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* [[Advancing Boss of Doom]]: Viy pulls it off, as does Ellmac (sorta).
* [[Adventurer Archaeologist]]: Lemeza, the [[Player Character]], is quite obviously one of these.
* [[Alien Geometries]]: La-Mulana is [[wikipedia:Simply connected space|non-simply connected]], almost certainly deliberately. If you try to make a map that shows where all the areas are in relation to each other, taking every connection into account, you'll quickly discover that it can't be done. In particular, it's not at all clear what the lowest point inside the ruins is, as you can go through the same set of locations in the lower areas (Inferno Cavern, Chamber of Extinction) over and over again while taking a path that should logically be going farther and farther downward. That said, there's also {{spoiler|the infinitely deep pit in the Inferno Cavern that appears during the quest for opening up Hell Temple.}}.
** Perhaps most [[Egregious]] is the Shrine of the Mother, in which the lowest area of the Endless Corridor takes you to the top of the area, and an entrance three floors up takes you to a lower, isolated area. Everything else can be explained with the depiction of three-dimensional space in two dimensions, but this...
** Even the same areas aren't connected logically. Hell Temple is the another example where you can fall from multiple rooms into the same "Land of Hell.". There's also the first time the player enters the Twin Labyrinth from the Mausoleum of the Giants, where going down one ladder sends the player to a room on the opposite side of the map!
** Areas vary in terms of how alien their geometries are (with, generally, the "deeper" areas getting more bizarre, while the early ones make a bit more sense.). The Twin Labyrinths in particular is utterly confusing (naturally, since it basically connects two dimensions).) The Endless Corridor is pretty bizarre, too, but both it and the bizarre way it relates to the Shrine of the Mother make a bit more sense when you realize that {{spoiler|Tiamat used her power to swap it with the Dimensional Corridor so she could hide in another dimension.}}.
* [[All Myths Are True]]
* [[All There in the Manual]]: For your benefit, the manual is included. Do read it, or you'll be lost at sea.
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* [[Already Undone for You]]: Traps in that large temple complex.
* [[Always Check Behind the Chair]]: ''La-Mulana'' really emphasizes exploration to a ludicrous degree, as finding a variety of items (like the MSX ROMs in the original game) and puzzle hints require examining everything and anything thoroughly, sometimes even including analysis of the ''backgrounds'' on specific screens.
* [[Amazing Technicolor Battlefield]]: In the remake. In the original version, most of the bosses you fight will have a black screen in the backdrop, this is because it's [[Retraux|supposed to look like it fits the limitations of the MSX]].
* [[Ambidextrous Sprite]]: Averted, Lemeza has different sprites for facing left and right.
* [[Ancient Astronauts]]: {{spoiler|The Mother.}}.
* [[And Your Reward Is Clothes]]: {{spoiler|[[Fan Disservice|Not a very good reward for completing the bonus level.]]}}.
** {{spoiler|In the remake, after you beat Hell Temple, Lemeza's sprites actually change in game of him donning the Treasure that must not be seen}}.
* [[Apocalyptic Log]]: You can find skeletons of previous adventurers, frequently with some note on them, either detailing how they'll soon die or giving a hint to a puzzle. These range from the serious to the ridiculous (an adventurer writing a note after he triggered a trap instead of, you know, ''getting away from the trap'') to ("I hear there are shops in these ruins, but that does not matter because I am dying.").
** Also, the tablets in the Mausoleum of the Giants read like an [[Apocalyptic Log]] for an entire civilization:
{{quote|{{spoiler|''We could not grant the Great Mother's wish. I am the only one to remain, and here I go to my long, final rest. --Abt''}}}}
* [[April Fools' Day]]: Take a look at [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnJWbBY5mWc this gameplay trailer.]. Notice all the weird things happening? {{spoiler|Take a look at the date it was posted.}}. Interestingly, a few things shown in the April Fools trailer actually ''do'' happen in the game.
* [[Ars Goetia]]: The source of the names of some sub-bosses and enemies.
* [[Ascended Extra]]: In the [[Wii Ware]] version , {{spoiler|[[Bonus Boss|The Boss]] is given an actual theme, it uses one of the unused songs from the Jukebox, called "Good Morning Mom."}}.
* [[Ascended Meme]]: Even the developers refer to the Cat Sidhe in the Temple of the Sun as [[Deceased Crab|Cat Ball]].
** One of the entries in Jasmine "Momogirl" Cote's La-Momolana Livejournal has a joke about [http://la-momolana.livejournal.com/8448.html Lemeza actually wearing the equipment items]. In the [[Wii Ware]] version, whenever you get a new equipment item, it will indeed show Lemeza wearing it in the Items menu.
*** Naramura's Twitter showed a lot of the concept art of ''La-Mulana'' and one of those concept arts has [http://twitpic.com/62gbwd traditional versions of Momogirl's entries].
*** Those entries are actually in the full guide book of the Wiiware[[Wii Ware]] version; not only that, but they were redrawn by Naramura himself.
* [[Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever]]: About half the bosses.
** Viy, in particular, is so large that you only see its ''eye socket'' during the fight. Those annoying tentacles? They're supposed to be eyelashes.
* [[Author Avatar]]:
** Naramura's avatar character can be found in the Graveyard of the Giants. In the [[Wii Ware]] remake, his avatar character appears as a shopkeeper.
*** {{spoiler|His avatar character can also be found in Hell Temple in the form of a bomb throwing enemy and the [[Bonus Boss]] named simply "The Boss".}}.
** Elder Xelpud is considered to be Duplex's avatar before NIGORO was [[GR 3]] Project.
** Ditto with Samieru, his was Lemeza.
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* [[Bag of Spilling]]: According to [[All There in the Manual|the manual]], Lemeza's equipment was seized by airport security except the whip and MSX, which he saved by screaming "THESE ARE SOUVENIRS!" until they let him take them along.
* [[Ballistic Bone]]: Thrown by the more advanced types of skeletons.
* [[Bamboo Technology]]: Some of the children of the motherMother built impressive mechanisms despite not seeming to have technologically progressed too far. Though it overlaps with [[Schizo-Tech]], since ''someone'' built {{spoiler|the Tower of Ruin and the Tower of the Goddess.}}.
* [[Barrier Change Boss]]: {{spoiler|Each form of Mother (in the original PC release) is only vulnerable to one specific weapon}}.
* [[Beam Spam]]: The tiny flying demons in the Dimensional Corridor love to shoot lasers all over the place, and they usually come in groups.
** Then you have the floating head enemies in the Temple of the Sun, who use [[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series|Ancient Egyptian Laser Beams]].
* [[Big Boo's Haunt]]: The Giants' Mausoleum, and to a much lesser extent the ruins in general.
* [[Bittersweet Ending]]: In perspective, the end of La Mulana is REALLY sad. {{spoiler|Mother always wanted to go back to the heavens, but all that can be given to her is the peace of death. But in doing that, it actually seals the fate of Earth, because without Mother, no more sentient races would rise on Earth. Granted, the treasure of La Mulana could make a normal human being capable of doing what she could... But can a human be trusted with that power?}}?
** Not to mention the fact that {{spoiler|you go through all the work of getting the treasure only for your father to steal it from you in the end. In other words, the power to create life is now in the hands of a thieving jerk!}}!
* [[Blackout Basement]]: A large portion of the Chamber of Extinction. Also, both Tower of the Goddess and Hell Temple have a room which is dark initially.
* [[Bland-Name Product]]: The Super Notebook MSX was manufactured by S.ONY according to the manual.
* [[Bleak Level]]: The remake's take on Confusion Gate, now known as the Gate of Illusion {{spoiler|or, in its disguised form, Eden}}. In the original, it's just kind of depressing. But now, expect to see plenty of disturbing imagery: {{spoiler|blood-streaked face murals twisted into [[The Un-Smile|un-smiles]], a serpent statue eternally un-vomiting pink water, ghostly maidens eternally re-enacting [[Virgin Sacrifice|their deaths in the sacrificial pit of the demon Chi You]], and of course, that [[Scare Chord]] that plays when you enter for the first time. ''Have Fun!''}}!
* [[Block Puzzle]]: There are lots of them.
* [[Bolt of Divine Retribution]]: Normally used whenever you hit something that you shouldn't.
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* [[Boss Remix]]: Each boss theme has musical sequences for that boss's areas, usually the backside theme, oddly enough.
* [[Mini Boss|(Mini-)]][[Boss Rush]]: The Dimensional Corridor consists mostly of minibosses, although you don't fight them in a set order.
** The official editor comes with a [[Boss Rush]] mod.
** The [[Wii Ware]] version has two different types of [[Boss RushesRush]]es in the form of DLC; one where you fight all the bosses in a sequential order, and the other one where you fight all of the bosses and mid-bosses in any order, with the whole ruins to explore in.
* [[Bottomless Pits]]: The game has precisely one, but it doesn't kill you. Instead it's an infinitely long vertical chain of identical (or are they?) lava-filled screens.
* [[Bowdlerization]]: Early promo art for the [[Wii Ware]] version showed Lemeza smoking a cigarette. This was quickly changed on the English side of the website.
* [[Bragging Rights Reward|Bragging Rights (Dis)Reward]]: Called a treasure [[Nightmare Fuel|not meant to be seen]], according to an ingame character, and [[Squick|with good reason]].
** Annoyingly enough, this is obtained after getting through the most ridiculously hard area of the game (Hell Temple), which is nearly impossible to find in the first place without [[Guide Dang It|reading the dev team's minds]], requires having all the gear to finish the game already, and rewards you with {{spoiler|being shown something almost no-one will find enjoyable, being called an idiot, and not even having a mark on your save or inventory to show for the experience. It however is likely to leave the mark of insanity on the player.}}. Clearly, the dev team are ''completely'' sadistic.
* [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]]: Duracuets, in regards to the {{spoiler|Hell Temple treasure. Judging by Lemeza's facial expression when he equips it, Duracuets isn't really making fun of him so much as making fun of '''YOU.'''}}.
* [[Brutal Bonus Level]]: "Welcome to Hell Temple. This place is one that none should come to. If thou will have no regrets regardless of what happens, proceed. This is Hell Temple. [[Shaped Like Itself|Hell temple is Hell!]]"
* [[Build Like an Egyptian]]: The Temple of the Sun.
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* [[Chinese Vampire]]: Seen in Endless Corridor.
* [[The Chosen One]]: Lemeza is granted permission by the Sages to chant the Mantras and summon the Mother.
* [[Collapsing Ceiling Boss]]: Sakit. In the [[Wii Ware]] remake, Mother qualifies as well, what with her being a [[Load-Bearing Boss]] (see below).
* [[Collapsing Lair]]: Happens in cutscene format in the original, but played completely straight in the Wiiware remake. Not to mention the fact that it has an utterly obscene [[Guide Dang It]] as to where to actually go, especially since ''all the normal exits are blocked.''.
* [[Collision Damage]]: Although most of the time, it's very minor. The damage doesn't matter so much as the [[Knockback]].
** Collision damage with bosses is not to be sniffed at, the damage from some bosses much more so than others. Especially Palenque, who, being a [[Shmup]]-like boss, takes off almost half a life-bar, even at the most health.
* [[Colossus Climb]]: During the fight agaist Sakit.
* [[Cosmic Forces Trio]]: The Mother (Creator), the Sages (Preservers), and the Lemeza (The Destroyer).
* [[Crate Expectations]]: Seen in Tower of Ruin.
* [[Crystal Skull]]: One of the artifacts acquired late in the game; it unlocks the entrance to Tiamat's Dimensional Corridor.
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* [[Dead Character Walking]]: If Lemeza doesn't properly die, he can move around without harm but can't attack or use the menus. The easist trigger is getting killed by a paralyzing attack, and is also known as the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsYQtTTzc4U Zombie Lemeza Glitch].
* [[Deadly Disc]]: The Chakram.
* [[Deadly Gas]]: The Twin Labyrinths, when you first access them in the original. {{spoiler|And it's not deadly. If you fall to it, you just get kicked back to the previous room. Shocking, since this game is known for screwing you over at every opportunity.}}.
** In the remake, the Deadly Gas of the Labyrinths is limited only to the two rooms that open up after defeating Ellmac. {{spoiler|Only now, it actually ''will'' kill you, for real.}}.
* [[Death Trap]]: And tons of them.
* [[Depth Perplexion]]: The bats can fly "in front of" any object on the screen, whether or not you can pass it, and will always hurt you if their sprite touches yours. They can also fly "in front of" water and behave exactly the same as they do elsewhere. And as frustrating as this is in the remake, it's even more so in the original in the original; there, the water is a solid color and the same color they are, making them invisible.
* [[Destructible Projectiles]]: Most projectiles can be destroyed by hitting them: for example [[Ballistic Bone|thrown bones]], fire chunks, and even the burning excrements bonnacons attack with.
* [[Developer's Room]]: Three of them, one for each of the developers.
* [[The Dev Team Thinks of Everything]]: All of the game's assets are in plain image and sound files that you can view/hear normally... except for one. The {{spoiler|skimpy swimsuit scene}} has its graphics ''scrambled'', all to keep the surprise.
* [[Disconnected Side Area]]: There are quite a few. A path you need to take late in the game consists mostly of them.
* [[Distaff Counterpart]]: Temple of the Sun, "the valiant, male temple", and its counterpart, the Temple of Moonlight, "the lovely, female temple.".
* [[Door to Before]]: Quite a few.
* [[Down the Drain]]: Spring of the Sky is ''up'' the drain.
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* [[Durable Deathtrap]]
* [[Easter Egg]]: The [[Maze of Galious]] area found in the Chamber of Extinction, which is also a convenient shortcut between the two parts of the chamber.
* [[Easy Levels, Hard Bosses]]: Combat is only a minor issue throughout the game -: puzzles and navigation are the main challenge, and being knocked into water or off a platform is more dangerous than [[Hit Point]] loss from attacks. During a [[Boss Battle]], though, this is completely different...
* [[Empty Room Psych]]
* [[Endless Corridor]]: Area 8 is literally called "Endless Corridor". It has five floors, each of which loops around on itself.
* [[Eternal Engine]]: The Tower of Ruin, especially in the remake. And to some extent, the Tower of the Goddess.
* [[Evolving Weapon]]: The starting whip can be upgraded twice, dealing triple the damage of the start whip. Not to mention the ''Castlevania''-''Mahjong Wizard'' rom combo, which grants you five times the usual damage. Sadly, the combo is almost required on two late game bosses.
* [[Eye Beams]]: Some bosses do this, most notably Viy.
* [[Eye Scream]]: '''Viy.'''.
* [[Eyes Do Not Belong There]]: Algol's entire skin is covered by eyeballs.
* [[Faceless Eye]]: One which chases you.
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* [[Final Boss, New Dimension]]: Several new dimensions, actually. This has led to community debates regarding whether what you're fighting actually ''is'' the final boss or merely some sort of security system.
* [[Final Exam Boss]]: All of the primary weapons must be used to defeat the final boss.
** Also in the [[Wii Ware]] remake, {{spoiler|Mother's final form borrows attacks from all the bosses you've fought before}}.
* [[Flare Gun]]: A secondary weapon to be found in the ruins. Useful for solving puzzles and hitting monsters above the player, but probably not a weapon to be relied upon ([[Not Completely Useless|except for bosses]]).
* [[Flip Screen Scrolling]]: Which often leads players [[Player Tic|jumping before the screen transitions]].
* [[Flunky Boss]]: A few of them.
* [[Four Is Death]]: The fourth Seal is the Death Seal.
* [[Game Mod]]: The creators of La-Mulana released an editor tool, including that tool has a [[Boss Rush]] and a Time Attack mode of Hell Temple. However actual mods are very rare, if not impossible to find due to either ''La-Mulana'' not being very popular when the tool was released or no one has even bother to translate the tool to proper English.
* [[Gameplay and Story Segregation]]: In the ending, Lemeza is shown backtracking through the ruins on foot. As he does this, he passes by a few enemies without getting hit at all.
* [[Genius Loci]]: {{spoiler|The entirety of the ruins.}}.
* [[Giant Space Flea From Nowhere]]: This is a game full of ancient ruins and relatively normal giant monsters for the bosses. Then you get Palenque, who is an alien riding some kind of flying jet.
** Actually, it's apparently based on [http://www.earthmatrix.com/serie26/pakal.htm Pakal The Maya Astronaut].
* [[Godiva Hair]]: Tiamat and Nu Wa in the Wii version.
* [[Graphics Induced Super Deformed]]: In pseudo-MSX port, Lemeza's head takes up the half of the height in-game. Less so in Wii port due to more pixels.
* [[Gratuitous English]]: The Japanese version of the game opens with "Finally I got to the La-Mulana [sic]. The adventure starts here!". Also, the introduction text of the original was edited a bit for readability in the patch.
* [[Guide Dang It]]: The game is full of them, but without a doubt the worst is the route to Hell Temple, a convoluted sequence with many steps, each of which is itself a massive [[Guide Dang It]]. Screwing up any of these steps can reset the sequence to the beginning, except for the (at least) one that can make Hell Temple [[Lost Forever|permanently inaccessible]]. Of course, preventing the player from going into Hell Temple can be seen as an act of mercy.
** One could argue the game invokes this trope as part of its game design. It heavily discourages brute-forcing your way through, as almost every puzzle in the game has a non-intuitive solution that would be very difficult to work out via trial and error, thus requiring the use of a "guide". The game just provides said "guide" for you in the form of the tablets (and the manual of course). Not to mention that attacking everything to try and open a route forward will very likely get you killed, because some things shock you with massively damaging lightning if hit.
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* [[Heartbeat Soundtrack]]: Wonder of the Wonder (the Confusion Gate theme) in the new arranged version.
* [[Heart Container]]: Life Jewels in the original, Sacred Orbs in the remake. Don't eat them, though.
* [[Heroic BSOD]]: Deceased Crab has one when he goes far out of his way to get an awesome item early... and winds up getting the [[Flare Gun]] for all his work. He was expecting the Chain Whip upgrade, and the flaregun, while useful, ''is not the Chain Whip.''. Kept as a [[Lost Episode]].
** To clarify, painful block puzzle with more steps than most of the Endless Corridor block puzzles, all while not having the upgrade needed to quickly push blocks. This makes an otherwise painless, if tricky, puzzle painfully slow.
** Once he starts [[Bonus Level of Hell|Hell Temple]], it would be easier to count the moments that ''don't'' make him do this.
* [[He Was Right There All Along]]: Sakit. {{spoiler|It's one of statues you see in the Mausoleum of the Giants.}}.
* [[High Speed Battle]]: Bahamut, [[Minecart Madness|Ellmac]] and [[Unexpected Shmup Level|Palenque]]. Ellmac's theme is even called "High Speed Beast".
* [[Homage]]: To MSX games in general, and a secret area contains a tribute to ''[[Maze of Galious]]'', the inspiration of the game.
** There are also segments based on ''[[Parodius]]'' and ''[[Snatcher]].''.
* [[Honest John's Dealership]]: One of the ghost shopkeepers in the Graveyard of Giants. He [[Suspiciously Specific Denial|suspiciously emphasizes]] that his wares are real...
* [[A House Divided]]: The Giants split into two factions: those who wanted to return Mother to the sky, and those who wanted her to remain on Earth. Three factions if you want to included Zeb stuck holding up the Earth.
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* [[Interchangeable Antimatter Keys]]: The weights: found everywhere, used everywhere for various purposes, and each one can only be used once. The actual keys (Seals), on the other hand, open all locks of their type.
* [[Invisible Monsters]]: One enemy in in Tower of the Goddess, which is invisible until you get the Eye of Truth, and another in the Tower of Ruin, which can only be seen when time is stopped.
* [[Jerkass]]: {{spoiler|'''Duracuets with his [[Schmuck Bait]].'''}}.
** Also, Shorn [[All There in the Manual|taunting his son he found the ruins first]] {{spoiler|and then stealing the treasure from Lemeza at the end of the credits.}}.
* [[Joke Weapon]]: The Keyblade is the worst primary weapon in the game (it's as weak as the weakest secondary weapon, in fact), weak, slow and with a smaller hitbox than any other weapon. Naturally, there are many puzzles that require you to use it and even a few bosses that [[Weaksauce Weakness|can only be harmed by it]]. Additionally, as an almost never useful detail, it does extend a few pixels farther forward than any other primary weapon except the [[Infinity+1 Sword|mace]].
* [[Kaizo Trap]]: Plenty of them in the original, a bunch more in the remake, especially in Hell Temple.
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