

It's best to get it from AGTP anyway.

 

I played this a couple of months ago, I really love it. The whole atmosphere of the game is amazing, the music really carries it as well.

 

I've stumbled across this game more than once, however, it looked to boring for my tastes. This was exactly the case with Cave Story, and I ended up loving the heck out of it in the end, even going as far as saying it's one of the best games I've played. Now I try to download La Mulana, patched it with the english translation, and when I try to start it, it goes to a black screen, and closes itself, like nothing happened :(

 

Damn. D:
I'm assuming there's a La Mulana community somewhere? Try asking around there. :)

 

I just realized... You guys thought you had to wait a long time for Zombies?

We've been waiting for the La-Mulana WiiWare port for almost 2 YEARS now.

 

Love this game, but your review is misleading. There are hints on every tablet you just have to be smart

 

Meh, they're very cryptic.

 

i tryed playing this game but for some reason the colors started working really wrong after i pressed start and it all looked wrong and sht. plus it was all in jappanese, couldn't get the english version of it.

 

Watched a guy play through it a few years back.
There are really some hard as fuck/figuring out parts, but other than that it's pretty enjoyable.