The fact that undertale is more popular than this masterpiece hurts my heart.

• Developers: Dingaling
  
• Publishers: Dingaling Productions LLC
  
• Initial release: Dec 2014
  
• Genre: RPG, Dark, Humor
  
• #Worth/NotWorth: #AbsolutelyWorth

LISA got me all sorts of stressed though...

LISA: The painful RPG is a western take on the established formula of the traditional turn/party based JRPG.

LISA is about a man named Brad. Unlucky in life, in more ways than one; He finds himself in a world devoid of women, a true “Children of Men” situation. However he happens upon a young child whom he adopts as his own. As if you'd never guess, she is kidnapped and our adventure begins.

Mechanics
Retro styled, two dimensional worldscape with different plains to explore. 4 person party, extra people to choose from for almost any play style. Some characters use SP while other use TP. SP must be recharged though resting or use of items. TP is charged through doing basic attacks or getting hit. Additionally there are characters, including Brad himself, that use a combo system to enter in special attacks. Of course, they can also be selected from a skills list should you desire that method. If you've ever played the game “Legend of Legaia” it's a very similar system.

The Perma-Death is real, at least for your party members. Many events in the story cause the death of party members; There are even some enemies that can insta-kill. There is definitely some RNG at play and “save scumming” is definitely a viable strategy for these sections and to be fair this aspect is going to push a lot of people away. However, these areas are not that egregious and the story itself far outweighs those frustrations. Another thing that is relatively unforgiving is that fact you very easily can fall off of cliffs and get a game over. Well.. I hoped you saved recently.

Each character has a relatively unique aspect such as Jack and Birdie, two of my favorites. Jack, a magician still learning the trade has skills related to failed magic tricks which often grant random status effects. And Birdie, a posthumous drunk who gains stat buffs relating to drinking alcohol and has attacks regarding stumbling around as well as buying drinks for everyone for health regen as a support character.

There is also a mechanic that is rather story driven with Brad being addicted to a drug called “Joy” which I'll leave for you to discover.

Story
The story is very dark but remains humorous. So long as you think committing a copious amount of murder to save someone has a certain unique irony to it. The story telling is VERY good. It's extremely effective. There is a sequence of events roughly half way through that made me feel very icky. To the point where I almost (quite literally) stood aghast at the scene before me. The ending is also quite something to behold. The journey there is nothing short of dramatic.

The soundtrack is also rather dashing if I do say so myself. Ironic when it needs to be and adventurous when you need a push. It reminded me of something that sort of gave the vibe of “Pulp Fiction” set it a “Mad Max” setting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5HKVNo9bSs

THE GIST
Really fantastic RPG. I had heard many things about this game but I wasn't expecting to be so enraptured by its unnerving charm. I wholeheartedly think you should take the time to play this one.

Follow my curation for more

I've got the Joy
Joy
Joy
Joy
Down in my heart...

Finally, a Fallout-esque concept done right.

In a world where women have disappeared, a baby girl suddenly appears and shatters the manly harmony. Can Chuck Norris disillusioned drug addict Brad do what is right to save humanity from extinction, or will he bring doom and destruction to the world? Or maybe both?

Lisa is a post-apocalyptic RPG that can be dark at times (particularly towards the end), but is mostly weird and funny. It's often compared to Undertale, but apart from the obvious Earthbound inspiration and great soundtrack, they don't really have much in common.

+ Eccentric and overly "manly" setting, with many fun characters and situations
+ Lots trippy / unsettling scenes and monsters
+ An actually balanced implementation of RPG Maker's default battle system, for once
+ Somewhat open exploration and hidden secrets
+ Choice and consequences, multiple endings
+ Hard mode with limited save points, asking you to plan ahead
+ Amazing soundtrack (which also has some narrative aspects)

- Falling from cliffs, seriously they're as deadly as in Dark Souls
- Somewhat limited consequences of choices outside of gameplay repercussions
- Dark / Gay-ish humour that might not be for everyone (though I find it hilarious)

8/10 Get this if you want a strange humour-centric RPG. Get the DLC as well, since it expands on the ending.

Hotline Miami posed a very important question, one that I believe resonates with this game. Richard's inquiries to Jacket seem to echo throughout this game, and I caught myself wondering about Richard's questions more and more as the game progressed...

LISA is a game about hurt. You play as Brad, a middle-aged nobody residing in the wastes of a ruined world. Brad lives with his lifelong friends in the middle of nowhere. Olathe, the name given to Brad's homeland before everything was destroyed, is sparse with human life, rife with monsters, and is entirely devoid of women. All except for Buddy.

"Where are we right now?"

LISA is a game about hurt. People will hurt Brad. People will hurt each other. Brad will hurt people. Brad will hurt. It's not uncommon to hurt, especially when it's the end of the world. Although, even in the end of the world people don't like to hurt. Maybe you'll take Joy and forget about all the pain and hurt, because Joy helps you forget - at least temporarily. Plus, when you can forget about everything that makes you so pathetic, then you can truly become strong. Besides, you're not the only one using Joy, and Joy has virtually no side effects - save for withdrawal.

"Why are we having this conversation?"

LISA is a game about hurt. The game begs the question of whether or not a few strong men can save the world from a sea of dip♥♥♥♥♥. Are you a strong man? Will you do the right thing?

LISA is a game about hurt, so you need to ask yourself something...

"Do you like hurting other people?"

Lisa did Joy before it was cool. 10/10

play as an old fat dude who can't jump. pretty great game, would reccommend.

75 minutes into the game.

I gave away my first party member to thugs in order to keep my jerky.

I set a bunch of orphans on fire.

10/10

The game that makes you feel self loathing and depression like no other, while somehow still being really funny.

I don't know if that is a good thing or not.

Mad Max: Fury Road meets EarthBound