#for my other villains rpg game I'm throwing him in as a character who could potentially be killed by us lol

[dabidagoose]

Love to slap my DND PC against a wall. Throw him in a trash compactor. Dry cycle high heat. So fun to torture

[demonfox38]

Completed: Super Lesbian Animal RPG

Yep!

Did you want to see my Twitch recap for last year?

I know, right? Total loser, being in the top 10% for two categories. (To be fair, it's usually that I'm cooking while I have a speed runner on in the background.) Relevant to this image and review is streamer Punchy, pictured above in my top 5 streamers for the year. While primarily known as a speed runner for survival horror games, dude's got a myriad of games that he routinely runs. Like, over 100.

One of those games being "Super Lesbian Animal RPG."

I know. That's a fucking title right there. Instantly curious, I put Punchy on, watching him go through about fifteen minutes of the run. I probably needed less than five to be sold on the game. I've got a certain weakness for RPG Maker games, to begin with. The colorful visuals, mixed sprite/smooth artwork, and catchy music were also sellers. Probably the thing that made me snort-laugh my way into getting this game is one of the main characters sharing a name with me.

Look, man. I only see Allison come up in video games under two categories: localizers needing to fill out names for random Pokémon foes, and localizers just being weird in general (see: "Totally Rad.") Knowing what I know about Japanese, Allison is a pain in the ass in terms of spelling and pronunciation, especially if you throw honorifics into the mix. Given most of my game choices are either Japanese or built in admiration of Japanese games, I just don't see the name come up a lot. So, I was amused it came up here, of all places.

I suppose it could be a reference to Alison Bechdel, now that I think about it…

If the title "Super Lesbian Animal RPG" isn't self-explanatory as to what the game is about, I don't know what is. In slightly expanded terms, it's a game about a fox name Melody who becomes a paladin in order to aid and protect her girlfriend (Allison) while adventuring around the Sapphire Islands. Things go awry after fellow magician and literal cowgirl Claire attempts to power them up and train them, accidentally gaining the attention of both a misanthropic, anthropomorphized VHS cassette tape and the deity long since vanished from their world. What follows is an adventure in sapphic love, undead cowboy aesthetics, winter wonderlands, and some of the greatest collections of color palettes seen since the 1980s.

"Super Lesbian Animal RPG" is also the professional, copyright un-infringing descendant of a title called "Super Lesbian Horse RPG," a "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" fangame. I only bring it up to give some kind of epiphany/explanation for the aesthetics going on here. The main tower, hometown protector Faith, and the main female villain Verena may also remind you of a few characters from that show. So, if you were like, "Hey, these vibes are—" then YES! Yes, the vibes are.

Being an RPG Maker fangame (specifically, RPG Maker VX Ace), the gameplay is pretty intuitive to anyone familiar with this engine or genre. Battles are telegraphed with moving dark, glitchy blotches on screen (although, dens with random encounters are also made available for grinding.) Combat is taken in turns, allowing the player to input commands before the enemy and your party take swings. There are some considerations here that I find both unique and extremely helpful! For example, the game rewards you with using the party members as their role dictates, granting Star Power for actions like Melody healing, Allison and Claire attacking, and fourth party member Jodie defending others and tanking damage. This Star Power allows access to more powerful combat maneuvers, so it's important to get as much as possible to maximize both damage output, defense, and recovery. Additionally, acting as the game wants you to will also adjust the combatants' actions to be most beneficial to you. Like, Melody will always move first when healing, but last when attacking. Similarly, Jodie will also break through enemy defenses before Allison and Claire can attack, allowing them to maximize their damage. It's a super rewarding system, and I appreciate its consistency!

Outside of combat, standard RPG obstacles await the player. This can include challenges like locked doors, ice skating puzzles, bridge manipulation, finding passcodes for safes, and generally what you'd expect for traversal threats. It's not the roughest challenge in the world, but should you need help, the game's creators have your back. (Additionally, lead creative Bobby Schroeder is also on Tumblr, if you want to learn more about her!)

This game really does go out of its way to try and help the player. It offers two difficulty settings (normal and easy), as well as a quest log to help keep track of any pending jobs or story beats. Frankly, I'm tempted to say the game is almost too easy. Like, it was a rare instance to have a character get knocked out. About the biggest threat I faced was a set of side bosses (the VHS tape's sons), and even with them, I was able to squeak by on a first attempt. I also maxed out levels super early, so the final dungeon was more about getting enemies cleared out of the way than actually grinding for strength.

Not that I don't think things aren't trying to kill me! I just think adhering to each character's strengths goes a long, long way. Also, putting the Powerhouse Pin on Melody and having the Amorous Paladin track makes recovering MP a breeze. I've heard rumors of a hard mode being developed, so perhaps this criticism has already been noticed or taken to heart. But, if any tips for hardening the product are needed, nixing the Powerhouse Pin and the Amorous Paladin route as an option would definitely be an easy way to make things harder.

I probably should explain the whole "paladin route" thing, shouldn't I?

The major gameplay style adjustment you make early on is by selecting Melody's paladin specialization of choice. This includes Woodland (granting regen abilities to characters), Amorous (sacrificing Star Power to restore MP or Star Power for your other characters), and Resolute (inflicting damaging seals on enemies.) I haven't experimented with the Woodland or Resolute paths, but considering the amount of money I saved on not having to purchase gobs of healing items, I found what I picked to be pretty darn helpful! I would suspect that Resolute would be the next best option, but maybe I'm just not seeing much value in the Woodland's Nature Nurture ability (healing everybody the amount of health that Melody has.) Or, maybe I see that as a risk, if she gets hurt.

Despite being a stickler for character classes and the roles they play, this game is anything but orthodox. I mean, if the "Lesbian Animal" part of "Super Lesbian Animal RPG" was any indication. It's been a while since I've been as consistently amused with a game's sense of humor as I was with this one! Its characters aren't above calling bullshit on the game's circumstances, and enemies are just as quick at handing sass back. If you have an inborn sense for riffing bad movies and don't mind taking a few potshots, this game will be right up your alley.

Additionally, this is one of very few games that I felt motivated to talk to all NPCs as much as possible. Like, "Tales of Symphonia" got me to pop up to a 50% ratio, and that was only by bribing me with money and goods! Everybody's some degree of weirdo, whether it comes down to capitalist machinations, a family's fascination with world domination (and everyone treating that as cute/sweet), hidden aspirations for competition, or just generally people with urges to do weird things. The NPCs feel very unique, feeding into the motivation to talk with them as much as possible. It's rewarding even before going on missions for them.

Also gotta love an RPG that gives you a quest to get a knife for an 8-year-old, then contemplates on whether or not that's good to do (and even gives the player an exit strategy, if they're narcs.)

Honestly, if I got tired of anybody, it was Melody. But, it's in that way where my own mental defects have made me into a calloused, hardened bitch, so I lack patience with people who succumb to the mind's tyrannical nature. I'm not saying she's not right to have a breakdown or two! It's just one of those things where I go, "Okay, fine. I'll ride out your anxiety attacks/relationship squabbles until you're ready to go again." And then, "Wait, are you seriously being pissy enough to drop some of your most useful skills? GIRL, GET IT TOGETHER."

I want to highlight that the emotions I had were a minor irritant and resolved relatively quickly. Like, I go through this with most RPG leads, if they aren't mute protagonists. It's a part of the cycle. Find a problem -> whine about it -> go solve the problem when no one else will. About the only lead RPG character that didn't trigger that cycle and response for me was "Tales of Vesperia"'s Yuri Lowell, and that's mostly because he reacted to injustice and being pissed off with murder. (It's not the healthiest coping mechanism, I admit! Satisfying, though.)

From a graphical and musical perspective, this game is fantastic. It's a mix of synth instruments and Lisa Frank-esque color schemes alongside smooth illustrations and modern audio samples. Like, if you like "My Little Pony" adjacent palettes, you're gonna like this game. Pretty obvious, considering its development heritage. Approaching this as someone whose favorite furry media includes "Star Fox" games and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" properties, I thought the visual and audio design here was pretty solid! A little unusually colored? Sure. Not quite full sparkledog. At least, nothing that made me cringe like "Dust: An Elysian Tale"'s Fidget. (Though, I may hate that character more for her accidentally getting the player killed in a subquest more than anything else…)

Having zombie cowboy elves is sure unique! Gotta give it up for that call. Can't say I see that every day.

If you'd like some musical sampling, give the following tracks a shot:

Ancient Machine

Scrap Metal

Labyrinth Rave (Original 998 Mix)

Fighting in the 990s

B.A.D.

t r a n s c e n d

Given the game's subject matter, aesthetics, and ease of gameplay, I'm surprised that "Super Lesbian Animal RPG" isn't a Tumblr darling akin to titles like "Dream Daddy" or "Undertale." (Not to call "Undertale" easy, mind you. It could be called "Super Lesbian Animal RPG" for one subplot, though…) I mean, some of the playable characters are even bi and trans! Isn't that worth something? That's at least 3 letters out of LGBT getting represented! Maybe the ratio is lower in other acronyms, but I still think that's gotta count for something!

I never had to think about what it means to be a trans-passing cow prior to this game, but hell. A good game will help you generate those kinds of thoughts. Feel new things.

If you are equally entranced by the bluntness and audaciousness of this title, you can pick it up online for the current price of $14.99. It's often on sale as well, if you're feeling the need to pinch some pennies. But, honestly, for a 16-20 hour game with multiple route replayability? That's a good deal right there.

And if you need a twisted recommendation—this game pairs quite well with "Space Funeral" and "Hylics." Maybe not in the funky appearances or message. Definitely in the RPG Maker games doing cool shit way.