Why Is La Mulana 2 The Best Sequel Ever?

A series that has always been close to my heart finally gets the over elaboration it deserves! Im back after three years to talk about a game nobody cares about, but perhaps they should. A hardcore metroidvania with its heart and soul poured into devious puzzles and fantastic world building with phenomenal art and music to top it all off.
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[@dreamtop6880]

What's even funnier about the death trap at 11:40 is that it's very similar to another trap in the first game that tries to kill you after beating a boss, but that one would actually drop, so they intentionally tried to screw you over for being a fan and going "OH hey I remember that and how it killed me in the last game, I'll just stand here so that it won't kill me this ti-"

[@aleblanc6904]

To be fair, they warn you about it, Hermes (I think) tells you that Eg-Lana is inspired by La-Mulana, but that that doesn't mean that things work the same way.

[@mattmark94]

Kept you waiting huh?

[@danakroid7172]

HE'S NOT DEAD

[@SilentHellVG]

HE'S SURELY ALIVE!

[@Crafty420]

@@SilentHellVG Fuck I'm late and he's gonna be gone for 3 more years

[@ImmaLittlePip]

STILL. NOT! BITTEN

[@thegoose8663]

HE IS

[@newto2794]

Spoke too fast

[@rileys.9901]

This dude took 3 years off then doesn't even mention it

[@shingshongshamalama]

I feel like the way they present the information so bluntly in the manual illustrates the fact that they _designed the Holy Grail puzzle poorly_ from the very beginning, obviously _realized_ it wasn't giving players enough contextual clues to work it out, and then instead of redesigning things to enable players to work it out, they just spoil the puzzle in the manual. Which kinda ruins the bigger puzzle of figuring out how the ruins structurally work, which was always intended from the very start to be a huge central mystery you HAVE to solve to beat the game.

[@00Discourse00]

M-matthewmatosis? Is that you?

[@GameGod77]

This dude is Scottish, not Irish.

[@boiamondo]

finished the game recently and i have something to point out in this 3 year old video about the "where is this?" puzzle... my third way of solving this puzzle was instead watching the image on the tablet itself, remembering another hint about the mouth of the dragon and realizing the map itself had the same shape of the dragon on the tablet.

[@lukaerd6258]

The Colossal dragon puzzle was the one i got stuck in. because i interpreted the colossal dragon to be an actual thing instead of representing an entire area. So I kept continuously casting the mantras on top of the giant Vidofnir statue in the underworld. Vidofnir looks like a colossal dragon and there's obviously a passage under it so that's the logic I had, I also went to cast the mantras at Fafnir's room and Vritra's room as well, because they're also dragons. The reason why i thought that the colossal dragon had to be a thing like a statue or a background detail was because previously I was in the Heaven's Labyrinth and had a message from Mulbruk that told me that a moving pillar in the room with Orpheus had a symbol that represented the Infernal Fiend combining that with a tablet that says "Within the belly of the crawling Infernal Fiend" I realized that i had to get inside it, sure enough there was a dais there that opened that chest with the crystal skull in it. So that puzzle gave me the wrong impression which prevented me from solving another puzzle. I only found the answer to the puzzle because when i was checking my notes I saw the tablet that asked "Where is this" and I just googled "Awagigahara" thinking it was a mythological reference then i saw someone in a reddit thread say "So i know the colossal dragon is supposed to the Takamagahara..." and that's all i needed to see to understand the puzzle.

[@knvs2931]

I also expected the colossal dragon tablets to be endgame entities until I read the saving tablet in Heaven's Labyrinth

[@TajMalice]

Only took a global pandemic to bring ya back, eh?

[@tannic4852]

Flimsii confirmed alive(insert coolio Kenny music here) Stages of back Back (I am here) Back Back Back Back Grasping as back 101

[@thatwalder]

I miss this Flimsii good to see you back

[@Deditionis]

Does this mean Fitz will come back too?

[@MizterMoonshine]

Nope

[@Riccardo-mj9kj]

He's Mechagamezilla

[@IIoWoII]

If only Fitzthistlewits came back too. Or at least repost the lost mail cube episode.

[@Unr3aler]

Sorry to bear the news but he died.

[@ImmaLittlePip]

@@Unr3aler Whaaat

[@refusesack4897]

@@ImmaLittlePip he killed himself

[@shadr_]

@@refusesack4897 Proof?

[@refusesack4897]

@@shadr_ his latest video

[@SunsetSullivan]

I was one of the people who got filtered by the Holy Grail puzzle, so seeing that LM2 is both fairer about its direction given to the player and smarter with how it dishes out the puzzles and hints means that I might give this a try. Solid analysis of both games.

[@MaurycyZarzycki]

Two years later, did you give LM2 a try?

[@rowanwilson5859]

A note about the fake wall in the temple of moonlight- At a certain point in the game, you get an upgrade to your map that allows you to see "hidden rooms". So the intentional non accidental/hit every fake wall way to find it is to get the map upgrade, see that there' s a hidden room there and then find it. There are definitely two maybe three spots in LM1 that are missing hints, and the holy grail puzzle is terrible, but the game does provide hints for most things.

[@serepraxis7182]

he's back

[@Higurashi93]

I was confused as hell when I checked my subscribed page and saw this video. I actually had to ask myself who the hell you were. Good to see you uploading again.

[@heartlessmushroom]

Another great couple of improvements you forgot to mention is how you get the software that allows you to teleport you to the "backsides" quite early on and how Fairies work. To give context to anyone unfamilia, both games have four kinds of fairies: Healing, Attack, Money and Key fairies. The First one of the most common to get while the latter 2 will often be required to proceed through the game or obtain gear that will make your playthrough easier. In La-Mulana 1, trying for fairies is random unless you set up a specific software combination. In La-Mulana 2 the kind of fairy you get is a consistent patten: every 3rd try after the first always gets you a weapon fairy, every 5th a money fairy and every 7th a key fairy.

[@Hexakinase]

I was too smooth-brained to make it through either the original La-mulana or La-mulana 2 without a guide, but I still had a good time. The platforming, music, and boss fights are all great.

[@Draffut2003]

Almost no one beat all of the original without any help.

[@IAmEnormous]

11:36 brilliant comedic timing

[@KuroOnehalf]

Great essay! I love La-Mulana 2 to bits, and it saddened me to see how under the radar it went. Even people who claim to like the aspects that LM2 is so good at didn't seem to have paid any mind to it. And then it had the cosmically bad luck of releasing its console edition as a worldwide pandemic struck. I can only hope that this doesn't discourage Nigoro from making more games, as they're one of the great developers of our time.

[@wolfumz]

I just finished La-Mulana 1, where I played as much as I could without a guide, kept notes, alphabet, maps, the works. I'm debating playing LM2. There were 4-5 puzzles in LM1 that I felt were totally impossible for me to solve on my own: The notorious "plumbing" warp to get water flowing into the Tower of the Goddess, opening up big brother's shop in the Twin Labyrinth, shenanigans in the Gate of Illusion, getting Xelpud to help you obtain the diary, and even the final Mantra puzzle. I was stuck for a very long time on trying to find the model plane in the Tower of Goddess. I did something, and a dais spawned, somewhere... but I had no idea. I had spent so much time wandering from screen to screen, whipping the walls, that I had become blind to this new unused dais just sitting in the middle of the room. Looking up the 'plumbing' warp, I was feeling like, "well, I couldn't have solved that, but otherwise, I'm muddling along here..." That feeling disappeared by the time I was at the final boss, and I resorted to a guide on multiple occasions. After pushing through 70+ hrs, spending so much time wandering, and multiple puzzles where I used a guide and felt like it would be impossible without a guide... it was just starting to get tiring and wear me down. I was very happy at the beginning/middle of the game, but not very happy at the end of the game... how does it compare to LM2?

[@KuroOnehalf]

@@wolfumz LM2 is definitely better about that. I think I resorted to asking for a hint on the steam forums only once or twice for the whole game. Even if you get stuck on one or two puzzles, they're so cool that it's a must play. And you'll really appreciate the QOL changes from LM1. :p

[@wolfumz]

@@KuroOnehalf you know what, dude, I'm going to try out LM2, then. Thanks for sharing your experience with me.

[@KuroOnehalf]

@@wolfumz If you got through LM1 then you're primed to love LM2. I hope you do! :p

[@legrandliseurtri7495]

@@wolfumz Wait, so you're telling me you didn't have problems with the chamber of birth? That was by far the hardest area for me. I barely solved any puzzle there on my own.

[@jorisdevos5070]

16:15 I didn't know that bad box art megaman was a strange mythological creature lol.

[@knvs2931]

Oh god I did NOT realize that was actually a megaman nod until you pointed it out. Always thought it was funny how he was named MEGAROCK and now it hit me why lol

[@volpe2077]

Man, thank you for making a video on La-Mulana 1 and 2! There aren't enough video essays about them around (or any at all, really) when the games are so ripe with material for discussion and analysis. It's also a shame there doesn't seem to be much of a community around these games.

[@ThePlayerWithPaws]

3 years sounds about right for a La-Mulana video. Welcome back Flimsii

[@PeterHHuis]

Wasn’t expecting to see you in my sub box again. Love your commentary and analysis.

[@KittyNaptune]

The line at the super market must have been really long. Glad you're back!

[@DJtheEmoPirate]

I really enjoyed playing La-Mulana 2 right as lockdown kicked in. I went hard on the game, drawing out each room and taking notes on every NPC and tablet in a notepad with different coloured pens based on the colour of the text they used. Eventually I reached the Brahma puzzle, which I felt would be endgame so left it til I had finished everything else. I spent the better part of an hour pouring over all my maps and notes and what not, connecting all the dots and piecing the whole thing together. Finally it all clicked, and I was able to confidently solve the puzzle... Just to find out the reward was useless as I had already collected all of the items! Never have I felt both so accomplished and so disappointed!

[@BruTalc]

return of the 👑 this is my favorite of your analytical videos, great job

[@antsweaters]

thank you for talking about one of my favourite games!!! lovely video

[@pilgrimspromise1132]

I am 14 hours into this game at dead ends every single area and no one clue how to progress at all. It's a blast 😊

[@fortris]

Really nice video, happy you made it, sad about the circumstances behind it. Hopefully the patreon goes well and we can see more videos soon! Even if you can’t make more videos I wish you well.

[@kingoppsanti5830]

Tempted to get this game. Part 1 was so brutal.

[@emilianocichanowski7894]

my favorite part is when 16:15 hits and im jumpscared with human megaman if he was a medieval warrior

[@willmartin1502]

Tofu when I'm hungry, rye whiskey when dry, doubloons when I'm hard up and religion when I die

[@RegalPixelKing]

Dad! You're back, it's really nice to see your content again this was a nice meaty video.

[@dudesk099]

I think one of the main things about the first one is it's not just the beginning that's obtuse, it gets even worse later in the game. "Hints" on tablets that won't be relevant to many hours later. Incomprehensible puzzles in late game. Etc. The game has earned it's reputation fairly.

[@IIoWoII]

Flimsii, when are you playing artificial difficulty: the game remake?

[@cyrusdexterman]

Great video as always Flimsii

[@shipped_my_pants_3000]

The best way to describe this is the spiritual lovechild of Goonies 2 for the NES and Pitfall II for Atari 2600

[@xAustishx]

And when the world needed him most... he vanished.

[@likeaboss997]

flimothy i only just saw this now and im sorry i didn’t know this was here earlier, but i will always love you my rat king.

[@jacobislucas]

Glad to see you back buddy :)

[@TsukumoEt]

Here to pay tribute while waiting for new Flims' vid.

[@NezMog]

The triumphant return of Flimsii

[@GhERM2SOIED72]

Thank you for spreading the word of these great games. LM2 is definitely better for setting player expectations and tutorialization, and does WONDERS for the lore. I will say that in LM1 (and 2), the endurance style challenge is part of the fun, and if that "poorly signposted" can be interchangeable with "well hidden" in the case of puzzle solutions.

[@HeavyMetalMouse]

As a diehard fan of both games, I can say you hit the nail on the head soundly. The Holy Grain Puzzle is what I've called to prospective players "The Filter" of La Mulana - If you can play the game up to the point where you get the Holy Grail, and still be enjoying yourself, then this game is for you, and you're in for one heck of a fun ride. If you find yourself not enjoying the game by the time you find the Grail, then you probably will feel that way throughout most of the game, and would probably be better off playing something else. If you can't find the Grail at all, and resort to a guide, then that's probably how you're going to be playing the rest of the game - there's nothing inherently wrong with using guides, but it is a decision and a particular way to experience games that has its own effect on the experience. La Mulana 2 is far more accessible, as the video here states very well. My making the punishments less punishing, it is able to make the difficult puzzles or platforming and combat challenges more difficult without making them unfun to play. This is turned up to 11 in the DLC, where a Difficult Endgame Dunegon is added that will make you die. A lot. But it will always give you the tools to keep trying and get back into the action to keep making progress. I highly recommend both games, but LM2 definitely is the one I would suggest to the wider audience of players. :)

[@legrandliseurtri7495]

I resorted to a guide to find the holy grail, and it took me several more hours for me to understand how to open the map and teleport. Didn't realize I needed to press FN and then F1(or F2? I don't remember)lol. So I played the game for quite a while with no map and without being able to teleport. I defeated three guardians, mostly without help, did a bunch of other stuff, but then I beat the guardian of the temple of sun, which requires you to either be able to teleport or have the twin statue. After asking around on the internet, I finally found out how to open the map and teleport. I finished the game almost a year later. I got through gates of illusion, endless corridor&tower of the goddess with almost no help from guides, but the closer I got to the endgame, the less patience I had. I would say that I solved less than a third of all the puzzles in chamber of birth: that area broke me. Now I'm playing La-Mulana 2. I've used a guide less than 10 times since I started playing this game, and oftentimes I only looked up very specific small things(like the location of the breakable wall to access the room where you get the moon mantra: I knew the moon mantra was there somewhere for a while, and once I was in the room I instantly solved the small puzzle to get the moon mantra). I think it's partly because the game is more accessible, yeah, but I also think I've gotten better at the kind of puzzles that La-Mulana wants you to solve.

[@chrism5215]

I see La Mulana, I watch La Mulana, I thumbs up La Mulana. Sorry, I'm a simple man.

[@Philitron128]

Dude I didn't get any notifications for this at all. Believe you me when I say that I would have killed a man to watch even one single second of your content.

[@SoulBL4D3]

the section at 14:02 with the pyramids has more to it, you learn that the pyramid of the sun is a "man" and the pyramid of the moon a "woman" the tablet tells you it is forbidden to attack inside the woman NOT the entire area, also as soon as you climb out of the moon pyramid you see some regular enemies you are free to whack with a weapon without being smited. In a weird way being punished for swinging your weapon around and the confirmation that the moon pyramid is referenced as "woman" is confirmation you need for the maternity statue puzzle.

[@roujiteku2114]

Be my eyes deceive me? A Flimsii video? A Christmas fucking miracle. Great video.

[@CapitalistOverlord]

blast from the past

[@xOCT4VIOx]

holy shit punished flimsii returns

[@Shashoification]

Good to see you flims

[@ThisismineIguess]

My fingers can't stop the muscle memory of the original version's grapple claw. It is *scoured* into my brain.

[@Skullnaught]

Oh shit he's back

[@ignotumperignotius630]

You had me at "La"

[@matthewball9851]

holy shit he's back

[@eirikpettersen3257]

My La Mulana run ended about 20 hours in, when I tried to beat the running lizard boss on hard mode without proper gear. Absolute nightmare, it completely broke me.

[@jealousyofthesun]

Kept us waiting huh

[@cocosiano]

im 25 minutes into this, and i feel like my brain is melting.

[@Seratuhl]

HE LIVES

[@mister-monkeyman]

Only real OG niggas here

[@Teshkul]

good luck man

[@koltvienzzaichard7307]

18:30 , you have no idea, how this, blew my mind when you discovered something later in the game after completing a huge side puzzle in Ancient Chaos. All the map layouts are related to the pictures you saw at the first time you entered the area, the map layout of the Roots of Yggdrasil is the same as the picture of the Yggdrasil you've been given when you first enter the area, even the tablets you read scattered over the same area has a picture of the Roots of Yggdrasil in the bottom left of the screen, seriously, I have to look every map and see if they're all the same, to my shock, they are, now it makes sense why the Takagamahara Shrine is explicitly connected to the Heaven's Labyrinth, you can see in the trial itself that, the "neck" of the colossal dragon (Literally the layout of the Takagamahara Shrine itself) is at the "jaws" of the fiend monster (Literally the layout of the Heaven's Labyrinth itself) Blew my mind too much, knowing I ran through the levels of the layout in the pictures you've seen when you entered the area.

[@Danerboots]

Welcome back

[@1PROFITPROPHET1]

Ben shot back up the belltower at full speed

[@caementicium284]

I'd heard all about La Mulana and decided it's not for me for most of the criticisms you outlined, but it still sounds interesting. Knowing that the sequel actually fixes those issues means I'll probably play it now when I wouldn't have before. Cheers for the recommendation and welcome back.

[@KuroOnehalf]

Have fun! If you get really stuck, ask for a hint on the steam forums. Folks are usually happy to help.

[@huge_letters]

wtf dude welcome back

[@theawesome288]

Holy shit he's back

[@pepekong]

Regarding the first boss from the first game, don't ask me how but that was like the fourth boss I fought lmao

[@Perckq]

HE'S ALIVE

[@CarlosSilva-bh4bi]

4:15 Yeah, La Mulana is the dark souls of Metroidvania

[@kayame18]

11:40 feeling called out for being dumb because I didn't realize I could go to the lower part of the roots after hours of exploring treetop

[@chrisjags]

La Mulana 2 was the best game I played this year. I loved it, but I can't convince anyone I know to play it.

[@WillBoy182]

He's back [BLOOD SUGAR INTENSIFIES]

[@TheOblomoff]

I never considered achievements as trustworthy source. Some buy a game for collection or to support the developer or get gifted it. And never actually launch the game. Some games have even achievements like 'finish your first match' and only about 66% obtained it.

[@AstralPhnx]

Also worth noting, the best version of La Mulana 1 is... Sadly the now delisted PS Vita version La Mulana EX which has improved puzzle design, better hints, a glossary etc. I dunno if this is the version they later ported to switch but I don't think it is which is gutting

[@BreezePlease]

Where’s the Necromancer? There’s gotta be one somewhere because FLIMSII IS BACK FROM THE DEAD!

[@didma]

16:14 megaman

[@TheArmenianHorseman]

This is amazing

[@BlondeMcGuinn]

Thank you for the in-depth review! This game looks awesome! I haven’t played the first one and I’m really reluctant to buy this one even though it looks fun. The obscure puzzles turn me off. There is great satisfaction to be had in figuring shit out for yourself but the frustration in being stuck is awful. I don’t mind consulting guides but I fear I might be watching a walkthrough my entire time in the game. I might give it a go.

[@Evideclin]

Any updates?

[@seriousdraw]

Flimsii confirmed

[@BalrogQuote]

Heh, who needs the manual for La Mulana 1 when you can just walk through the wall by accident? Truly, the real way to solve that puzzle.

[@alexbrzeski4822]

this makes me want to pick up la mulana 2 again, but id be lost as fuck on my save file. feels bad man

[@FludentAnis]

Kept us waiting, huh?

[@BigVorst]

He's always been Flimsii... But now he's Gonesii.

[@cpnCarnage666]

what an amazing video

[@GopherChomper]

10:07 really channeling your inner egoraptor ala his MegaMan X explanation with you comment. “Reinforcing a previously learned lesson? Why I never!” Lmao good job that type of review style and simplicity in explanation of a concept is what makes for good reviews. Say the complicated thing you mean in simple terms, a sign of usually truly understanding a concept. Great work.

[@hyrulianeffery]

Great video, seriously sparked my interest in these games Do you have any advice for getting into La Mulana 1 aside from reading the manual?

[@goetworks]

OH MY GOD

[@grrsa]

Now I want to play it even though I'd suck at it.

[@GEORGESmith-xb3ll]

Word

[@averagewagon7574]

be not afraid

[@AstralPhnx]

La Mulana 1 kicking your balls in is part of the charm for me tbh. I appreciate the second game being more open though and would recommend new players play that before 1 but I feel both games are worth playing. La Mulana is a game that teaches you to be careful and I like that Also yes, the gun is great

[@LudiFGC]

YESSSSS

[@tannic4852]

So......... you gonna address the 3 YEARS!?!?? WHERE IS MY THE WALKING DEAD SIERIS

[@FuryousD]

honestly playing through 2 i haven't been able to figure out how to even get into the Roots of Yggdrasil, at least i figured out how to enter the Gates Of Guidance pre damn easily i might add although i needed this video to figure out how to get the Holy Grail since yea i didn't own the original so no manual to look at

[@KingBendrick]

now this is what I call epic 1998

[@Walpurgisnackt]

I hated 1 so I never tried 2 so this is really helpful to know

[@RuffRidersEvo]

Come back bro we miss you

[@tamacat920]

LETS GOOOOOOO