La-Mulana: Coming to a Wii Shop Channel near you!

Yes.

Apparently they're going to lower the difficulty some.

Though some people might call this They Changed It, Now It Sucks!, they're mainly just trying to get rid of Guide Dang It! moments, gameplay and story-wise. The controls will be understandably easier, as you no longer use up to jump, and wall clings and wall kicks will be easier.

They are also, however, making some parts harder to throw off people who played the original.

The Twin Labrynths, for example, will be harder. The fake block puzzle in the room with the Lamp of Time? It's real now.

Bombs kill Baphomet? Not Anymore!

edited 1st Oct '09 8:16:56 AM by itsmeyouidiot

What fake block puzzle are we talking about?

Also, when they mentioned climbing a tower, I was like "mm HMM hmm hmm, that thing!" Of course, I was thinking of the Sky Tower Tower of the Goddess. That thing was a PAIN to climb. Also, the warp point was at the bottom of the tower, even if you warped into that area. I'd warp into neighboring areas just to avoid having to climb it.

I do appreciate that they're actually going to address balance issues in the game, dealing with some of the nastier points of unnecessary difficulty.

Also, the guide dang its. How in the freaking hell could I have figured out Antarctic Adventure + Comic Bakery would do something useful? I don't remember seeing a tablet hinting at that combo.

edited 1st Oct '09 9:00:54 AM by GlennMagusHarvey

The fake block puzzle in the Twin Labryinths. You can put two of the blocks on marked platforms, but one is impossible to move to the third platform. The whole puzzle is a Red Herring, you need to use one of the blocks to reach the store with the Lamp of Time.

I never knew bombs could kill Baphomet. I just got on the platform on top of him and went happy with spears.

I don't mind the difficulty drop and level alteration; as long as it provides a fresh new experience and is not sleep-inducingly easy, I'm cool.

Yeah. Baphomet drops dead in 4 hits from bombs. He can't block that attack.

Oh, that block puzzle.

Also, the guide dang its. How in the freaking hell could I have figured out Antarctic Adventure + Comic Bakery would do something useful? I don't remember seeing a tablet hinting at that combo.

Edit: That combination was flat-out explained in the manual (on page 16 with other ROM effects). The manual also mentions the other important ROM combinations, but doesn't say what they all are, or do. The game was obviously not meant to be played without the manual, judging by that Aztec ages riddle.

edited 1st Oct '09 9:18:38 PM by jebuz

...ohh, right. I forgot that stupid joke.

"LA MULANA...MOAR LIEK LA MANUAL, AMIRITE???"

Whoa, talk about a Significant Anagram!

It may explain which two random RO Ms activate the alternate teleporter destinations, but it doesn't explain where they are—they're both hidden in arbitrary, easy-to-miss spots. I never found one of the two so I never was able to use the combo.

If I had some advice for the guys remaking this, it'd be to double the health damage from all non-boss, non-watery sources after Guidance Gate and halve the damage from all bosses after Guidance Gate. I swear, so much work was put into making the Chamber of Birth hell that they forgot to make getting hurt there actually matter, so you can really just waltz through the place without bothering with any of the traps.

La Mulana, from watching a certain Let's Play of it, is a very sadistic game. I'm not sure I'd actually enjoy it much, and it's very Guide Dang It!, as Glenn hinted at above. Cave Story was hard to play through if you wanted the best ending, but a normal play-through was fun and straight-forward. Why is La Mulana so Nintendo Hard?

They were after different things. The team making La Mulana wanted to evoke memories of the "glory days" of absurdly hard games, so it was absurdly hard and had many retro elements and a healthy sprinkling of shoutouts and tributes. The maker of Cave Story did not; Pixel wanted something that everybody would enjoy, and to tell a story, and to have a game which was fun and could provide a challenge to those who sought one but wouldn't be a brick wall for those who didn't. So he made that.

I can understand that, though I guess I feel that a game that's fun is more worthwhile to me than a game that murders you incessantly? I was glad when games grew out of that age.

It's still an impressive game, in terms of sheer effort and artistic depth. It's very much deserving of the attention it's gotten, but *shrug* I guess it's not my style.

To be fair, anyone who likes hard games is an asshole who doesn't know how to have fun.

edited 4th Oct '09 11:01:23 PM by TsundeRay

I don't think it would have been my style if not for Deceased Crab's now-famous video walkthrough.

Because I myself would have become too frustrated with the game. Even with his walkthrough I found the game frustrating at some points.

But with its help, I was able to enjoy the EXTREMELY AWESOME SOUNDTRACK AND ATMOSPHERE of the game.

"To be fair, anyone who likes hard games is an asshole who doesn't know how to have fun."

Some of us here happen to like hard games just the way they are, you goddamned Scrub.

*Cue Flame War*

edited 5th Oct '09 4:18:59 AM by itsmeyouidiot

Anyone who can't beat IWBTG isn't a true gamer.

Hah! No. Not here, thank you. :p

But yes, I'm content to watch Deceased Crab suffer, for now.

But, but, It's Easy, So It Sucks is bad for you! :(

The Hell Temple is funny.

I actually hate Hell Temple. and I haven't even played it.

Because I hate its notion. It doesn't quite belong in this game, what with the rest of the game being extremely atmospherically and thematically rich and chock full of meaning.

However, I don't really mind it that much, since it's not really part of normal gameplay anyway.

Glenn: There's another reason.

Not to play.

Hell temple.

What has been seen cannot be unseen.

Admittedly it was funny as all hell but still.

That amused me quite a bit.

But it wasn't enough to pay for the pain of Hell Temple.

Therefore I didn't do it.

"LA MULANA...MOAR LIEK LA MANUAL, AMIRITE???"

I love how "La Manual" is actual Spanish for "the manual."