Review
Played on: DuckStation (PS1 Emulator)Released: 2000
After my wonderful playthrough of the first Parasite Eve, review here, I continue on to the sequel. Still surprised over the great experiences I missed back in the day, I'm delighted to have finally played through them. Both games have a lot of likeness, then at the same time they differentiate themselves a fair bit.
Granted, PE1 was inspired by Resident Evil. However, when playing it there’s a distinct difference from that franchise. Parasite Eve 2 on the other hand, goes much closer towards being Resident Evil inspired, understandably after seeing the massive success the RE franchise had grown into since the release of the first game.
There's a balance here, Parasite Eve always was inspired by Resident Evil, but some of it's own uniqueness is lost in it's sequel. Losing that opportunity of delving deeper into it's own style. Then again, Squaresoft never truly dared to jump very deep into it's own style in the original.
Perhaps the turn towards becoming more RE-like is a result of Squaresoft hiring Kenichi Iwao, the original writer of the first Resident Evil. Which I still stand by as being one of the most genius game settings created, with fantastic pacing and uncovering of a dark story secret. Shamefully, Capcom removed Iwao's name from the Director's Cut credits of RE1, and any re-release since, but luckily he's got a second chance writing a horror title in this Parasite Eve sequel!
That said, once you really dig far into PE2 it takes a unexpected turns and stands out as something rather different from the RE franchise, especially on the second play disc. Oh yes, this is one of those two CD game releases!
Let's take Aya for a second round of internal combustion!
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After a quick tutorial at the police station's shooting range, highlighting how quick and easy it is to change targets, we get control of Aya in a rather low-key beginning of the game compared to the grandness of PE1's opera opening. Once we move Aya the biggest, and strangest, design change between PE1 and PE2 comes to light. It's tank controlled.
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After a quick tutorial at the police station's shooting range, highlighting how quick and easy it is to change targets, we get control of Aya in a rather low-key beginning of the game compared to the grandness of PE1's opera opening. Once we move Aya the biggest, and strangest, design change between PE1 and PE2 comes to light. It's tank controlled.
And yes, I'm well aware that many titles were back then and I'm used to control titles with pre-rendered graphics and camera angles this way. Sure, it works fine in PE2 when just exploring, but once the battles begin it feels restrictive. Bringing back memories of the limitations and frustrations with this slow way of movement when trying to do your best at avoiding oncoming attacks within a confined space. I's such a disappointing step back when PE1 had great manoeuvrability within the battlefield and movement was a part of the tactic.
Luckily, the gameplay element of guns and Parasite Eve abilities, basically magic, combined work even better in this sequel. Choosing abilities on the fly flows better thanks to an improved ability wheel. Gone are the active time battles, lifted from Final Fantasy 7 in PE1, transitioning from menu based tactics to realtime combat. That said, either battle style has it's strengths and PE2 requires faster decisions on the fly while the original allows you some breathing room between choosing each attack.
I appreciate how each ability now can be upgraded individually, though. You can choose which ones you prefer to upgrade yourself, rather than the linear upgrades each time you levelled up in PE1. Experience points are gained through battles and I must stress; use your map to see which rooms enemies are in and try battling them all before moving on in the story progression. Those experience points are vital for tough battles later on.
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On the other side of the scale of improvements there’s an annoying change from PE1 to PE2; you can't swap guns during a battle. If you haven’t planned ahead, added various types of ammo to your combat vest, you’re stuck with this loadout. This goes for life and ability boosts too. You need to upgrade each ammo vest to carry more items, but the upgrades are scarce, need to be discovered and can not be carried over to newer and better vests later on.
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On the other side of the scale of improvements there’s an annoying change from PE1 to PE2; you can't swap guns during a battle. If you haven’t planned ahead, added various types of ammo to your combat vest, you’re stuck with this loadout. This goes for life and ability boosts too. You need to upgrade each ammo vest to carry more items, but the upgrades are scarce, need to be discovered and can not be carried over to newer and better vests later on.
Equipping the combat vests with an extra gun is advisable or you'll find yourself stuck mid-battle with zero ammo for you currently equipped gun. Even if you’re carrying other weapons in your main inventory, they're unreachable during battle. Like the tank controls, it feels like an odd decision. That said, purchasing better weapons, upgrades, armour vests and ammo is part of the difficulty balance. Just make sure to thoroughly scavenge all areas for items, especially the ones that upgrade the holding space on your armour vests!
Like I mentioned, the game begins with a tutorial on how to switch targets and firing modes on your guns. This is a smart move by the developers, as it easier allows you to swap targets in the realtime battles. Firing your gun at whatever is approaching close to Aya. It's the button the early Resident Evil games should have had all along, aiding tremendously in focusing your aim on enemies about to attack close by.
Better still, there's a secondary firing mode for all guns. Mostly focusing on alternating firing modes on the guns, between single and burst. Although some secondary firing modes are different entirely. The firing modes are nice for either dealing lots of damage quickly or conserving crucial ammo. Luckily, 9mm ammo for handguns are featured in infinite ammo boxes on select locations. Allowing you to backtrack and refill. This ammo might not pack a punch, but you can use it for weaker enemies and waste it without consideration.
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Graphics do a fantastic job, right up there with titles like Resident Evil 2 and Final Fantasy 8 when it comes to the stunning pre-rendered backgrounds and CGI. There's much more detail in the 3D models this time around and small effects like Aya's reflection in windows and shiny floors spice up the visuals. Sadly, enemy models are sparse with questionable art direction. They often lean towards being a little goofy looking. I wish they’d overall made them creepier, as some of them are.
A really cool, but storage demanding, tech utilised are movable backgrounds. Basically a CGI sequence with 3D characters on top, that allow camera angles to be panned and moved, even though they're still pre-rendered. It's not utilised often, but the entrance to your first mission where you walk alongside fire trucks and police cars is effective and impressive to see!
Although backgrounds are more detailed here, there are less larger scenes with that Squaresoft magic PE1 differentiated itself from Resident Evil with. PE2 closer resembles Resident Evil visually, losing some of that Final Fantasy spirit. Sadly, and even more apparent with the movie styled presentation, there's no voices dialogue in this sequel either. It makes dramatic scenes a little stale and dampens the impact. I forgave the first game which came out in 1997 for it, but by 2000 and with this kind of cinematic presentation the silent protagonists feel odd.
Environment variation is very solid. We go from a city area with modern buildings, blended with classic style fountains and Greek styled pillars, all the way to a dusty roadside diner in the middle of a canyon area. Later on, Aya travels to a secret underground laboratory, which outstays it's welcome at some point, but it then changes into lush jungle like area with water and ancient buildings. Visually there's a lot of work done to keep it varied. Even though they make little sense at times.
Music is once again excellent work, perfectly suiting the franchise with a unique combination of modern sounds and a sprinkle of Final Fantasy. Ranging from high tempo beats and melancholic pieces, all the way to tense and creepy melodies. There are some familiar themes brought over from the first game too, which I enjoy as they sort of belong with the franchise, making it unique. Thankfully, the obnoxious fake opera singing is gone.
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Weighing up the improved against the disappointing changes from the first game, I feel that overall this sequel does a solid job at retaining a high review score. Some things will seem like a step back, while others make it look like an excellent last effort on the ageing PS1 hardware. There's positives and negatives to both titles.
If we look past the baffling change to tank controls and real-time battles, there's the surprising but somewhat weird location choices on the last half of the game, basically on disc two. There's a too many high-tech laboratory corridors, followed by a lush jungle glass house area, blended with some Egyptian styled buildings. Confused? Well, so was I and although some of these places are visually striking, they feel a little random in design.
Environment variation is very solid. We go from a city area with modern buildings, blended with classic style fountains and Greek styled pillars, all the way to a dusty roadside diner in the middle of a canyon area. Later on, Aya travels to a secret underground laboratory, which outstays it's welcome at some point, but it then changes into lush jungle like area with water and ancient buildings. Visually there's a lot of work done to keep it varied. Even though they make little sense at times.
Music is once again excellent work, perfectly suiting the franchise with a unique combination of modern sounds and a sprinkle of Final Fantasy. Ranging from high tempo beats and melancholic pieces, all the way to tense and creepy melodies. There are some familiar themes brought over from the first game too, which I enjoy as they sort of belong with the franchise, making it unique. Thankfully, the obnoxious fake opera singing is gone.
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Weighing up the improved against the disappointing changes from the first game, I feel that overall this sequel does a solid job at retaining a high review score. Some things will seem like a step back, while others make it look like an excellent last effort on the ageing PS1 hardware. There's positives and negatives to both titles.
If we look past the baffling change to tank controls and real-time battles, there's the surprising but somewhat weird location choices on the last half of the game, basically on disc two. There's a too many high-tech laboratory corridors, followed by a lush jungle glass house area, blended with some Egyptian styled buildings. Confused? Well, so was I and although some of these places are visually striking, they feel a little random in design.
Difficulty is also an issue. Although you can save anywhere I strongly urge players to gain as many experience points as possible, because some of the enemies towards the end, the end boss especially, feel like brutally unfair battles if you come unprepared. It's a tougher learning curve than PE1, just keep in mind this is an RPG at it's core and levelling Aya is essential for survival.
At the end of my playthrough I enjoyed this sequel almost as much as the first, it takes unexpected turns and has some creative choices. However, it lacks the magic and unique Christmas setting of snow covered New York PE1 had, which also had a more unique Squaresoft style and gameplay vibe over it. PE2 follows Resident Evil too closely, losing it's own identity somewhat.
At the end of my playthrough I enjoyed this sequel almost as much as the first, it takes unexpected turns and has some creative choices. However, it lacks the magic and unique Christmas setting of snow covered New York PE1 had, which also had a more unique Squaresoft style and gameplay vibe over it. PE2 follows Resident Evil too closely, losing it's own identity somewhat.
The end result is well presented, visually impressive and feels like a swan song for a late PS1 title that once you spend time with it. There's a lot of Aya's abilities and attacks to be discovered and used to your advantage, but it's a steeper hill to completion, especially towards the end.
With deeper gameplay than an average survival horror title like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, it's a worthy recommendation for fans of the genre. If only it had the more cohesive story and unique environment design the first game offered.
