Parasite Eve (1998 Video Game) User Reviews

Good Fun

[pyramidhead84 · 9/10 · 6 April 2007]

This game is definitely underrated. The graphics are lacking by today's standards, but the story and the gameplay hold up over time. This is a role playing game, and because it is a PS1 game, there is no voice acting, so a lot of time will be spent reading through the plot line, but the story is entertaining enough to make you want to find out what happens next, so it isn't as tedious as you might think. The game opens with you playing as Aya Brea, an NYPD officer back in good ol' 1997. Aya is reluctantly on a date at the opera house, when all of a sudden, everyone in the audience begins to spontaneously combust. Only Aya and the lead actress onstage are left unharmed, and as you question her, she reveals herself to be known as Eve. Eve tells you that your mitochondria are evolving, as are hers, causing each of you to undergo evolutionary changes. You then embark on a strange and difficult quest for answers, following the minute clues Eve carelessly leaves in her wake as she terrorizes Manhattan.

The gameplay itself is unlike anything that had previously been seen before, and is still quite rare in today's RPGs. While the fight system is still turn-based, you are not glued to your spot on the battlefield, unlike games such as Final Fantasy. You are free to move your character around as you please, giving you the unique ability to dodge attacks and position yourself to attack a location on the enemy that will cause the most damage. As you progress through the story and earn experience, your parasite powers evolve as well, giving you new abilities ranging from defensive and healing spells to full out mitochondrial liberation. You are also able to customize your weapons and armor, which can be carried over to a new save once you've beaten the game.

All of the enemies are mitochondrial mutations of common animals, insects, and bacteria, and even extinct species. This makes for a varied combat experience that rarely gets old. The combat locations vary as much as the creatures as well. You'll go all over Manhattan, from the sewers under Chinatown to the Museum of Natural History, and the Subway. There is even a fight in a runaway horse-drawn carriage! This game is worth checking out, even if you're into the more graphically enhanced games. It's got a solid story, great gameplay, and replay value to boot!

Most underrated Square game of all time

[PlayerSS · 9/10 · 16 January 2003]

SPOILERS:

This game teaches some about the human body and makes you wonder at some points. The things about people spontaneously combusting is really something to ponder if you believe in that sort of thing. When I first played the game I thought it would be a down to earth game being on PS1. Instead it turned out to be real gory and neat. The park scene was a gross out. The horse setting on fire was a huge surprise and really cool or hot whichever way you want to look at it.

SPOILERS STOPPED

I've also liked this very much for the music. A good gory breakthrough for a PS1 game. 10/10

It started out really interesting, but then got to science fiction for my tastes.

[Aaron1375 · 7/10 · 17 July 2007]

This game started out with a bang, your character goes to an opera and all hell breaks loose. The singer in the opera transforms into a bizarre creature and you go in hot pursuit. What transpires is a game where you are in constant search for this lady named eve, while fighting the many deformed monsters she leaves in her wake including mutant alligators, dogs, and even skeletal remains of dinosaurs. At first the game is more horror based, but then it gets all science fiction as the game explains a bit to much why everything is happening. So the story starts off good, but then gets a bit to weak near the end. The fighting consists of you shooting monsters with various guns that all have their advantages and disadvantages. You also can customize your weapons and the various body armor throughout the game. You can interact with people here and there, but this one is more fighting and movie sequences than anything else. The movie sequences are the highlight of this one too as they are much better than the actual game play which is not unusual because the film sequences on a psone are going to be better than the actual graphics.

Square infected Game

[oscarxp25 · 19 October 2003]

it is not a secert that Square (now Square Enix) makes great games. People who play Square games are players who look for more then just action and graphics. These people want a story, character development and a interesting battle system. back in 1998 after the Final fantasy 7 rampage, Square came out with a game that they hailed "The Cinematic RPG", which would be named "parasite eve". being a huge fan of Final Fantasy and Square, I picked this one up immediately. How did I like it....?

Something has infected this game, yes something that most games are immune to. This game was and is still a realer shiner and it promises actually wha t Square said. Playing this game you feel like you are watching a movie. The way the characters look ( which at the time was pretty damn good and stil l is), the graphics are so realistic that you could believe that this is a movie. The action is great and the story is a very interesting one for those of you who are biological nuts. Even though I am not, this games story still it from me. I wanted to know what the hell was going from the first shot of Aya getting out of the car till the very end. But the only negative aspect of this game was the battle system was that it was awkward at times, sure you could move around unlike Final Fantasy 7, but it was like Chess. IF you move somewhere and got a good shot off you were stuck there tempory and open to attacks. This game was also a nice present to female gamers cause Aya is one of the most A$$ kicking game characters with a amazing precence I have seen in a game. Eve may not be a Sephriroth but she holds her own to freak the gamer out and fear the minute you have to face her. I sold this game after beating it and it was one of the biggest mistakes, thankfully it is still around used. You bet I will be picking it up very shortly at a cheap $5. Do yourself a favor if you are a fan or Square/RPGs/ action games and get this before it disappears and STAY THE HELL away from the sequel cause it ruined what made the first game so magical...

A-

Biological Thriller

[degracia · 25 October 2000]

"Parasite Eve" as a 'cinematic RPG' is highly successful in its bid for bridging the gap between movies and games, setting the standards for computer generated graphics and gameplay. While many advances have been made since Square's release of "Parasite Eve", this game still stands as a symbol of what technological innovation and professional, multi-million dollar productions can do for the games of tomorrow.

The story of "Parasite Eve" is basic - Aya Brea, a tough as nails NYPD officer, discovers that there is a strange link between herself and a series of unexplained, gruesome deaths around the city. These deaths are all linked to a strange mutation of mitochondrial DNA. The US Navy and NYPD decide to evacuate New York, only to discover, the horror is just beginning.

Set against the backdrop of Christmas and filled with icy synthesizer music ("Out Of Phase" is a great track) "Parasite Eve" comes across as a dark, chilling story. Excellent CGI sequences and intense use of symbolism make the first "Parasite Eve" story a must-have game. "Parasite Eve" is loaded with FMV action as any videogame worth its salt should have, ranging from gun battles in filthy sewers to helicopter air-to-air battles over New York. While there are some 'anomalies' in realism and military accuracy, all in all this is a great game.

The ultimate cat fight

[ZappaRage · 1 November 2004]

This is one of the most underrated RPG's in my opinion. People seem to think just because there's guns, and monsters, it must be just like Resident Evil or Silent Hill.

I personally, love this game. It's a really intelligent game, that talks about real things. Not some dinky company that somehow gets away with an outbreak of a virus, this is about a real organism that does live in us that gains self awareness again.

People complain how everyone seems to talk too much. Well Aya Brea and her partners arnt exactly trying to escape a horde of monsters. Instead, there all trying to figure out what in the hell is going on, so of course there's gonna be some lengthy dialog scenes.

The battle system is something to love. Why in the name of God couldn't you run around in other games? At least now you can avoid attacks, even if you still have to wait your turn to do your stuff.

Overall, I'll give this game a 10/10. It's FAR superior to it's sequel which sadly, happened to take the Resident Evil route, right down to the story...

next to final fantasy 7 one of the best games i've played

[OsterBrandBlenders · 20 May 2006]

I got my first play station in sixth grade my first game was Abe's odyssey which i thought was awesome until the second game i played which was the legendary final fantasy 7, so of course i am one of the cult followers who love to talk with others about how we spent a year or more of our lives obsessed with this square soft masterpiece. and although final fantasy 7 hails as one of my top all time favorite games parasite eve is definitely up there. Its a shame that it didn't get too much credit. I'm from new york so i guess to see a story line that takes place in an area I'm familiar with made it feel so much more entertaining. The story-line is absolutely incredible and so are the graphics. I'm not saying the game is as massive as ff7, but for a game that only has about i think 30 hours or so of game play it really leaves you with that same sense of accomplishment and wonder that came with the end ff7. the battle system was tricky but i thought it was a nice twist to be able to move around yet wait your turn, because aya is so much slower then most characters she doesn't usually end up taking a hit but if you know your stuff and you conserve your items like potions you wont find yourself in a bind. The game isn't a final fantasy and it isn't resident evil, its a game all its own. it has its moments of extreme suspense where you physically feel scared about whats around the corner and then it has those moments where you feel calm and safe and have time to recompose yourself and enjoy the story unfold. I play this game every once in awhile to relive it. My only qualm about it and this may spoil it for some people, is that when the Chrysler building is made available you have the option to climb to the top with the hope of seeing an alternate ending...all that happens is that ayas sister Maya comes out of this giant flower pod looking thing says some choice words and I'm pretty sure thats all there is that i remember, and then the credits roll and instead of just black background they show pictures. not worth the 100 floors of mazes and monsters.

Not Exactly THE Cinematic RPG

[ComeIntoMyWorld · 23 July 2003]

Parasite Eve was released in 98 with alot of anticipation. It was the next big budget production from the makers of Final Fantasy VII and was called "The Cinematic RPG." But the anticipation and what not was probably not all that worth it plying the game. I've played the game through three times and beaten it, it will take you about 6 to 8 hours the first time and most likely, you'll have smashed your tv through a few times. Parasite Eve centers around a very interesting story, based on a Japanese best selling novel. It revolves around Aya Brea, a NYPD cop who takes after her father and is going to Carnegie Hall for a date to the Opera on Christmas eve. She gets more than what she bargains for when the lead in the play turns into a mass of ooze and bursts Carnegie Hall into a pyro technics display.

The Game can attribute to itself a few good things. It's graphics, at the time, were the best of the best. Now, they don't hold water in any way, but the spectacular pre-rendered backgrounds, and breathtaking cinemas of New York City were the best and still can beat out some of the lesser made Playstation II games. The game also relies on a fantastic storyline, that makes you want to continue playing it. It sucks you in and with some fantastic revelations, it keeps you intuned to every nook and cranny. The music of the game ius one of the best video game soundtracks I've ever dealt wtih, going from intense classic music, to opera, to hard core trance and dance music. It has a mainstream feel that helps the games odd plot, which is not american at all, be easier to swallow.

Now these things I just mentioned, they make a great movie, not a great video game, and Parasite Eve is far from a great game. It's play mechanics, even in 1998, are awful. The discraceful ATB system that was used for almost every Squaresoft game before FInal Fatasy X is here, but instead, programmers tried to mix in the formula with an action game. This was a dire mistake, since it doesn't work out at all. The gam eis frustrating to play, the encounter rate is off the wall, and bosses are simply unfair. Your character, Aya Brea, is ridiculously slow compared to every single enemy she encounters, and bosses usually will land at least 2 hits on you for every hit you put on them. To even pass some bosses, you will have to spend about 20 minutes simply leveling up, and the ridiculous battle system doesn't make it fun at all. Who the hell said stopping where you are and just leaving yourself open for attack is fun. It's not, especially when Aya's weapons take forever to load, and if you're hit, the attack will start over to load all over again. These are the mistakes Squaresoft endured trying tyo comhbine an rpg and an action/survivor horror game, and they are shockingly unsuccessful in doing so. And the in-game graphics, like most FInal Fantasies again, are discraceful, Pixelated, grainy, every bad word in the book you can attribute to them describes them, excluding teh magnificent pre-rendered graphics.

When it comes down to it, Parasite Eve had the makings of a fantastic movie, with it;s directions, but to play it is another story. Not only does it get unfun after a while, it just isn't worth it eventually. The only reason i finished it once was to complete the story, which to this day is one of my favorite video game stories. I finished it a second time with gameshark to relive the story, and did the same the third time to relive some of the great cinemas. But what ameks tshi game enjoyable is not playing it, but experiencing it, which ultimately sometimes isn't worth it. I give it **1/2 out of *****