[Odrion]

Wow, this looks great.

Finally indie games are moving up to faux 32-bit graphics.

[Pyccko]

Goodness, I don't generally like Metroidvanias, as I am completely garbage at them, but I'm going to buy this. For some reason the little synchronized pose-striking (not to mention the lovely style of the game itself) in that trailer has charmed me so deeply into my cold black heart, that despite my un-predelection, I feel a powerful need to have this. And I will have it. I will have it SO BAD.

[Jotamide]

From the website:

We can’t let go someone says “Japanese games suck.”

If this is pushing Japanese devs to prove the West wrong by releasing their games here, you can trash-talk anyone you want now Phil!

EDIT: this game looks insanely hard, I'm so getting this!

[Zia]

Will actually boot into Windows to play this.

[randomkid]

New update from Nigoro: By the way, we uploaded three more promotional videos that were made for Japanese WiiWare version, and translate them into English. Festival! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZJe9_Ozg00 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_jLRKObbDY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xJZE80MfDw http://la-mulana.com/en/blog/about-playism.html

I haven't seen a sustained barrage of Engrish this great since 1994. This game looks awesome but way too hard for me to actually play. I kinda like the original graphics a little bit more, would be cool if you could toggle back and forth.

[Nosgoroth]

I definitely wanna see a hell. I'll buy it when it appear at last.

[cj_iwakura]

Delicious Engrish.

[Capndrake]

Been playing this the last few days (Got the beta) and it's really great, much more accessible than the original, though I would definitely say the bosses (Especially the last few) are way harder this time.

I would also recommend playing both the remake and the original, since there's loads of little differences.

Also, don't let the trailers fool you, the game itself was not translated by the developers so it's Engrish-free.

[HadesGigas]

Engrish instruction manual now up:

http://la-mulana.com/en/wp-content/p..._manual_en.pdf

Thank you very much for buying Ruins Exploration Archaeological action game "La-Mulana". If you read this instructions before playing the game, you can play the game with more fun. We would think dashing into the ruins without a preliminary knowledge is manly, however you may want to read this. "La-Mulana" is a game that is made old-fashioned of from beginning to end. But I think this have the oft-forgotten fun of the games recently, and we have made this game our best to show what retro 2D games have evolved as they are. Be sure to play through, or clear in hard mode, or give up.

[Zero-Crescent]

The cute little drawings are a nice touch.

[Dog Problems]

The cute little drawings are a nice touch.

Yeah, it reminds me of manuals for NES and Famicom games.

[BudokaiMR2]

Yeah the manual is really cute. I personally want to translate the full Guide Book(it's something like 160-170 pages) but getting the game perfected in time for release is the priority right now. (OH GOD THE PRESSURE!!!)

And yes the trailers are something NIGORO are doing on their own. We might take a look at the future ones from now on though. :)

There will be no Engrish in the game itself!

[HadesGigas]

There will be no Engrish in the game itself!

Aw. There should be a secret unlockable option to play in Engrish mode.

[Jotamide]

Aw. There should be a secret unlockable option to play in Engrish mode.

Hahaha this has all my support!

[jooey]

The cute little drawings are a nice touch.

And the comic ones have better English for some reason?!

[PixelHorror]

That manual is beautiful. Remembered me a lot of the old NES Zelda ones, full of charm and cool suff :)

[Chacranajxy]

So Playism's positioned as an indie game publisher for JP titles? Interesting. Wonder if that'll mean anything for Visual Novels down the road...

Anyway, I'll pick this up as soon as it's out.

[HadesGigas]

The cute little drawings are a nice touch.

Here's more:
http://la-mulana.com/en/blog/illustr...on-manual.html

[BudokaiMR2]

So Playism's positioned as an indie game publisher for JP titles? Interesting. Wonder if that'll mean anything for Visual Novels down the road... Anyway, I'll pick this up as soon as it's out.

Yeah although we aren't exactly limiting ourselves to just Japanese games. The idea is to bring out anything that has never been localized into English.

However since we are based in Japan for the foreseeable future it will be focused on Japanese games.

Visual Novels would be quite an investment for us but we are interested in bringing some over if we can find the right kind of content. I have my eye on a couple that are probably completely out of reach. :(

[Victrix]

Excited for this. Are you planning a, uh, not so engrishy trailer?

I'm trying to sell a few friends on this, but those videos aren't helping me much.

[Chacranajxy]

Yeah although we aren't exactly limiting ourselves to just Japanese games. The idea is to bring out anything that has never been localized into English. However since we are based in Japan for the foreseeable future it will be focused on Japanese games. Visual Novels would be quite an investment for us but we are interested in bringing some over if we can find the right kind of content. I have my eye on a couple that are probably completely out of reach. :(

Cool, man. That's some exciting stuff. Personally, I'd try and lock something like La Mulana up as an exclusive, because this is the sort of stuff that's going to keep people coming to the store.

[Azure Dream]

Love the manual, and the new trailers sell me on the remake very well. Playism sounds like it's going to hit a nice niche Steam doesn't address, hope it does well Budokai.

[RELAYER]

deceasedcrab

[RedSwirl]

Wow, this looks great. Finally indie games are moving up to faux 32-bit graphics.

I can't wait.

[thetrin]

Congrats on Playism, budokai. I know you've been working hard on this for a long time. My roommate thanks you for La Mulana.

Shoot me an email some time. Would love to catch up.

Playism has been doing a lot of great stuff bringing US indie games to Japan (like Spacechem), so it's nice to see you guys are finally going the other way as well.

[CO_Andy]

Is this a Castleroids game? If so, then sign me up!

[BudokaiMR2]

Congrats on Playism, budokai. I know you've been working hard on this for a long time. My roommate thanks you for La Mulana. Shoot me an email some time. Would love to catch up. Playism has been doing a lot of great stuff bringing US indie games to Japan (like Spacechem), so it's nice to see you guys are finally going the other way as well.

Yo man. Thanks a lot!

It has been a great project to work on and this English launch is a big step for us.

Is this a Castleroids game? If so, then sign me up!

Yup! It is probably one of the most complex and content heavy ones ever created! :)

[Zero-Crescent]

Review!

And a blog post from Playism:
http://la-mulana.com/en/blog/from-pl...la-mulana.html

Hello to all LA-MULANA fans in the West! Nice to meet you! This is the staff of Playism. We’re currently assisting in bringing LA-MULANA to Western audiences. We understand that some of you may have misgivings about or localization and we apologize for the lack of a proper explanation. This is the official blog of LA-MULANA, but please allow us to make our official announcement. Release date The English version of LA-MULANA will be made available for download when the English version of our site opens on July 13, 2012 (at 4 PM Japan Standard Time). The address is http://www.playism-games.com/. The site is currently only showing a countdown clock, but as soon as it reaches 0, the English version of Playism will be opened. Localization Both the localization and the debug of LA-MULANA were handled by the native English speakers of the Playism team. We have done our utmost to preserve the full quality of this wonderful product. (Bunch of English pics) However, it seems that, in regards to the PR (such as the promotional video) that was provided by Nigoro, a lack of support from our side has resulted in some confusion. Playism is only comprised of a small group of people, but we hope to be able to provide better support wherever possible in the future. DRM As a general principle, we respect the developers’ view on DRM, but LA-MULANA is being offered free of any DRM measures. All of the games that are available when our site opens will be DRM-free, with the exception of SpaceChem. Price LA-MULANA will be made available for $14.99 USD. We are also planning a special gift campaign for buyers. For payment systems, we intend to use Paypal. Platform The Playism team consists of Japanese, Americans and a group of people from a variety of nationalities. In order to bring LA-MULANA to the rest of the world before anyone else, and in order to breathe new life into the development environment of Japanese Games, we have decided that the wisest choice would be to open our own Western site to build a bridge between Japan and the West. However, we do not intend to rob products of their possibilities or users of their convenience. If possible, we would like to expand the wonderful products of Japan to all platforms (including Steam of course) as part of the Playism brand. Starting on July 13, we at Playism aim to provide LA-MULANA and many other exciting games of undeniable quality. We hope to see you soon!

[mclem]

Is this a Castleroids game? If so, then sign me up!

Sort of, but Metroidvanias are often structured of the form of "Get new skill, access new area, new area is somewhat linear with a boss at the end giving you new skill allowing you to access a door you found before".

A lot of progression in the original La Mulana is less about getting items and abilities, and more about *understanding the world*; accumulating information in order to realise how everything fits together, with some excellent big metapuzzles in there.

Budokai: One thing I really struggled with - but *eventually* got - is the topmost room in the Dimensional Corridor. Has that been changed? Or at least made so it can be reattempted more easily?

[BudokaiMR2]

\ Budokai: One thing I really struggled with - but *eventually* got - is the topmost room in the Dimensional Corridor. Has that been changed? Or at least made so it can be reattempted more easily?

Do you mean what is probably the hardest platforming section in the game?

If that is what you mean then I do not think it has been made any easier. :p I might be mistaken as it has been a while since I played that far in the original.

[mclem]

Do you mean what is probably the hardest platforming section in the game?

For a life jewel? Yep, that one. Utterly brutal!

If that is what you mean then I do not think it has been made any easier. :p I might be mistaken as it has been a while since I played that far in the original.

I'm not sure if that's a shame or not :-)

[BudokaiMR2]

For a life jewel? Yep, that one. Utterly brutal! I'm not sure if that's a shame or not :-)

Haha, well I guess since the controls are a little more modernized than the original version it will be a bit easier. It's still pretty damn brutal though!

[Khaz]

Yeah although we aren't exactly limiting ourselves to just Japanese games. The idea is to bring out anything that has never been localized into English. However since we are based in Japan for the foreseeable future it will be focused on Japanese games. Visual Novels would be quite an investment for us but we are interested in bringing some over if we can find the right kind of content. I have my eye on a couple that are probably completely out of reach. :(

Do you localise the games yourselves or do you use external localisation teams? Do you have any contact with the impressively successful Carpe Fulgur?

Stupid question when you buy a game on your service, you do have access to both languages or is it two separate downloads that you have to buy separately?

[BudokaiMR2]

Do you localise the games yourselves or do you use external localisation teams? Do you have any contact with the impressively successful Carpe Fulgur? Stupid question when you buy a game on your service, you do have access to both languages or is it two separate downloads that you have to buy separately?

We do the localization ourselves for the most part when it comes to PLAYISM localizations, especially the Japanese -> English stuff. We do have some contracted translators that we trust and use for some of the larger English -> Japanese stuff. That is a fairly rare occurrence however.

And no unfortunately I have not really talked with anyone from Carpe Fulgur.
I do love their work and I have to admit that I want them to hook me up with EasyGameStation so we can at least offer their games on our Japanese site. :D

Regarding the language question, it is unfortunately case-by-case at this time. If the game has multiple language support(which La-Mulana does!) then you of course get both version.

However for some other games such as I'm Gonna Be God of The Forest which doesn't have a language switch option they are treated as separate downloads and therefore separate products.

[mclem]

However for some other games such as I'm Gonna Be God of The Forest which doesn't have a language switch option they are treated as separate downloads and therefore separate products.

Damn you, now I need to know more, for a game with that title cannot be simply ignored.


...looks utterly bizarre. I'm not confident enough to say *good*, but certainly interesting.

[djtiesto]

I love the look of the update, very reminiscent of a Saturn 2D title. Although I do also love the MSX aesthetic of the original. Will have to play, I never made it too far in the original though :P

[HadesGigas]

WiiWare version maybe not dead:

To be honest, we don’t give up WiiWare version for overseas. It might be not the time to tell that just before releasing PC version. But, we think it’s rude to tell that WiiWare version is released after you buy PC version. So, we want to let you know in advance, “There is a possibility to release WiiWare version.” It will be without the additional download contents. So far, you can’t play Hell temple on WiiWare though, it might be a better option for someone who doesn’t need to play Hell temple or prefers to play on the game console. The plan is proceeding smoothly, but please wait for the information. We will let you know when the release is entirely confirmed.

[Gunloc]

WiiWare not dead? Cool.

No DLC is a bummer though. I think I'll probably get the PC version instead, though that will have to wait a while. :/

[mclem]

I love the look of the update, very reminiscent of a Saturn 2D title. Although I do also love the MSX aesthetic of the original. Will have to play, I never made it too far in the original though :P

Which actually does make me think of another (spoilery!) question:

Is the Maze of Galious-inspired section intact, or has it been dropped with the rest of the MSX aesthetic? And on a similar note, are the cartridges still in?

[PixyJunket]

WiiWare not dead? Cool. No DLC is a bummer though. I think I'll probably get the PC version instead, though that will have to wait a while. :/

Putting some pieces together (I've been following this closely, heh), it sounds like they are going to release the WiiWare version for 1000 Wii Points ($10) and let's assume that the Hell Stage will be DLC later on. This is how the game was released in Japan, I believe.

The PC version is just the game and DLC together ($15).

[Zero-Crescent]

Putting some pieces together (I've been following this closely, heh), it sounds like they are going to release the WiiWare version for 1000 Wii Points ($10) and let's assume that the Hell Stage will be DLC later on. This is how the game was released in Japan, I believe. The PC version is just the game and DLC together ($15).

The thing that's been holding the Wiiware version back in the US cert has been the DLC capability, for some reason. Presumably, they mean that they'll remove the capability for DLC from the US Wiiware version.

[@MUWANdo]

Which actually does make me think of another (spoilery!) question: Is the Maze of Galious-inspired section intact, or has it been dropped with the rest of the MSX aesthetic? And on a similar note, are the cartridges still in?

The carts are still in but they've been changed and amalgamated, and are now references to NIGORO games rather than other MSX games.

[Zero-Crescent]

New video! Beginner's Guide to La-Mulana:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtAFGes3Xdo

[desverger]

New video! Beginner's Guide to La-Mulana: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtAFGes3Xdo

This is so great :)

Haven't been reading much about the game since I always knew it was outside my grasp, but the fact that it's coming out tomorrow has suddenly me very excited!

I've had a platformer craving for such a long time, it's a shame they don't really make them anymore.

[john tv]

Is this PC only? How about Mac? Dunno why but it didn't even occur to me until today that I might not be able to buy this, LOL. I don't own a PC so if there's no Mac version, I guess I'm stuck with Wii for now... (Also, ppl super familiar with it: how's it differ from the Wii version? Same game? Diff?)

[Zero-Crescent]

Less than 30 minutes to go.

[remist]

New video! Beginner's Guide to La-Mulana: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtAFGes3Xdo

Ah, my ears!

Looking forward to this, heard good things and up for anything with metroidvania elements.

Edit: Lol. This video is awesome. Some small hidden trap, item, and enemy spoilers if you dont want to be spoiled even on small stuff.

[HadesGigas]

0:00:00:00

No website :(

Edit: up now, kinda...

[Jotamide]

The site is live!

[remist]

It's up.
Edit: Errr kinda up