A Pre-Empted Defense of Parasite Eve

by Mike Drucker 

I bought Parasite Eve as soon as I was called by EB about it. I flew over there and picked up my copy. As soon as I started, I was addicted. I played, and I played, and I played just about every chance I got. And as soon I was finished, I sat down and thought about how other people would like it.

Right then I just said a quiet "uh-oh", because I knew how the Final Fantasy and Legend of Zelda only public would react. I knew the future of this game: "Tsk, it's too short.", "Tsk, it's too easy", "Tsk, I didn't understand the ending.", etc. All the complaints, leaving out Parasite Eve's high points.

Yes, Parasite Eve is short. I can't deny that. But so was Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. As was Super Mario RPG. Hey, FF 4 only took me 15 hours to beat. Yet, these games were very, very good. I've never seen a complaint about these games' shortness. Many people would even say that games like FF 4 set the standard for what a good RPG is.

Next, the graphics. I can't wait to hear everyone whine and cry about how good the graphics are. Confused? People, now-a-days, like to complain about a game being bad because it's graphics are good. Parasite Eve has incredible graphics, yet maintains the RPG tradition with a good, no great, story. Just because plot points are told in CG sequences doesn't make this game any less of an RPG.

Another matter is Parasite Eve's easiness. Yes, it's easy. So what? Why must, for an RPG to be good, people demand that we have controller throwing difficulty? For those of you who've played Alundra know what I mean. In OE you don't have to spend frustrating hours searching dungeons for one tiny object. I almost broke my WildARMs CD just because of a situation like that. Also, Parasite Eve thankfully makes fights less common. This being so, you level up faster. But, when it comes down to it, I'd rather have an easy game over three steps and then an fight sequence.

Finally, we have the game's ending. This could be the most wrongfully scorned feature of this likely to be misunderstood game. After you take out the bad guy/woman/thing (you'll see what I mean), you'll get a part CG, part in game graphics ending. At first it goes normally, but then takes a turn for the abstract. No, I'm not talking Final Fantasy 7 abstract, but 2001: A Space Odyssey abstract. But, in my mind, a good ending requires you to think about what happened, not just say 'He got married, became King, and solved the world's problems'. And this is what Parasite Eve delivers. A thought provoking, interesting ending.

So, when playing this game, try to surpass it's short-comings and partake in an RPG with a great game play system, and an incredibly interesting plot. You might just do the unthinkable: enjoy yourself.