Lets start with some formalities. Parasite Eve was originally released in 1998 in North America and was published by SquareSoft (back when they were cool), the game was originally released on the PlayStation and is now available for digital download through the PlayStation Store for the PS3 and PSVita. It is a survival horror RPG with good amounts of action. You play as Aya Brea, a NYPD cop who’s ‘nightmare’ begins at an opera at Carnegie Hall where a tragedy occurred that resulted in the lives of every attending person except for hers. Here Aya encounters Melissa, the singer in the opera who is not who she appears to be. As she progresses through this hall, Melissa reveals her self to be EVE, and the real horror begins. You explore New York as you try to delve deeper into who EVE is and why she is terrorizing Aya.
The battle system is an ATB system where Aya has a limited area in which she can run around. She uses a variety of weapons, her baton and a multitude of firearms, which can each be customized, and can wear different types of Police gear as her armor. Aya also posses a unique power known as P.E., or Parasite Energy. This would be relational to magic from most RPG games. You learn about this special power as the game progresses. Enemies are disfigured as they come into contact with EVE and these animals are what Aya comes into contact with when she is searching for answers.
When you beat the game first time, EX-GAME becomes available which enables access to the Chrysler Building where the true boss of the game lies on the top most floor. Enemies become increasingly difficult and every 10 floors there is a boss and a key card to get the elevator working so that you can travel to and from the building. You can also start the game with the weapon and armor you completed the game with originally.
Now onto the informal part of this review. The first time I played this game I was 7, didn’t get it too much so lets fast-forward to about 12. This game consumed a lot of my time, I found the story interesting and the characters amazing and frightening. EVE was the scariest thing for me for a few years; I had nightmares of her chasing me and eventually getting a hold of me. She normally sliced me open with her big lady claws. It was an interesting game to play and the actual gameplay was attractive because, while the cameras were fixed, there was a lot of movement that could occur and the enemies were very unique and demented. It was fun playing as Aya, she’s sassy and determined. This is my yearly Thanksgiving game, one because its just how it worked out and, two, because the game is set around Christmas. Hard to explain how I correlate those two but hey, I am strange.
It is still a great game to this day and I highly recommend it to everyone. The game turned into a trilogy series, Parasite Eve 2 and the 3rd Birthday are the next games that follow. I wasn’t a big fan of the second game and just acquired the third installment so maybe down the road there will be a review for this game. Play this game…PLAY IT.
A Review by Meghan Rodriguez (Twitter: @collins_m81)
