Parasite Eve Rom

Of all the games covered in this feature, none will come under as much scrutiny as the next high-profile RPG from the people who brought us Final Fantasy VII. After all, it's rare for something to affect the tastes of the game-playing public on quite the scale that FFVII managed last year--but Square pulled it off and at the same time brought RPGs into the mass market.

Tobias Hayes rates this game: 5/5. Ah yes Parasite Eve. Squaresoft's first real try in the Horror/thriller genre. And what a effort it was! The game really throws you into the story right away. Download the Parasite Eve DISC1OF2 (U) ROM for Playstation /PSX. Filename: Parasite Eve DISC1OF2 (U) SLUS-00662.rar. Works with Android, Windows, and Mac OS X devices.

Yet Square's next big thing, Parasite Eve, is actually a very different game from its predecessor; the traditional swords-'n'-sorcery themes have been entirely eschewed in favor of something with more of a science-fiction flavor. To say that it has a lot in common with lapanese sci-fi anime such as Akira or even (in places) some of the Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend stories wouldn't be too far from the truth. Wulverblade switch gameplay.

PE makes use of a modified version of the FFVII game engine so, once again, we find beautifully rendered backgrounds overlaid with polygon-generated characters. Set in New York, the game is based on a novel by acclaimed lapanese sci-fi author Hideaki Sena that was published 18 months ago in Japan. Centered on the experiences of Aya Brea, a rookie NYPD cop, it deals with her investigations into the spread of a freak of nature that is gradually laying siege to the city.

The game begins on Christmas Eve and sees Aya and her boyfriend at an opera that's thrown into turmoil as the actors on stage spontaneously combust. Amidst the confusion, the apparent perpetrator (the eponymous Eve) reveals herself as she announces the ascension of a new order, that of the Mitochondria.

Upon further investigation, Aya discovers that Mitochondria is the organic matter contained within all living cells responsible for producing energy. It soon becomes apparent that Eve's Mitochondria has mutated to the point of sentience, and through her it's attempting to annihilate all inferior life-forms. As this parasitic energy absorbs life energy, it transforms Eve into a superbeing that can switch between solid and liquid form, while also destroying living matter simply by looking at it.

Once absorbed by the mutated Mitochondria, a living being is broken down completely into a slimy goo before being rebuilt as a more powerful creature--often a combination of numerous animals or even plants that are instilled with Eve's malevolent intent. As the game progresses, Eve's parasite sets up a 'nest' in the Central Park Zoo, and before long snakes, bears, birds and monkeys all get horribly mutated, as Eve continues to rampage through the city.

Fortunately though, with all of these mutations hell-bent on destroying the world, Aya is armed with a fair amount of weaponry. Starting the game with an automatic handgun, she later picks up more powerful weapons. Control of the combat has evolved quite significantly since FFVII, too. Although the system used is fundamentally the same--with Active-Time bars filling up as you prepare for each attack--Aya can move around the battleground in real time to avoid taking damage. And just as Cloud can increase his abilities with Materia in FFVII, Aya soon learns to manipulate the Mitochondria (or 'Parasite Energy' as it's referred to in the game) within her own system. Just as you'd expect, battles can get spectacular.

What really sets PE apart is that it's a true international collaboration between noted Japanese and U.S. talent. Script writer and game designer Takayuki Tokita has previously been responsible for Chrono Trigger and FFIV, while battle designer Yoshihiko Maekawa was the director on both Super Mario RPG and FFVI. U.S. artists Steve Gray and Darnell Williams are both in charge of much of the CG work throughout the game, and Gray is noted for his work on the movies True Lies and Apollo 13. Finally, musician Yoko Shimomura composed for Super Mario RPG and Front Mission.

This broader, collaborative approach to development along with the adoption of a more mainstream sci-fi story should help push PE into as many homes as its predecessor. The game hits Japan on March 29. Let's just hope we see the U.S. release soon after.