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The source doesn't mention anything about Square USA. Elaborated on game's development.
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|title = Parasite Eve
|title = Parasite Eve
|image = [[Image:Parasite Eve Coverart.png]]
|image = [[Image:Parasite Eve Coverart.png]]
|developer = [[Square Co.|Square USA]]<ref name="1up" />
|developer = [[Square (company)|Square]]
|publisher = {{vgrelease|JP=[[Square Co.|Square]]|NA=[[Square Electronic Arts]]}}
|publisher = {{vgrelease|JP=[[Square (company)|Square]]|NA=[[Square Electronic Arts]]}}
|director = [[Takashi Tokita]]
|director = [[Takashi Tokita]]
|producer = [[Hironobu Sakaguchi]]
|producer = [[Hironobu Sakaguchi]]
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|media = 2 × [[CD-ROM]], [[download]] (PSN)
|media = 2 × [[CD-ROM]], [[download]] (PSN)
}}
}}
{{nihongo|'''''Parasite Eve'''''|パラサイト・イヴ}} is a [[survival horror]] [[console role-playing game|role-playing game]] developed by Square USA and published by [[Square Co.|Square]] (now [[Square Enix]]). The game is a sequel to the novel ''[[Parasite Eve]]'', written by [[Hideaki Sena]]. It is the first game in the [[Parasite Eve series]]. In the North American market the earlier copies were packaged with Squaresoft on PlayStation 1998 Collector's CD Vol.1; a collection of demos of future Squaresoft games. This is the first Squaresoft game to be rated Mature by the [[ESRB]].
{{nihongo|'''''Parasite Eve'''''|パラサイト・イヴ}} is a [[survival horror]] [[console role-playing game|role-playing game]] developed and published by [[Square (company)|Square]] (now [[Square Enix]]). The game is a sequel to the novel ''[[Parasite Eve]]'', written by [[Hideaki Sena]]. It is the first game in the [[Parasite Eve series|''Parasite Eve'' series]]. In the North American market the earlier copies were packaged with Squaresoft on PlayStation 1998 Collector's CD Vol.1; a collection of demos of future Squaresoft games. This is the first Squaresoft game to be rated Mature by the [[ESRB]]. In contrast to previous Squaresoft titles, the development team for ''Parasite Eve'' consisted of both Japanese and American staff members, with a large part of the production taking place in the United States.<ref name="1up">http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=1&cId=3176614</ref>


==Gameplay==
==Gameplay==
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{{Expand section|date=June 2008}}
{{Expand section|date=June 2008}}

==Development==
''Parasite Eve'' was developed at Square USA's studios in [[Los Angeles]], California.<ref name="1up">http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=1&cId=3176614</ref>


==Audio==
==Audio==

Revision as of 21:38, 7 February 2011

Parasite Eve
Developer(s)Square
Director(s)Takashi Tokita
Producer(s)Hironobu Sakaguchi
Artist(s)Tetsuya Nomura
Composer(s)Yoko Shimomura
Platform(s)Playstation, PlayStation Network
ReleasePlayStation
PlayStation Network
Genre(s)Role-playing game, Survival horror
Mode(s)Single-player

Parasite Eve (パラサイト・イヴ) is a survival horror role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix). The game is a sequel to the novel Parasite Eve, written by Hideaki Sena. It is the first game in the Parasite Eve series. In the North American market the earlier copies were packaged with Squaresoft on PlayStation 1998 Collector's CD Vol.1; a collection of demos of future Squaresoft games. This is the first Squaresoft game to be rated Mature by the ESRB. In contrast to previous Squaresoft titles, the development team for Parasite Eve consisted of both Japanese and American staff members, with a large part of the production taking place in the United States.[1]

Gameplay

Parasite Eve is an RPG with many survival horror elements. Movement in the various environments is free. Movement in the "world map" (which is a map of Manhattan) is limited to specific destinations. Upon the player walking over a "hot spot," there's a chance of a random encounter. Each time the encounter occurs, the likelihood of the battle reoccurring decreases. Enemies materialize suddenly and though there is no shift to a separate battle screen, the player is bound within a perimeter of unseen barriers until the battle is over, either by defeating all enemies or using the Escape command. In battle, the player has an "Active Time Bar" (ATB) that sets the time for every turn to take action. Upon each turn the player may choose between attacking with their equipped weapon, using PE (Parasite Energy) for defense, assistance or attack, using items, changing weapon or armor, or escaping the battle. If the player chooses to attack, a dome symbolizing the range of the weapon appears. If the enemy is outside of the range, the shot is likely to fail. Even if the shot lands, the damage will be less than normal.

When the player decides to use Parasite Energy, they must choose from the menu the desired PE skill. The same goes for weapon, armor or items; however, if the player should choose to escape, experience will be lost. Parasite Energy is slowly recharged over time.

When not in battle, the player has the option of altering the weapon and armor attributes and effects with tools and super-tools. The player selects the "tune-up" option, choosing the weapon that will be altered and the weapon from which the attributes or effect will be taken.

One of the principal RPG elements of the game is that experience-based levels are present. Each time the player's level increases, his/her attributes go up and BP (Bonus Points) are given. These points can be distributed to the ATB, item capacity, or attributes of a weapon or armor.

EX-game

When the game is cleared once, a new mode appears, called the "EX game." It is different from the normal game in various aspects: the player has access to every item stored in the police station, the game begins with the final weapon and armor the player chose before ending the first game, and the bonus points (BP) given to the player at the end of the game are now available to use. However, the biggest difference from the normal game is the Chrysler Building, a progressive endurance test.

The Chrysler Building test allows the player the chance to save only every ten floors and only after defeating a boss. The items, weapons, power-ups and enemies are of a higher class. The best items, armors, and weapons are here along with the trading cards that allow the player to make customizations to the weapons and get the tool and super-tool kits. It should also be noted that every floor (except floors 1, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70-77) are completely randomized so each floor is like a maze. Most importantly, the boss in the last floor of the building (77) is the true final boss of the game and has the form of Aya's elder sister, Maya. This final boss explains to Aya that Klamp cultivated the cells of the original Eve to analyze. So when Melissa was giving birth to the ultimate being, she created a nest there. In case Melissa and the ultimate being failed, the purebred would remain. Aya speaks with her sister, and they engage in battle against the purebred. After the purebred is defeated, the mitochondria inside Aya begin to rebel against her. The explanation is that Aya's mitochondria have now reached a higher evolutionary stage than Maya’s, but Maya's personality has suddenly become dominant and begun to fight off the Eve persona. Maya eventually wins, purging the Eve persona from herself. Somehow, Maya protects Aya by preventing the original Eve from taking over her. Aya leaves the building by herself, although she apparently has gained some sort of connection with her dead sister.

Maya's body is not physically present in either scenario, only Eve is. What actually happens is arguable due to the scene's lack of camera angles for certain characters.

Plot

Setting

The game takes place over a six day span in New York City in 1997. The incident starts on December 24 and ends on December 29.

Story

The game begins with Aya Brea, an NYPD rookie, attending an opera with an unnamed date. During the opera, everyone in the building spontaneously combusts, except for Aya, her date, and an actress on stage named Melissa Pearce. Aya confronts Melissa backstage, and Melissa says that Aya’s mitochondria need more time to develop. Melissa then mutates into a beast and flees into the sewers, declaring that her name is now Eve.[2]

The next day on Christmas, Aya and her partner Daniel go to see a scientist at the Museum of Natural History named Dr. Klamp. He tells them things about mitochondria that they find useless for their purposes. Later that day, they hear that Eve is in Central Park and to make matters worse an audience has gathered at the parks theater intending to see a performance that Melissa Pearce was to give. Aya enters Central Park alone as Daniel is unable to pass through the entrance without spontaneously combusting. She makes it to the theater but is too late to stop Eve, who causes the theater audience's mitochondria to rebel against their hosts and turns the crowd into a slimy orange mass. Aya chases after Eve and is knocked unconscious in a fight.

Daniel discovers that his son, Ben, was at the park but had left the audience at the Central Park theater when he began to feel ill and when his mother began to act strange. He also learns that Manhattan is being evacuated due to the threat that Eve poses. While Manhattan is being evacuated, a Japanese man named Kunihiko Maeda manages to sneak into the city, witnessing a police officer combust into flames in the process.

Aya awakens in an apartment with Daniel and Maeda at her side. Maeda reveals the origins of Eve. A scientist tried to culture the cells of his wife after she was involved in a car accident, and the mitochondria in her cells took over her body. Maeda believes that Eve may be trying to give birth to an “Ultimate Being.”

The next day, the three go to see Dr. Klamp again, and he tells Aya that the nuclei in her cells are fighting Eve’s mitochondria. After he asks a few questions of her, they leave Dr. Klamp and head for the hospital, where Maeda thinks Eve may try to get sperm for the Ultimate Being.[3] When they arrive, they find that Eve is already there. Eve takes the sperm and escapes.

The next day, Aya discovers the orange mass of people from the park enter the city water supply. She goes to Dr. Klamp one more time, and discovers that Dr. Klamp has engineered special sperm for Eve so that she can create the Ultimate Being.[4] He then spontaneously combusts. Aya finds Eve in another part of the museum, where the orange mass has surrounded her, forming an impermeable shield to protect her while the Ultimate Being gestates in her.

After several failed attempts to attack Eve, the military asks Aya to attack her from a chopper, as she is the only one who can get close without combusting. The plan works, but Aya has to personally finish the fight on a now-wrecked Statue of Liberty, where Eve finally succumbs.

As Aya rests on a naval vessel, the Ultimate Being is born and attacks the surrounding ships. Aya does battle with the Ultimate Being, but its mitochondria causes it to evolve at an alarming rate. Aya sets the vessel's boiler pressure dangerously high, so as to destroy it with the Ultimate Being onboard.

Characters

See the list of minor Parasite Eve characters.

Audio

Yoko Shimomura composed the game's soundtrack including the main theme, "Primal Eyes". The ending vocal song "Somnia Memorias" is performed by Shani Rigsbee. The score met with great critical acclaim. It is known as one of her more original soundtracks, using influences from both opera and electronica. Shimomura states that she tried to compose "inorganic" music for the game, what she describes as "something unique" for the game's developer.[5] A separate Parasite Eve Remixes album was also released, containing 10 tracks remixed from the original game by various artists. The idea for the work came from a simple suggestion to Shimomura that the game's music be remixed rather than rearranged.[5] "Somnia Memorias" was also included on the Square Vocal Collection in 2001.[6]

Reception

Parasite Eve has sold over 1.9 million copies as of February 2004, with 1.05 million sold in Japan alone and 0.89 million sold in North America.[12] In Japan, it was the number 7 top-selling game of 1998.[13] The game was re-released in North America under Sony's Greatest Hits label.[14] In 2000, the game was ranked number 16 by the readers of Famitsu magazine in its top 100 PlayStation games of all time.[15]

Re-release on the Playstation Network

In early September 2010 posts made on Twitter in relation to the spin off title The 3rd Birthday suggested that a re-release of Parasite Eve 1 and 2 would be made available on the Playstation Network. On the 28th October these rumours were proven to be correct, with Parasite Eve being given a 4 November release date and Parasite Eve 2 arriving 20 days after on the Playstation Network in Japan.

It is unknown if the two games will be released in the US and European regions.

References

  1. ^ http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=1&cId=3176614
  2. ^ Melissa: Melissa: ‘I'm Melissa... No... I am... I'm... I am EVE! (Square Co (1998-03-29). Parasite Eve II (PlayStation). Square EA.
  3. ^ Maeda: There's a sperm bank around here? / Daniel: A sperm bank? /Maeda: I don't think Eve's body will last much longer. Right now, the mitochondria are just parasites in her body. /Daniel: So she is trying to create this ultimate being, like she did in Japan. /Maeda: I'm afraid so. Square Co (1998-03-29). Parasite Eve II (PlayStation). Square EA.
  4. ^ Klamp: The mitochondria is passed from the mother, but you see, traces of the father can also be found un minute quantities. According to Eve, her sister in Japan was unable to attain her ultimate goal because the father side of the mitochondria caused a rebellion. For Eve to succeed this time, I created sperm without the male mitochondria DNA Square Co (1998-03-29). Parasite Eve II (PlayStation). Square EA.
  5. ^ a b "RocketBaby's interview with Yoko Shimomura". RocketBaby.net. 2002. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  6. ^ "Square Vocal Collection". RPGamers.net. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
  7. ^ Chinn, Marty (June 23, 2000). "Famitsu Top 120 PlayStation games". Gaming-Age.com. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
  8. ^ "Parasite Eve PlayStation". GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
  9. ^ "Parasite Eve". IGN. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
  10. ^ "Parasite Eve Reviews". GameRankings.com. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
  11. ^ eve "Parasite Eve (psx: 1998): Reviews". MetaCritic.com. Retrieved 2008-12-09. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  12. ^ "February 2, 2004-February 4, 2004" (PDF). Square-Enix.com. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
  13. ^ "The Magic Box - 1998 Top 30 Best Selling Japanese Console Games". The-MagicBox.com. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
  14. ^ IGN staff (January 9, 2002). "PlayStation Greatest Hits: Complete List". IGN.com. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
  15. ^ IGN staff (November 20, 2000). "Famitsu Weekly PlayStation Top 100". IGN.com. Retrieved 2008-12-09.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Parasite_Eve_(video_game)&oldid=412604673"