The real ending to Hell Temple was Lameza becoming possessed by The Mother.
The Treasure and the Fan Disservice picture were just Lameza's crumbling mind coming up with a symbolic representation.
- Not too likely, given Japanese humor. Besides, Mother isn't yet awakened when you enter Hell Temple (she's still sleeping in her shrine), so that really doesn't add up.
- Word of God stated that the original ending of La-Mulana was Lemeza saving a girl trapped in a coffin for so long, so when they scrapped it, that ending might have been possible that they have thought about using that ending for Hell Temple and then later scrapped it again in favor of the "Treasure that must not be seen".
If Lemeza dies during the final boss, all of humanity dies.
Allow me to quote the intro of the Wiiware remake. "...This is the day Humanity was born. Then when they angered her, they were destroyed.". Fighting her is pretty sure to annoy her, and, well, note the fetus ball in the background at the end - This could be the first of a new breed of human, destined to take the place of the humans when they were obliterated. Thank god for Lemeza putting her to rest before she could do that. But if he died and the Mother remained alive...
- While I disagree with the new human breed in the ball (It drops the 'Treasure of La-Mulana' when the final boss dies, implying it was it's true form) the rest may very well be true. And in the Wiiware remake, there are supposed to be three endings. As one of them is the original ending with better graphics and minor changes, one of the other two may be just that. Or a Non Standard Gameover.
- There are no 3 endings. That was strictly Nicalis' claim, which may have been a badly managed copy from their description of Cave Story.
- The fetus dropping the treasure could be easily explained by Mother being in the process of infusing it with life when you destroy them both.
- Pretty much confirmed by the tablet that lists the deaths of all the previous children, and places the death of the eighth children in 2015. The year the game takes place.
The fetus and the energy being are BOTH the Mother
A big argument among fans is debating whether the energy being you fight at the end is Mother or simply the guardian of Mother since the fetus in the background cries out the Treasure of La-Mulana. My theory is they are both Mother. According to the in-game text, Mother is immortal. If you defeat her physical form (the head you fight initially), she will simply be reborn. That's why you have to find the Elixir which gives form to Mother's soul. I think that's why a fetus appears in the background during the battle: Mother is trying to revive herself but can't fully do it since her soul is currently ripped from her body. Once her soul is killed, Mother's body finally dies (the fetus disappears and the ruins, Mother's body, crumbles).
- Confirmed, sort of. The fetus is the body of the 9th Child, which the Mother created to house a copy her soul in the event of her death.
Lameza's daughter in La Mulana 2 is created from the Treasure of Life that Shorn stole.
Xelpud SAYS that the "Secret Treasure of Life" is the crystalization of Mother's soul. Lameza's daughter is either her reincarnation or her inheritor.- Quite possible, given their relatively small age difference (Lumisa is 21 according to the character page, while Lemeza is 36).
- I don't know, considering we now know that Lumisa existed offscreen during La-Mulana 1, I'd say it's safer to call this Jossed.
Lemeza's daughter is perfectly mundane (or at least as mundane as the chosen one's child can get).
She was either being raised offscreen during La-Mulana and just never came up, or Lemeza will learn about her shortly after the end of it. Either way, he cuts back on adventuring for some years to help raise her, since given his own dad issues it's pretty important for him to be there in her life.- Jossed. If nothing else, she had the same ninja training her father had.
The sequel will involve another of Mother's people looking for her.
They're the 0th body referred to: 0th because they're of the same "generation" as Mother in the sense that they're not one of her children, but one of her peers.Lemeza will make a Previous Player-Character Cameo.
He'll probably be either a Xelpud-like Mission Control figure, or else his daughter's at the new ruins looking for him. Either way, Mr. Explorer will remain as his theme song.- If the new promo art's
anything to go by, he's indeed back in some fashion (along with Shawn, as well as Mulbruk and Xelpud who we already knew about). - Xelpud is the mission control figure, as well as one of the sages, who give you information as you make your way to the ruins. Confirmed though. You can see him and Shorn when you enter past the 1st area.
At some point, Lumisa is going to rescue Lemeza.
He's going to get into some dire trouble and she's going to save his life. If nothing else, she will rescue his reputation: whatever she discovers down in Eg-Lana will get him pardoned for wrecking the ruins from the first game. She was saying "Papa! I've come to rescue you!" in her Early-Bird Cameo in the April Fools development video, after all.- Confirmed late game in the Sequel, not only Lemeza is rescued, but Shorn is as well.
Lumisa's relationship to Lemeza and Shorn
Let's just collect these here.- She is Lemeza's biological daughter, meaning he fathered her when he was 15 years old.
- Perhaps the ambiguity arose from Shorn trying to get custody because Lemeza and her mother were so young?
- She's related to Lemeza through her mother's marriage; her biological father is unimportant to the story and she's Happily Adopted on his side.
- She is Shorn's illegitimate daughter and Lemeza's half-sister.
- He dumped her on Grandpa Kosugi and Lemeza. With the massive age difference and him actually being around (right up until she was 16, anyway), Lemeza's pretty much her father figure.
- Lumisa is related to Lemeza through her mother's marriage; her biological father is Shorn.
- Lumisa is a reincarnated or resurrected Tiamat. Hastily constructed by the original during her death throes, she's now no more powerful than an ordinary human. Her new form is partially based on the memories of the only human she has encountered, Lemeza.
Lumisa wearing the American flag around her neck and an American flag with a Japanese flag in place of the 50 stars on her jeans symbolizes La-Mulana's surprising popularity in the West.
- Unlikely. Lemeza's family was always intended to be half-Japanese, half-American (basically Indiana Jones crossed with a ninja, based on the backstory in the manual), so a flag that combines the American and Japanese flags fits the original themes perfectly.
The backside fields are the future versions of the front side fields.
Forgive me if I start waxing metaphorical or getting into Mind Screw, but this explains so much. Let's start with how each field changes:- In Field I, the way of Guidance became lost over the years and turned into a twisted maze.
- In Field II, the climate changed drastically and the history of the Giants was lost beneath the glaciers.
- In Field III, the water from the Spring in the Sky purified the ruins and the blinding light faded.
- In Field IV, with the hazardous water drained away, the builders resumed work, dedicated the tower to Mother and forgot all memories of their past over time.
- In Field V, a civilization harnessed the heat of the caverns for themselves using the Tower of Ruin.
- In Field VI, a new civilization grew up on the ruins of a previous one.
- In Field VII, the duality of the Twin Labyrinths keeps the field frozen in time.
- In Field VIII, Tiamat's immense power reversed the flow of time itself.
- The biggest evidence: In Field IX, you see the Shrine of the Mother transform with your own eyes.
Defeating the bosses in the past unlocks the way to the future. This is why all the bosses had to stay in the past: their demise allowed the fields to begin changing. Also keeping in mind the first bullet point on the Fridge Brilliance tab, this means that all the fields Became Their Own Antithesis over time.
The Alien Geometries and Culture Chop Suey of the whole ruins were intentional.
All sorts of ancient lost cultures were used to represent Mother's body as ruins because Mother was the creator of all life, including humans, as well as to emphasize to explorers that You Cannot Grasp the True Form of Mother. The strange connections among the ruins also served to frustrate attempts to make sense of Mother's nature.Shorn is the main antagonist of La-Mulana 2.
Have no idea if this has been jossed, but we know that he now possesses the treasure of life that Mother used to hold. So, presumably something had to populate the new ruins, and Shorn is as good a candidate of any. We also know that he is a massive jerk, so it makes sense for him to be the villain. The goal of the game is the recover the treasure of life from him and get it to a more trustworthy owner.- Likely jossed. If he's the main antagonist, then so is Lemeza, as they both seem to be exploring Eg-Lana together at the same time Lumisa is.
- Outright Jossed. The whole issue is a three way rivalry between family members over archaeological finds. Though a motivational reason as to why Lumisa goes to the ruins to try and outdo her half-brother and father, Shorn and Lemeza aren't the main antagonists of the game.
