Story & Playability
A young rookie NYPD cop named Aya Brea is invited out on a date by a young gentleman. The place of destination?
Something that caught Miss Brea's eye, an opera event. Little did she know that this wasn't just a
coincidence, and her life would be forever changed in this six days that followed this event.
Parasite Eve is a rather interesting game. It is the sequel to the novel written by Takashi Tokita of the same name.
It was released on the Playstation in the US during the year of 1998, and has since been followed by a sequel, Parasite
Eve II, and a spiritual sequel , The 3rd Birthday. Parasite Eve marks the era of Squaresoft's more ambitious and
experimental period, a time that some might call Squaresoft's pinnacle in terms of gaming. Parasite Eve is a third
person, horror-based role-playing game that functional elements similar to those found in a action RPG. There is a
world map, and there are random encounters. Characters are composed of three-dimensional polygons upon 2D background.
Now that I've given you some of the basics, let's jump right into the meat of things here.
It would be really easy for me to babble on about the story, but at the same time there is so much to it that it's
rather hard to talk about all of it. The basic concept behind Parasite Eve, is that it deals with the mitochondria and
Aya Brea's past. One thing that needs to be stated right now is if someone is not a fan of mutation, or exploring
aspects that stem a bit deeper into the "what if" category of human evolution might want to stop reading this
review, for they are not going to enjoy this game at all. These are constant elements found throughout the title and
while grotesque, they are done very tastefully and artistically.
The player takes control of Aya Brea along her starting point of the Opera House and slowly moves along to different
locations, uncovering further details about both the main focus of the game, the mitochondria, as well as Aya's
mysterious flashbacks and visions she gets. As previously mentioned, battles occur in random encounters and this is, in
my opinion, where the game really shines. Aya can equip different types of guns (handgun, assault, machine, grenade,
shotgun, club and even a rocket launcher) as well as different types of armors that come in the form of body armor. Aya
can then move around freely during the battle and avoid enemy attacks, or move to a safe location to use an item.
However, Aya can only attack enemies within a specific range. Each weapon shows the type of range it has, with assault
rifles having a longer range and the club requiring the player to be up close, in order to effectively hit the target or
possibly critical them, which also depends on the weapons stat. Weapons and armor can further be upgraded by finding
random bonuses (for example, Offense + 1 gives + 1 to whichever gun you choose to use it on) that can be used.
Whenever Aya levels, she also gets something called Bonus Points. BP can be used to decrease Aya's active time,
the amount of time it takes for her turn to happen, and the amount of storage she has. BP can also be used to increase
weapon or armor stats as well. This is by far the strongest aspect of Parasite Eve, as the game encourages you to
customize your weapons and move stats around, with the help of Tools and Super Tools (Tools can only move either the
stats, or the special effects of a weapon and will lose the weapon they are being moved from while a Super Tool can move
the same things, but it will not destroy the weapon in the process) to create the most powerful weapon you can. This
really opens up numerous possibilities and oodles of fun things you can do with your armor and weapons to make Aya Brea
the ultimate cop.
Another interesting aspect to Parasite Eve is PE (Parasite Energy). This mysterious power Aya develops is a complete
unknown element to both her and the player until much later on in the game, but one thing becomes apparent. Whenever
Aya reaches a certain level, she gains a new power. These can be from something as simple as Heal, which recovers her
health, or Detox, which cures the poison status effect. These can also range to creating a barrier that slowly eats
away at her PE energy whenever she gets hit or to something like Liberate, which allows Aya to transform and strike her
enemy numerous times with powerful blows. PE slowly regenerates over time, and depending on the armor's stat for
it, can increase quickly as well.
Despite there being so much depth to everything, Parasite Eve is a rather simple game. It's fairly straight
forward in how it can be played and while there are plenty of areas to explore, the game does a rather nice job, with
the exception of a few areas, keeping you on the path and not forcing you to try to figure out something with some sort
of super clairvoyance. While the game play is certain archaic by today's standards, the game still holds up fairly
well with it all. I played the downloaded PSN version of the game on my PS3 and everything worked perfectly fine. The
analog stick makes it much easier to move around and doesn't require you to hold down a button for running like
digital does, however item management is certainly not kind to it. I found more than a handful of times I'd
accidentally grab something I didn't want to in my inventory, or swap the wrong item. However, this is something
that can be adjusted if necessary and I found that I enjoyed playing it with an analog far more so.
I also wanted to do something a bit differently here and save a section for ranting and discussing the characters
themselves. Aya Brea is by no means a super cop. She's a strong female character who doesn't like seeing
people die, but isn't afraid to get her hands dirty and won't be bossed around. She's an incredible
likable character that the player wants to help her find the answers she's looking for and roots for her to
overcome all odds. Parasite Eve's strongest aspect is the characters, as each of them are given an identity and
why we should care about them. Wayne is a bit of a joker, but he's serious when he needs to. Daniel is all
business and while he may neglect his son, he deeply cares about him and would gladly dive into danger to save him.
These type of details stand out to us and we can understand why they do what they do and more importantly, we get deeper
involved in the story. I cannot stress enough that creating a great story isn't just about beautiful graphics and
cutscenes, or a great battle system. It's about having a cast of characters that drive it forward. A terrible
game can be tolerable for the right reasons, and Parasite Eve is, sadly, a relic in terms of how Role Playing Games in
general develop characters.
Parasite Eve is by no means a perfect gem. There were situations when I first played the game that I got stuck up on,
and several times I ended up dying because the game didn't specify on what exactly needed to be done and my take on
the situation wasn't the correct answer. However, it is by no means a difficult game. Parasite Eve is more of a
casual gamers game, and will generally run players 8-10 hours during their first playthrough. I beat the game in 7:04
during my recent playthrough and this included doing two optional areas, exploring and doing a bit of casual grinding.
Once the game is beaten, a New Game + mode opens up called EX Mode. EX Mode basically allows Aya Brea to bring over a
weapon and an armor that the player was given a chance to name during the end of the game. Aya's level and stats
are reset, however the player is given 3000 BP to work with for beating the game and can equip the custom equipment as
soon as the new game starts. EX mode is basically the same game with several exceptions. A new area, the Chrysler
Building opens up and the player also gets BP whenever they complete a day.
The CB brings about a whole new element of the game, as it is a huge labyrinth that consists of 77 floors and every ten
levels, except for floor 77, has a new and rather challenging boss to fight. However, those who work their way through
this incredible challenge will be rewarding with an amazing boss fight and the true ending to Parasite Eve. I
originally beat it after playing through the game four times and beat the last boss with absolutely no problems, but I
will admit the hike up there is no picnic and there are a ton of items and rares along the way, so be sure to find a
guide should you attempt this!
However, Parasite Eve is a fine example on how to tell a compelling adventure with likable characters and using an
engaging battle system to do it as well. I can still sit down with this game and play it and more importantly, fully
enjoy it. No matter how many times I play it or how old it gets.
Rating: 9
Graphics
One thing about Parasite Eve that hasn't aged well is the art.
As expected, this is a Playstation One title, and as such the polygon models are extremely blocky/disfigured and the
backgrounds look somewhat distorted on an HD television. However, despite all this the game actually holds up fairly
nicely. I was really surprised how good the backgrounds still look these days. It's no doubt that Parasite Eve is
ancient in terms of what is capable today, but the beautiful backgrounds certainly help it out, however the character
models easily stand out and depending on the person, they could really irritate. Personally, I have no issues with them
but I still have to take notice of this. Although, this is a game that was released in 1998, so some understanding must
be taken.
However, the Full Motion Video (FMV) cutscenes have aged beautifully. There is no doubt that Squaresoft is a powerhouse
when it comes to graphics and this remains true even after a decade later. The FMV scenes are generally used to help
bridge important parts of the story, the mutations and some of the more epic parts of it along and there are plenty of
them as well. These by far are the strongest aspect of the game and truly showcase how advanced Square was back when
this game was released
Rating: 7
Sound
Out of everything in this title, the sound is what truly takes the cake. Yoko Shinmomura's strongest work can be
considered Parasite Eve, and when one plays the game it's no doubt as to why it's considered to be. The
soundtrack is beautifully haunting and each piece constructed perfectly fits each location and mood. This game is one
of the rare one where I cannot say I disliked a single piece that was done in this game.
However, big props need to be given for her "Primal Eyes" piece, which is shown during the FMV sequence that
boots up, and her work with Shani Rigsbee on "Somnia Memorias" during the ending credits. Both of these songs
are absurdly good in my eyes and songs I still listen to today.
Gaming music does not get much better than this, and this still remains one of my favorite video game soundtracks.
Rating: 10
Fun
There is a reason why Parasite Eve is still regarding as the best game in the series, both in terms of sales as well as
by fans. Despite how old it is, it is still an incredibly strong title that has been lovingly crafted and brilliantly
executed. While not a flawless gem, it is a shining example of a way to be adventurous in a genre like RPGs and create
a crafty, adult title.
It's a title that I always recommend to those that don't mind a games age and want a good Role Playing Game
and it isn't difficult to see why. It's a remnant of an era that has come and gone, and is a shining example
of pushing boundaries and standards forward. Great characters, an engaging story and wonderful gameplay. Parasite Eve
remains one of the top tier titles of RPG gaming, and like a great wine it only gets better with age.
I have sunk time into this game that I'm rather embarrassed to admit. I've picked up this title and played it
through more times than any other game I have owned in my years of gaming. Heck, I own two copies of this title,
that's how much I like it.
It isn't perfect, but what it does it does incredibly well.
Rating: 9
Final Verdict
8.8333 (very good)
Reviewed by CyanideBlizzard, Oct 05, 2011