La-Mulana: Difference between revisions

 

A [[Video Game Remake|remake]] on [[Wii Ware]] was released in Japan on June 21, 2011, with 32-bit sprite graphics in place of the MSX-style ones, among various other changes; it was developed by the same three guys who did the original. An overseas release localized by Nicalis was planned, but was [[No Export for You|ultimately cancelled]] due to development problems and the decline of the WiiWare service. However! According to [http://la-mulana.com/en/blog/sorry.html this post on NIGORO's blog], [[And the Fandom Rejoiced|the remake is still coming to PC]]. And this version ''will'' have an overseas release. Watch the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgPHW_99ay4 trailer here.]

* [[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.

* [[Advancing Boss of Doom]]: Viy pulls it off, as does Ellmac (sorta).

** 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''}}}}

* [[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.}}

* [[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.

* [[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.

* [[Bleak Level]]: The Confusion Gate. Also, the [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Chamber of Extinction]].

* [[Block Puzzle]]: There are lots of them.

* [[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 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]].

** There are also segments based on ''[[Parodius]]'' and ''[[Snatcher]].''

* [[High Speed Battle]]: Bahamut, [[Minecart Madness|Ellmac]] and [[Unexpected Shmup Level|Palenque]]. Ellmac's theme is even called "High Speed Beast".

* [[Inexplicable Treasure Chests]]: Why is everything still in their chests if Shorn already went into the ruins?

* [[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.}}

* [[Kaizo Trap]]: Plenty of them in the original, a bunch more in the remake, especially in Hell Temple.

** In the remake, what does one boss ( {{spoiler|Palenque}}) do as he's exploding? Makes a flying leap at you to take you down with him.

* [[Level Map Display]]: There's a Map item to be found in each area of the dungeon (there is no overworld map). Viewing a map requires equipping either or both of the Ruins RAM cartridges.

* [[Level Up Fill Up]]: The way that you can [[Heal Thyself]] is by filling your experience bar. The only benefit is a health refill.

** Justified: {{spoiler|La-Mulana ''is'' the Mother; the entire complex is her body.}}

* [[Lost Forever]]: ({{spoiler|Both Whip upgrades, The Life Jewel in the Dimensional Corridor, and nearly everything in the Shrine of Mother.}})

* [[Obstructive Foreground]]: Is present in some locations.

** Much more prominent in the Wii version.

* [[Only Smart People May Pass]]: All of the puzzles in the game can be solved with information found in the game, with the exception of one, where the information needed is in the manual.

** Constantly [[Lampshaded Trope|lampshaded]] by the tablets in the Confusion Gate.

* [[Platform Hell]]: The aptly named Hell Temple. It's one of the few [[Platform Hell]] examples where it's hard to die. Considering what it is, dying may actually come as a ''blessing.''

* [[Power Nullifier]]: The grail will not work within the Dimensional Corridor, since Tiamat sealed it off from the world.

* [[Precursors]]: The race of giants who built many of the ruins are the most obvious example, but if you pay attention to the scraps of story scattered throughout the game there are ''several iterations'' of "Nth children of the Mother".

* [[Promoted Fanboy]]: The [[Wii Ware]] version's credits, note the familiar names in the Special Thanks? {{spoiler|They have Madamluna and [[Deceased Crab]]'s names in it.}}

** A certain tablet in the Mausoleum of the Giants tells you not to read it again. If you do, it basically says "you shouldn't have done that" and spawns extra enemies all through the area. The added [[Difficulty Spike]] isn't a game-breaker by any means, but the only way to undo it is to restore a previous save.

** In the [[Wii Ware]] version, the dev team sure seems to like to mess with people who have played the original game, for an example there are traps that were never there in the original version.

* [[Sdrawkcab Name]]: The game's name, La-Mulana, is the programmer's name, Naramura, with the syllables written backwards. Well, that, and the Japanese lack of distinction between "L" and "R". Xelpud's name spelled backwards is duplex, one of the other developers. Lemeza's Japanese name, Ruemiza, with syllables inverted is Samieru, the third developer's name.

* [[Sequence Breaking]]: If taken far enough, you can amass enough power to kill the first boss in 4 hits. In fact, odds are you won't fight the bosses in order, and you may end up fighting the first boss late in the game if you don't go looking for it sooner.

* [[Sequential Boss]]: The final boss has five increasingly difficult forms, with no opportunity to heal.

* [[Shout Out]]:

** The Contra "anti-shout-out" is part of a combo with F1 Spirit 3D, because the creators disliked that latter game (which also shows in the fact that you can buy it for ''five coins''.).

** Those who grew up with the MSX will get quite a few laughs from Elder Xelpud's many quotes.

* [[Slippy Slidey Ice World]]: The Graveyard of the Giants.

* [[Some Dexterity Required]]: Precisely controlling falling, using grapple claws, and getting used to water and lava will take a while to get used to.

* [[Sound of No Damage]]: A hollow "ping", accompanied by the projectile ricocheting off.

* [[Spikes of Doom]]: Though they're not really doomy so much as they are [[Goddamned Bats|Goddamned Spikes]].

* [[Stuff Blowing Up]]: Ellmac, a giant frilled lizard, explodes when defeated.

* [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien]]: The Mother is heavily implied to be one.

** Same is oddly true for lava. In fact, in all likelihood, you'll be able to [[Convection Schmonvection|swim around in LAVA]] before water.

** The fun part about water is the player MUST swim through water in order to get the item that makes Lemeza immune to it.

{{quote| ''"For those used to the new-style of really easy games, it may be very hard to beat La-Mulana. But that's OK. We're looking for those gamers that could in days past defeat [[The Tower of Druaga|Druaga]], bring the baby back safely from the clutches of [[Maze of Galious|Gallious]], and sealed the Evil Crystal."''}}

** If you're an NES fanatic, a couple of Xelpud's quotes might piss you off a bit.

* [[Tears of Blood]]: The third form of the {{spoiler|Mother}} cries these, and they turn into blazes of fire.

* [[Teleport Spam]]: A few minibosses do this.

* [[Wake Up Call Boss]]: Sakit. As the boss of the second area, he is ''many times'' harder than Amphisbaena was, as he is immune to subweapons, is only vulnerable in the head, has a lot of difficult to avoid attacks, and is nearly impossible to beat if you don't have the knife.

** Amphisbaena himself is shaping up to be one of these in the Wiiware version. Whereas in the original version he was easily dispatched by spamming shurikens, he has a much different method of attack and appears to be a genuine challenge in the Wiiware version.

* [[Warp Whistle]]: The grail. However, you must first locate the stone monument that identifies an area before you can teleport in. You also cannot teleport out from inside the Dimensional Corridor.

* [[Water Level]]: The Spring in the Sky.