Soundtrack: La-Mulana — sounding out a past that never existed, in 8-bit memory

Introduction — sounding out a past that never existed, in 8-bit memory

La-Mulana is an exploration-driven puzzle-action game released by NIGORO in 2013 (see Komugi's review; difficulty rated "Oni," the site's top tier, with an estimated 45-hour clear time). Its music was written by Takumi Naramura and Houryū Samejima (per the English Wikipedia, as of 2026-09). Going back to the original 2006 freeware release, these tracks are deliberately built as a tribute to 1980s MSX home computer games.

Here's what I find fascinating. The story is set in the ruins of an impossibly advanced ancient civilization that supposedly existed long ago. A past that never existed, holding technology that never existed either. The music running under it isn't the sound of a real MSX at all — it's a memory built after the fact, an answer to "what would an MSX have sounded like." A nonexistent past, voiced in the manner of a memory that never existed either. La-Mulana (Steam store page)

How did a track manage to stay un-boring through the site's hardest-rated puzzles?

La-Mulana carries this site's top difficulty rating, "Oni" (see the review). Its hints are deliberately unhelpful, so getting stuck means walking back into the same room again and again — a design built around dying repeatedly and retracing the same corridor.

In August 2009, developer NIGORO ran a reader questionnaire about the music on its own blog (la-mulana.com, 2009-08-22). A reader named "io" wrote this about the exploration theme "Mr. Explorer": "Even you die or lost a life in the game, the music makes you like and try again and it's not boring."

It's also worth noting how track titles double as room labels. In that same thread, composer Naramura himself confirms that the early area "Guidance Gate" is scored by "Fearless Challenger." However many dozens of times you walk back into that room, the track's own name keeps telling you not to be afraid. La-Mulana (Steam store page)

Why did "Curse of Iron Pipe" have to be rewritten?

In that same 2009 blog post, Naramura makes another candid admission. About the fan-favorite track "Curse of IRON PIPE," he writes that it "misappropriates a part of the music of a certain game," and promises that "a part of the tune will be changed in the Wii version" (la-mulana.com, 2009-08-22). The English Wikipedia identifies the source as a track from the doujin game Ashguine II (as of 2026-09).

I think this little episode fits the game perfectly. La-Mulana is a story about faking the traces of an ancient civilization that never actually existed. The music, trying to build "the sound an MSX would have made," ended up leaning a little too close to a tune someone had actually made. A fabricated past accidentally overlapped with a real one. The story's own structure and an accident from the middle of production turned out to have the same shape.

How does a long dwell time balance against a short musical loop?

In La-Mulana, the time you spend in any one room can run long — tens of minutes, sometimes hours, rereading the same handful of wall carvings. But the music loop itself is short. That gap ought to be exactly the kind of thing that breeds irritation.

It doesn't, and I think that's because the loops are written to push forward like a march rather than sink into a minor key. I have a habit of measuring every piece of music in BPM, and this series' theme tracks all run fast and bouncy. That's not a tempo built for long thinking — and yet it works the other way, nudging you toward "come on, get moving." It's the exact opposite answer from games that make you wait in silence, like The Witness or Taiji.

Tracks worth hearing

The official release is NIGORO's own "La-Mulana Original Sound Track" series on Bandcamp (composed by Takumi Naramura / Houryū Samejima).

・LA-MULANA ↗ — the track carrying the album's own title. Its confident theme is the face of the ruins-exploring main story.

・Fearless Challenger ↗ — the theme for the early area "Guidance Gate," confirmed by the composer's own blog comment.

・Mr. Explorer ↗ — the exploration theme a reader praised in 2009 as "the track that makes you want to try again even after you die."

Closing — what I'd steal

Here's what I'd steal. For a game that keeps you in one place for a long time, reach for a forward-marching tempo rather than a melody that sinks — don't let the music's own darkness stand in for boredom.

One more thing worth keeping. Building "nostalgia" always carries some risk of borrowing a little too much from a real memory. In 2009, Naramura admitted it himself and promised to fix it. A game built around a fabricated past owes its audio, of all things, some honesty about where the sound actually came from.

References

・Steam: La-Mulana (official store page, NIGORO)

・NIGORO — La-Mulana Original Soundtrack [Remaster] (official Bandcamp)

・la-mulana.com: A questionnaire about LA-MULANA music (2009-08-22, includes composer Naramura's own comments)

・Wikipedia: La-Mulana (MSX-tribute design, composer credits)