The вЂњcombo dialвЂќ further reinforces these concepts. Take Birdie Hall, a drunk who can spritz flammable alcohol on your enemies. Most party members are themed around their combat mechanic. Once theyвЂ™re dead, the world is a little quieter. It gives you the impression that these arenвЂ™t nameless, infinitely respawning вЂњraiders,вЂќ these are people. The turn-based combat is visually stale with slight variations of a few base attacks, but the combo dial, move sets, and sound design are truly something to behold.ДЄlmost every human character in LISA: The Painful has a name and a unique move set. You collect loot and power-ups to turn the tide of battle. Every element of exploration ultimately contributes to combat. Combat occurs in a separate turn-based void. You explore the world through side-scrolling platforming, finding allies, looting objects, and coming upon enemies. LISA: The Painful plays similarly to Earthbound. When raiders kidnap the girl and bring her to the greatest warlord in the wasteland, Brad gathers an army and starts killing everyone in his way.

As years pass, Brad hordes his adoptive daughter, hiding her from the outside and a world of post-apocalyptic perverts. One day, Brad finds a baby girl while numbing himself in the desert wasteland. In the aftermath of an unspecified apocalypse, all women have disappeared from the earth. You play Brad Armstrong, a miserable man damaged by an abusive father, broken by those he couldnвЂ™t protect, and numbed by Joy, a wonder drug. ItвЂ™s hard to believe one person could be responsible for so much content, quality writing, sprites, and a 90-track OST. Even after playing through several times, I still get goosebumps at the best moments. Moreover, LISA: The Painful has some of the most emotionally impactful moments IвЂ™ve experienced in an RPG. It seamlessly merges combat and story, intertwining them and even fusing them together. LISA: The Painful takes the traditional elements of a post-apocalypse (mutants, raiders, drugs) then wraps it in a bundle of human suffering and ties it off with a ribbon of offbeat humor. ItвЂ™s the closest thing I can think of to post-apocalyptic perfection.

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