What Happens in Lisa: The Hopeful? - Full Story Analysis

Well this is was a surprise. Thanks for checking out the game, I really enjoyed the video -- especially the discussion of the themes of the story throughout (extra-especially the conclusion at the end). Nothing makes me happier as a creator than a critical analysis and deconstruction of what I tossed into the world.

Thanks so much again for playing and putting out this video, and I hope you get a chance to enjoy the Hopeless when it's done. I'm excited for people to see it. 🙏

someone else did a phenomenal essay on this in these comments, but, I think the biggest thing that makes the Rodriguez route the best is what he says in the final camp scene, what he wants out of all of this. He wants a family. He doesn't want to rape and impregnate a woman for the sake of "saving the world," he wants to find someone to fall in love with, and fix his mistake of bailing on his first family, to try again. But the reality is, he has his family at the end. They rode across the wasteland together, fought together, lost together, won together, and in the end, died together. Maybe if the girl helped them, nothing would have happened to her. but she couldn't know that. What's important, what matters, is they had the best god damn road trip of a lifetime. They found family in eachother. Sure, they died in the end, but everyone does. What's better? An ending where beltboy suffers in misery alone for the rest of his life, protecting a girl he doesn't care about because it's the right thing to do, having left behind his friends a second time? Or an ending where he got to protect the girl from Hart, vicariously making up for his past mistake, and die happy with his best friends. His real best friends forever. It's hardly a reward, but, really, the journey itself was the reward. I'll respect people thinking Beltboy ending is the best, but I think the Rodriguez route does actually reject Hart's philosophy. In the end, they aren't really doing it for the girl. They aren't really tearing eachother apart for the right to rape someone. Sure, they say that, but at its core, it's because they can't reconcile with Hart's philosophy. Rodriguez's gang is more than a gang. It's a family. Hart's gang is a desperate bid to get laid. So of course they fight. And when it's all over, they laugh as they realize they're going to die, and they realize it was never about the girl, it was about them. And their only regret is that it had to end.

Man... I feel bad for Lanks.

I literally LOVE lisa!!!!!!!!!

Its a bit weird that the best ending comes from you never talking with your friends during the breaks between matches, you would think that openning up and discussing feelings of shame, vulnerability and comraderie would lead to a better ending, I don't get why not talking about your feelings leads to a better ending where you are able to empathize with the girl, feels a bit contradictory.

dude you're such a great story teller

You have such an incredible sense of pacing and barometer for depth! Parts of the video like the first Benny Hallucination segment, where you let the music stand for a second with the imagery of the game and no voiceover; it's something not a lot of video essayists take advantage of, and it really adds to the analysis by helping your viewers feel it, y'know? Then, just the same, you do an excellent job of measuring how much of the game you want to show, as well! Your Fear and Hunger review was what brought me to your channel, and just like this video, felt like the perfect amount of depth, ESPECIALLY after I went on to finish the game and fill in the gaps that your video left. You pick and choose things well, while still creating an incredibly entertaining and scintillating sort of review that offers some genuinely pointed pieces of analysis I don't see very often. Please, keep making more! I'll stay rootin' for ya til you hit a million subs and beyond!

If they make Lisa The Hopeless, i want Benny to have just a sniper cause he wouldn’t be able to carry the mass amounts of weaponry like he had in the hopeful with his injuries, make him have a little something from the others, from oiling the guns to do more damage, to yelling out some insults that function like Liams annoying pokes, to even something from Rodrigues (i cant spell his name correctly) like maybe a secondary action where he shoots the sniper and also a revolver, i think it would be a neat little touch that I personally would Love to see

I find it hilarious, that a tale of a group of fuck-ups, nobodies and losers, that are on the road only to forcibly take the girl for themselves (like anyone else, but that's besides the point), with plenty of downer topics, like nihilism, degeneracy, and some war crimes in-between, is comparably more light-hearted and wacky than the other games from "the main five of LISA", where the rest are about "living" with a parent so monstrous and disgusting, his face is synonymous with torture for main character (The First), trying to find your adopted daughter in female-less world, drowned in perverts and weirdos as a drug addicted failure of a father and a brother, and closed one in general (The Painful), killing the dying world for the sake of ultimate freedom while destroying what little semblances of "order" or "stability" or "sanity" are left as a paranoid, power-hungry and drug-fueled child psychopath (The Joyful), or trying to desperately find a "better place" (whatever it might mean), while trudging through the world of trash and violence, both meaningless in nature, yet still disgusting, omnipresent and very, very gory (The Pointless).

It really says something about LISA as a universe.

I was expecting a bigger backlog of content— I eagerly await your hours of lore explanations for other grim games I’ve never played

seeing liam hanging in the video made me cry.

Great video!
It's been a while since I last checked on the fangames of Lisa series and I happy that people still talk about it.
Also I didn't know that there was different paths when Beltboy dies, so I might try againg Lisa the Hopeful once again

I hope you can make many more of these

Hey my name's Lisa 🤗🤗 this game must be so cute and wholesome 🥰

S P O R T S

So sorry, i, i dont get it... is she implying Lanks was... r...

This was a really nice analysis

I'm a simple man. I see reviews, breakdowns, or analyses of old media, arg, films, indie turn cult following games well I click.

noone remembers Rust Chole 😞

I hope you continue to do more videos like this in the future, just like with the Fear and Hunger analysis videos, they're all super enjoyable. It's honestly surprising to see you've only been active for a year! Keep up the good work :)

Thank for the great video ! Yet again a very interesting and entertaining analysis !

It's been a nice thing to see lately, people actually taking an interest in the struggles that men face. Empathy seemed to be in short supply for most of my (admittedly short, only 22 years so far) life.

I had never heard of Painful before, nor it's associated fangames, but it is a fascinating story. Wormgirl, I love your insight and commentary. Thank you for sharing these works of art with more people, I likely wouldn't have heard of it otherwise

Watching a 90 minute dvd movie? Nah, I rarely feel like doing that.
Watching a 90 minute video about some dark & complex (but ultimately dimly hopeful) themes in a pixel RPG? Aw yeah here we go. The narration struck such a perfect balance between humor, grimness, game mechanics, and story analysis. I was enthralled.

Crushed me. Incredible video

That really looks like the Act Man on the thumbnail.

Great vid! Do you have any creators you can recommend for an analysis on Painful and the follow up?

This was great! Will you be covering other games like the pointless or vegaful?

When the cultist call backup he will summon other cultist that have escaped a fight with you or that are not fought i remember fighting 2 cultist instead of 1 +their leader

I really love the analysis/summary content you make, between fear and hunger and Lisa, your delivery really sets you apart from other people who make this kind of content. Especially in this video, as someone who has a stoic reputation even I teared up at this story and I really don't think I would have if not for your unique way of telling it(well, I'm almost certain I'd tear up too if I played it, but my point still stands!)

I've never even played this or any Lisa games, but the way you told this story.. I was lowkey tearing up how you told the scene where Benny says "friends.. forever.." 😢
You are an excellent narrator/storyteller ❤ I'm getting attached to these characters just by the way you're telling the story. You have a talent deadass! ❤

Thank you for doing these its nice to have these plots lade out like this but your adio mixing is a little of where your vioce is muffled by the music it happened in teremana too but other than that you doing a grat jod Thank you

I'm curious, how do you feel about the story changes in LISA: Definitive Edition? I've heard many VERY different opinions on it.

I love your videos so much. And I especially love the LISA series as well as many others you covered and cannot get enough of your content! Apologies if this question causes any repetition if you were asked this at any time. But do you plan on covering Lisa the Pain & Joyful due to the notable changes made in the definitive? Especially the new ending of Joyful and more character-driven content in Painful. No pressure if you don't plan on covering it! There are a lot of other media and games out there so I don't want to add onto any inadvertent pressure.

Hell yeah brother. You'ree style and quality are a perfect match for analyzing these games

I find it kinda funny how you didn't really make any attempt to explain whatever the hell was going on with the Deep Ones. Like, yeah there's an unexplained Lovecraftian cult of Black Lagoon-esque fish people distinct from the Fishmen with clearly supernatural powers that aren't obviously connected to any of the other supernatural elements in any of the LISA games. Don't worry about it, it's fine.

This is a great video but the way you pronounce "Olathe" is driving me to the brink of insanity

Brad has nothing to do with the examples you listed.

i like how you talk like a teacher
this video is cool

this was such an insane rabbit hole, I came here after watching the funny british guy that likes jojo play Fear and Hunger 2, watched the entirety of your analysis of Fear and hunger (super ace work by the way), then watched his gameplay for Fear and Hunger, FOLLOWED BY the entirety of your analysis for Fear and Hunger 2.

Your analysis of the games you choose are very thorough and unlike most others its extremely digestible. Easily one of the most enjoyable analysis channels that deal with super niche RPG maker-esque games. I really dig it and hope you keep making more! :)

I'm not good at comments, I'll just say I really, really like your coverage of this game, and your conclusion.

I had no idea there were endings besides beltboy

he IS litterally me tho

WE GOT A CHARGER!

so based

as someone who is currently working on a video game myself your videos give me so much inspiration to create. your storytelling and expression of critical analysis is superb and you deserve a million subscribers. thanks for reminding me this site isn’t dogshit. <3