Parasite Eve is a survival horror cinematic RPG based from a book by Hideaki Sena of the same name. Genre lines have been getting blurrier as the game industry has grown, and Parasite Eve certainly is an early culprit as it is easier to associate it with Capcom's popular franchise Resident Evil then with the Final Fantasy styled titles that Squaresoft were more known for at the time.
The story is a simple premise, yet unique. The protagonist Aya Brea is a rookie cop for the NYPD who unwittingly gets involved in a battle of evolution between humanity and a separate organism in everybody's cells known as mitochondria. Humans have been living in symbiosis with them for all this time, but Mitochondrion Eve has declared war, breaking this necessary truce.
No war would be concluded without epic battles to be waged, while perhaps there is nothing quite of that scale, the fights in Parasite Eve are at least engaging and tactical if lacking somewhat in the drama department. All the battles during the game are in real time and always in the same location on the map you are running through, unfortunately predictable while exploring. During battle Aya becomes confined to the location on the screen to duke it out, and sometimes these areas are very small leading to some frustration in dodging enemy attacks as there is literally no where to run.
To attack Aya uses guns of which she will get a large variety of as the game moves on, starting with a handgun but soon gaining access to machine guns, rifles and even grenade launchers, all of which can be customized at the NYPD's gun shop or later in the field using tools to swap stats from weapon to weapon or even her body armor. Before she can fire a bullet however, Aya has to wait for her ATB (active time bar) to fill up; when this is full she can perform an action.
Sci-fi horror is however nearly always too predictable and Parasite Eve falls right in line with that by giving Aya powers of the surreal sort. Like in the battle for real life, evolution of a species does not always go one way; those best suited to their environment merely survive the harsh challenge of the world. Eve is not the only Mitochondria to have evolved; Aya's have also upgraded themselves with the passing of time helping to give her powers by a burst of generated energy. These surreal abilities range from healing to attack and stat boost, acting essentially as magic spells that once again depend on the inevitable arrival of a full atb bar. Overall it is a fun system.
The lack of a map on certain later points in the game left nothing but puzzlement and frustration at needlessly running around looking for the objective area, the museum being the unfortunate level design I am referring to. The final boss sequence has a point of no return and is surprisingly hard in comparison with the rest of the game which almost resulted in an impassable wall through my experience. Yet the most devastating blow to the game however spawns right at the end of the title with an unnecessary and highly cheap chase scene in which Aya gets the chance to meet her maker if the creature so much as brushes against her, forcing the player to fight all of the last boss forms again, and possibly again with so much as a wrong turn.
Parasite Eve does one thing especially well and that is ooze style. The graphics, music and designs are excellent but the fmv's are what really show the theme of the cinematic RPG. Also, shout out to The amazing OST in this game. It uses a mixture of synth and classical instruments to create a creepy horror vibe but also fast paced and exciting when needed.
Overall the bar Square set for themselves was high and this is obvious in production values and an excellent material source, and while succeeding on many levels in creating a unique and thought provoking experience some minor game and level design flaws unfortunately get in the way of making this a run away experience, however what they did make was a very good game that any RPG or horror enthusiast should at least try.
+ Fantastic atmosphere.
+ Great story idea.
+ Fantastic OST.
+ Combat is fun.
- Final section can be frustrating.
The story is a simple premise, yet unique. The protagonist Aya Brea is a rookie cop for the NYPD who unwittingly gets involved in a battle of evolution between humanity and a separate organism in everybody's cells known as mitochondria. Humans have been living in symbiosis with them for all this time, but Mitochondrion Eve has declared war, breaking this necessary truce.
No war would be concluded without epic battles to be waged, while perhaps there is nothing quite of that scale, the fights in Parasite Eve are at least engaging and tactical if lacking somewhat in the drama department. All the battles during the game are in real time and always in the same location on the map you are running through, unfortunately predictable while exploring. During battle Aya becomes confined to the location on the screen to duke it out, and sometimes these areas are very small leading to some frustration in dodging enemy attacks as there is literally no where to run.
To attack Aya uses guns of which she will get a large variety of as the game moves on, starting with a handgun but soon gaining access to machine guns, rifles and even grenade launchers, all of which can be customized at the NYPD's gun shop or later in the field using tools to swap stats from weapon to weapon or even her body armor. Before she can fire a bullet however, Aya has to wait for her ATB (active time bar) to fill up; when this is full she can perform an action.
Sci-fi horror is however nearly always too predictable and Parasite Eve falls right in line with that by giving Aya powers of the surreal sort. Like in the battle for real life, evolution of a species does not always go one way; those best suited to their environment merely survive the harsh challenge of the world. Eve is not the only Mitochondria to have evolved; Aya's have also upgraded themselves with the passing of time helping to give her powers by a burst of generated energy. These surreal abilities range from healing to attack and stat boost, acting essentially as magic spells that once again depend on the inevitable arrival of a full atb bar. Overall it is a fun system.
The lack of a map on certain later points in the game left nothing but puzzlement and frustration at needlessly running around looking for the objective area, the museum being the unfortunate level design I am referring to. The final boss sequence has a point of no return and is surprisingly hard in comparison with the rest of the game which almost resulted in an impassable wall through my experience. Yet the most devastating blow to the game however spawns right at the end of the title with an unnecessary and highly cheap chase scene in which Aya gets the chance to meet her maker if the creature so much as brushes against her, forcing the player to fight all of the last boss forms again, and possibly again with so much as a wrong turn.
Parasite Eve does one thing especially well and that is ooze style. The graphics, music and designs are excellent but the fmv's are what really show the theme of the cinematic RPG. Also, shout out to The amazing OST in this game. It uses a mixture of synth and classical instruments to create a creepy horror vibe but also fast paced and exciting when needed.
Overall the bar Square set for themselves was high and this is obvious in production values and an excellent material source, and while succeeding on many levels in creating a unique and thought provoking experience some minor game and level design flaws unfortunately get in the way of making this a run away experience, however what they did make was a very good game that any RPG or horror enthusiast should at least try.
+ Fantastic atmosphere.
+ Great story idea.
+ Fantastic OST.
+ Combat is fun.
- Final section can be frustrating.
4 Comments
I had no problem with the final section.
Regardless, good post!
Regardless, good post!
@Badger - Thanks! I played with a friend and we both died multiple times trying to run away in that end section. Maybe we just suck (quite possible!) but we found the design there really frustrating compared with the rest of the game.
No you are fine, its a fairly understandable issue to have, i just added my own flavor to the mix, lol.
Glad you had fun with the game.
Glad you had fun with the game.
TheRoadWarrior
2 years ago