A truly great cinematic RPG from Squaresoft
You play as NYPD cop Aya Brea. The story begins on Christmas Eve where Aya is on a date attending an opera at Carnegie Hall. But trouble starts when the lead actress of the opera, while in mid-song, somehow causes everyone in the theater to burst into flames. For some reason, Aya is the only one unaffected and she spends the course of the game pursuing this actress called "Eve" in an attempt to figure out just what the heck is going on. Originally a novel, the story is a combination of sci-fi horror and action containing many twists and turns along the way. It's primarily told through on-screen text, and has some truly creepy moments.
The game is different from many other Squaresoft games due to the fact that it takes place in modern day New York City. You are given a map of Manhattan and you'll explore a number of famous locations like Central Park, Museum of Natural History, and Chinatown to name a few. It's nice to see all these great places but the game is actually pretty linear. Let's just say, if you pay attention to the story, you won't be stuck wondering where to go next. You'll encounter many enemies along the way, mostly mutated animals and insects, and you'll make use of all kinds of weapons ranging from pistols and machine guns to assault rifles and grenade launchers.
Parasite Eve was one of the first games of the action-RPG genre. When you enter a battle, you'll first have to wait for Aya's AT bar to charge up, then you can fire her weapon. But you're also free to move around the screen while charging, a tactic you'll have to do in order to avoid enemy attacks. It starts out simple but it can get pretty hectic when you're trying to dodge three different enemies at once in a small space. You also have access to Aya's parasite energy which is essentially the magic of the game and it can be used to cast a number of offensive or defensive powers.
You gain lots of experience points and level up frequently, sometimes up two or three levels just after one boss fight. You don't have to worry about stats like strength and defense as that all levels up automatically, but you do gain bonus points which can be put toward quickening Aya's ATB charge time or increasing your item capacity. Or you can choose to enhance a particular weapon or armor of your choice instead.
Graphically, the game looks very nice. For a 1998 videogame, the visuals are a high point while the FMV cinematics are just downright gorgeous. The game relies heavily on its cutscenes and they are quite impressive. As far as the sound goes, the techno-sounding music is good and fits the mood of the game well. There's no voice acting, but the music and sound effects work just fine.
Today, Parasite Eve is somewhat of a forgotten game which is a shame, because it does indeed have a great story & characters and solid gameplay. It can be completed in 10-15 hours and you only unlock one extra mode so just maybe if it was a tad longer and a little more open ended would've helped. But if you're a fan of Sqauresoft's early RPGs or looking for a good playstation game, check out Parasite Eve.