Parasite Eve (PlayStation) Review
~by tankMage (August 2023)
Score: 9/10
Pros
-Creative premise
-Nice graphics and cutscenes
-Highly customizable weapons and armor
-Excellent combat system
-Awesome sound track and effects
-Special game mode and extra dungeon add replay value
-Original enemies
-A variety of special powers and effects
Cons
-Not much monster variety
-Could have used an extra location or two to explore
-Game doesn’t really warn players about a point of no return
-Inventory management can get annoying at times
-Some items on the map are difficult to interact with
Is it hot in here or is it just my mitochondria?
Parasite Eve was released in an era known for great JRPGs. In fact, it seemed like Square could do no wrong in the days of the PlayStation and they certainly got things right with this science fiction RPG. With an original story, atmospheric setting, innovative combat system, and all sorts of cool guns, Parasite Eve is a real gem. Aside from a few minor annoyances, my only real complaint is that players get railroaded without warning near the end of the game.
Story
It’s Christmas, it’s 1997, and it’s New York. Players control a young cop named Aya who is out on a date at the opera. Everything goes as expected until the audience bursts into flames and the lead actress turns into a grotesque monster that rants about liberating the mitochondria. Now that’s what I call a first act!
Somehow Aya is spared from the conflagration and she begins investigating the incident immediately. Being a police officer, Aya has her gun handy, which is good, since she encounters more hideous mutants in the theater basement as she pursues the monstrous diva.
The story moves at a steady pace from the start with the stakes rising as Aya and the rest of the NYPD figure out what the hell is going on. While I won’t spoil the plot, I will say that it’s a cool sci-fi story that did a good job of keeping me engaged. While predictable at times, it lacked the usually sappy romance sub-plot and whiny protagonists. All of the heroes are just trying to do their jobs. The only thing that really irked me was a rather preachy speech that seemed like it was lifted right out of the movie The Matrix, but even that fit into the story well enough.
Graphics
I never know what to say about 3D graphics from this era. This title looks good, but as it is with PS1 games, the character models are pretty blocky and awkward even though their designers must have been pretty talented. That said, the early 3D style of graphics has grown on me over the years. I also really liked the backdrops, which all seemed to be hand made still images and the cutscenes also held up pretty well. That said, this game does suffer from some odd camera angles and it was hard to make out details at times.
Gameplay
Parasite Eve offers a great experience in terms of gameplay thanks to competent area design and an excellent battle engine that I wish was used more widely.
As I mentioned earlier, the battle engine is something special. While combat is technically turn based, Aya is free to move around and evade enemy attacks while her action bar is charging. Once the meter is charged she can use her special powers, fire her gun, use an item, or attack with a club. Weapons have built in effective ranges, so timing has some bearing on the outcome of attacks. The result of all this is a battle system that remains fun from the start of the game to the very end.
Parasite Eve also features some cool “dungeons” that include famous locales like the Central Park Zoo. There are not a lot of places to explore, but they are all put together fairly well with enough random battles to spice things up, but not so many as to make exploring tedious. The devs also packed areas with all sorts of weapons and items to find as well as some hidden caches of goodies, though all these items make inventory management a constant chore.
Players can also upgrade and customize Aya’s weapons as well as her armor. These alterations include changes to rate of fire, base stats, and even allow for special status effects on bullets. Armor can be made tougher and be imbued with special effects like poison resistance and automatic healing. The system is well thought out and making a super gun is a big part of the fun.
Replay value is also fairly high, since players can replay the game with a favorite weapon/armor combo and upgrade it further. As an added bonus, players can challenge a special dungeon on their second run.
As much as I praise Parasite Eve’s gameplay, I also have to admit it has a few problems. While I am not really bothered by short play times, this title is really brief as RPGs go, only clocking in at about 8 to 10 hours. I like the fact that the devs didn’t artificially pad the total run time by forcing players to grind or jump through hoops, however an extra area or two to explore would have been nice.
Secondly, the monster roster is kind of thin, though that goes with the short play time. Once again, another dungeon or two could have helped solve this problem.
Finally, there’s a point of no return in this game and I actually got stuck at the last boss, because I did not prepare for it. While it wasn’t a big deal since I just loaded a previous save, I can imagine less cautious players getting stuck on the final boss and having to start from scratch, which isn’t cool.
Music and Sound Effects
Whoever did the sound track to this title deserves an award. The music is late 90’s techno, but less obnoxious than what you’d hear most of the time back then. It really suits the overall setting and adds an extra layer of tension to the science fiction/horror vibe with its spooky synth riffs.
The sound work is also very good. There’s something I always loved about sound effects from this time. Whether it’s footsteps or the sound of a gun firing, there’s a certain magic to it. Maybe it’s, because technology had allowed for better sound effects at this point and devs went all out with their new toys. Regardless, Parasite Eve sounds good all around.
User Interface
The controls and menus are all fairly well laid out, but inventory management is a constant struggle that sucks some of the fun out of this RPG. Aya has limited inventory space, which is fine, but the game gives players a metric shit ton of items. Monsters drop loot, you’ll find stuff in chests, and NPCs constantly hand Aya items. Aya quickly becomes bogged down with items and I often had to throw things away, use them, or visit the NYPD quartermaster to store things.
To be fair, Aya’s inventory space increases as she levels up and there are ways to boost it further. Even so, players will find themselves fiddling around in the inventory menu quite a bit compared to other JRPGs.
I also found it difficult to interact with some of the doors and boxes. I’m not sure if this was due to poor camera angles, small interaction zones for objects, or both, but it got annoying at times.
While I’ve spent a good bit of this section complaining about the UI, it’s actually pretty good for the most part and the aforementioned problems are just minor issues at the end of the day.
Final Thoughts
Parasite Eve is one of the RPGs that made the PlayStation such a great console for the genre. While this game is overshadowed by stuff like Final Fantasy VII and Legend of the Dragoon, I actually prefer it, because it brings so many fresh ideas to the table. The biggest sticking point for some players will likely be its 8 to 10 hour run time. For me this wasn’t an issue, I rather have a brief, yet well crafted game than some 80 hour mess of grinding and padding. If short games bother you, consider Parasite Eve’s replay value, which adds another 10 hours or so to its playtime.
Recommendations
Parasite Eve is well worth your time. It’s especially good to play on a rainy day since it can be finished in a sitting or two.
Thanks for reading my Parasite Eve (PS1) review!
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