Review
Played on: DuckStation (PS1 Emulator)Released: 1998
Prior to release, Parasite Eve was gradually being hyped up by the press. It would benefit from the massive popularity of both the Resident Evil franchise, of which the sequel was postponed to 1998, and Final Fantasy VII. It was a horror game written as a sequel to a popular Japanese horror novel, with Squaresoft using their FFVII engine.
Featuring a collaboration between their Japanese offices and the newly created office on Hawaii, it sported high quality pre-rendered backgrounds, JRPG elements combined with shooting mechanics, as well as detailed CGI sequences. It was set to become a large Squaresoft release, I recall reading previews like this one from the Official UK PlayStation magazine of May 1998:
Articles like this made it sound like something I'd enjoy being a massive Resident Evil fan. I waited for a release here in PAL Europe but sadly it never came to fruition, despite its popularity of over one million copies sold in Japan and the US. A decision I literally can't understand in hindsight, it would've expanded the sales further without much extra effort.
The series would continue with Parasite Eve 2, released in 2000 on PS1, and later a third, spin-off release, dubbed the 3rd Birthday on the PlayStation Portable in 2010. I finally decided to give this series a proper playthrough as I never did back in the 90s. It's one of those franchises with a lot of praise by fans, but sadly not enough sales to justify its continuation despite solid sales.
Let's take a closer look!
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There's clear Squaresoft, 90s era, DNA in Parasite Eve, as well as heavy Resident Evil inspiration. It's a fusion of franchise concepts I can't believe I've missed for so long. A wonderful throwback to a time where Japanese games felt different, with a unique atmosphere, gameplay and overall feeling. You might have to "have been there" to fully appreciate it, but I quickly sank into its amazing world.
The story kicks off with a snowy New York at Christmas, where the off-duty NYPD officer, Aya Brea, is attending a show at the opera. In a fast turn for the worse, the main singer of the play ignites internal combustion on the whole audience. Aya is witness to their poor souls burning to death in front of her. She quickly kicks into police mode, confronting the singer but fails to capture her and from the backstage areas your investigation of the terrorist attack begins.
It's a straight to the point and brutal beginning to the main component of the story on how mitochondria physically work in the human body. A medical term derived from the horror novel the franchise is based on. Surprisingly, it delves quite far into technical medical terminology and the real-life scenarios, reflecting the book it’s a sequel to where the author was a pharmacologist. No wonder it gets medical technical!
The main aim of the game for Aya, and her police partner Daniel, is to hunt down and capture the play’s singer called Melissa. Who is tied into a far deeper plot than simply being an opera singer. What's interesting is that the entire story spans over 6 days, which in turn work as chapters for the game, spread across 2 CD's, nonetheless. I'm guessing there’s a large amount of CGI that takes up the storage space, but it isn't a Final Fantasy length, think a typical Resident Evil playthrough from this era.
This week of investigations will allow Aya to investigate famous locations in New York. Surprisingly, you’re allowed to travel back and forth to previous locations at your will during the campaign days, although it serves mostly as a way of finding extra equipment and items or gaining experience points. It’s not necessary for the story progression.
Spending time at the NYPD headquarters is kind of cosy though, here you can upgrade guns and equipment, as well as listen to various stories from the numerous characters in the game. I like when games make a base feel a little like home and reuse the area throughout the story.
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%20(Disc%201)%202024-10-06-21-54-34.png)
%20(Disc%201)%202024-10-05-22-42-37.png)
Clearly inspired by Resident Evil are the camera angles, creepy atmosphere, and room unlocking. However, it's a vastly different atmosphere overall in PE. It doesn't take place in a closed off area with no escape. Aya is free to wander about various locations and interact with bystanders along the way. Somehow it echoes wandering into towns in FFVII with the way it’s written.
In the audio department there's a unique music score going on. Capturing, at the time of release, modern influences of techno with a distant hint of melancholy from the FFF franchise. Yet, it's delibraty composed withits own style by Yoko Shimomura of Kingdom Hearts and Super Mario RPG fame.
Prior to release, Parasite Eve was gradually being hyped up by the press. It would benefit from the massive popularity of both the Resident Evil franchise, of which the sequel was postponed to 1998, and Final Fantasy VII. It was a horror game written as a sequel to a popular Japanese horror novel, with Squaresoft using their FFVII engine.
Featuring a collaboration between their Japanese offices and the newly created office on Hawaii, it sported high quality pre-rendered backgrounds, JRPG elements combined with shooting mechanics, as well as detailed CGI sequences. It was set to become a large Squaresoft release, I recall reading previews like this one from the Official UK PlayStation magazine of May 1998:
Articles like this made it sound like something I'd enjoy being a massive Resident Evil fan. I waited for a release here in PAL Europe but sadly it never came to fruition, despite its popularity of over one million copies sold in Japan and the US. A decision I literally can't understand in hindsight, it would've expanded the sales further without much extra effort.
The series would continue with Parasite Eve 2, released in 2000 on PS1, and later a third, spin-off release, dubbed the 3rd Birthday on the PlayStation Portable in 2010. I finally decided to give this series a proper playthrough as I never did back in the 90s. It's one of those franchises with a lot of praise by fans, but sadly not enough sales to justify its continuation despite solid sales.
Let's take a closer look!
%20(Disc%201)%202024-10-04-21-26-35.png)
%20(Disc%201)%202024-10-04-22-45-40%20(1).png)
%20(Disc%201)%202024-10-04-23-12-00.png)
There's clear Squaresoft, 90s era, DNA in Parasite Eve, as well as heavy Resident Evil inspiration. It's a fusion of franchise concepts I can't believe I've missed for so long. A wonderful throwback to a time where Japanese games felt different, with a unique atmosphere, gameplay and overall feeling. You might have to "have been there" to fully appreciate it, but I quickly sank into its amazing world.
The story kicks off with a snowy New York at Christmas, where the off-duty NYPD officer, Aya Brea, is attending a show at the opera. In a fast turn for the worse, the main singer of the play ignites internal combustion on the whole audience. Aya is witness to their poor souls burning to death in front of her. She quickly kicks into police mode, confronting the singer but fails to capture her and from the backstage areas your investigation of the terrorist attack begins.
It's a straight to the point and brutal beginning to the main component of the story on how mitochondria physically work in the human body. A medical term derived from the horror novel the franchise is based on. Surprisingly, it delves quite far into technical medical terminology and the real-life scenarios, reflecting the book it’s a sequel to where the author was a pharmacologist. No wonder it gets medical technical!
The main aim of the game for Aya, and her police partner Daniel, is to hunt down and capture the play’s singer called Melissa. Who is tied into a far deeper plot than simply being an opera singer. What's interesting is that the entire story spans over 6 days, which in turn work as chapters for the game, spread across 2 CD's, nonetheless. I'm guessing there’s a large amount of CGI that takes up the storage space, but it isn't a Final Fantasy length, think a typical Resident Evil playthrough from this era.
This week of investigations will allow Aya to investigate famous locations in New York. Surprisingly, you’re allowed to travel back and forth to previous locations at your will during the campaign days, although it serves mostly as a way of finding extra equipment and items or gaining experience points. It’s not necessary for the story progression.
Spending time at the NYPD headquarters is kind of cosy though, here you can upgrade guns and equipment, as well as listen to various stories from the numerous characters in the game. I like when games make a base feel a little like home and reuse the area throughout the story.
%20(Disc%201)%202024-10-04-23-04-38.png)
%20(Disc%201)%202024-10-06-21-54-34.png)
%20(Disc%201)%202024-10-05-22-42-37.png)
Clearly inspired by Resident Evil are the camera angles, creepy atmosphere, and room unlocking. However, it's a vastly different atmosphere overall in PE. It doesn't take place in a closed off area with no escape. Aya is free to wander about various locations and interact with bystanders along the way. Somehow it echoes wandering into towns in FFVII with the way it’s written.
In the audio department there's a unique music score going on. Capturing, at the time of release, modern influences of techno with a distant hint of melancholy from the FFF franchise. Yet, it's delibraty composed withits own style by Yoko Shimomura of Kingdom Hearts and Super Mario RPG fame.
It alternates upbeat electronic with loneliness and eerie soundscapes, it's a truly memorable soundtrack. Sadly in contrast, there are times with no music at all, which feels barebones considering there's little usage of background noise and no spoken dialogue to fill the empty void. Plus, with the exception of the intro where you're actually in an opera, the cheap singing effect in the soundtrack overstays it's welcome fast.
Gameplay is where PE and RE part their ways completely. Sure, moving Aya about locations with camera angles is typical RE, but the combat is nothing alike. Battles occur randomly, similar to FF titles albeit much less frequently, where the enemies aren’t visible prior to the battle. Unlike FFVII, where a battle will send you to a 3D battle arena, PE simply flashes the screen and begins the battle on the pre-rendered background. A neat touch.
Aya can freely run about in the battle, although the camera angle is locked to that paritucal screen and she can’t run away. Shots with your guns become available once a timer is ready, dubbed AT for active time battle. When the AT meter is full you can freeze the action and choose which enemy, or enemy part, to shoot at.
The timing is reminiscent of FFVII, where it’s seemingly turn based on the surface but is actually based on the time the AT gauge takes to fill up. The more bullets a gun can fire on each turn, the more targets you can choose for a turn. When selecting enemies or their various parts, with time frozen, is a distant reminiscent of the Fallout titles.
In addition, Aya has Parasite Eve abilities. Basically the same as magic from Final Fantasy. These include spells like healing, slow, haste, barrier etc. and are unlocked as Aya levels up through battle experience. Using a PE ability will take a full turn of the AT gauge and deplete a certain amount of the PE meter, depending on what ability you choose. To increase the PE meter, you need to do damage on enemies.
There are guns and armoured vests to upgrade too, finding the sweet spot of fire rate and hit points. Certain guns and vests can be combined to upgrade them, as well as finding upgrades scattered about in chests. Killing enemies will grant you items like health and cure potions. Gun can be exchanged during a battle, costing you a turn. A rifle will long range can be handy for an enemy with close range attacks, while a fast machine pistol is great for quick enemies.
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%20(Disc%201)%202024-10-07-20-57-41.png)
%20(Disc%201)%202024-10-05-22-58-03.png)
Parasite Eve utilities pre-rendered backgrounds for its visuals. You can sense some subtle FFF VII design traits in their inspiration, however they're far more detailed and advanced in PE. Clearly Squaresoft were really learning how to utilise both pre-rendered backgrounds and CGI efficiently by the time PE released.
Typical for Squaresoft, in addition to fixed angles, are scrolling ones as you walk and distant, wide angles. Depicting larger areas than the typical close shots from RE. There's a lot more diversity here than RE: from interiors to outdoors locations covered in snow. You visit numerous locations like a theatre, central park, a police station, a hospital etc. resulting in a lot of variety. I found it a stunning title and they've done a lovely job in capturing a Christmas vibe in New York. The cool CGI work is Squaresoft clearly becoming increasingly experienced at what they're doing!
There's so much atmosphere put into these pre-rendered backgrounds, a 90s aesthetic I've loved since the original Resident Evil. A clever way of improving visuals a far step above real-time 3D at the time, but the result is a resolution forever locked in 240p. Pre-rendered titles from this era require a CRT TV or scanlines on emulators to genuinely appreciate them. Blowing up these backgrounds to a massive modern screen results in a super pixelated look, while at the same time boosting the 3D resolution looks visually bad. It distances the characters and the backgrounds from each other, making them feel disconnected.
PE's 3D models are fairly simplistic, reminding me of the basic texture work of FFVII models, although far more polygon heavy. Aya reminds me even of Cloud Strife, with large and bright coloured eyes, blonde hair and a tall, skinny appearance. Enemy designs a solid, some work better than others. They lean into a fantasy-like design, again Squaresoft heritage at display here.
Controlling Aya is surprisingly not based on tank controls like other 3D titles from this era. I played it with the analogue stick mode activated and could simply push Aya in the direction I wanted her to go. Gameplay works well in combat and the 3D movement allows you to avoid enemy attacks efficiently.
Combat is more interactive than what it seems on the surface, the key is to move about. Standing still will put you in a lot of oncoming fire and there’s a balance between accuracy and damage points when engaging enemies either from afar or up close. The damage dealt is also dependent on the gun; a rifle can hit the enemy from a distance without problems, while a shotgun requires you to get up close and personal.
Gameplay is where PE and RE part their ways completely. Sure, moving Aya about locations with camera angles is typical RE, but the combat is nothing alike. Battles occur randomly, similar to FF titles albeit much less frequently, where the enemies aren’t visible prior to the battle. Unlike FFVII, where a battle will send you to a 3D battle arena, PE simply flashes the screen and begins the battle on the pre-rendered background. A neat touch.
Aya can freely run about in the battle, although the camera angle is locked to that paritucal screen and she can’t run away. Shots with your guns become available once a timer is ready, dubbed AT for active time battle. When the AT meter is full you can freeze the action and choose which enemy, or enemy part, to shoot at.
The timing is reminiscent of FFVII, where it’s seemingly turn based on the surface but is actually based on the time the AT gauge takes to fill up. The more bullets a gun can fire on each turn, the more targets you can choose for a turn. When selecting enemies or their various parts, with time frozen, is a distant reminiscent of the Fallout titles.
In addition, Aya has Parasite Eve abilities. Basically the same as magic from Final Fantasy. These include spells like healing, slow, haste, barrier etc. and are unlocked as Aya levels up through battle experience. Using a PE ability will take a full turn of the AT gauge and deplete a certain amount of the PE meter, depending on what ability you choose. To increase the PE meter, you need to do damage on enemies.
There are guns and armoured vests to upgrade too, finding the sweet spot of fire rate and hit points. Certain guns and vests can be combined to upgrade them, as well as finding upgrades scattered about in chests. Killing enemies will grant you items like health and cure potions. Gun can be exchanged during a battle, costing you a turn. A rifle will long range can be handy for an enemy with close range attacks, while a fast machine pistol is great for quick enemies.
%20(Disc%201)%202024-10-06-21-02-44.png)
%20(Disc%201)%202024-10-07-20-57-41.png)
%20(Disc%201)%202024-10-05-22-58-03.png)
Parasite Eve utilities pre-rendered backgrounds for its visuals. You can sense some subtle FFF VII design traits in their inspiration, however they're far more detailed and advanced in PE. Clearly Squaresoft were really learning how to utilise both pre-rendered backgrounds and CGI efficiently by the time PE released.
Typical for Squaresoft, in addition to fixed angles, are scrolling ones as you walk and distant, wide angles. Depicting larger areas than the typical close shots from RE. There's a lot more diversity here than RE: from interiors to outdoors locations covered in snow. You visit numerous locations like a theatre, central park, a police station, a hospital etc. resulting in a lot of variety. I found it a stunning title and they've done a lovely job in capturing a Christmas vibe in New York. The cool CGI work is Squaresoft clearly becoming increasingly experienced at what they're doing!
There's so much atmosphere put into these pre-rendered backgrounds, a 90s aesthetic I've loved since the original Resident Evil. A clever way of improving visuals a far step above real-time 3D at the time, but the result is a resolution forever locked in 240p. Pre-rendered titles from this era require a CRT TV or scanlines on emulators to genuinely appreciate them. Blowing up these backgrounds to a massive modern screen results in a super pixelated look, while at the same time boosting the 3D resolution looks visually bad. It distances the characters and the backgrounds from each other, making them feel disconnected.
PE's 3D models are fairly simplistic, reminding me of the basic texture work of FFVII models, although far more polygon heavy. Aya reminds me even of Cloud Strife, with large and bright coloured eyes, blonde hair and a tall, skinny appearance. Enemy designs a solid, some work better than others. They lean into a fantasy-like design, again Squaresoft heritage at display here.
Controlling Aya is surprisingly not based on tank controls like other 3D titles from this era. I played it with the analogue stick mode activated and could simply push Aya in the direction I wanted her to go. Gameplay works well in combat and the 3D movement allows you to avoid enemy attacks efficiently.
Combat is more interactive than what it seems on the surface, the key is to move about. Standing still will put you in a lot of oncoming fire and there’s a balance between accuracy and damage points when engaging enemies either from afar or up close. The damage dealt is also dependent on the gun; a rifle can hit the enemy from a distance without problems, while a shotgun requires you to get up close and personal.
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%20(Disc%201)%202024-10-04-21-48-24.png)
%20(Disc%201)%202024-10-06-21-53-30.png)
On the flipside of positives, Parasite Eve does feel a little simplistic when it comes to the mechanics of the game. Although a typical RE is just aiming and shooting, the combat expected from a Squaresoft RPG is perhaps deeper. I would’ve enjoyed some more tactics to the attacks and more freedom moving around the limited battlefield. Often the difficult battles end in a heal and damage loop.
There's a lack of puzzles which feels obvious when compared to Resident Evil, even though it makes you find keys and items like fuses to progress, it never requires anything else than finding them. They could easily have expanded upon the experience with some puzzles needed to be solved in order to progress. Maybe even forcing the player to travel between locations to solve certain ones!
Dialogue strictly text only and while I don't mind this for older titles, I must say that dialogue audio feels lacking here. It's not as text heavy as a Final Fantasy release, so it feels as if it should’ve had the more cinematic approach of voice overs. As mentioned earlier, the quietness is bit jarring at times, and that opera singing is grating when it’s repeated.
Smaller gripes aside, my overall experience with PE has been fantastic! I’ve really enjoyed the different take on horror and I can imagine the book is exciting after playing this. I'm happy to have discovered this combination of Resident Evil visuals and exploring, combined with classic Squaresoft RPG elements and character design, making it a unique entry in the 90s horror genre.
If you enjoy horror titles, or even Final Fantasy ones from this pre-rendered era, I really recommend playing Parasite Eve. I've truly enjoyed myself and it's a perfect autumn and winter title to enjoy in dark evenings with a warm drink!
