After all this time, after beating LM2 first, I finally beat this legit(ish). Final boss was surprisingly free compared to the other bosses in this game and the final boss of LM2. Thankfully, this game doesn't place as big an emphasis on combat as LM2, save for the Shrine of the Mother but that's understandable since its the final area. Wasn't a fan of the mantra puzzle, had to brute-force half of it. The scale puzzle tho...super satisfying to figure out.

La-Mulana is a tier of its own when it comes to Metroidvanias.