Introduction Are you a Science-fiction fan? Have you ever heard of
a scientific term called 'Mitochondria' before? Do you know anything about
genes? Have you ever come across a mutant before? Or have you even been to an
opera concert one day to find yourself in the midst of a killing spree going on?
What is this mysterious 'Mitochondria disease'? Does 'Eve' have anything to do
with 'Mitochondria disease' and will that bring an end to the human race?
Story Based on the highly-successful Japanese novel called
Parasite Eve, Parasite Eve attempts to create a new style for RPG genres, that
is, 'cinematic.' The story is set in New York city. Aya Brea is a lieutenant for
N.Y.P.D. On one fateful day, when she went to watch a concert, everything starts
to go horribly wrong when the audience suddenly bursts into the flame.
Being the only sole survivor, Aya Brea has to solve the mysteries and
crack the case. She must try to understand the power that lies within her. Why
is everyone killed but not her? Discover this deadly disease- yes, even more
vicious than the deadly Aids or cancer. 'Mitochondria'- a micro-organism who has
been living within human cells since the day the world was born; the source of
all energy in all living organisms. It was found that the source of the first
'Mitochondria' can be traced back to an African woman called Eve. Does this
micro-organism have the intention to destroy the entire human race and become
the dominating species? When you play the game, you will know. So, I'll let you
think about this question for yourself.
In my opinion, the script is
very well-written, even though there's some misinterpretation in the plot. As
for why this is so, I shall not discuss why. You go and find it out on your own.
Suspense, horror, thrill, excitement and almost everything you can expect to
find in Resident Evil, can all be found in Parasite Eve. As for the plot, I find
it more appealing to me than Resident Evil. It's just probably because I am a
Science student in school and that's why I like this kind of science-fiction
setting. No offense to Resident Evil fans......
Graphics The
game is more of a mix between Resident Evil and Final Fantasy VII. Everything
takes place on a prerendered backgrounds, similar to the highly successful Final
Fantasy VII. However, in my opinion, I think Parasite Eve has a much better
looking and more polished backgrounds than that in Final Fantasy VII. The
characters, particularly Aya Brea are more proportionate to the environments and
look more realistic than those deformed characters in Final Fantasy VII.
Besides, Aya Brea is another nice babe, don't you think so?
FMV
Adorning the visual fanfare, are the superb FMV scenes that segue
seamlessly from the in-game proceedings. The FMVs are definitely much better
than those you have seen in Final Fantasy VII. In the past, I used to think that
FMVs are a waste of time and money. But today, I have to take back my words,
especially after I have finished playing games like Parasite Eve, Metal Gear
Solid etc. The FMVs are all absolutely breathtaking. And now, I know why it is
called 'the first cinematic RPG.' Just imagine that all the FMVs are being taken
away. It won't be called 'cinematic RPG' anymore. Okay, that's not important.
But, the suspense, horror, thrill etc are gone. Without the FMVs, the game
probably will not have the right atmosphere to keep it a horror game. And if
that's the case, I probably may not enjoy it as I do now as the suspense and
horror are gone. The same thing applies to Resident Evil as well. Do you agree?
In this case, Square has really integrated the FMVs for a very good
purpose......
Music and Sound The sound effects are truly
excellent and are definitely up to Square's usual standard. Sound effects during
the battles are majestic. However, the music, in my opinion is rather
disappointing. The music started out slowly and it was unable to capture my
attention, which most other Square games managed to achieve that like Final
Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Xenogears etc. However, I have to admit that the ending
theme is extremely beautiful. At least, there's really some good pieces.
Overall, the Parasite Eve team has done a very good job in the music and sound
department.
Innovations Though Parasite Eve bears many
similarities to Resident Evil, it is really quite unfair if we compare Parasite
Eve to Resident Evil for a few reasons. Parasite Eve has many several
traditional unique RPG elements that make it a success and many of which, we
have never seen before. Resident Evil, on the other hand is more like a horror
action game whereas Parasite Eve is a horror RPG game. From a different
perspective, Parasite Eve does play a bit more like an action game than an RPG
game. Nevertheless, if you think carefully, you will realise that the gameplay
is much more deeper in Parasite Eve than that of Resident Evil. Again, no
offense to Resident Evil fans.
Combats in Parasite Eve are active-time
based just like the popular Final Fantasy series. When entering into a combat
area, you need to wait for the Active Time Bar [ATB] to be completely charged up
first before you can get to select commands such as firing a Rocket Launcher,
using items or PE energy and so on. When Aya Brea is using weapons like
Shotguns, Rocket Launcher and so on, a circular field [much like a wire frame]
will appear and basically this shows you the range of your attack. Any enemy
that are found within this circular field can be attacked. The closer your enemy
is to you, you are more likely to inflict greater damage on it. However, when
the Active Time Bar is not fully charged up, my advice is run since Aya Brea
cannot perform any commands during this period.
Known as Parasite Energy
or PE for short, it functions very similarly to the traditional magic points, or
MP found in almost all RPGs. Cast a Parasite Energy spell and your PE will
reduce. As simple as that, right? Like most RPGs, Aya Brea can gain levels as
she earns experience through fighting. Once she gains a level, HP, PE and other
statistics will rise. As Aya Brea gains a level, Aya Brea also gains bonus
points. These bonus points can be used as incentives to make her Active Time Bar
[ATB] charged faster or increase her item capacity and so on. Cool, right?
While the combat looks and sounds good, there is basically one flaw.
Sometimes, the fighting arena can really be quite limited and as a result, you
have a limited area to run and attack. Other than that, I have to admit that
this is an extremely solid and well-polished combat system. [Perhaps, Vagrant
Story might be able to make up for that!!!]
Perhaps, the most innovative
feature found in Parasite Eve is the ability to let Aya Brea tune up her weapons
by using a weapon permit or a trading card. In my opinion, this feature does
provide enough flexibility to let you customise Aya Brea's weapons and this is
the first of any RPGs.
If you think that these aren't enough, there is
also an Ex mode to satisfy any diehard fans when the game is completed. The Ex
mode will contain new bosses, new enemies, new areas etc and is probably one of
the game's greatest challenge. The new bosses and enemies are definitely much
harder than the one you find in the normal game. All in one, excellent gameplay
and replay value.
My Personal Thoughts I am not really sure
why some reviewers gave such a low score to Parasite Eve like below a 6. In my
opinion, Parasite Eve definitely deserves more. At least an 8. Is it because the
story is too short? However, in my opinion, the length of the story is just
right for me! What I want to say is that, the game is based on a portion of a
novel and therefore, it's pretty obvious that you cannot expect long hours of
60+ gameplay like Final Fantasy VII, right? The whole event spreads over 6 whole
exciting days. [According to Parasite Eve's time, not 6 days in our real
life!!!] Wouldn't it be strange if the whole event takes more than a week or
perhaps a month? If the whole story is spread over weeks or even months, people
might lose interest in the storyline. And, what's wrong with short story length?
Take a look at Metal Gear Solid. I have to admit that the game is extremely
short. Director and creator of Metal Gear Solid, Hideo Kojima said that he
wanted to make a very short game for Metal Gear Solid. I still give the original
Metal Gear Solid a 9 in my review. Think about it! If an action movie game takes
over 25 hours, wouldn't that be extremely too long? [Do Snake really need over
25 hours of gameplay to stop those terrorist?] The same applies to Parasite Eve
as well. Same thing as you watch a two-hour movie. Furthermore, there is also an
Ex Mode as mentioned before, which will provide you more challenge and replay
value once you complete the game.
In my opinion, a storyline that can
make you engross in it as if you belong to that videogame world is a good game.
What I really like about Parasite Eve is the way the story unfolds in a very
mature way like how the mysteries are revealed.
Don't worry about what
people have said or thought badly about Parasite Eve. Parasite Eve is absolutely
another masterpiece from Square. If you have seen ads on Parasite Eve in the
game magazines like Electronic Gaming Monthly etc, you should have notice this
statement, ''A chilling new adventure that could only come from the creators of
Final Fantasy VII.'' What does that show? The Parasite Eve team has very high
expectations for Parasite Eve and they are very proud of their product. And
after playing the game, I do agree that they are right. [Grab it now if you have
not done so! You won't regret it! You have my words!]
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