A1 Title
Eve - the evening or day before a holiday. the period immediately before some event. a feminine name: var. Eva
Oh Goddess no. What has happened? Wheres the guns blazing, gratuitous violence, testosterone filled gore fest you ask? Uh well how about 2 out of 3? I decided to review a title that has style as well as substance. Parasite Eve is an RPG that shows how great Square was with RPG's. I mean nearly every one of their games is a classic. Especially from the Playstaion 1 era. Why did they merge with Enix any way? Thats like Nintendo and Sega merging in their heyday. Two great companies, but very different. The same holds true for Square and Enix. Both made great RPGs, but with very different approaches to the genre. Squenix? Squarix? SquareEnix? *sigh* Now where was I ? Oh yeah Parasite Eve. Fortunately Square was still pumping out quality titles and Parasite Eve is one of the best.
You take control of a female lead which doesn't happen often in RPGs. Shes plenty tough yet still feminine in a Jill Valentine sort of way. Parasite Eve was dubbed the cinematic RPG and it shows. From the cutscenes, to the storyline, to the overrall feel of the game. Parasite Eve would've made a great Anime. The developers made a great game instead. Being a Square RPG the storyline gets deep and treads into the philosophical. Playing the game is like being in a Anime movie. Something else that seperates Parasite Eve from other RPGs is its setting. The game doesn't take place in ages long ago. It's not set in the future with highly advanced technology. It has a very modern present day setting. Most of the environments in the game are totally relatable.
Now as far as the battle system goes I thought it was great. Fights take place in a limited area, but you are free to move around wherever you like. That s what makes it so great because fights are realistic. Take the freedom of movement from the Star Ocean and Tales series. Make the field completely 3D and add the Active Time Battle system from Final Fantasy. You get Parasite Eve's battle system. It's accessible and the learning curve isn't too steep. I like the battle system alot. The developers did away it for part 2, but they should have kept it. I mean it's so good it's ridiculous. It's like everything that takes place in the fight is fair because you are left to your own devices. The battle system is one of my favorites from any RPG. Throw in one of those great expansive Anime-like storylines and we got a winner here.
The graphics are nice. All of the characters are done in a realistic style. No
super deformed polygons here. They also did a good job displaying the grittiness of the city. The Full Motion Video looks great too. Square has done top notch work here.
It's easy for me to recommend Parasite Eve to RPG players and non-RPG players alike. It isn't your typical RPG and you can get into it even if you don't like the genre. It's that accessible. So check it out. A real classic.