Parasite Eve Review

Game: Parasite Eve

Developer: Square

Genre: RPG

Release Date: September 10th, 1998 

Completed: March 2026

Aya & Eve. Source.

Overall Impression

Mitochondria: The Game. What was probably very scary to a child in 1998, was kitschy sci-fi fun to me in 2026. A fairly well rounded RPG, especially for its time, and an enjoyable experience overall.

Gameplay Mechanics & Performance

It’s always a pleasant surprise to decide to play a nearly 30 year old RPG and see it hold up. Parasite Eve has fun and satisfying battle mechanics with a reasonable encounter rate, especially for an older RPG. Albeit it is a shorter game, the overall pacing feels natural and well thought out. One of my favourite kinds of action combat is one that combines the thought and pause of turn based combat with real time strategies. In this game, combat pauses at your will when your turn charge is full and then players can think and take time before inputting a command (or 2 if you get a special gun later!). The skill tree, while locked, was mostly well rounded, and I sure love to start a game with a heal right off the bat. Bosses were fun with just the right amount of challenge, but there was an egregious difficulty spike and unforgiving set of phases for the final boss that players are soft locked into. Although somewhat rudimentary and simple, I found the combat satisfying with the mindset of this being a widely considered “retro” game at this point.

Level design did its best for the time, and I was able to mostly gain a sense of navigation, even with fixed camera points and no mini nor world map. This was not the case for the sewer level which felt like a mean trick, one of which I probably couldn’t have overcome without GameFAQs. Moreover, I’m not sure how people had the patience for the distance between save rooms back in the day; I probably couldn’t have beat this game without savestates as an adult who has responsibilities and works. There are also a few crazy absolutely completely hidden doors that without a guide I would have completely missed. Thankfully this was only for optional stuff, again, thank you GameFAQs.

The menu, while fairly robust for its time, lacks some crucial information and confirmation to make for more seamless upgrading. No confirmation screens for upgrading with tools, and no information for weapons/gear on hover made for an extremely frustrating character building experience. The menu definitely looked aesthetically cool but was missing key elements that are the standard for RPG gaming today.

Story and Characters

Why are the only 2 PS1 games I’ve played recently so deeply connected, start AND finish with classical theatre (Final Fantasy IX)? This coincidence aside, the epic tale of the mitochondria is a cool story that intertwines well with the protagonist's journey and develops at a good pace with the gameplay. Unfortunately cast as a cop, Aya’s journey is a semi-reversal of the classic RPG trope of “You are the Chosen One”. Aya is chosen in a rather doomed or more tragic way, but finds her way through her strong will for humanity and its survival. Although she has the keys to extinct humanity, she still chooses life. 

This game definitely isn’t without plot holes or scientific liberties, but since I’m a right-brain artist so I’m unbothered, if not inspired by the creative lengths that were made to make the story “sound”. But tell me how Daniel survived his combustion and falling into the ocean combo? Or how Aya didn’t know her own medical history of her eye transplant but the scientist from Japan did? Maybe I missed something. Either way, I liked the goofy overpowered evil mitochondria.

Iconic screenshot from my playthrough of dialogue (ignore that a villain is saying this...).

Graphics and Sound

Something I particularly love about older RPGs/games (90s/early 2000s) is how they push the limits of the system to create efficient yet robust art and aesthetics. In a world where modern games strive to have the most of everything, the charm of older games trying to do the most but within the confines of a more simpler system is undeniable. 

The charm of a chunky polygon is undeniable to many of us millennials. Although the caveat is that some stuff is missable, particularly the dark and rudimentary chest designs. They are really just solid rectangles in this game, making them easy to gloss over especially in the fuzziness of a 32-bit console. But even with these limits, the design team made so many strong stylistic choices. The pre-rendered cutscenes feel cinematic and come at good pivotal moments with the plot.  

Screenshot of the rainforest area in the museum from my playthrough that I found charming.

I notice the simple but effective choices to create a life-like world in a state of peril.   Off-centred fixed angles are used to enhance the uneasy and horror genre. As well, how the world map shifts from daylight to nighttime creates a relatable sense for daily life. Each location Aya travels to has a unique identity and few maps feel repetitive in terms of how they are rendered. Special care is taken to render objects within the maps like old PCs, telephones for saving, laboratory tools and more that further augment the feeling of New York in danger through visual choices.

Screenshot of a scary fixed angle from my playthrough.

As for the sound design, overall the game has a great soundtrack produced by the legend Yoko Shinomura. I pretty much enjoyed every song, especially the battle and opening theme. There is effective sound design that helps with the world building like feet tapping synced with Aya’s walk, button press noises, steam sounds and other environmental details. I find a lot of these older games rely on using silence as a tool to create an eerie or suspenseful feeling which I appreciate in contrast to modern games that try to do the most all the time. Finally, as it is a Square RPG, there is some reuse of familiar (Final Fantasy/Kingdom Hearts even…) sound bites, especially in battle cast sounds which I find comforting when I play a new series.

Comparisons, Final Thoughts, Conclusions

An impressive and well rounded RPG for its time, this mitochondria game is worth the play through! Some of its battle system even reminded me of boiled down Final Fantasy VII Remake gameplay. Great music, good atmospheric design and a kitschy spooky sci-fi story wrapped neatly into a 2 disc package, I’m glad I took the time to play this game I had heard about for so long in my RPG life-sphere. I’m trying to decide if I should play the sequel, but lately I’ve had less time for gaming (sad). Fortunately, it’s always going to be there!

Overall Arbitrary Rating: In 1998 8/10 spoopies, but in 2026 7/10 spoopies