La-Mulana: Indiana Jones meets Metroid

jman2050

Although that's a bit loose of a description, as this game its own form of beast. Released in 2005, La-Mulana is a freeware PC title by GR3Project that is modeled as an old MSX game. The game itself is influenced by "The Maze of Gallous", an MSX title. A translation was only completed a few weeks ago, and can be found here:

http://agtp.romhack.net/lamulana.html - Screenies also at the link, although many of them are spoilers

A word of warning: This game is hard. Maybe not too hard as far as standard platforming goes, as early in the game you'll get an item that allows you to go to safety and save your game at any time. However, the puzzles are fiendish in a way that will make you tear your hair out. I'm not that hardcore, so I had to use a guide to finish the game. Regardless, it's a ton of fun, most fun I've had with a game since Cave Story. It's also quite long. My first playthrough with some help from guides took 24 hours, and that's not counting times I had to reload from a failed game session. So expect to be at this one for a while.

One last thing: READ THE MANUAL. You will save yourself much pain and suffering by reading it, as it provides descriptions of items and gameplay that will be imperative to completion of the game. Since the current version of the patch does NOT seem to translate the manual correctly, I'll link to my hosted copy of it:

http://www.cgi101.com/~jman2050/la-mulana_manual.zip

I hope you all have as much fun with the game as I have

Zombiemambo

I was quite glad to see this got translated, but even afterwards I never got very far.

Evil Multifarious

This sounds awesome. Trying it now.

Zombiemambo

How do you place weights? I'm positive I need one, but it doesn't work like a sub-weapon.

I have the 10g MSX cartridge (I would like to know what it does, running it seems to do nothing...) and the hand scanner. I've gone to the waterfall and found nothing, and I don't think I can take the big, blue cyclops on the West end.

Finding out just how vast this game really is has sparked much interest in it for me.

Evil Multifarious

I'd like to play the game, but it isn't being very cooperative.

You can't save until you get the 10g MSX thing, but where is it? Is it the "game master?" Because if so, that means I have to wander around and kill monsters near the starting village until I have the cash for it. That's really stupid. Especially since if I fuck up and die, somehow, I have to start over again, and go through that dumb elder speech.

Zombiemambo

Evil Multifarious wrote: »

I'd like to play the game, but it isn't being very cooperative.

You can't save until you get the 10g MSX thing, but where is it? Is it the "game master?" Because if so, that means I have to wander around and kill monsters near the starting village until I have the cash for it. That's really stupid. Especially since if I fuck up and die, somehow, I have to start over again, and go through that dumb elder speech.

If you go left from the village there is a pot that should contain 10g.

Evil Multifarious

I just went through the manual and found out you could break pots, yeah. I thought they were platforms.

I do love some oldschool graphics but you have to give some indication that a thing is being affected when you whip it besides a slight change in sound.

EDIT: Oh, and to use a weight, hit Down when you're in front of a dais.

Xusder

So, is there any way to, you know, change the resolution. When I load up the game my screen goes dark and says "You're resolution is too high for this damn game, go buy another monitor" or some shit like that.

I looked through the manual and it said F7 to change the resolutions, but just like everything that happens to me, it doesn't work.

I'm pretty much stumped, unless I'm missing something.

Ah well, this sounded like a good game too...

EDIT: Oh wait, there's a Wikipedia page. I'll check there.

dmauro

For any problems with resolution, just hit alt+enter and go into windowed mode. That seems to fix everyones' problems.

I just want to heartily endorse this game. I didn't even think I liked adventure games anymore because I haven't played a decent one in I don't know how long, but this game is amazing. I rarely sit down to play games when I'm not on the subway these days, but I make time for this game because it's as satisfying as digging into a good book. This game is tricky, it's difficult, if you're impatient it might even piss you off, but if you're ready for this game, you will love it. When you encounter a puzzle you can't solve, don't immediately look at a guide, just go explore some more and maybe you'll figure it out later, or find the solution to it elsewhere. That's what so great about La-Mulana is that so much is available for you to explore at any given time, that you never really get "stuck."

As far as retro style PC games, this is up at the top with Cave Story and Within a Deep Forest for sure. Clear up some free time and give it a shot.

And use a joystick because there is plenty of platforming (the game has joystick support).

Beginning of game tips:

The first things you need to buy are the 10x cartridge (have in your MSX and visit the elder's hut to save) and the hand scanner (allows you to search skeletons and such, and later read tablets when you get the rune translation rom). The 10x cartridge is easy because you can find 10 gold in the pot just to the left of the elder's hut. I believe you can even find the gold for the scanner in pots in the beginning area as well. Once you're ready to venture into the ruins here's what you do:

Talk to the elder, he will open up a gate. Head to the right, the first time you go up one screen instead of to the right there, are some columns, if you go in there, there is a dais that you put a weight on (press down to use a weight). You should have picked up a weight or several by now from enemies and pots. Putting the weight there opens up the ground and allows you to enter into the ruins.

Shortcut spoiler for quicker entry to the ruins before getting the grail:

If you have the shurikens, throw them at the wall on the screen just to the right of the starting screen. This will make a shortcut into the underground passage that leads to the ruins.

jman2050

Yeah, the beginning of the game can be frustrating. Thus the admonition to READ THE MANUAL. As soon as you get the glyph reader, hand scanner, and save cartridge though, things become a lot more interesting.

Be forewarned that this game will make you insane if you aren't careful. As I said, there are guides out there is you REALLY need it, but at least try to solve the puzzles yourself first. A few more general tips if you're still stumped:

The idea is to defeat the 8 guardians of the ruins. To do this, you need to make an ankh appear in a particular section of the ruins, and destroy said ankh with an ankh jewel. Doing both requires you to solve the puzzles in a particular area of the ruins. Once you do that, you get to fight the boss, and potentially open up new passages or get new items.

Also, one of the first things you should do in the ruins is get the grail. According to the manual, it will allow you to warp to different waypoints in the game by pressing the number keys while in the item menu. Pressing 0 warps you to the village instantly. To find it:

From the entrance, go 1 screen right, 3 screens down, then 1 right. It looks like a dead end, but using the scanner on the skeleton on the far right will reveal that he found a secret passage at that spot. Go right through the wall next to the skeleton to lead to another room (you'll notice that this room is actually to the left of the previous room on a map. Yeah, the ruins are annoying like that.) Push the grey block onto the grey pedestal to make the grail appear. Grab it as soon as possible

Things should progress much smoother after you get the grail.

Zombiemambo

I still don't know how to place weights.

Logicow

The grail is in the entrance gate. In the room with the triangle and the pushable blocks, there's a secret passage at the right of the skeleton which warps you all the way left to a place where you can push a block on its special floor.

I don't remember the rest, but it can be found on walkthroughs.


Speaking of walkthoughs: Some of the puzzles are just insane, and you are definitely better off looking in a walkthrough if you can't find the solution yourself. Like, there's a place where you have to climb an invisible ladder. That one wasn't too obvious.


At first, health is very precious because you have to come back to save after you found something. When you get the grail, you can escape to save at any time. Eventually, you'll have enough health and you'll start leveling up before you run out of health.


This thread lacks screenshots.








edit: Place weights by pressing down.

jmdbcool

I loved Cave Story. I loved it so hard.

I tried this game. It almost seems... too old school. I'm a fan of the retro, but I don't know. The higher difficulty level and the cheapness of some of the game mechanics... maybe I'm just not a bad enough dude (to rescue the president).

jman2050

jmdbcool wrote: »

I loved Cave Story. I loved it so hard.

I tried this game. It almost seems... too old school. I'm a fan of the retro, but I don't know. The higher difficulty level and the cheapness of some of the game mechanics... maybe I'm just not a bad enough dude (to rescue the president).

To be fair, this game is nothing like Cave Story. I only mentioned it in passing because that was the last freeware game I've had this much fun with. If you play this game expecting something like it, then prepare to be disappointed.

And yes, some of the mechanics are kind of cheap, but like in most old-school games, you get used to them. What's really cheap are the puzzles. If you find yourself melting down at the Guidance Gate, it doesn't bode well for you for the rest of the game.

dmauro

The game is really not terribly cheap. The thing that will consistently bug you and feel like a vestigial retro annoyance is the bats. They will continually knock you off platforms and bug you throughout. I've only run into one puzzle that I needed help on, and I wasn't actually stuck so it's possible that if I had continued on in another direction I would have found the clue I needed.

I wouldn't say the game is difficult, it just requires investment, but as someone who is very reticent about involving myself in a game (I tend to stick to shmups other quick-fix type genres), after reading the manual, the game explained that it was deserving of the time it takes.

The thing to do is read the manual, read the spoilers I posted above on how to get into the ruins, and just get ready to dive in. Spend at least an hour with it to start and you'll probably be hooked. Make sure to return to save your game before you're almost dead since you have to fight your way back out.

Protip: When you rear back to lash the whip, you do damage above your head. Use this to kill monsters on platforms above you, and it's especially useful against bats.

Estoc

Ok, as much as I'd like to play, the English patch is giving shit about the patch file being corrupt. It doesn't make any sense, so I'm asking here for help. What the hell am I supposed to do about it....a bad omen about the game itself I suppose.

Logicow

That happens to me too.

It's just the manual. Meaning, the game works fine (you need the glyph reader to read the glyphs, otherwise it looks like garbage) but the documentation that comes in html form is still in japanese.

Also the bats: You get used to them. The whip is particularly bad against them, it gets better with the knife and later on the sword. But yeah, definitely an annoyance.

But the fishes jumping out of the waterfall are terrible!

Also the boss of the place with the lava is quite hard. Took me 8 or so tries (Yes, the blue sphere with tentacles and a single eye.)

Another thing:
I'm reading that you have to stop time and break all the pots in a room. However, the pots are all around the room and I run out of freeze time before I can hit them all twice.
Suggestions? I'm kind of stuck there.

I'm curious as to how far you guys got into the game.

Here's my inventory screen for comparison.



edit: Spoiler tags won't work argh : (

MegaMan001

So I put "game master' in slot one, i hit F4 to 'run' it - and nothing happens.

Logicow

Talk to the old man in the tent with the save cart equipped.

dmauro

I had a problem with the patch translating the manual as well. I think it's the updated one that is causing that problem, so use this patch here because the manual is essential.

Xusder

dmauro wrote: »

For any problems with resolution, just hit alt+enter and go into windowed mode. That seems to fix everyones' problems.

Ah, i'll try that when i get home.

Nerdtendo

How did I miss this thread? This looks totally awesome. I'm going to have to download it when I get home.

As a side note, if there isn't already a thread that just includes loads of awesome freeware games on the boards somewhere, we should see about creating one, along with links to threads about the particular game being mentioned.

Estoc

Argh, this game is totally making me it's bitch. However, I'm not going to give up just yet, as I think I'm making some progress...

dmauro

Tip: (maybe a spoiler, but you'll proably want to read it)

There are red barriers throughout the ruins, you'll spot the first one in the guidance gate under the sacrifice pit. They look like barriers, but they are actually doors that can be opened from one side. You just need to push against them for 2-3 seconds on the correct side (you can distinguish which side is the side you can go through by the vertical line that is closer to one side than the other. You'll know when I mean when you see it.

I don't recall seeing that in the manual, but maybe I just missed it.

jman2050

dmauro wrote: »

Tip: (maybe a spoiler, but you'll proably want to read it)

There are red barriers throughout the ruins, you'll spot the first one in the guidance gate under the sacrifice pit. They look like barriers, but they are actually doors that can be opened from one side. You just need to push against them for 2-3 seconds on the correct side (you can distinguish which side is the side you can go through by the vertical line that is closer to one side than the other. You'll know when I mean when you see it.

I don't recall seeing that in the manual, but maybe I just missed it.

I don't believe I saw it in the manual. That tripped me up the first time as well.

I'm working on sort of a semi-casual playthrough of this game, which I am uploading to YouTube in parts. Obviously, it sucks too much to be an actual speed run, but I suppose it'll be fun to watch for those who have played the game. Plus, it might prove to be a basis for anyone (including myself) who wants to do a speed run if the time comes. If you haven't played it, though, the videos will spoil you pretty badly :P

If anyone is interested, you can search for it on YouTube or I can just link it here.

dmauro

I think I might be completely stuck. I have two of the seals, I've beat the bosses (and got more or less all the items) from the first four areas, and I have the red stone from the fifth, but I can't seem to advance further. I think the last item I got was the Gauntlet. Any tips for someone stuck at about this point?

jman2050

You want the spears, and you want to kill all the enemies in a certain room in the Tower of Ruin (area 5 rear). Everything should become clear by then.

After beating boss 5 a door will open that was inaccessible before...

dmauro

Yeah I did that. I got to that hidden inferno cavern room, but it didn't do anything for me. It looks like the room it takes me to would be a boss room, but the ankh isn't there yet.

jman2050

Ah yes, I had forgotten. I got tripped up a this point of the game too.

If you look closely, after opening the passage in the hidden inferno room, a pedestal will appear inside that looooooong shaft of lava that seemed to have no other purpose. Place a weight there and the ankh should appear

dmauro

Awesome, I'll give that a shot. Thanks.