Parasite Eve

The Short


Pros
- Unique horror RPG from Squaresoft
- Good graphics for early PS1 era
- Innovative and unique battle system and weapon upgrade system
- New Game + encourages multiple playthroughs
- Fantastic soundtrack
- Interesting story combining science with fantastic elements
- Multiple endings
- You fight a re-animated T-Rex skeleton in the Museum of Natural History. Serious Dresden files vibe.
- Only $6 on PSN

Cons
- Short
- Story hits the usual JRPG unintelligible weirdness during the last act
- Set in New York while being made by people who have no idea what New York is like
- Aya walks stupid slow
- The linear gameplay doesn't offer much in terms of leveling, weapon collection, item purchasing, etc.

Aya shows some 32-bit leg

The Long


Parasite Eve came out during Squaresoft's "silver" era of RPGs. Releasing after Final Fantasy VII but before Final Fantasy VIII and Xenogears, it was touted as an "rpg novel," based on a book by the same name published in Japan. While the sequels would take a more survival horror approach to the series, Parasite Eve is very much an RPG, combining hybrid elements from both action RPGs and ATB (active time battle, like FF IV-IX) RPGs that Squaresoft was making a billion of at the time. Completely ignoring any party systems from their previous RPGs, Parasite Eve is an anomaly in more ways than one, and because of that there is really no RPG released - even today - that is comparable with it.

Parasite Eve's story is a weird mish-mash of science, religion, and just general oddness. Basically, the mitochondria in our cells, which are the part that provide cellular energy, apparently are considered independent beings in this game. This crazy lady, calling herself Eve, has gained the power to somehow cause everybody's mitochondria to go loco, the tiny bits of the cells rebelling against the body and killing or mutating everybody (turning people into weird gel and animals into random encounters). Aya, for whatever reason, is immune to Eve's influence, and as a member of the LAPD it's her job to get rid of Eve before she royally screws everybody over.

Pictured: What nobody on the Parasite Eve dev team read

Is it stupid? Yeah, a little. But when you think of stories in video games, especially JRPGs, it really isn't that far fetched. You get to go to real-life places in New York (though the fact that Aya is a blonde bombshell and her boss is the only black man in the world just screams "Japan's view of America") just moments before (or after) Eve turns all the animals into walking mutated experience points, and it keeps the tension high while still providing enough answers to keep things interesting. It's too bad that the last chapter gets so bat-sh*t insane that I literally still do not understand what happened (it involved the Statue of Liberty and goo, which reminds me of the ending of Ghostbusters 2. Oh, and some god-baby that was born and like...blew up a boat? Oh, spoiler warning and all that) even after having beaten the game 4-5 times. Still, there is really nothing like this...well, anywhere, and especially in Squaresoft's game library, and it isn't bad enough to turn people off (until maybe the end).

The gameplay is where I really got attached to Parasite Eve. It's a totally unique experience that can be a little hard to explain, so I will provide this handy graphic I stole from the internet for your reference.

These graphics are also emulator up-rezzed. The original game looks like this, but with more BLUR

Basically, when a battle starts the camera locks and you are limited to whatever specific area of the screen you were in. Parasite Eve employs the usual "pre-rendered backdrops with 3D characters" that were a staple of PS1 era Squaresoft RPGs, so you are stuck in place until either you run or kill everything. As your AT bar (upper right, in blue) fills, you are free to run across the battlefield as much as you want, either to dodge attacks or get in a better position to shoot. That's the "active" battle part.

After your meter fills you can attack. Aya primarily uses guns, which can be upgraded to increase ammo, damage, spread, and just about everything (You can also break down guns and apply their powers to different guns, which is pretty cool if you want to make THE ULTIMATE WEAPON). When you choose to attack, that small grid appears around Aya, indicating the current weapon's range. You can shoot at enemies out of that range, but you'll probably miss. You then choose how many shots to fire off (again determined by how upgraded your weapon is), and Aya is locked in place for a second as she blasts whatever number of bullets you decided on.

It's a really clever battle system, combining ranged weapons with action-RPG elements and turn based combat to make something truly different. Back in 1990-whatever when I played this for the first time I was completely blown away. Coming off of SNES and PS1 Final Fantasy games, where characters stood on one side of the screen and waited their turn before simply executing a command, this seemed far more interactive and innovative. It's really a disappointment that they never used this again (they completely dropped it in Parasite Eve II and The Third Birthday, making them more action-shooters).

Look! I'm actively dodging attacks! In a JRPG! What is going on?!

Despite me loving this system, even I have to admit it has its flaws. Aya runs just slow enough to be annoying, making failed dodges seem more cheap than fair, and she doesn't have any other evasive moves other than simply running (no rolls, crouches, etc.). The gun upgrade system is neat but not very extensive, though it does encourage you to cycle through guns at a pretty rapid clip (lol gun pun) as you keep mixing-and-matching powers. Aya also has some magic, which is usually reserved for healing, and the gun upgrade system also applies to the various forms of body-armor you find. A major niggle I have with this game is the really, really limited inventory space. You can move stuff to a storage chest, but it's a huge pain when I can't pick up the gun I want because I have too many potions, and the game is so linear you don't always know if you can go back to a chest you left behind and pick it up later.

Parasite Eve is also a pretty short game, and not particularly difficult save the extra "dungeon" that is accessible after beating the game once. On yeah, it has a New Game + feature like Chrono Trigger, which is great feature and should be in every game. It's probably for the best that the game is short, though, since the foundations for both the story and the gameplay are a bit shaky, and trying to drag it out over a 30+ hour experience probably would have resulted it in crumbling on itself. As it stands, the 10ish hours you spend in a playthrough are a delight, like eating candy. It's great for a while, but you can't eat candy for every meal without starting to get a little sick.

Parasite Eve's soundtrack is also quite good, fitting the bill with atmospheric tracks that also make great music. The battle theme is a bit...not great, but the various places you visit have great background music, and the boss theme is quite good.

The game also looks great. If you've played Final Fantasy VIII, this game is picked right out from that era. Characters are blocky but still look better than Final Fantasy VII, backgrounds are well rendered if a bit dull (though the locals they send you to are great: zoos, hospitals, etc.), and the CG stuff was really impressive at the time, even if it hasn't aged great. The enemy design in particular is worth complimenting, taking regular animals and adding a serious dash of "messed up." It all fits into a very complete package, which is consistent with Squaresoft's standard of quality for this era. 

There is that PS1 graphical fuzziness we know and love!

As you can probably tell, I really liked Parasite Eve, despite its flaws. It's a fun ride, providing a great hybrid of horror and RPG that sticks with you even years after you've beaten it. I even liked it so much I made a game that was basically a SNES/16-bit ripoff, back when I was making DOS games in high school.

It's currently available on PSN for download as a PS1 Classic for $6. Disc copies can be found on eBay for a little more than that, used. I'd say it's certainly worth $10, which wouldn't be too hard to find. If I were to give it a star rating, it would be four out of five.