CONTROLS: Keyboard (required) & Gamepad
NOTES : Be sure to apply the translation patch, and to READ THE MANUAL.
Now here is an gem. Made by an Japanese team, and translated into English by an veteran group of translators, this game is something I heartily recommend to gamers who enjoyed Castlevani: Symphony of the Night and Legend of Zelda gameplay.
This game is an potent mix of the two, in that while it is an 2D sidescrolling game, it has an style most platformers don't possess. The game is set in the ruins of an ancient civilization, where the Indiana-Jones impersonator shall venture into the ruins, in search of his father and outdoing him. With him, he takes his trusty whip and an unhealthy dose of courage.
The game starts simply, like most. The traps and enemies are easy, but then it gets progressively harder. Not surprising, but the transition is actually very quick in this game, and you can't save at first until you meet the requirements. You also can't save anywhere within the ruins, which further compounds the difficulty since it means that each trip into the ruins can be instantly halted by an unfortunate accident.
Like this close call. It isn't deep into the ruins,and this trap would be very deadly for an unexperienced archaeologist, like most players are. This is one of the selling points of the game I feel, because this means each trip into the ruins are moderately difficult work, but well worth it where fun and interesting situations are concerned.
Being filled with traps, this game naturally has rewards and secrets for the players. Throughout the ruins are hidden MSX disks, some of which may grant the player abilities when paired together, and there are also various artifacts that are of great use to the player.
The enemies are usually quite easy to defeat, though sometimes the strategic positioning of such enemies could very well frustrate the player, by knocking the protagonist off platforms, or causing some sort of delay for the player that could result in a death because of a poorly timed coincidence with an trap or an instance of Divine Retribution by accidentally harming the ruins.
The puzzles come in various forms, ranging from moving around blocks to creating combinations of symbols, this game is all about exploration. Various tablets in the game provide clues and information that could allow a player to figure out the challenges of the game, like to NOT use weapons in the Temple of the Moon, or what to do with the Woman Doll. The tablets sound very much like the stories of an ancient civilization, which I like quite a bit since it adds to the atmosphere of the game.
However, what of the sound and music? Well, the music is very catchy and well placed in my opinion, and the sound affects achieve their goals. Very nice and straightforward I would say. The controls of the game can be done with Keyboard or Gamepad, and I very much recommend a gamepad like the AirFlow EX for the PC, since this is an platforming game.
In the end, I feel this game deserves a place on the hard drives of gamers everywhere, since it is an balanced and well done package. Unfortunately, the developers of this game have shut down, and so it is unlikely for a sequel to appear. Still, this is an very good game and should be played by any gamer looking for an top-notch freeware game.
La-Mulana translation patch & game
La-Mulana English Guide & Japanese Guide
La-Mulana MP3 soundtrack
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