One of the games I played earlier this year was Lisa: The Painful RPG - and what a game it is. After seeing it appear in the 'let's all the trailers' video, I though it would be justified making a thread on it.
BACKGROUND
As far as I'm aware, Lisa is a trilogy of games by Dingaling - Lisa: The First, Lisa: The Painful RPG, and Lisa: The Joyful. However, while Lisa: The First is more of an exploration-based game (think Yume Nikki), both The Painful and The Joyful are sidescrolling RPGs. I've only ever played The Painful however, so this post will only be based on that game.
STORY
Set in a post-apocalyptic future in which women have vanished and everyone's gone mad, you play as Brad - a poncho-wearing karate instructor with a whole lot of guilt and a whole lot less hair. One day, to his surprise, he finds a baby girl while walking in the midst of the wastelands. Naming her Buddy, he keeps her away from the world out of fear as she grows up. However, despite his best efforts, Buddy is found and kidnapped, and now Brad must find the missing girl at any cost.
However, as the game marches on, it's revealed there is much more to the plot than just that...
PAIN
One of Lisa's key features is the way it handles choices - rather than tie into story, it instead ties into gameplay (though it does dip into the story department a slight bit). For example, one of the first choices in the game is
either give up all your items or your only party member at that point.
From there, the choices only get more and more harder, hence the title - The Painful RPG.In addition, the story itself is interesting - while centered around dark humor, underneath is a tragic tale dealing with themes of depression, guilt, and the cycle of abuse. As a result, Lisa is able to throw curveballs at you when you least expect it. For one example of such mood swings,
one town you go to is a cult of people worshipping an obvious McDonalds expy known as Wally's. While it starts off funny and innocent (if a bit weird), it slowly descends into uncomfortable territory as you start to see the true intentions of the restaurant.
JOY
While the game can be hard, the battle mechanics itself are actually decent - they are based off more traditional RPGs such as Dragon Quest (turn-based, with staples such as gear and status effects), but due to how encounters are set up (each and every one of them are unique), grinding is non-existent. There are many party members able to be recruited to aide in Brad's journey - some questionable human - but all of them bring their own unique skills to the table to play with. Anyone that's played Lisa will tell you
Terry will forever be the true god, and that if you give him up you are a terrible person.
In addition, side quests are scattered about, giving a closer look into the weird, weird world of Lisa.However, what sets Lisa apart from other RPGs is the 2D perspective, using this to portray the vastness of Olathe. Lisa is also a bit Metroidvania-esque in a few ways. Examples include the game being extremely open, an abundance of secrets, and that while walking is the only option at first, the player gets upgrades to get places faster later on.
GROOVY BEATS
Another of Lisa: The Painful RPG's key features is its amazing ost. The music is weird, heart-pumping, and overall top-notch. Honestly, just take a listen to a few of the tracks.
With around 80 tracks, the music is a joy for the entire game.
END
Overall, Lisa is an amazing game worth any attention it can get. It can get a bit overboard with its difficulty at times
(SATAN)
, but makes it up by being both funny and tragic, something that games could use a bit more of.