Graphics/Visuals: 10/10 There's not much room for debate here;
Parasite Eve 2's visuals are the absolute second best on the PSX, no questions
asked. Obviously - you guessed it - first place belongs to Chrono Cross.
Parasite Eve 2's graphics DEFINITELY lack the style or flair of Chrono Cross,
and the character models are much better in Chrono Cross too. However, this is
almost as good as it gets for the PSX - all the enemies look awesome. The human
characters I found to be a little disappointing; polygon movement was very jerky
except for Aya, who looked awesome but had WAY too large an ass when compared to
the rest of her body - not that I was looking. Aya's movement animations are
flawless, and it's especially realistic when a ground NMC clamps on to her foot
and she kicks it off. Spell effects are, at best, mediocre - but this is
acceptable because Spells are VERY rarely the focal point of battles in PE 2. I
can't think of one Spell that looks particularly cool, and although I haven't
seen all of them, I can definitely promise you that nothing in that area will
''wow'' you if you've played Chrono Cross. The pre-rendered backgrounds are just
incredible, and detailed to very last inch - they may even be better than Chrono
Cross' (well, okay... no), but there certainly aren't as many of them and they
definitely aren't as diverse. However, Dryfield in particular is cool looking,
as is the setting for the final battle. The FMVs, as is custom with Square, are
absolutely top-notch, and definitely as good as Chrono Cross. There are some
extremely cool instances in where you control Aya in a repeating FMV background
- it's like an interactive movie. It's a lot like the Deling City Parade in
Final Fantasy VIII, except cooler. So, in all? It's like I said before - the
second best on PSX, next to Chrono Cross (and probably third once Final Fantasy
IX takes second place behind Chrono Cross.
Music and Sound: 5/10 Argh - this is a hard category to rate for a game like Parasite Eve
2. Because there's what makes the game have good atmosphere, and then there are
my own opinions, and they definitely conflict here. I don't think there will be
any argument when I say that Parasite Eve 1 had INTENSE atmosphere - and a
beautiful score courtesy of Yoko Shimomura (Front Mission 1, Super Mario RPG,
Legend of Mana). Now, it can be aruged that Parasite Eve 2 has a much more
intense atmosphere than PE 1 because of the incredibly well-implemented ambience
- unfortunately, it's missing much of a musical score at all. In fact, most of
the music there is in the game (and that's barely any) is some of the absolute
worst garbage I've ever had the displeasure to hear, and I say that with full
responsibility of the consequences. It's just BAD. The opening movie is a cool
remix of the original PE 1 theme, but it's just that - a remix. And it repeats.
And repeats. AND REPEATS. There's no ''song'' like Shimomura composed for the
first one's opening - it's just the same sequence of notes over and over again
with more drums and cymbals as the story progresses. Admittedly, though, it gets
you ready to spend some time with the game - I get goosebumps just watching the
opening. There's also some noticeable ''music'' at the MIST Headquarters at the
beginning of the game - but it's a sad, pathetic remix of ''Under the
Influence,'' the NYPD Precinct theme from PE 1. Oh, I may as well just get to
the GOOD music - the final battle themes, especially THE final battle song, is
good (but nowhere near PE 1's), and the credits music is just beautiful. And
this is gonna sound awfully untrue, but between MIST Headquarters at the
beginning and the final battle at the end, there really is no music. Seriously.
However, there IS ambience - which sets the mood incredibly well - and the sound
effects are noticeably fantastic. That's really the only reason this category
gets a 5, and not lower.
Storyline: 7/10 The first Parasite
Eve's story was truly awesome. It just was. The whole relationship triangle
between Aya, Eve, and Maya was just breathtakingly awesome. There was truly
never a dull moment plotwise in PE 1, up through the finale. Unfortunately, this
is not the case with PE 2. It continues the story of Parasite Eve extremely
well, but it doesn't fully continue it, and trust me when I say this - PE 2
starts off SLOW. Through the whole beginning until you get maybe halfway into
your first trip into Dryfield, there's basically no storyline. Aya basically
runs around hunting NMCs (Neo Mitochondrion Creatures) and trying to find their
source - that is, until Eve's name is mentioned. Eve, you say? Eve melted into a
pile of goo in PE 1! Maybe that's so, and maybe it isn't. You'll just have to
play and see. What's truly cool about PE 2's story is its nonchalant way of
introducing horror to the player. I can't really explain this without spoiling
stuff, but if you've played PE 1 you'll know exactly what I mean. The Eve in
Parasite Eve 2 is truly frightening in an underlying sort of way, and the way PE
2 never makes notice of it, but at the same time does is really cool. My only
complaints with PE 2's story is, like I said earlier, that it's extremely slow
at the beginning, and later, that it never really gets deep enough to go
anywhere except for a single point that reveals the history of the monsters Aya
fights throughout the game. Additionally, the finale is somewhat anticlimatic;
fans of the first will especially love the finale, but the fact that there is no
shocking conversation - just a battle - between Aya and the final enemy will
undoubtedly disappoint most. There's really no excuse for this; Aya would be
freaked out of her mind at the sight of who her enemy is, and yet she seems to
say nothing and point her gun at it. Very disappointing. But overall, with a
storyline that takes place three years after the first game and makes mentions
of and has many ties to the original, PE 2 delivers plotwise, even if not in all
areas.
Gameplay: 5/10 One will undoubtedly think of Threads of
Fate when considering Parasite Eve 2's gameplay system. I have the same exct
gripes with this game's systems as I did with ToF's; AYA NEVER GETS STRONGER.
THIS SUCKS. No matter HOW MUCH you battle, Aya's max HP, attack power, and
defense power will never, ever rise, even though she will earn EXP that you can
spend like money on reviving and strengthening Parasite Energies, the Magic of
this game. You can only raise Aya's HP permanently through the use of rarely
found items, and you can only raise her MP permanently by reviving Parasite
Energies. Most conventional HP and MP boosts rely COMPLETELY on the armor she
has equipped. God, that sucks so much I can't even begin to tell you. Really,
the only way you can expect to increase the damage you do to monsters is by
getting better weapons and by attaching special items to Aya's armor.
''Attaching items,'' you ask? Yes, that is the basis of PE 2's ''Attachment
System.'' Each piece of armor in the game has a preset amount of Attachment
Slots on it (that can be increased by the use of Belt Pouches). You can put any
one item you want in each of these slots, and these will be the items available
to you in battle. For example, you obviously always want some Recovery items in
there, but you can also attach a weapon and its ammo, so that you may switch
between weapons in the middle of battle (which will oftentimes be necessary to
attain victory). The possibilities are really limitless. Unfortunately, this
system isn't nearly as cool as PE 1's weapon and armor customization system was.
The only ''customizing'' you'll be doing to a weapon in PE 2 is purchasing the
many different attachments for the M4A1 Rifle, some of which include the Hammer,
a tazer-type electric shocker, the M201 Grenade Launcher, whose name says it
all, and the Javelin, a laser beam. Otherwise, all other guns are ''what you see
is what you get.'' Pretty disappointing, and very Resident Evil-esque. All
right, enough about that - what about the Parasite Energies? Well, in PE 1, they
were actually useful and conventional. In PE 2? Not so. MP is so incredibly
limited in PE 2 that using ANY PE (Parasite Energy) besides Healing probably
isn't a great idea, not until the second half of the game anyway. There are only
12 PEs, as well; three belonging to each category of PE - Fire (attack), Water
(healing), Earth (protection/boost), and Wind (status). At the beginning of the
game Aya will only have Pyrokinesis, the first Fire PE, but she can revive and
strengthen more (up to Level 3) by earning EXP in battle. ''Strengthening'' PEs
not only makes them stronger and cooler looking, but makes them cost less MP to
cast and also take less time to prepare. Don't be fooled into thinking you can
get by without worrying about PE, though - nope, in PE 2, PE is sometimes
REQUIRED to winning a battle, so you have to manage your MP well. All right,
let's move on to the final aspect of battle - the controls. In short, these are
the worst controls I've ever experinced. I can't really explain them, but if
you've ever played a Resident Evil game - they are EXACTLY that. RE controls.
And in battle, that's REALLY a bad thing. The key to success in PE 2 lies in
learning that you CAN avoid enemy attacks - it's just really, insanely hard. And
that sucks doubly when enemies throughout the game can decimate Aya in maybe
four or five good attacks. It does take time to get used to PE 2's controls, but
once you do and you learn that hey, you CAN avoid those enemies, PE 2 actually
gets very fun, which brings me to...
Fun Factor: 7/10 If you're
a fan of Parasite Eve 1 who's expecting something as immediately awesome as the
first, you will hate PE 2 from the getgo. Hell, I did. I HATED this game. That's
until, like I said before, the story picked up and I learned that it IS possible
to survive and evade enemies. Then an element of strategy was involved in
battles, and not only were battles challenging, but interesting and fun. It was
truly a test of gaming prowess. All I can really say is this - give the game
time. It totally sucks in the beginning. But at least play up until Dryfield -
you will. by then, have gotten used to the way PE 2 plays, and will probably be
starting to like it. And from there on, it just grows on you. And grows. And
continues to do so until the point you break and sit down and play the game
through to the end and friggin' love it. But it's definitely not as immediately
cool as PE 1, and it's something you have to get used to. But given time, you
WILL like this game if you liked the first. Also, one more word of caution:
don't buy this game if you have an aversion to dying. 'Cause you will die. Many
times. I cannot stress this enough. Yes, I KNOW Legend of Mana, Threads of Fate,
and Chrono Cross were all easy as friggin' hell. THIS IS NOT THE CASE WITH PE 2.
Parasite Eve 2 is most likely one of the hardest games you'll ever play, and
your patience will be tried over and over again. The final bosses especially are
just plain cheap and nasty. I give you one piece of advice before you embark on
your journey, my friend: save very, very often.
Overall (not an
average): 8/10 Overall, Parasite Eve 2 is not nearly as good as the first
one, however it is a worthy experience in itself and deserves a spin. It's
extremely dry and empty after the monumental super-epic that is Chrono Cross,
but hey, a game like that only comes, well... every five years. Play and
understand Parasite Eve 2 for what it is - a worthy sequel to an awesome game -
and, in time, you will enjoy it. Just play through the first area and give the
game a chance to pick up. The visuals are excellent, the atmosphere is perfect,
the music is VERY disappointing, the plot is gripping (if not as much as the
first game's), and the gameplay and battle interface is clunky, but manageable
and very fun after awhile.
Should you rent or buy it? RPGamers
that like pure RPGs like Chrono Cross or Trigger and Final Fantasy anything
should definitely RENT this one first, because PE 2 is just barely an RPG. It's
a survival horror more than anything. RE fans and fans of the first Parasite Eve
- especially if those two traits are combined - should BUY Parasite Eve 2, no
questions asked.
The Final Word Parasite Eve 2 is nowhere near
as good as Parasite Eve 1, and sucky at first. But given time, Parasite Eve 2
turns into a really great experience that is worth your time and money - even if
the challenge is through the roof. (these were written some time ago... and my
point of view probably changed... but oh well.... ive been busy. i have many
more too) oh yea. i did like gamefaqs does it. the rent or buy thing.
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