La-Mulana (finally) coming to WiiWare September 20th!

For those that have been watching this one through its delays and publisher musical chairs, it seems that WiiWare is getting its first purchase worthy title in quite some time (personally I think MotoHeroz was the last noteworthy title released, and that was in Sept. 2011!).

Here is the article I read from Nintendolife.com (a great Nintendo-only website for those who haven't visited them yet), which if the 1000 point value sticks, it's also a relatively cheap buy.

Full of Awesome

Full of 16-bit action / adventure goodness, tasty.

Anyone else looking forward to La-Mulana (or have been for over 3 years)?

I'll support it, just to tell Nicalis they are horrible publishers.

I'll support it. Already have the PC version, but it's a splendid game.

I know Strell already knows about this goodness and I don't mean to steal your thunder OP, but....

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=325916

I posted a very informative thread about the PC release, if people want to go that route instead, still nice that Nigoro's "little game that could" is finally getting more exposure, would have been better if it was actually released on a console people still played, but anyway.

Wonder if it's going to have the Hell Temple DLC or not, if not the PC version is superior with the added content it contains. Just something to be aware of if someone decides to go this route, since all indicators point towards it won't if my quick Google search is worth anything.

[quote name='uncle5555']I know Strell already knows about this goodness and I don't mean to steal your thunder OP, but....

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=325916
[/QUOTE]
Not a problem at all, the thread is a good read. I was aware of the PC re-release / translation in July, I would just prefer to play this kind of game sitting on the couch on a traditional console instead.

It does seem true that La-Mulana is lost in the sea of games that are similar (although inferior) available on the PC, but on WiiWare it's one of only two or three titles quite like it. If the price stays at 1000 ($10) for the base version, and then offers the Hell Temple via DLC (like the Japan WiiWare version does) for $2-5, it should still be a viable option.

Also, question for uncle and Strell, what kind of gameplay hours did you clock in for this?

I'll grab it when it comes out.

[quote name='Billytwoshoes']
Also, question for uncle and Strell, what kind of gameplay hours did you clock in for this?[/QUOTE]

My game clock is somewhere around 14-15 hours.

That doesn't include the dozens of deaths and replays I've had to do so far. I'm guessing I've spent 20+ hours already.

I don't know the actual size of the game, but there are eight guardians to kill. You have to get eight ankh jewels just to unseal them, which means finding those first, and even then, you have to kill a mini-guardian.

Now, it took me 12 hours just to kill two guardians. I've killed two more in about 3 hours, so 4 total in that 14-15 hours. So if I'm conservatively halfway through the game, you're looking at most likely 25-30 hours. To be fair, part of this is because I haven't been doing the best job paying attention to certain things in the game, so I could probably shave off a few hours if I'd been doing that from the start. Also, it's a pain to play this on a keyboard, and even now the button scheme trips me up. I haven't gotten around to trying it with a 360 pad, so I'm wondering if this is just a function of the weird interface versus a controller (that I'm more used to).

For the record, I've hit yet another stopping point. You'll get some of those in this game - you get a nice new piece of equipment or skill, and you are thinking AW YEAH TIME TO EXPLORE THAT THING I COULDN'T EARLIER, and then it just takes you into a room with a locked door. Just one hurdle after another. For example, I've gotten a - without spoiling - way to decipher new parts of the game, but I have NO IDEA where to use it, so I'm running around trying it everywhere. I'd probably killed two hours functionally getting nowhere in the game because I'm not using this new item in the correct place, and there's NO indication where I should be using it.

I do like the game, but - as I said in the in the other LM thread - your character really does control like a dump truck, and there are times where I swear the game is coded to troll people. You can go up a 3-4 screen corridor and get knocked by a stupid bat, and fall ALL the way down to the bottom. The game's manual even acknowledges this, as it's full of funny little comic style drawings, and one of them is the main character falling down a waterfall with this look of "not this shit again" mixed with "the shit I put up with."

It's a fun game, and I'd recommend it to the Metroidvania crowd. Just be patient, write down notes (you'll see what I mean), and understand you will be tested at times. It's old school in the sense that a lot of your survival depends entirely on how well you can decipher cryptic hints and whether or not you can recognize enemy patterns (especially bosses).

I'm cycling between this and Darksiders 2 right now - one game to make me feel badass and awesome, and one to wipe that grin off my face (but in a good way).

Thanks Strell for your response, it seems like plenty of entertainment for only 10 bucks. The difficulty is what makes this interesting to me, as growing up in the NES days, games from my childhood (TMNT and Super C come to mind) were challenging enough just to finish (whether fairly or unfair), which felt like more of an accomplishment than 90% of games today.

[quote name='Billytwoshoes']
Also, question for uncle and Strell, what kind of gameplay hours did you clock in for this?[/QUOTE]

I put in 7 hours before I got distracted by my Saints Row series playthrough and now by Skyrim, so hopefully I'll get back to it soon, but unlike Strell, I haven't encountered a boss, yet, I'm literally taking my time to solve puzzles to make sure my guy is powered up as much as he can be before I take on those monsters.

The general consensus if you just play through 25-30 hours being thorough and exploring everything and it can clock up to 40 hours, I was shocked it was that expansive, but after playing it and taking your time not to die, I can see where that comes from.

And about the Hell Temple, that was the reason for the hold up, NOA didn't approve of the DLC, so I wouldn't hold full hope out on getting to play it on the Wii version.

[quote name='uncle5555']The general consensus if you just play through 25-30 hours being thorough and exploring everything and it can clock up to 40 hours, I was shocked it was that expansive, but after playing it and taking your time not to die, I can see where that comes from.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for confirming the 40+ hour spec, I saw that listed on Nintendo's website, as I know how game publishers typically like to pad their numbers. I always like to put games at hours of entertainment to cost ratio, and 4:1 is pretty damn good.


[quote name='uncle5555']And about the Hell Temple, that was the reason for the hold up, NOA didn't approve of the DLC, so I wouldn't hold full hope out on getting to play it on the Wii version.[/QUOTE]
Ah, good to know as well. How much content does Hell Temple even add, if I were to go for the PC version for the extra 5 bones? I think there is a time attack too in the PC release, which this game seems hard enough to complete when taking your time, let alone speed running it.

[quote name='Billytwoshoes']
Ah, good to know as well. How much content does Hell Temple even add, if I were to go for the PC version for the extra 5 bones? I think there is a time attack too in the PC release, which this game seems hard enough to complete when taking your time, let alone speed running it.[/QUOTE]

I don't have an answer to that maybe on one of those links posted in my topic can shed some light or maybe on Gamefaqs, I've never played this before July and even though I've known about it since the fan translation was released.

The time attack wouldn't be that much of an issue after you've played through it and mostly know where everything is, like a Metroid title, after beating Super Metroid, I did a speed run once, back before the internet days :lol: and knowing the tricks I knew and where to go and got it done in about 1 hour and 18 mins. which I thought was pretty good.

So today is the release day, though since I have too much backlog I won't be getting it today. Perhaps in another couple months, but curious if anyone else made a Day 1 purchase on this.

I'll Day 1 it to support the game and the publisher; I forget if I need to pick up a point card but I already have to stop at some stores on the way home anyway.

It really is a fantastic game if you enjoy the genre, but it WILL kick your ass and tell you to be happy about it.

[quote name='Strell']It really is a fantastic game if you enjoy the genre, but it WILL kick your ass and tell you to be happy about it.[/QUOTE]
I think I'm ready for it, I just recently completed S&P2 on hard mode, so I'm quite used to seeing the 'Game Over' screen (damn Commander Deko's first form in Stage 7...).

Also I just checked on the Wii shop page for La-Mulana, it supports sideways Wii remote only, Wii remote + nunchuck, classic controller, Gamecube controller (which is awesome), and even USB keyboard for those used to the PC version. Not sure which method I would play with, definitely debating between GC and CC controller when I do get it.

[quote name='Strell']
It really is a fantastic game if you enjoy the genre, but it WILL kick your ass and tell you to be happy about it.[/QUOTE]
Oh so it's normal in the early parts of the game to harvest health globes and gold near save points before moving forward.

For the people who have played the game; Is it possible to accidentally skip key items or areas and not be able to progress any further. Maybe I'm just stuck and will figure out how to move on later. Also do you really need the Glyph Reader or is it optional, I appear to be at a part where I can't return to town to pick one up \

You absolutely need the glyph reader.

I don't know if you can get stuck; my understanding is that you can't. There are places where you can fall into a pit and have no way out, but you can teleport out, making them more of a nuisance.

I mentioned this in the actual La-Mulana thread, but the game for me is a lot of plateaus - I think I'm stuck, and end up stumbling around for hours until I finally figure out a new puzzle.

[quote name='Strell']You absolutely need the glyph reader.

I don't know if you can get stuck; my understanding is that you can't. There are places where you can fall into a pit and have no way out, but you can teleport out, making them more of a nuisance.

I mentioned this in the actual La-Mulana thread, but the game for me is a lot of plateaus - I think I'm stuck, and end up stumbling around for hours until I finally figure out a new puzzle.[/QUOTE]

Shortly after this post I found the boss of the area . I didn't want to see any spoilers but I think I read that I may have skipped ahead to the second boss.

Anyone still playing this? I got it but only scratched the surface, pun intended. When i get some time tomorrow I'm going to play it a little more. Probably going to use the wiki to get through the game faster since my time is limited playing games.