By: RJ (@rga_02)
- Parasite Eve
- Developer - SquareSoft
- Publisher - SquareSoft
- PS1 (Also available on the PSN Store)
- Rating - M
Yes I said it. Parasite Eve is better than your favorite horror game. Better than Fatal Frame II, Resident Evil 4, and REmake. No other horror game matches the masterpiece that is Parasite Eve.
In my opinion of course. And guess what, Parasite Eve isn’t even that much of a horror game. It’s a RPG at the forefront. But why do I regard PE with high standards? It’s a beautiful mesh of a C-Tier horror movie with RPG elements.
An spin-off of the novel of the same name by Hideaki Sena, it’s a departure from your typical Squaresoft storyline. Instead of defeating a deity with your group of friends, you are Aya Brea - a cop accompanied by her partner Danile Dollis and a scientist by the name of Kunihiko Maeda. Together they roam the cold winter atmosphere of New York City to unravel the mystery and to stop the Mitochondria Eve. The story is relatively simple easy to grasp but at the very end, it’s absolutely nonsense and it’s not even remotely terrifying. But hey, at least it’s better than the convoluted mess over there at Raccoon City!
But where the game shines bright is its gameplay. It’s a unique hybrid of the RPG genre with your shootabangs. You can level up, you have a ATB (albeit modified) bar, earn exp, etc. Just like your standard Final Fantasy fare. But what makes the gameplay unique (for the time), is that you are free to “roam” during battle, making it possible to set up some gameplay strategies that you probably wouldn’t be able to do if it where your standard turn based gameplay. The customization of the game is also wonderful. You can modify your weapons to your hearts desire, from how much ammo it carries to its firing rate.
Now let’s get personal. My first experience with Parasite Eve was in the summer of 2006. At that point, I was expanding my taste of video games outside the likes of Final Fantasy, Pokémon, and Ace Combat. It being a Square game automatically got my interest in it. I mean, hey, if it’s made by my favorite company, it must be good! I knew nothing about the game. I thought it was going to be Square’s version of Silent Hill or Fatal Frame. I didn’t think it would be a RPG at all. Once I popped in the disc and saw the first FMV and experience the first battle, I simply fell in love.I played the game and nothing else for two weeks. I was deeply engrossed in it. It was such a great experience that I wish I can relive those moments again every time whenever I play this game. I then later played Parasite Eve 2 then off to The 3rd Birthday when that eventually released. Since then I have replayed Parasite Eve every year. It’s such an enjoyable game. It’s way much better than it’s sequels. Although I have played The 3rd Birthday 30+ times just to unlock a Lightning costume, but hey, “the worst enemy lies within your self”.