Written By: Tyler Selig
Christmas
is a time for family, sharing, laughing, smiling, eating, being festive and
mitochondria going wild. Wait, what was that last thing? Oh, that’s right,
since it’s Christmas Day, what’s better than celebrating by discussing Parasite
Eve – a game that takes over the Christmas holidays, and a game that just so
happens to be my favourite Roleplaying Game of all time.
Parasite
Eve came out in 1998, and it was the first Playstation 1 game that I ever
rented. It is also the second best Playstation 1 game I’ve ever played (Metal
Gear Solid being the first). I have seen beaten it multiple times, and every
once in a while I’ll break it out and play it again. It takes a lot from the
book by Hideaki Sena, which is one of my favourite novels (admittedly I came to
the book after playing the game so the bias was already set in stone).
So what
makes Parasite Eve so special to me? Let’s count the ways in a neat little
number format, shall we?
1.
The story: To this day it’s one of my all-time
favourite video game stories. Sure, it follows the same idea that a lot of
games follow – a bad guy/girl wants to destroy the world/take it over/generally
just make a mess of things – but it’s more science based. I’m no scientist, and
I’ve seen people say that it’s pseudo-science, but that’s not the point. The
point is, it’s got a basis in science and does interesting things with it.
Mitochondria acting up and trying to create the ultimate being is a fascinating
concept and goes beyond the norm for the genre. I’m all for all the other plots
we get in RPGs, with wizards, demons, crazy people… but it’s nice every once in
a while to get a different kind of villain. And this particular villain is an
important aspect of our makeup that has gone haywire.
2.
The music: Though some of the opera singing is a
little dated due to technological advancements, the music as a whole stands
strong as a creepy, emotional masterpiece. Listen to a song like Missing
Perspective as you’re running around, or the Main Theme if you want an eerie,
yet beautiful song. There are so many tracks here that stick out, and I give
major props to the soundtrack.
3.
Memorable scenes: There are few games that have
as many memorable scenes as Parasite Eve. I was quite a bit younger when I
played it, and I’m not ashamed to admit that it may have scared the ever-living
shit out of me. Within the first twenty minutes, you’ve already watched an
entire building catch on fire (which was a wonderful image of Mitochondria Eve
standing on stage as it burns all around her), and Aya has said that her body
feels hot (oh buddy). You’ve also seen a rat turn inside out, and people
spontaneously combust. I’m still within the first half hour here. It doesn’t
really slow down as the game goes on, though the beginning will always be the
part that has dug itself into my brain the most.
4.
It’s scary: It goes along with my memorable
scenes, but the game was a little hard to play at times. Whether it’s the
music, the visuals on screen, the monsters, the fact that you are almost
entirely alone in this story, or maybe the Ultimate Being chasing you at the
end while crushing music blares at you… the game is set up to be a true horror
experience.
5.
The combat system: It has one of my all-time
favourite combat systems. Even though you don’t see the enemies, it doesn’t go
to a different screen -- an idea that was used perfectly in Chrono Trigger but
rarely embraced after it – when you hit a hotspot where enemies are. When
you’re in battle, the game is still ultimately turn-based (which I miss because
so many RPGs are away from that now), but you are able to run freely within the
designated zone when you aren’t attacking. This gives you something to do
besides wait and it can mean a lot in the heat of battle.
6.
Levelling up: I’m not going to say that it’s the
most in-depth levelling system in the world, especially today. You have to
understand that back in the day, levelling up your character wasn’t as detailed
as it often is now. However, Parasite Eve does give you bonus points to put
into various attributes, and you are able to modify your weapons. These things
give you something to think about and a reason to want to level up or use
tools, outside of the fact that levelling up does the obvious things like give
you more HP or new abilities.
7.
Aya: God damn did you see her in that shower
scene in the second one? I know that has nothing to do with the first game, but
fuck you, it’s my list and my blog.
8.
The visuals: Yes, I know that nowadays, they’re
outdated and people run in place when they turn, but that’s not what I’m
talking about. The cutscenes are still glorious to watch, but most of all, they
concentrated on making memorable images, and used the Playstation 1’s limits
effectively.
So there you have it, 8 reasons
why I think Parasite Eve is the best RPG ever and also one of my favourite
games ever as well. Seeing as how it pushes such a big Christmas agenda, it is
the perfect game to play today when you and your family are done eating your
Christmas dinner and opening those gifts that you’re disappointed in.
Merry Christmas everybody!
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