Brad's Nightmare

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Even a hint master shouldn't know the future.

-Postliminary Terry

Brad's Nightmare is a secret location exclusive to the Definitive Edition of LISA: The Painful. It consists of a very long exploration sequence, ending with an extremely difficult and dangerous boss fight. It is accessed by resting at the first campfire in the game near Brad's House after collecting everything needed for the boat in Area 3, in addition to finishing the race against Chris Columbo. It is recommended to come into this area prepared with plenty of high quality items, notably TP restoring items.

Layout/Guide

The Cliffs

"My Childhood Dog" as seen in the overworld. Note the missing Balloon.

Upon starting the dream sequence, Brad wakes up next to the campfire as normal, but seemingly at night. However, reading any of Terry's Hints will simply spit out gibberish that can't be read. Walking right will lead to coming across a repeat of the fight with Cheese Legs from the start of the game, now renamed to "My Childhood Dog". Brad will be trapped in a loop in this area until he jumps off the cliff where Cheese Legs was, as the balloon is not present in the dream version of the cliffs. He will wake up next to the campfire again, this time with the Hint reading "Wake Up".

The Hints in the surrounding area also change to spell out the phrase "Can you see me?" one word at a time. Brad will be stuck in a loop here for a while, needing to continue left, hearing the sound of a baby crying get louder and louder until finally reaching the source of the cries, Buddy. Walking up to her makes her suddenly run away with a warped, empty-eyed expression towards the area near his house.

Brad's House

Additional "Joy Farmers" on the approach to the house.

Terry as he appears in the Nightmare.

Buddy's sword on top of a pile of what appears to be wood and flowers.

When reaching Brad's House, the sky will change to be lighter and full of stars. Just outside of Brad's House there will be what appears to be several Joy Mutants, with one of them holding a rake and tapping it on the ground; a lot of them seem to be wearing Rando's cut off face. Continuing left will lead to seeing Buddy's sabre on top of a pile of flowers and what appears to be wood, possibly from the Bloodmoon Tree. Even farther left, Brad can see a deformed version of Terry in fetal position. Neither of these can be interacted with. It is also possible for this "Nightmare Terry" to not be present at all, leaving a just a pile of blood in his place.

The (even more) monstrous version of Brad's Mutant Form.

Going inside of Brad's House reveals a blue door in the basement, which leads to some long corridors lined with flowers. Brad will eventually come across a vision of Rando and Buddy. They will turn to him and shortly after transform into Marty and Lisa before disappearing. As Brad leaves this room, he will be ambushed by a monstrous vision of his own Joy Mutant form. He will wake back up near the campfire once more, this time with a thunderstorm taking place. The Hint near the fire now reads "Don't Wake Up". Walking left from here, Brad will come across a very tall rope. Climbing the rope will eventually reset your position. If you encounter the golden beams or you are moved, climb back down to continue to the next part of the dream.

Neighborhood

The Crow of Remembrance in battle.

The Crow after transforming into "Bernard".

After coming down from the rope ladder, the very first cutscene of the game will replay, but this time, when the camera cuts in, Brad will be standing alone at night, on the playground. Walking to the left will lead to a Save Crow. However, trying to save at it will cause it to turn hostile, and start an encounter with the "Crow of Remembrance". Partway through this fight, the crow's head will turn into a deformed version of Buzzo's, and the enemy's name will change to "Bernard". For the remainder of the fight, Buzzo's head will animate by looking back and forth randomly and making short, singular laughs. Buzzo will spend the rest of the fight inflicting Brad with as many status ailments as possible until the end of the fight.

The Joy Masks "worshiping" the moon above Marty's House.

Walking to the right will lead to the neighborhood from the start of the game. Eventually, the camera will pan over, revealing a swarm of spider-like Joy Masks surrounding Marty's house, seemingly worshiping the moon directly above it. Going farther right still will lead to a lone man with long grey hair. Listening to him speak, it can be assumed this man is a vision of Brad and Lisa's Grandfather.

The man assumed to be Brad and Lisa's grandfather.

Upon entering his old house, Marty will notice Brad, turn the TV off and throw a bottle at Brad's head without saying anything. Going upstairs, Brad cannot enter any door except his own, where he will see a version of Marty that appears to be made of Joy sitting on his bed. A long, strange conversation will take place with him, with Marty gradually decomposing as it continues. Once Marty no longer has a head, Brad may leave to enter the other rooms. Checking Lisa's room will show her hanged among some flowery vines, with a branch in the shape of a pointing hand following Brad wherever he walks. Entering Marty's room will lead to the next part of the nightmare.

Crimson Sea

The Nightmare continues into a dark room with a floor made of blood, similar to the hallucination Brad has of Sticky earlier in the game. Upon reaching the center of this room, Marty's face becomes visible off in the distance, speaking to Brad. It is then revealed to be a part of an enormous fleshy mound, identical to an appearance he takes in Lisa the First. This leads into a long, arduous, multi-stage fight against Manifestation of Marty. Brad will call upon many Gang Members to help; not just the party he selects up front. This fight is extremely difficult, and can potentially take hours of your time if you are unfamiliar with the game's systems and how to utilize them to their fullest.

It should also be noted any Gang Member taken into this fight is almost GUARANTEED to die permanently, so if you want to keep a specific party for exploring after or simply want a specific party present for the ending, refrain from using them here or save to a different slot after beating it.

Defeating this boss will lead to Brad waking up in front of the now blacked-out Marty mound, as a child. There will be a vein extending down below. He can interact with this to climb down it like a rope. A short poem will be heard while very slowly climbing down, until eventually reaching complete darkness. Here, a memory of a conversation between Brad and Lisa plays out.

The small Manifestation of Marty.

Brad will then awake as an adult again, in front of another rope in an outdoor area. Don't worry, this one is climbed much faster than a normal rope. This will lead back to the Crimson Sea, where one last conversation will take place with a tiny version of the Marty blob, claiming that Brad will never be rid of him as he's "In [his] veins". Brad finally snaps awake for real, in the same place the game started, next to the tree Terry was stuck in. All changes to Brad's Gang that took place while in the dream will mysteriously remain, including all of the "consumed" Gang Members being missing. Revisiting the campfire that started it all will reveal the surrounding area is covered in blood.