LISA: The Joyful – Definitive Edition (NSP, XCI) ROM + v1.4 Update

LISA: The Joyful – Definitive Edition is the sequel and expansion to the 2014 game, LISA: The Painful RPG, and the conclusion of the LISA game series. It follows the story of Buddy after the events of the second game. It was released on 25 August 2015.  This game is the soul-shaking finale of the eccentric side-scrolling RPG series, LISA. Roam Olathe as you seek retribution against a world that has wronged you. Along the journey, unravel the mysteries of this peculiar realm, your kin, and the influential beasts and men who wield power. With the world against you… it’s time to reclaim it. The Definitive Edition breathes new life into the game with enhanced visuals, a 120 FPS mode, revamped combat systems, 6 fresh Warlord abilities, artistic border overlays, additional music tracks, an in-game music player (including tracks from LISA: The First), Painless (Story) mode, and undisclosed secrets to unveil.

PLOT

The game’s DLC chapter takes place immediately after the end of the second game. Rando recovers from the fatal injuries inflicted upon him by Brad, and accompanies Buddy as she tries to become the most powerful person in Olathe: by killing the warlords ruling it, despite Rando’s disapproval. Following Buddy’s slaughter of a village inhabited by pacifists, Rando leaves Buddy presumably due to his distaste for the senselessness of the violence she seeks to unleash upon Olathe. Rando is subsequently captured by a man by the name of Bolo Bugaughtiichi, who utilizes him as bait in an ultimately unsuccessful effort to capture and rape Buddy.

Regardless of player choice, Bolo is unsuccessful, and is killed: either by Buddy or by a mutated creature nicknamed “Sweetheart”. If Sweetheart kills Bolo, a horribly injured Rando reveals that he was behind the kidnapping in an attempt to keep Buddy safe and protected. Buddy, in a violent rage, kills Rando. Afterwards, Buddy suffers from various hallucinations, implied to be the byproduct of taking Joy, such as seeing Brad and Rando. After defeating all of the game’s warlords, Buddy confronts Dr. Yado, a trumpet-playing professor who appears in secret locations in The Painful, but cannot be interacted with.

Yado, a mad scientist who created Joy, and likely caused the Flash, used Buzzo to spread Joy throughout Olathe in an attempt to destroy civilization and rule the world. The last part of his plan is to murder Buddy, the one force strong enough to bring him down. Buddy is suddenly ambushed by Sweetheart, but is saved by Buzzo, who informs her that Yado has a vaccine that can prevent her from becoming a Joy Mutant. After Yado’s defeat, he begins to verbally confront Buddy, revealing himself to be her biological father, and asserts that he has control over her. He is suddenly killed by a horribly injured Buzzo, who renounced both of their evil actions.

Buzzo explains that he was formerly Lisa’s lover, and blamed Brad for failing to prevent his father’s abuse, which eventually led to Lisa’s suicide. This is what made him torment Brad throughout The Painful. After insisting that Brad was Buddy’s true father and a good man, he mutates due to his own secret Joy use, and commits suicide via biting off his own neck. The player then has to make a final choice. Buddy is due to mutate regardless of the player’s Joy use. Buddy can choose to take or refuse the vaccine, which stops Joy’s mutagenic effects. Either choice ends the game with a cutscene that changes depending on what was selected.

STORY

LISA: THE JOYFUL begins with a flashback to the time in which Buddy is still under Brad’s care. Brad kidnaps an unknown man after knocking him out and tying him up, and drags him back into their house. He forces Buddy to kill the stranger in order to teach her how to fight. Flash forward to right after the ending of THE PAINFUL, where a mutated Brad is possibly attempting to kill Buddy. The young girl wakes up and is forced to defend herself against the man who used to care for her, until Buzzo stops the fight and somehow takes Brad with him, leaving Buddy by herself. Buddy heads toward Eastern Olathe with nowhere else to go.

ENDINGS

Buddy takes the vaccine and does not transform into a mutant. Using Yado’s horn, she culls the mutant hordes and brings a semblance of peace back to Olathe. Buddy buries Rando and proceeds to conceive a son, although the father is unknown. Mutant Brad is present as well, although his role is unknown, along with another grave, which most likely belongs to Buzzo. Buddy is seen standing in the same valley as the Vaccinated ending, but she is a towering mutant instead. Mutant Brad is seen torn in half, with each half thrown to opposite ends of the valley. Mutant Buddy is seen looming over Dustin’s corpse, obsessing over something as all Joy Mutants do.

KEY FEATURES

• Acquire novel disguises and confound pursuers.
• Utilize Buddy’s agility to dash and leap across great distances! Exploit the environment to ambush foes.
• Subdue the warlords of Olathe and exploit their skills to your advantage.
• Traverse uncharted regions and battle unique adversaries.
• Unearth multiple story conclusions.
• Amplify your strikes with Buddy’s reimagined timed attacks.
• Immerse yourself in over 20 new tunes through the Music Player.
• Unveil the enigmatic Secrets of Joy.