Confirm to me I should play this version and not EX

[galneon]

I started La Mulana EX on my PSTV the other day. I bought it because I have an obsession with owning the definitive version of any game I could feel like playing someday. I've played a couple hours of the PC version and an hour of the Vita version. What I've noticed so far is the Vita version has immersion-breaking signs for morons, and the audio quality is far worse despite me playing both versions through the same speakers. If EX does not have radically more content, I cannot fathom why I would play it when I could play the PC version on my wonderful Saturn controller with superior sound, no dumb signs, and point scaling instead of fuzzy 720p->1080p up-conversion.

Is the PC version the one for me?

[Sicris]

To my knowledge the only new content EX has is the beastiary. Other than that nothing new. My suggestion is to play both PC versions, the original and the remake since both actually have differences; puzzles are different, half the boss fights are different, hell temple is different, etc. Although you may have to get used to the controls in the original and rebind the jump key to a button instead of the up direction.

[galneon]

That seals it. Thanks!

[MoeHartman]

I played about 15 hours or so of the Steam version and maybe 20 hours of the Vita version, and they really aren't very different from each other at all. Basically all of the signs that you mention from the Vita version are in the surface area, so I don't think it's a valid complaint, honestly, but I guess you wouldn't know that if you didn't get further into the game. Other than that, they pretty much look and play the same. One or two puzzles have been made slightly harder or easier. They claimed that they made the entire game accessible from the beginning, but the only difference that I recall is that the Spring in the Sky no longer requires a weight for entry. Then again, I got quite a bit farther on my Vita play, so there may be some differences that I was not aware of, but based on the Wiki, it seems to be mostly the same.

I prefer the Vita version, personally, because of the bestiary and also the fact that you can play on TV or on the go (if you own a Vita and a PSTV). Also, the translation to English has been improved, but the PC version wasn't bad in the first place, so that's pretty minor. I can't say that I noticed any major difference in the visuals, myself. You are right, though, that the sound seems to be worse. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter which version you play, so if you don't care about the bestiary and/or find the audiovisuals to be noticeably worse on the Vita, the Steam version would be fine, too.

Edit: It just occurred to me that another reason I prefer the Vita version is that La Mulana on PC doesn't always seem to recognize my controller, even though Windows says the controller is working correctly. It only works reliably with the Steam controller, which doesn't feel as good to me as the DS4 for this game, but your mileage may vary.

[Vil]

I'd say the Vita version is overall slightly more polished and streamlined:

- Several tablet hint locations were shuffled around to be more intuitive (though the main difficulty in several late-game puzzles remains finding the hints moreso than interpreting them)
- There are a lot more visual cues for things that used to just be a subtle offscreen thump or onscreen appearance
- Early-game money feels more plentiful
- A few hints were clarified (black and white witches comes to mind)
- A few design traps like Spring in the Sky entrance weight are gone

And there are a few deliberate changes that were less streamlining and more gotchas for experienced players, such as a few things in Gate of Illusion and reworking half the locations to use the mantras (which is no problem to anyone who understood the underlying logic since the logic didn't change).

But in terms of substantial new content? Really just the bestiary. There are also three new e-mails I suppose.

I nevertheless think it's a more definitive version of the game than the Steam PC release if both of them are options for you. My main complaint is that it has to be played on Vita with its tiny buttons that I fat-finger. And maybe sound quality though I'm not sure how much of that is the game and how much is the Vita.

I'd love to see the Vita version ported back to PC though that's probably a pipe dream.