Parasite Eve

Watching that intro movie above still gets me pumped for this moody 1998 role-playing game which showed that developer Square was willing to take big swings and depart from the norm with a modern-day, real-world setting and unconventional combat. Parasite Eve is great for many reasons, not least because of its outstanding use of New York City. Yes, absolutely bananas stuff happens in the game, and at least one key character crosses the line into stereotypical caricature at times, but New York itself feels authentic and layered here, as your journey takes you from high-society operas to museums to streets where the downtrodden reside. Protagonist Aya Brea’s quest is both thrilling and haunting, with explosive moments right out of an action movie and others that suggest low-budget body horror, all playing out in a near-empty city in that strange, liminal time between Christmas and New Year’s.

Parasite Eve got a few follow-ups but neither was as original or memorable as the first. I’d love to see Square Enix bring the series back today and try to create something that matches the desolate, moody tone of the 1998 classic, while also doing something fresh and original with the combat to create a greater fusion of role-playing and survival horror action. — Carolyn Petit