Parasite Eve: The forgotten Christmas horror PS1 game
Parasite Eve is a unique entity in the larger gaming landscape. Released on Mar. 28, 1998 in Japan and Sep. 9, 1998 in North America by developer Square Soft, the game is part action role-playing game and part horror, centering around an apocalyptic event emerging in New York City. One plays as New York Police Department rookie Aya Brea as she chases down the all-powerful Eve who plans to destroy all humans via spontaneous combustion—bizarre premise for a Christmas game, right? Despite that, Parasite Eve is an intriguing and fast-paced adventure through an incredibly interesting premise, leaving the modern player wondering why its name goes so unheard in gaming history.
Beginning with a trip to the opera house, Aya witnesses everyone in the theater combust except her and the main act, one Melissa Pearce. When Aya attempts to help Melissa, she transforms into the main antagonist, Eve, who speaks vaguely about the mitochondria before fleeing. Soon after, the player gets their first encounter with an enemy: some mutated rats. Parasite Eve uses a real-time combat system, much like that of the Final Fantasy games from the same era, but introduces certain elements of action games like that of Resident Evil with gun customization and modifying. Aya can also learn “spells” like power shot, barrier, heal, etc, which adds to this Final Fantasy-like RPG aspect.
The player will also notice very quickly Parasite Eve’s primary fault: the speed. While the game is from the PlayStation One, a system that contains a significant amount of games that have aged poorly in comparison to other game systems of the time, Parasite Eve dodges many of the faults the other games fall to. The cutscenes, while clearly old, are flashy enough to be passable. The dialogue, while not voiced, is still well-written and well-translated. The movement is the most frustrating aspect, as Aya moves incredibly slowly, leading to a frustrating pace that will unfortunately last the entire game.
Fortunately, the world itself is worth exploring, even if at a painfully slow pace. Many of NYC’s main attractions can be visited in the game, almost all of which are deserted due to the city being evacuated. This gives each locale, whether it be Central Park, the Museum of Natural History, or Chinatown their own unique sense of dread. Parasite Eve rewards exploration, hiding trinkets and upgrades within each prerendered setting. And the backgrounds themselves are exquisitely designed, more so than many PS1 games.
Without spoiling too much of the story, Parasite Eve does have many beats worth reaching throughout the plot. As mentioned, the main antagonist, Eve, is attempting to kill all humans, but her justification is actually somewhat unique. She comes from a mutated form of life in which the mitochondria control the nucleus in each cell, rather than the other way around. This leads to a good amount of scientific jargon that the average player will find little interest in, but at the same time contributes to a plot that actually tries to explain itself through real terms rather than making up its own, which is refreshing. It is clear that the writers did an excellent job with research, making sure the way they present this theoretical world would be believable.
While many today do not have access to a PS1 or the means to play this game, I would recommend for anyone with a computer or for those who enjoy watching others game on YouTube or Twitch, to see this game in its entirety—there are few other “Christmas” games that will deliver this many chills and frights.