Over the past decade or so, games that were previously only exclusive to Japan have been localized for the rest of the world to experience and enjoy. From visual novels to bullet hell shooters, all sorts of previously “only in Japan” games have been brought over. And while it makes sense that some games see a late localization due to cultural differences and the localization team trying to translate it in a way Western games can understand, there are other games that are based on Western Culture that its a mystery as to why they weren’t localized when they first came out. A very good example of this are the games for today’s review, La-Mulana 1 & 2 for the Nintendo Switch. Did NISA managed to uncover hidden treasures or have they unsealed an ancient curse? Put on your best adventuring fedora and favorite whip and let’s explore the mysteries of La-Mulana 1 & 2.
Adventure Time
Very interesting tales of mystery and exploration- The tales of La-Mulana 1 & 2 are very similar in nature but star different heroes, each with own motivations of exploring the ruins. In La-Mulana 1, players take on the role of archaeologist Lemeza Kosugi. One day Lemeza receives a letter from his father stating that he has discovered the ruins of La-Mulana, which houses the secret treasure of life. Intrigued, Lemeza travels to the ruins and finds out that from the local chief that his father has went into the ruins but hasn’t returned. Armed with a special laptop given to him by the chief and his trusty whip, Lemeza delves into the depths of La-Mulana, where as he explores the ruins he learns more about the mysteries of La-Mulana and sees that these are no ordinary ruins. The reason for this is that the ruins have architecture from various different cultures with architecture from a strange civilization that is unknown. It is up to Lemeza to discover the hidden secrets of La-Mulana and figure out what happened to his father.
Years later in La-Mulana 2, the village that is settled near the La-Mulana ruins has grown into a tourist town destination where visitors can explore the ruins. But lately monsters in the ruins have been attacking everyone who enters the ruins. The village elder, not wanting to lose business, sends a letter to Professor Lemeza Kosugi and asks him to once again enter the ruins and find out what’s happening. But instead of the good professor showing up, its his daughter Lumisa Kosugi. She tells the village elder that her father just up and left somewhere and so she takes it upon her self to explore the ruins and see what’s going on. Little does she know that these ruins are not the same ruins that her father explored years ago.
You can clearly tell that the developers were fans of the Indiana Jones franchise as some of the story takes a lot of inspiration from the series. Which is pretty cool as there hasn’t been any good Indiana Jones games to come out in years.
Retro inspired art and soundtrack- When the original La-Mulana was first being made, the developers stated that they took inspiration for the art style from MSX games that they played when they were young. This new remake of the original game now sports modern 16-bit graphical style that new retro looking games being made now are using. Thanks to the updated graphics both games have even more detail that before. You can make out the carvings on ruin walls, giant statues, the creatures and Lemeza and Lumisa themselves. For modern 16-bit games, La-Mulana 1 & 2 look amazing. Especially the boss monsters. As for the soundtrack, it too was inspired by 16-bit tune both in the original game and in the remake. With the remake, the music has been remixed and sound even better than before.
Indiana Jones type puzzle solving and exploration- As I mentioned before, La-Mulana 1 & 2 have heavy inspirations from Indiana Jones. This is truly shown by the various puzzles and exploration you do through out the game. Some of the puzzles are pretty simple, such as putting a weight on a pedestal. Other puzzle are not as obvious and require a bit of thinking, trial & error and lots of exploring. All of this make it feel like I’m Indiana Jones exploring a temple and I’m all for that feeling. Though you have to have your wits about you as the game has a bit of a rouge-like nature to it. If you don’t find the holy grail to activate the game’s save points/check points and die, you will have to start the game over.
Time attack mode- One of the new additions to this version of La-Mulana is time attack mode. Now at first you might this would be something like going through the whole temple in the fastest time. Not really. What it is is more like a boss rush mode. This mode has you take on the different tiers of bosses in different difficulty levels. Each tier of boss has their own difficulty level: beginner, challenge expert. Then there’s endless battle where you battle all of the bosses one after the other. These mode really test your skills with different load outs and items, making for a really hard yet fun experience.
Snakes, why’d it have to be snakes
Old school hard- This isn’t a slight against the game, but more of a PSA for those who are playing La-Mulana 1 & 2 for the first time or are not familiar with old school/retro games. La-Mulana 1 & 2 is hard. Like NES hard. This game will not only test your platforming skills and patience but also your memory as if you die and do not *minor spoiler* collect an item that will activate the save point/check points/quick travel, you will have to start all over again. From the start of the game. Without any gear you may have collected before you died. If you’re not spec’ed out with the right items, you will die. In fact apart from the villagers at the beginning of the game, everything will try to kill you.
No sense of direction- One of my main complantes with La- Mulana 1 & 2 is that the map function doesn’t really help much. Where what I mean: the game takes cues from Castlevania Symphony of the Night in terms of map and layout design. With SoTN, as you travel through the castle the map starts to fill up, letting you know where you have already been. This make back tracking helpful, letting you know that you have been in the area. La-Mulana 1 & 2 does not have that feature. It does have map that you can discover, but all it shows is your current position on the map, I get the selling point of the game is to explore the ruins and have a sense of adventure. But every good adventure always makes sure he or she is aware of their surroundings so that they won’t have to do unnecessary back tracking. Now I could keep track on my own and track everything with my own paper map, but with everything in the ruins trying to kill you, I’d rather not have to start from the last check/save point or start all over again from the beginning.
La Mulana 1 & 2 great throwbacks to the days of 16-bit action adventure games. Both take the spirit of Indiana Jones and put it in their puzzles, exploration and story. Mix that with great looking 16-bit graphics, a great soundtrack and a time attack mode and you have games worthy of the famous adventurer “raiding” them for himself. There are a few “pitfalls” along the way, such as no map directions and being pretty hard. None the less, if you are looking to do some exploring during a time where its best to stay inside, give these a shot.
