➤ La Mulana 1 & 2, the review 🎮

It's been like 15 years since the first release of La-Mulana, at the time a game so underground that it didn't even make it to the West, and in the meantime the series has achieved considerable notoriety, so you probably already know what to expect from it. review of La-Mulana 1 & 2 on Xbox One. A brief historical excursus to make it clear what the two titles in question derive from: the first La-Mulana was released in 2005 on PC as freeware and was confined mainly to Japanese territory, only to reach some western pioneers and then expand further thanks to an English patch . The global distribution came only between 2011 and 2012 with the arrival on WiiWare and on PC of an entirely revised and corrected version, a sort of general remaster of the first chapter. The success of this paved the way for La-Mulana 2, funded through a Kickstarter in 2014 and initially released in 2018. Finally, the launch on the current platforms comes these days with the La-Mulana 1 & 2 collection, which re-proposes both the chapters together in a physical collector's package, also available separately in digital version.

La-Mulana is one of the best products on the scene Japanese indie, which continues in parallel but in a way that could be defined conceptually different from the western one, although the geographical subdivisions in the current videogame industry now make little sense. However, there are some characteristics that lead us to talk about a particular identity for the Japanese underground scene: what we often notice, as in this case, is a strong link with the classic tradition of the local video game, a search for solutions and stylistic features. historical and the will to propose challenges that can be as demanding as those of the 8-bit era, but filtered through a more modern taste and above all a certain awareness of the maturity reached by the medium. This vision leads to playing with storytelling and meta-game elements, while remaining firmly anchored to solid and tremendously challenging mechanics. We saw it with Cave Story, the real "father" of doujins and the Japanese indie scene, with Downwelle clearly with La-Mulana, who returns in full form and in a double package that would be better not to be missed.

La Mulana 1

The first chapter of La-Mulana was reviewed on these pages in 2012 and the evaluation basically remains unchanged despite the past years. This is because, as is evident, this game tends to transcend a precise temporal location, both in terms of its aesthetic aspect and above all its gameplay. It could be called a Metroidvania ante litteram, given that at its original release, close to that of the other famous exponent of the hybrid genre, Cave Story, this sub-genre had not yet been identified in a known way as it is now and certainly was not as widespread. However, it represents a particularly fitting example of that mix of game types: it is a very challenging 2D platformer, based on fighting against numerous enemies that crowd the levels within a large interconnected map, with the possibility of opening passages after the acquisition of new skills by the protagonist.

The original goal was to pay homage to the MSX classics and in particular Maze of Galious, but above all with the remake it has been significantly enriched and expanded in terms of content and game mechanics. The protagonist is Lemeza, a archaeologist / adventurer armed with a whip he finds himself exploring the ruins of ancient civilizations to discover numerous mysteries. If the idea may seem derivative, it is because in fact it is and also in a deliberately obvious way, this being also an element of recovery of the classics of the past, but everything is also filtered from a humorous point of view, making fun of the clichés of the genre adventure both on the cinematographic and above all videogame front.

Lemeza is able to whip enemies and utilize equipment that expands as you progress through the game, purchasing new items and unlocking additional abilities as you advance across the huge map. Beyond the bosses, which can be quite challenging, the enemies are threatening especially for their number, but the risks are largely represented by the numerous traps and the layout of the platforms. However, the biggest challenge is the puzzle, above all because they are scattered over very large areas and often have solutions and connections that are difficult to understand. On closer inspection, there are many clues to understand how to act inside the numerous rooms of the gigantic map, but it is often necessary to unlock new skills - in particular the new software for the laptop that serves as constant support for Lemeza, in the translation of documents and interpretation of drawings - to decipher them. In any case, the puzzles are often "distributed" over various areas of the map and it is not always easy to immediately understand the effects of our actions. In this sense, puzzle design often runs the risk of being a bit dispersive, even if there is a logical explanation in each piece, only that it can become clear only at a later time, just as it happens to understand the meaning of some new acquisitions. in terms of equipment only by advancing the map, or having to go back to the first areas to unlock semi-forgotten or barely visible passages.

It is nothing new, in hindsight: it is simply the purest essence of metroidvania, which makes backtracking and the total connection of the map its founding elements.

La Mulana 2

Six, seven years after the first chapter and after the inevitable fundraising campaign on Kickstarter ended with the obvious success, La-Mulana 2 has arrived on the market and has been reviewed in these parts with an excellent rating, which even in this case we can only confirm. Less incisive than the progenitor, inevitably, the second chapter, however, represented the perfect one evolution of the initial concept, improved and polished (but not too much) until it reaches a videogame form that initially may seem a little more accessible and trendy but which soon proves not to give up the fundamental characteristics of the series, namely the sense of challenge, the vastness and the difficulty. The protagonist this time is Lumisa, Lemeza's daughter who has followed in her father's footsteps by becoming an adventurer archaeologist too and now finds herself having to look for her traces because her father has apparently disappeared. The sequel takes even less seriously than the progenitor and this is evident from the very beginning: the La-Mulana complex has become a tourist attraction managed by the old Xelpud, who in the meantime seems to have made a lot of money and having given himself up to a dissolute life, but always with a great passion for information technology (as well as for women, and Lumisa's attractiveness certainly does not go unnoticed). The ruins are in a sorry state but this new situation allows you to insert numerous gags in the exploration of the map, deriving from the various notices and tourist information scattered around. Within the usual labyrinth of rooms, corridors and puzzles we also discover a new area responsible for the dark events that recently occurred, namely the mysterious Eg-Lana.

Again the map is huge, branched and layered and the game does everything to make you lose yourself in its meanders. The rooms are littered with clues and the character progression, which allows for the purchase of new equipment and useful skills, only partially simplifies the exploration. The level design it can seem easily convoluted, artificially complex, compared to many modern metroidvania, also because the map tends not to provide indications and this combined with the dispersiveness of the puzzles, which unfold on different rooms and even different areas, can create confusion and even be frustrating . It is a game that truly recalls a spirit of the past and in its oddities and excessive difficulties it remembers above all Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest. In short, you must keep in mind this level of challenge by approaching La-Mulana 2 and perhaps accompany the exploration with some notes on a sheet of paper, just to make it clear at what levels of nostalgia we are.

The structure based on exploration between platforms and solving puzzles, the combat system focused on the whip - another obvious reference to Castlevania - the enormity of the map it requires backtracking and continuous research are all derived directly from the first La-Mulana, but here pushed to paroxysm: it is true that the game appears softer, more refined in many respects and less rough, but it also presses firmly on the peculiar elements of the first, becoming even wider and even more difficult in many respects. An evolution in mechanical terms can be found in the organization of theinterface, which makes it easier than before for NPCs to read messages and access laptop support apps, which are also subject to a form of micro-management apart from the need to install and uninstall them as needed. limited space.

A package of joys and sorrows

The extreme similarity between La-Mulana and La-Mulana 2 becomes even more evident in the new all-encompassing package, where we find them side by side. However, the collectors' edition is intended above all for those who already appreciate the series and intend to dedicate a physical space to Nigoro's work complete with a special package and physical and tangible bonuses. The overdose effect that the collection can easily generate is therefore well assimilated by the connoisseurs. Everyone else may have to choose between buying one or the other chapter and in this sense the choice is difficult: the first chapter has the incisive strength of the original, perhaps with a greater compactness and more content than the exaggerations of the second, but La-Mulana 2 is certainly more accurate in every sector, from graphics to gameplay, perhaps emerging as best synthesis of the concepts expressed by the series. The two episodes are very similar in appearance also because the second recovers part of the original settings by redesigning them according to a new style, but this is especially true for the beginning, since the deeper development of the games follows different dynamics and opens in very different scenarios. different. The choice between the two is therefore difficult because if the second is probably the most advisable due to a better appearance and a greater wealth of content, it is also true that it pushes even more on the difficulty in the long run, so you must be prepared. The first chapter still becomes a must in case you get caught up in the spirit of La-Mulana, but at that point you may be seriously considering purchasing the full Hidden Treasure Edition package.

What must always be kept in mind, however, is that despite their peaceful appearance these games are extremely challenging, almost masochistic: in this sense, although the parallel is in many ways improper, it can be said that La-Mulana 2 appeals to that spirit centered on the extreme challenge that has made the success of the soulslike, what some call the "masocore". The difficulty here is combined with the vastness of the settings and more closely recalls the classic tradition of 2D action adventure of yesteryear: one thing that can displace the modern gamer is the lack of time dedicated to initial preparation, therefore. The tutorial is basically not there, the mechanics of the game must be discovered as we go inside them, exactly as it happened in the past when the information was delegated to the instruction booklet and the game just launched us in the middle of the action. By the way, precisely in line with this spirit, Nigoro has made available an official digital guide of over 60 pages that recalls the good old manuals of the past, study it at this address.

Comment

Tested version Xbox One Digital Delivery PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, Nintendo eShop Resources4Gaming.com

8.8

Readers (3)

7.9

Your vote

La-Mulana 1 & 2 are two pearls that any player should try, if only to understand where the metroidvania phenomenon originated and which qualitative points it can aspire to. They are also inaccessible and perhaps excessively demanding games, built on a punitive level design that really requires a lot of dedication. If you are willing to take on the challenge, the games will reward you with great satisfaction, as they once did and still happens for titles like soulslike. The retail package with both chapters and all the extra bonuses has a cost that obviously makes it attractive especially to great enthusiasts, but to all the others it is advisable to experiment with at least one (basically La-Mulana 2) and then evaluate whether it is the case for try the full adventure, because at least one attempt to enter this wonderful cruel world should really be made.