PARASITE EVE FAQ SOFTWARE

However, control also has a few problems. The dash button doesn’t work in battles, but Aya runs at good pace in the battles on her own. This is very important in battles, because you have to manually move Aya around during battles in this game. She is also responsive to the control pad. Aya can walk in 8 directions, and a dash button allows her to move more quickly in the area maps as well. Also, Aya is very detailed, but many of the other polygonal characters aren’t, so the same detail disparity between characters and backgrounds that was present in Final Fantasy VII appears sometimes in Parasite Eve as well. In addition, the animation of some of the polygonal characters, such as Daniel’s son Ben and the helicopter pilot who picks Aya up after she leaves the hospital, is absolutely atrocious (if you’ve played the game, you won’t need me to elaborate on these two). The way it’s drawn makes it look like there’s a total of about 20 buildings in New York City, which is certainly not the case in real life or even in the area maps of this game. There is a world map, and although you don’t see it often, you do have to use it to move between areas, and it looks terrible. The graphics do carry some noteworthy flaws. I can’t say I was overtly fond of most of the rest of the character designs in the game, though. Nomura does an excellent job, as Aya turns out to be one of the best-looking character designs I’ve ever seen in a game.

Parasite Eve features the art and character designs of Tetsuya Nomura, who also did the character designs for Final Fantasy VII. The spell effects are pretty good, but really unspectacular as well, with the exception of the “Liberation” spell. The enemies are well drawn and animate smoothly and quickly, but are generally lacking in variety. The battles take place on the area maps, so there isn’t much to be said about them that hasn’t already been said. In addition, there is just about no graininess in these cut scenes. The animation is fluid and nearly flawless, the level of detail is mind blowing, and some of the monsters are simply huge. Parasite Eve has arguably the finest cut scenes seen in a US game to date. The polygonal characters are also for the most part drawn well, and Aya in particular is detailed in her appearance and smoothly and realistically animated with a modicum of feminine charm.Įven more impressive than the area maps are the CG cut scenes. The darker colors that are used extensively here help set the tense and frightful atmosphere of the game, and match up quite well with the actual New York City. The amount of detail is matched only by Final Fantasy VII, and the backgrounds are perhaps the most realistic that I’ve ever seen. Realistically proportioned polygon characters are superimposed on detailed prerendered maps. Just about all of the gameplay takes place in area maps, and the area maps are beautiful. Parasite Eve’s biggest strength is in its graphical presentation. From that point on, it’s up to Aya (with some occasional help from her partner Daniel and the rest of her police force) to uncover exactly how this catastrophe was created.

A brief battle ensues, ending in Eve’s retreat and Aya giving chase. She also hints at Aya’s budding power, as Aya was the only member of the audience immune to the incineration wrought by Eve. Eve then tells Aya of the power of controlling mitochondria, and how she used it to set everyone aflame earlier. Shoving her wimpy date to safety, Aya draws her gun and runs toward the stage to apprehend the mysterious woman.Īs Aya reaches the stage, she confronts the mysterious singer, who introduces herself as Eve. As the singer continues to sing, more and more people ignite. All of a sudden, the other actors on stage burst into flame, followed by many members of the audience. At a pivotal moment during the opera, the lead female character in the production begins to sing a solo. Aya Brea, a rookie cop, is at an opera at Carnegie Hall. Parasite Eve begins on a Christmas Eve in present-day Manhattan. However, in the case of Parasite Eve, I fully agree with the barbs of the critics. For the most part, I disagree with Square’s critics (though I’ve never played BL or SD3) games like Final Fantasy VII, while heavy on the style, have generally had enough substance to back up the style. Projects such as Bahamut Lagoon and Seiken Densetsu 3 looked fantastic but spawned many complaints of serious gameplay flaws from RPG veterans.

PARASITE EVE FAQ SOFTWARE

Square’s critics have often accused the popular software developer of emphasizing style at the cost of substance in its post-Chrono Trigger-era games.

Parasite eve faq