Watching a let's play of La-Mulana was one of my first introductions to gaming on the internet outside of the AVGN. When I just happened to look at Kickstarter, one of the last times I ever did, and saw a post of La-Mulana 2, I thought it had to be a joke. It turned out to be completely legit, and 3 years later we finally got it, right at the beginning of this August. I waited to play it not just because I wanted to wait for bugs to be polished out (of which there were apparently very few; mostly balance changes from the looks of things), but to wait for other people to beat it and post guides about it because, knowing La-Mulana 1, I knew there was no way that I was gonna be able to solve the whole sequel by myself. I was very right! After 27 hours of playing, I finally conceded and started using the wiki. EVEN THEN, it took me a little over 45 hours to completely beat the game. I played through on hard mode (effectively meaning many more late game enemies in earlier areas and all bosses have double health and do double or triple damage), and got all the achievements (to unlock the fun extra outfits :D ) but for beating every boss without using subweapons (because as in the first game, you'd have to be absolutely insanely good at the game to do that on even normal mode :P ).

La-Mulana is a 2D action adventure game in the mold of old MSX games such as Castlevania and Galius Maze (mostly Galius Maze). It's all about exploring a giant series of ruins, reading slabs and talking to natives to learn about puzzles, and fighting tough enemies and tougher bosses. It's a serious combination of mental and reflex power, and the sequel is largely more of the same with some significant changes and upgrades. The most obvious change, of course, is a whole new set of ruins to explore full of all new puzzles, enemies, and bosses to conquer! But there are more nuanced changes as well, of course.

Mechanically, there are some immediately noticeable changes from the original. The game has been brought into the 21st century by not only allowing you to duck but also to jump onto ladders! (You can't jump off them though). Although the weapons, subweapons, and even nearly all the extra passive items are taken from the first game, these additions make the game play very differently from the first (especially once you get the item that enhances "weapon technique" so you swing faster but also up and down-facing slashes). The way enemies and pots respawn has also been slightly changed to be both proximity and time based, so if you leave a room and immediately re-enter it, the enemies won't necessarily respawn like they did in the first game. The other REALLY nice improvement from the first game is that you can buy an item fairly early on that gives all mini-boss and boss enemies a health bar at the top of the screen, and that thing is SO nice to have.

The presentation has also received a significant upgrade. The remake of the original freeware game (which was made to look like an MSX game) was originally designed for Wiiware, and the graphics look it. La-Mulana 2's spritework is a significant upgrade on every front, and the higher resolution really shows its strengths here. The music is all good, but I would say that it's biggest fault is constantly reminding me of the music in the first game which I have a lot more nostalgia for. All great music: I just like the first game's music more :P .

The story is a LOT more lore-based now than the first game. Where the first game revolved more around a slow discovery of the truth of the ruins, this game kinda follows something similar, but the cat is already out of the bag in regards to the twist from the first game. This means that, at least as far as I can remember from the first game, there are a fair few more puzzles that focus on talking to an NPC to get a task, doing the task, and reporting back to that NPC once it's done.

Speaking of that, the overall comparison of this game to the first, to me, is that this is the superior game. The original game had a lot of holdovers from the original's remake, mostly in its puzzles and map design, that had tried to recreate more vindictive elements of older MSX adventure games. La-Mulana 2 is certainly a longer game, but it's also just far more fun to play to me because it is just generally not as mean and cryptic. La-Mulana 1, at least the opening, is far more about taking things section-by-section, one level at a time, so things get very confusing when later on puzzles span the entire length of the ruins and you need to readjust your brain completely. 2 starts expanding things immediately out of the gate, and also gives you the App to record NPC dialogue and signs you read right at the starting village, so you can immediately start taking note of suspicious or confusing things you read to use in later puzzles.

That's not to say that La-Mulana 2 is an easy game by any measure (the hard mode only affects combat, not puzzles, and puzzles were what I got stuck on time and again XP ). The 2nd and 3rd bosses were SO hard I thought I was sequence breaking (nope, they were just really hard :P ). That's like nearly ALL of La-Mulana 1 though, so I'd say the boss design is just generally more fun and less vindictive than the first, even if a good portion of that may just be that they have a health bar so you can see how well you're doing against them.

Verdict: Highly Recommended. If mind-bending puzzles and tough action adventure combat and platforming are your jam, you cannot go wrong with La-Mulana 2. The game does spoil the plot of the first game more or less entirely, but none of its puzzles. As the first game's plot is such a backseat to the bosses and puzzles, this is an excellent primer to the original game's remake if you've ever thought of playing that. Even if you never beat it, I got more than enough out of the first 27 hours I could actually figure out myself to justify the 15 bucks I spent on it. This is a sequel that is largely more of the same on the surface, but all the more nuanced improvements make this an overall fantastic improvement on the original :D

Unfortunately, I didn't vibe with this game as much as I did with the original.

Not only does it seem mean in the ways original wasn't platforming-wise, but it's also full of reused things. The original felt new and unique every step of the way, while La-Mulana 2 often repeats bosses' gimmicks and tasks you to find the same items as you would in the original.

Not only that, most of the locations feel like references, and while there is a very bad story explanation for that (one that lessens La-Mulana 1, too!), it always feels like a "Lost Levels" type of sequel. Too much of it is just La-Mulana but more.

While I've enjoyed my time with it, I feel like most puzzles are far more forgettable due to the Mantra system being expanded and you effectively needing to fiddle with the spells to cast the right one.

While a good game, great, even, it doesn't have the same place in my heart as the original.

🚫 ONLY A SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW IS AVAILABLE. READ MISC SECTION ON WHY 🚫

La-Mulana 2 builds on its predecessor's legacy and improves on nearly every aspect, the result being a Metroidvania-type of game with a very demanding difficulty level but also a very rewarding experience. With a visual environment that brings back memories of the 16-bit era, a marvelous soundtrack and a more detailed plot, La-Mulana 2 may not appeal to those who did not enjoy the original but anyone else will easily be all over it quickly enough.
👉 opencritic SUMMARY

La-Mulana 2 is a sequel that improves on the legacy of its predecessor in nearly every single way and which brings an overall improved Metroidvania experience to the Nintendo Switch. Its difficulty level may get frustrating sometimes but dedicated players will be duly rewarded by the effort they put into it, and with its charming 16-bit era visual world, wonderful soundtrack and entertaining plot and dialogues, La-Mulana 2 will certainly appeal to most players out there.
👉 metacritic SUMMARY

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ M I S C

◻️ ⚠️ Review originally written for FNintendo (defunct website) and published on May 7th, 2020. Full review is currently unavailable. Expect restored written piece translated into English.
◻️ 🌳 Don't forget to visit my Linktree here
◻️ 🙋‍♂️ Also tap here to find more reviews of mine
◻️ 🎮 And touch here to discover more Nintendo Switch video games I've played
◻️ ✍️ in European Portuguese (Main body of text translated into English with A.I.)
◻️ 📜 Review Number 37

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ F I N