Review #185: Parasite Eve

 Back when SquareSoft could do no wrong...

 Back before SquareSoft merged with Enix, it seemed like no matter what they did, Fighters(Bushido Blade), Shooters(Einhander), Adventure(Musashi) or RPGS, they did it right. Mind you, I'm not blaming Enix, I'm just saying that Square has changed for the worst, just look at what they did to Aya in The Third Birthday and having her clothes break just because Japan. But I digress, Parasite Eve is an awesome blend of RPG with Survival Horror, with a great protagonist and an original take on the "virus outbreak" trope.

 I mentioned this Aya character in the paragraph above, she's Aya Brea the protagonist of the Parasite Eve, a Police Officer who has been blessed(Or cursed, depending on how you see it) with special powers, stemming from her evolving Mitochondria cells. At the game's start, while attending a theater play, the main actress morphs into a hideous monster and everyone but Aya burns to death. Instead of having human zombies, your main enemies are mutated animals, thanks to the evolved Mitochondria that Eve, the main villain, is spreading around. I liked the story, I liked the characters, Aya Brea is a no-nonsense badass with a bit of an attitude, her partner, Daniel, is a single dad who tries to balance the police life with raising a child, and most of the other named officers are relatively memorable. The dialogue was fairly good too, for the time, and I really dig how the game takes place in the present day(...of 1997).

 The game is very linear, with just one optional area, but you are allowed to go back to previous dungeons every now and then. The game plays, when out of combat, like other Survival Horror games of the past, you go around pre-rendered backgrounds, looking for keys to open doors. You have a limited inventory capacity, but it increases as you level up, it is an RPG after all! You can store excess items at opened chests and retrieve them later, or at the Police Precinct, however, one big issue I had is that keys will bother you all the way to the end of the game. Even after opening every door they can open, you cannot remove them from your inventory inside dungeons, you can't even place them on chests, your only choice is to leave them at the Precinct's storage, but they'll occupy a slot in there until the end of the game. Not. Cool. Throughout the game, you'll come across a wide variety of armor and weapons(Guns, Machine Guns, Rifles, Shotguns, Grenade Launchers and a Rocket Launcher), and they may come with special skills, like Fire or Cold bullets, or armors that automatically use healing items in your inventory when low on health. There are also items that can be used to power up their stats. Y'see, there are 'tools' in the game that can be used to destroy a weapon and take their skills OR bonus stats and apply them to another gun, this way you can take every power up you've used onto a new, better gun, which was pretty interesting.

 The game is an RPG first and foremost, while most of the game plays like a Survival Horror, enemies come in random encounters. Kinda. There are certain, particular spots in each area that spawn monsters, the first time around you can't avoid it, but each time you return to the area, there's a chance that the monsters might respawn, and with each respawn, that chance lowers down to a minimum of 20% I believe. Battles make use of the Active Time Bar that Square was so fond of back in the day, while you wait for it to charge, all you can do is run around the area... which also allows you to dodge enemy attacks in real time. Once the ATB fills, you can either press Triangle to use a Parasite Spell or an item, or use X to attack with your weapon. Different weapons have different skills, as previously mentioned, some might allow you to shoot up to five bullets in one turn, or maybe only one(I found that three bullets was the most convenient, as they get weaker the more shots they allow), and they also have different ranges, if an enemy gets out of range, your shots will miss. Lastly, Parasite Spells make use of a gauge that refills automatically, but the more spells you use, the slower it takes for the bar to recharge.... but you can bypass it by switching armors on one of your turn, resetting the recharge rate! I loved, adored the combat, I found myself fighting not to grind, but for the fun of it!

 Defeating enemies nets you items and experience. At first I was trying to Tonfa my way through the game, but then I noticed that it was doing too little damage and bullets were plentiful. I never, ever found myself lacking ammo, and every gun shares the same ammo(Except the Rocket Launcher), so you can just go guns blazing. Every time you level up, all your stats level up, but you also get Bonus Points that can be used to enhance your ATB recharge rate, backpack storage or enhance your weapons. Lastly, there's a new game plus, you are allowed to carry over your BPs and one of your guns, besides enemies getting stronger, you also unlock the 100 floor dungeon Chryseler Building, that houses the secret boss and true ending. I thought it was a rather cheap way of making you play through the whole game again, but the core game is so satisfying that I didn't mind it.

 The presentation holds up even to this day. The pre-rendered backgrounds aren't very original, nothing really 'awed' me, which is not to say that I didn't like the environments. I think it has to do with the fact that they are trying to be 'realistic'? Character models and special effects are relatively good, human characters are a bit simple, but well defined, and enemies look great. The CG cutscenes awesome, some of the awe factor has been lost, but they are still quite creepy and unsettling. The music was pretty nice as well, very foreboding and mysterious during exploration, while a bit more upbeat during battles.

 Bottom line is: I loved Parasite Eve, it's a great game, with an original combat mechanic, a great story and memorable characters. I'm not sure if it's the right game for someone interested only in Survival Horror games, but as an RPG it's pretty unique as well, when was the last time you were a police officer exploring realistic buildings and environments on an RPG? Exactly.
 9.0 out of 10