Parasite Eve is an interesting experiment, and will let down no fans of either RPG or survival horror.
Parasite Eve tells the story of Aya Brea, a tough NYPD cop and her partner, Bo Dollis, a man with a family falling apart at the seams. One fateful night they get a horrific call at an Opera House, and their fates inexplicably tie in with a monster known as EVE, formerly an innocent singer named Melissa Pierce. Inside Aya, Eve, and the rest of us lay Mitochondria. They are in our cells, and supply energy to them. In the world of Parasite Eve they contain limitless potential for evolution, and what would happen if they were placed there on purpose, by some transcendental force to put us under their control when the time is right? Parasite Eve is some crazy stuff. It’s pretty heavy and complex, and seems like a lot of material to take in over the games short six-day span. Its one crazy week or Aya, and it’ll be a few crazy days for you as well. The characters aren’t quite cliché, and this makes them memorable. Bo’s gruff exterior hides a heart of gold, and Aya is almost (but thankfully not quite) a dynamo of strength. Eve is one of the best villains in recent memory, to be sure. Such an evil character in such a demure body sets up a good sense of conflict between one’s character and body, which is paralleled in the hostile takeover of our mitochondria. The game has a very faithful and impressive recreation of NYC, which adds a strong sense of place to the games uber-destructive mega-budget happenings. This isn’t a little independent film-like horror game (a la Resident Evil or Silent Hill) this games rocking Fear Effect style extravagance. The gameplay is an interesting beast as well. It’s an amalgam between Survival Horror and RPG and it works rather well. There is an ATB (Active Time Bar), a mainstay of Square’s RPG’s, and you get stronger weapons and ammunition as you pick up Experience to level up, and Bonus Points to spend on said weapons, assuming you don’t pick them up in random places, like garbage bins, bushes, etc. The battles are not random battles, but you’ll see enemies you must fight every few stages. The camera angles are cinematic, which is what you would probably expect from a 90’s Survival Horror game. The controls work the same as well, so that fact, combined with its heavy RPG elements, limits this game from most un-coordinated or casual gamers. You need to know your way around the controller to work this baby, that’s for sure. Parasite Eve is an interesting and fun experiment, and while combat sometimes feels labored, and Aya moves a little slow, everything works out well for the most part. The boss battles are extravagant blow-ups of typical battles. Special tactics aren’t needed for most battles, just firepower. Sometimes straight-up bloodbaths with your major adversary’s can be quite liberating compared to having to think. Think Samus and Ridley, now, are those great down-each-other’s throat’s battles or what? Anyway, though it may have its faults (which are typical of the genre, especially with this control system), it delivers a deep experience fans of either genre, and perhaps even a few of the uninitiated, can enjoy.
The graphics, as I mentioned before, are a basis for the juggernaut Final Fantasy VIII. Final Fantasy VIII had some of the best graphics of the era, so a watered-down version would still be excellent, right? Right. These graphics are wonderful. The pre-rendered environments look great, the character models look great as well, and the cutscenes are breathtaking. Everything has a level of detail pretty much unforeseen up to this point. Sometimes things look a little blurry, and some of the enemies look rather bland, but overall the graphics are quite strong. Which, in a game as massive and epic as Parasite Eve, are a must. This is a modern epic, and you can’t have a modern epic without great production values. You simply cannot. As stated before, it’s done a great job of recreating New York City as well, so that’s always great.
The sound in Parasite Eve is equally impressive. There is no voice acting, but who needs it? I’d rather not have it than have it bad. The sound effects in the cutscenes are beautiful, and translate mostly well into the in-game scenes as well. Cascading water and gunshots sound mostly like cascading water and gunshots. The sound effects match your enemies’ gruesome appearance, and the score is a classic. The score has an Acid Techno feel that’ll etch itself into your head for days, and you won’t mind. The main theme is mesmerizing in all its variations, and there are quite a few. At the end of the day the music is just as great a draw as the graphics, and, as stated before with the graphics, they are needed. Can’t have an epic feel without great sound, eh?
On terms of replay value the game comes up a little short. The game will take you no longer than 15-17 hours. It’s just not fathomable unless you have narcolepsy. Hope you don’t fall asleep during battle! Anyway, it’s a short game. It covers the important bits of time over just a few days, so you couldn’t expect it to be that long. Even so, with its short time it’s fast-paced, and the twists and turns and action will never bore you. Nah mean? Even so, the added value doesn’t do much for the game. You’ll play it once; maybe twice in about 8 hours if it really impressed you, then it will be relegated to fond memories. Isn’t that all we really need anyway? Fond memories?
At the end of the day Parasite Eve is a very fond memory and a risk worth taking that pays off mostly. It does some things new, but it doesn’t pull off RPG as well as Final Fantasy, and it doesn’t pull off Survival Horror as well as Resident Evil or Silent Hill. All in all, though, it’s an enjoyable experience, especially for genre fans.