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Parasite Eve II - Receiving very mixed reviews, Square's survival-horror-but-not-really sequel to Parasite Eve is generally considered a misstep. But is it secretly a masterpiece? |
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Story and Setting:
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Returning from the original Parasite Eve, you play as Aya Brea. She's a professional monster slayer. She slays them real good.
Aya gets sent to investigate a possible monster-related incident in New York City and down the rabbit hole she goes. Saying much more about the plot would be a spoiler, so I'll just leave it at this: it's probably the most legitimately creepy horror story on the Playstation.
The main setting is the tiny town of Dryfield somewhere in the badlands of the Mojave desert, and man, it's really impressive how hard Square nailed it.
This isn't some generic desert, no, it's the Mojave down to the smallest detail. Heat from the piercing blue sky practically radiates from the screen. The buildings are realistically dry and weathered. You can almost feel the yellow sand in your teeth.
It might seem weird to get excited over a desert of all things, but it makes for a fresh setting that's oozing with character, and the harsh, desolate loneliness lends itself perfectly to a spooky story. Then combine it with a tough babe tearing apart twisted monsters and it becomes something truly compelling and memorable. Good stuff.
Gameplay
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Parasite Eve II seems like a survival horror game at first glance but it's not. It's actually an action RPG wearing a survival horror game's skin.
This is why it threw reviewers for a loop. They compared it to Resident Evil because of superficial similarities, but they shouldn't have, because underneath the surface PE II is something completely different. In reality, it isn't even in the same genre as Resident Evil.
The action is simple but effective. You lock on to an enemy and shoot. When the enemy attacks you try to avoid it.
Now here comes the RPG part. Killing enemies gives you both experience points and Bounty Points(BP are just currency for buying weapons, ammo, armor, and items). Experience is used to unlock spells for Aya. Spells come in four categories: offense, healing, buffs, and debuffs. Low level spells don't cost that much experience to unlock but higher level spells cost a whole lot.
And PE II is pretty stingy with handing out experience. In other words, unlocking spells ain't a fast process. So you have to make hard choices about when to unlock which spells.
Do you unlock offensive spells first? Or healing spells? Or do you try to make her a jack-of-all-trades? Your choices will radically change the way Aya plays.
One last note about magic: if Aya can win a battle without using any spells then she'll regain a little MP. This isn't necessarily easy but it comes in very handy when your MP's running low. It's just a neat mechanic that adds some extra depth.
And then there's the armor system. Aya is limited to wearing one piece of armor on her upper body and that's it. I know it sounds simple but it's actually kind of complex.
Instead of boosting Aya's defense, the armor in PE II gives her more HP and/or MP. Of course, the amount of HP or MP depends on the armor.
Different armor also comes with different bonuses, like a built-in motion tracker for locating enemies or the ability to protect Aya from ailments like paralysis.
But wait, that's STILL not all! In order to use an item in battle(yes, this includes healing items) it has to be attached to an armor's item slot. And, you guessed it, not all armors have the same number of item slots.
To sum it up, each armor offers different pros and cons, so one isn't necessarily "better" than another. Choosing one depends on what you want to prioritize. So which matters more to you; HP, MP, bonus effects, or item slots?
Now there's one last thing that needs to be mentioned.
Y'see, PE II feautures some genuinely hard puzzles. And I mean hard to the point it makes you wonder, "uh maybe Square should've toned it down". You'll either love 'em or hate 'em. It depends on how much your mind enjoys a brutal challenge.
Sound
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The music in PE II is pretty incredible. Most tracks are slow and brooding, consisting of a simple repeating melody as strings, synths, and eerie noises rumble in the background. When the action picks up so does the tempo, with techno and tribal beats getting added to the mix. Other pieces are more along the lines of ambient soundscapes. It all makes for an especially tense, paranoid atmosphere. And oh boy, is it heavy on the bass. Really, really heavy.
Also worth noting, PE II has over fifty tracks in total. Yeah. Square wasn't messing around.
The sound effects are equally good. Some of the enemy noises use distorted samples of real animals which adds a nice, disturbing touch of corrupted familiarity(you'll never look at ducks the same way again). The other effects are on point too. Everything is crisp and impactful.
On the down side, Aya's footsteps might be a little too loud. She looks small but she sounds like a 300 pound man wearing tap shoes. Damn girl what'd you eat for breakfast, a bowl of frosted bricks?
As for the voice acting, well, there isn't any. This is a double edged sword, because on one hand, the lack of VA defied expectations and made PE II seem outdated when it was released. But on the other hand, bad VA would have dragged the story down.
I love the terrible acting in Resident Evil but that kind of b-movie cheese wouldn't have worked here. It's better this way.
In Conclusion
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PE II had it rough on release. Not only was it mistaken for a Resident Evil clone, it came out at a time when many reviewers
had begun to accuse the survival horror genre of being "stale and "outdated". PE II found itself undeservingly caught in their ire.
If it hit shelves earlier, like in 1997 when survival horror was red hot and Resident Evil comparisons were considered flattering, the gaming press would have fawned over it.
Bad timing doomed it to mixed reviews and severe levels of under-appreciation, however.
But the year 2000 is far behind us now, along with all of its tastes and expectations. These days, PE II's lack of voice acting seems quaint instead of outdated, and the way it borrows elements from classic Resident Evil is charming instead of stale.
Long removed from the era that judged it unkindly, PE II can finally be recognized as one of Square's finest. Play it. Now.
RATING: HIDDEN GEM, BEST GAME WITH A BAD REPUTATION
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On the week Parasite Eve II was released...
The Summer Olympics opened in Sydney, Australia, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon made a splash in the west by winning the People's Choice award at the Toronto Film Festival, and Madonna's single Music was so popular you probably heard it whether you wanted to or not. |
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