Squaresoft developed their own unique RPG twist to the survival horror genre that started with the success of Capcom’s Resident Evil. Their game was known as Parasite Eve, a fun mix between thrilling horror and engaging RPG gameplay. The game was released in 1998 and sprouted a mini franchise and had enough of a following to be available on the PSN store for PS3 several years later.

Parasite Eve is a game based on a novel written by Hideaki Sena, who was a pharmacologist and a graduate student at Tohoku University. Sena’s novel got famous enough to receive a Japanese film adaptation directed by Masayuki Ochiai. Square  collaborated with Hideaki Sena’s publisher as they made the game’s story, locations, and the creature/character designs. The game was also made to be a loose sequel to the novel before it.

The story of Parasite Eve takes place in New York City during the holiday season and follows a young police officer named Aya Brea during a date in the opera house. Things were normal until people started spontaneously combusting and catching on fire as an eerie woman sang. After evacuating the opera house, Aya confronts the mysterious woman, who identifies herself as Eve. Chasing her into the sewers, Aya Brea encountered animals being mutated into horrifying monsters as Eve transformed and wreaked havoc across the city.

The rest of the story follows Aya’s pursuit of the mysterious Eve, dealing with animal mutants that started taking over the city, and discovering why Aya has similar abilities to the villain. The game is 50% cinematic storytelling and 50% gameplay and exploration. A majority of the locations are modeled after real areas in New York City. Fun locations include the St Francis Hospital and the Museum of Natural History.

Combat in Parasite Eve is very interesting. Unlike Square’s other RPGs at the time, Aya Brea can be moved around the area and avoid attacks while moving closer or farther from enemies. During this time, the Active Time Bar will fill up. When full, Aya can then be commanded to take action from using items to using her equipped weapon against targets. When shooting at targets, a grid will form around Aya and any enemies in the grid are susceptible to significant damage while those outside are likely to avoid hits. Weapons could also be customized or modded to have different advantages.