Retro Review: Parasite Eve (PSN)

Mitochondria is the

powerhouse of the cell.

 SquareSoft (now known as Square Enix) were responsible for many great role-playing games on the original PlayStation, and 1998's Parasite Eve was among them. Based on the Hideaki Sena novel of the same name, Parasite Eve follows a young police detective whose on a mission to stop highly intelligent organism from wiping out the human race. I got Parasite Eve a couple years back after reading about some of its praise, but it's only until now that I managed to beat it. Still, it was an interesting experience and surprisingly, I have a lot to talk about, so buckle in!

 Taking place in 1997 New York City, Parasite Eve starts off with our main lead, N.Y.P.D. detective Aya Brea, who attends an opera performance with her date on Christmas Eve. Everything's fine and well until suddenly- the main actress pauses and spontaneously ignites the crowd on fire, unleashing all hell. It's utter chaos except for Aya, who manages to keep cool. She tracks down the actress who calls herself "Eve" and plans to eradicate the human race by absorbing their mitochondria while also revealing that Aya possess similar powers as she swiftly disappears.

 It's now up to Aya, who somehow resists Eve's powers, to stop her from tearing New York apart. From there, the plot throws your middle school biology text book back at you by heavily discussing the human cells, nucleus, and most importantly, the mitochondria. Add in theories of human evolution and possible dangers of the mitochondria and you have a nonsensical, if not thrilling narrative.

 Overall, I really enjoyed the story. It's disturbing at times, starting with that lit opera show (pun intended) and only gets gruesome from there. Aya is a strong, level-headed heroine who's not invincible as we see her being vulnerable various points of the story. Her mysterious past also gets discussed, and it's full of plot-twists. The supporting cast are just as good and I felt for Daniel, Aya's partner and father-figure, who's personal life gets tangled with Eve's chaos. There's also Maeda, the awkward scientist who aims to crack down the mystery behind Eve, who I found to be entertaining in many scenes. In case you have to restart a boss, prepare to sit through the cutscenes again since there's no skip feature, which I found to be annoying.

While it may lose you along the way, 

the narrative remained interesting.

 An action-RPG hybrid with horror elements, Parasite Eve is not that different from other Square titles. You control Aya as she explores linear environments while also taking on enemies. Battles are random, meaning that enemies can take you by surprise. Similar to much of Square's games, the game adapts the Active Time Battle (ATB) system from early Final Fantasy games, meaning that combat is turn-based and you'll have to wait for the action meter before you can act. When you battle enemies, Aya will move in a cramped "battle zone" to engage them.

 Aya uses guns to take down enemies. The downside to that is if she shoots a faraway enemy, then she'll deal less damage. Conversely, shooting nearby enemies will deal more damage and will often deal critical hits. However, the real strategy lies in positioning yourself well, as staying too close to enemies will leave you open to their attacks, and maneuver oncoming attacks. It might be a little hard to move through the ridiculously narrow battle space, but it feels rewarding when you somehow manage to pull it off.

 Unique to Aya are her Parasite Energy- superhuman powers that she can use to heal herself, cure aliments, increase her movement, and even scan enemies' health. Think of it as magic in a traditional RPG when you need a little help in battles. Beating enemies naturally rewards you with experience in order for Aya to level up, increasing her attributes. Finishing battles also nets Bonus Points that can be used to upgrade her battle speed, inventory space, and even Aya's weapons and armor.

The gameplay's solid and is

accessible for newcomers.

 Fans of Capcom's Resident Evil series will be surprised to know that Parasite Eve takes a few cues from those games. There's a limited inventory system, meaning that Aya can carry so much until you have dispose of what you won't be needing. Ammo is also limited and there were times where my ammo was so low that I had to resort to the police club to get the job done, though the game is more generous with ammo later on. Carrying the RE theme is a fixed camera that compliments the atmospheric vibe of the game.

 The game has a few explorable areas, though they're mostly linear. Some of the likes include Chinatown, Central Park, and Chrysler building (which we'll get to shortly). Hidden in some of them are chests that include healing items, weapons, and armor. By using a special tool, you can easily customize your weapons and equipment. The game encourages you to hold on to excess weapons and gear as they can converted to stat boosts for your current gear. What took me out of exploring the game's environments was Aya's dreadfully slow walking speed, making you constantly wish for a sprint button. As a result, it made going out of your way to explore areas feel more like a chore. 

 For an RPG, Parasite Eve is surprisingly short, like under 10 hours short. For a big-budget title, I honestly can't imagine paying full price during its initial release. Even the folks at Square noticed this and tried rectify the issue by including the Chrysler building. Accessible only during a second playthrough (dubbed EX mode), the Chrysler building has you going through its randomized 77 floors fighting tougher waves of enemies and bosses. It felt like an artificial way to extend the game's runtime and not even half way in, I got bored. Sadly, if you want to experience the true, canonical ending then you'll have to put up with it... or you could just watch the scenes online.

Despite some flaws, the 

gameplay's remains fun.

 Seeing as it's a PS1 game, Parasite Eve is dated by today's standards. Aside from rough-looking character models, the pre-rendered backgrounds manage to hold up decently. I loved the small touches in detail such as seeing Aya's reflection while passing a mirror and how the sound of her footsteps changes when she steps on shattered glass. It's things like these that count and you don't see much of that in some of today's games. I don't know if it's me, but I had some trouble distinguishing objects in backgrounds as everything looked blurry, which as a result made me skip out on some precious boxes.

 Impressive (for its time) were the frequent uses of CGI during some story cutscenes. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I found some enjoyment in watching some of the game's grossly detailed and graphic scenes. Then again, we all know how Square were obsessed with their over-the-top cutscenes back in the day. But honestly, I nearly threw up watching some of the scenes featuring the disgusting slimy mass. Interestingly, the character designs were handled by veteran Square artist, Tetsuya Nomura. The character designs in the CGI cutscenes were well-made and decently hold up well. As head designer of the Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy games, Nomura surprised me with his grizzly and twisted creature designs that nailed the eerie atmosphere of the game. Hell, the last few bosses alone shocked me with their sick designs.

 Commonly known for her works on the Kingdom Hearts series, the talented Yoko Shimomura was responsible for the soundtrack. Filled with great atmospheric and rather nostalgic tracks, I personally loved some of the piano-themed tracks the most. Standouts include the likes of the chilling intro "Primal Eyes" and soothing battle theme "Arise Within You". However, the game could have benefited from more tracks as it gets annoyingly repetitive having to hear the same tracks played over again during the course of the game.

For the most part, the 

presentation holds up well.

 Man, Parasite Eve sure was a blast from the past. While story and gameplay were the most enjoyable bits, I was still disappointed by its brief runtime. For an RPG, one could expect a lengthy adventure chuck full of extra content such as side-quests (which the game's devoid of) but the game sadly doesn't deliver. Parasite Eve is not a bad game by any means, it's a great game that's sadly held back by some justifiable flaws. Still, seeing as it's only $6 on the PlayStation Store, I'd recommend it for those looking for an over-the-top story and solid gameplay.