Also available on PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation Vita Parasite Eve is a game that I’d been meaning to play for a long time considering what a classic PlayStation game it is. It’s one of those games that just stayed on my backlog, though, for one reason or another. Another game that I was more excited about came out, or I got sucked into a book, or I got busy with work; it was just one of those games where life always seems to get in the way. My interest in the game spiked when Bring Me the Horizon’s god-tier song entitled Parasite Eve came out inspired by the game. Between how killer that song is and how sick the music video is, I knew I had put it off for too long. I finally got around to playing through it for Halloween 2021, and while I don’t think it was quite as good as its legacy suggests, it’s definitely a solid game, and I understand why it’s usually held as a PlayStation classic. Parasite Eve is ostensibly a horror game, and I can see why it gets that label, but it’s definitely not horror in the same way that Silent Hill or Resident Evil is. It’s fairly consistently creepy, but it was only occasionally scary. The music and environments were, for the most part, not all scary. Still, though, the story definitely fits the bill. The game’s narrative blends actual science with science fiction. The basic premise is that the mitochondria, the cellular organelle responsible for cellular respiration and energy production, is actually an ancient organize that developed a symbiotic relationship with the host organism hence the difference between mitochondrial DNA and nuclear DNA; the host provides the mitochondria with food and protection, and the mitochondria provides the host with energy. The game opens with the lead actress in a play singing as the entire audience spontaneously combusts, and you get your first view of the power of the antagonist of the game, “Mitochondrial Eve.” In actual science, there is a “Mitochondrial Eve,” although she actually has nothing to do with magic parasites or anything; the term simply refers to the most recent common female ancestor of all currently living humans as determined by mitochondrial DNA as that’s inherited from the mother (although recent research has shown that mitochondrial DNA can possibly be inherited from the father as well, the game is more than 20 years older than that study, so we’ll ignore that). The game’s progression is broken into six chapters to which the game refers as “days,” although since Day 6 is just the final boss, there’s really only five chapters’ worth of content. As far as gameplay mechanics goes, it’s sort of reminiscent of Final Fantasy VII in that the camera angles are fixed, but battles can occur randomly, and the battles are done in a sort of pseudo-real time setup where you and the enemies move around in real time, and you can attack whenever your action meter fills. Unlike Capcom’s and Konami’s PS1 horror classics, Parasite Eve takes an RPG approach here; as you defeat enemies, you gain experience. When you level up, your various stats - the most important of which are your hit points and parasite points - increase. You also get access to more parasite powers - basically the game’s magic spells - as your level increases. Combining these stat increases with upgrading or swapping out your equipment is the key to success. Parasite Eve was a bit of a slow burn for me, and took me a little while to really get into the game, but once I did, I was fairly invested in the story. I never reached the level of hooked that had me salivating to get home and fire up my PS1, but I was definitely interested in the game and wanted to finish it. I’m not sure I’d call this a “must play” for all PS1 owners, but it’s definitely worth giving a shot if you’re into classic horror games. Just make sure that you go into the game knowing what it is and what it isn’t, and keep your expectations appropriately tempered. I was a bit let down when I first started because I didn’t know what type of gameplay I was going to get, so I had been expecting a tense horror game with overworld encounters like Resident Evil or Silent Hill. Parasite Eve is absolutely a good game, but it’s definitely not your typical horror experience. My Rating - B |
I'm a teacher.And I like to play video games. I like to collect video games. I like to talk about video games, and I like to write about video games. During the day, I teach high school history; during the night, I spend my spare time gaming. Then I write about it. Archives
April 2024
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