Parasite Eve

"An awesome mix of action and RPG"

Story (7/10) - Aya Brea is a Manhattan cop. The game opens at Carnegie Hall, just as Aya and her boyfriend arrive to watch the show. She's a little hesitant, but her boyfriend reminds her that she did say she wanted to come. The show is just about to start, so they hurry up and get in. At first, all is normal, but then people just start catching fire, seemingly from nothing! Only three survive: Aya, her boyfriend (who runs off like a coward), and the lead singer of the opera, Melissa Pearce. Melissa seems to be behind this - after all, she wasn't affected - so Aya runs up to the stage to confront her. And so her 6-day struggle begins...

Ok, that was a bad intro, but the story is actually pretty good. It uses true scientific facts along with some creative fiction to make a sort of really cool science fiction plot, that's even a little educational! The characters help out a lot, since they have very unique personalities that really stand out and make the game more interesting, and most times, more amusing. If you've got an open mind, I'm sure you'll like the story.

Gameplay (9/10) - Fights are random, but after every fight, the probability that you'll get into a fight in that area again will decrease. Meaning, the first time you pass through an area, you'll most likely get into a fight, while the next time you might not. And if you do fight next time, then you'll have an even lower chance if you pass through again. This makes it tougher to level up, but it keeps you from getting too powerful too soon.

The battle system is a mix between action and RPG. Once in a fight, you can start moving around. You have an AT(Active Time) gauge, and you have to wait for it to fill up before you can take an action(but you can still run around and dodge enemies' attacks in the meantime, which is actually crucial), just like in an RPG. When it's full, you can make one action, but you have several options, like using an item, switching your Weapon or Armor, using Parasite Energy(the magic in this game), or shooting your gun. When you opt to shoot, the fight freezes and a green cone appears over Aya. This cone represents her weapon's Range; enemies inside the cone can be hit, enemies outside the cone will most likely not get hit. You can calmly choose which enemy you want to shoot at. When you use a Parasite Energy, you use up your PE(the MP of this game). PE automatically refills during battles. Winning fights rewards you with EXP and sometimes, items. After getting enough EXP, you level up, getting more HP and sometimes an increase to Aya's stats. Fights also give you something else...

Bonus Points, or BP for short, can be used to do many things. You can increase Aya's stats, her inventory space, or you can upgrade the parameters of a gun or armor. To up one of these things by 1, you need 100BP, so upping a gun's attack power by 5 would take, you guessed it, 500BP(though note that sometimes, when Aya's stats are high, like at the end of the game, it may take more BP to raise one of her stats. Guns and armor will always be 100, though). So, how do you get BP? Well, from fights. But when you play the game, you'll notice you're not getting any BP. In fact, you are, you just don't actually receive it until your next level up. This doesn't mean you're losing any; it builds up, and you get it at the level up, then you start building up again. But the amount of BP you get from a battle depends on how many times you've been hit. Or, rather, how many times you haven't been hit. Every enemy has a starting BP amount that you get when you beat them, but this amount decreases by a certain number each time you get hit by that enemy(the amount it decreases also change from enemy to enemy). This is why it's so crucial to dodge enemy attacks.

So, you can use BP to customize weapons and armor. That's cool, but the customization doesn't stop there. Equipment sometimes also has special effects, which can be very helpful. An example would be the Freezing Rounds for guns, which increase damage against enemies that are weak against cold, or Auto-Heal for armor, which automatically uses healing items when your HP is low. Some equipment comes with these effects, others don't, and some of the best effects are on some of the worst guns/armor. But don't worry, using Tools or Super Tools you can transfer these effects from gun to gun(not to mention stats) or armor to armor. If you're using Super Tools, which are rare, the effect/stat parameters get transferred from equipment to equipment with no problem. But if you're using a simple Tool, the thing you're taking the effect or stats from will get discarded. Both Tools and Super Tools are discarded after you use them.

Customizations are a big part of the game, but don't think just because of it there will be a short supply of equipment to work with! Aya has about 84 different guns at her disposal, and about 44 different armors. They have three different stats. The guns' stats are Attack, Range, and Bullets. Attack is how much damage the weapon can deal, Range, how far the bullets can reach, and Bullets, how much ammo the weapon can hold. Armor has Defense, PEnergy, and Critical. Defense is how well it protects you from damage, PEnergy is the bonus to your PE, and Critical is how well the armor protects against critical attacks. Every gun/armor has base stats that cannot be transferred, but most also have Plus stats, which can be transferred and include any stat points added through BP. Special effects can always be transferred.

All in all, the battle system is very cool, offering you much freedom.

Audio (8/10) - The music in this game is great, as Squaresoft music almost always is. Slow, dark tunes for when you're walking through creepy areas, upbeat fight music when you're filling a baddie up with lead, soft music for emotional scenes, mysterious music when one of the game's many plot twists happens. Gunfire sounds all right, though it could have been better. Everything else sounds good, footsteps, Parasite Energy, monsters...

Video (7/10) - Overall, the graphics are good, though sometimes the animation could have been better. Aya runs sort of awkward, but it's nothing big. Besides that, monsters look good and the locations you go to look very cool. You can change the color of your menu, too. FMV's look very nice, as they always do.

Replayability - This game has surprisingly high replayability. At the end of the game, you get to choose one weapon and one armor to carve a name into(any name you want). These two pieces of equipment will be with you when you replay the game using your Clear save. This way, you can continue to build up your favorite weapon even after you've beat the game. There's also a new location to go to when you replay the game, the Chrysler Building. It's 77 huge floors, that will take you a while to climb. At the 77th floor is the true boss, and challenge, of the game. See if you can beat her.

Rent or Buy? If you like or are interested in the action-RPG mix, or like customization, definitely buy this game. If you aren't so sure you'll have fun or aren't a huge fan of the genres, then rent it and see. Give this game a chance. You might like it.

Parasite Eve, final score: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/22/02, Updated 09/22/02