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Post by Xeogred on Dec 9, 2021 0:19:52 GMT -5
I'm on Day 3 "Selection" on Parasite Eve, about 3 hours in. Honestly don't think I even got this far last time, so it's probably all new material for me from here on. Compared to RE's scenarios, I like how this has a bit more of a post apocalyptic feel with the whole city being mostly evacuated, yet you can still drive around a bunch of different locations instead of being isolated like you are in RE. In recent years across both old and newer games, I think I've gotten better at not worrying about items/equipment as much anymore. Shadow Tower Abyss is another recent example of something I beat where a lot of equipment is just going to break over time or get replaced the further you get in. In many ways it's also a testament to good game design in things that give the player multiple options, or there's always just enough items to carry you through the next part or a boss, etc. Parasite Eve is this strange cinematic action/RPG that's mostly linear, with a very limited inventory, and you're thrown a fair amount of stuff to use. So I just use the stat increasing items right away on my best gear, use the "Tool" item to merge things, and keep the inventory pretty trim. Because more progress means better items ahead. Maybe you guys know what I mean. I'm usually more of a hoarder in games but lately, I'm more about efficiency, and then kind of min/maxing my playstyle or stats/equipment of choice.
Were cool black characters a thing in other late 90's Japanese media? There's Daniel here in Parasite Eve, Barrett in FF7, etc. I'm guessing Aya is American. It's cool that Parasite Eve is in NY too. Their stuff was just so different during this era. No basic fantasy tropes here or whatever. Maybe X-Files was an influence on the Parasite Eve author, though now I'm reading he was a legit pharmacologist so that's pretty cool.
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Post by toei on Dec 9, 2021 3:49:16 GMT -5
Aya is half-American, half-Japanese. Square's American branch contributed to Parasite Eve's development, so I think the character of Aya Brea was symbolic of Square's desire to make an hybrid Japanese/American game. That's why the New York it presents is more down-to-earth and "normal" (despite the paranormal events that take place there) then what you might see in a random anime, for example. As for Daniel and Barrett, I think it's just the influence of late '80s and '90s American cinema on Square and its vision of America. You might have read this before, but Final Fantasy 7 was supposed to take place in New York at one point. They were afraid it would be too much of a departure, but came back to that idea with Parasite Eve. I think Barrett might be a leftover from that. Barrett was obviously inspired by Mr. T in terms of appearance, and Daniel is a mix of Danny Glover's character from Lethal Weapon and a lot of other black cops from movies of the era. Off the top, no, I can't think of too many examples in Japanese media of the era, though I'm sure there's a few. Late '60s and '70s Japanese cinema sometimes had cool/sympathetic black characters, though.
Also, to be clear, Parasite Eve the videogame is a sequel to the original story, but it's mostly an original story itself. The novel took place in Japan and did not star Aya, etc. The main thing it takes from the novel is the concept of what Eve is exactly (which I won't spoil for you). It also adds various ties - if you hear about some scientists back in Japan, they're probably froym the novel - but it's relatively background stuff. I haven't read the novel, which has been published in English, but I did see the (so-so) movie adaptation, which was pretty standard sci-fi horror, and it was much less interesting than the game. The author of the novel was a pharmacology student when he came up with the idea, but I don't think he ever worked as one, aside from giving lectures, because the novel was such a hit. The Japanese wikipedia goes into a lot more detail about that.
If you play Parasite Eve 2, I'd advise you wait a while before you do so. It's so different from the first that you have to approach it on its terms to appreciate it. It's actually very good and massively underrated, IMO.
Also, maybe it's just me, but I just never think of Parasite Eve as a RPG, even though it has levels and stats. It's just not the same type of experience.
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Post by Ex on Dec 9, 2021 9:24:54 GMT -5
I just never think of Parasite Eve as a RPG, even though it has levels and stats. It's just not the same type of experience. I agree. The game feels more like an action-adventure with stats.
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Post by Xeogred on Dec 9, 2021 10:23:59 GMT -5
I think you're both right. In the past I was comparing it to Vagrant Story too much, since they both have this spherical grid combat system around the main character. But Parasite Eve is definitely more plot/classic adventure with very lite RPG elements. I can see how it gets brought up as Square's answer to Resident Evil.
This looks and feels so much like FF8 too. Probably the same engine/tech underneath.
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Post by toei on Dec 9, 2021 12:06:36 GMT -5
Yeah, I classify it as action-adventure too.
I tried Rage Racer (the third RR PSX game) to see where Ridge Racer got good as a series. It's really with Type 4. Rage Racer does have much nicer-looking tracks than the first game, with more interesting locales, but it still has the same bad physics and sensitive controls.
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Post by Ex on Dec 9, 2021 13:12:44 GMT -5
Type-4 really is great. I rented it back when it released and made an entire night of it. Great game.
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Post by Xeogred on Dec 9, 2021 23:13:51 GMT -5
For once, I was really into a cool dutch angle haha. This is when the police station gets attacked and that dog turned into a crazy boss. I've seen The Thing and played Resident Evil, so that was obvious haha. The hospital level was some strong Die Hard, TRAG / Hard Edge vibes. Good times in that area.
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Post by toei on Dec 10, 2021 19:55:36 GMT -5
My Racing Lagoon impressions.
The moment-to-moment gameplay goes like this: you're driving around a miniature city. There are some locations you can stop at; often there'll be nothing to see there at any given time, but some might trigger some optional event. Typically, the plot makes it clear where you need to go, anyway. What it isn't clear is where that place is, because the points on your little map aren't marked, so you have to drive around until you find it like you're looking for a parking space on a Friday night. Every two seconds, some asshole comes out of nowhere and forces you into a race. They're visible, but you can't seem to avoid them anyway. Two seconds is not an exaggeration, either; I've gotten into a random race without ever even moving after the previous one at some point. The encounter rate is as bad as the very worst NES RPGs. It takes 25 seconds for the race to load - I've had plenty of occasions to count -, with about 10 more seconds after to get back to the map, after which you are lucky if you get 10 seconds of peace. The race itself is one lap, usually pretty short - 30 seconds to a minute. It looks good, sounds great, and plays poorly. It's hard to control and they don't hesitate to throw weird-ass turns at you from the very beginning, even though you have only one lap to get it right, so you lose a lot. Losing means the random anonymous guy racing you can steal one of your car parts, making you even weaker. When you win, you can do the same. Unless you're really into that stuff, it really isn't obvious what the parts do. I'm guessing the game's manual must have been pretty thick. If you manage to reach your destination, you'll trigger a cutscene, and then there'll probably be a race. The story is definitely intriguing, as is the setting. The writing is odd; it tries to sound deep and poetic one moment and streetwise the next, and is pretty awkward at both (though I blame the translation for the latter). Despite playing a couple hours, I didn't make it far, but there was something to it. Because it's partly a RPG, you might need specific parts to even win some races, which means either stealing it from the right car or buying it. Anyway, that's about it. I have never felt this harassed when playing a game. These random encounters are on you like wasps after you karate kicked their nest. I also don't remember the last time I came across a game this player-unfriendly. It's too bad because the soundtrack is impressive, the story seems cool, and the concept could have worked. It's also got some weird visuals that completely set it apart - every scene with dialogue is specially designed, basically - and those late-'90s Squaresoft cinematic ambitions (the opening CG might be the prettiest I've seen on a 32-bit console). But the gameplay makes it a failure.
I'm not alone in disliking the game, btw. It was widely panned in Japan, and its main game designer, normally an illustrator and character designer for Square, apparently never did any game design again. The Japanese wikipedia describes it in neutral POV (ie "people have referred to it as" type wording) as both "bakage" (stupid game) and "kusoge". Anyway, none of this matters, I guess, except it does show that sometimes the people are right. I wouldn't discourage anyone here from trying the game too, though. If anything, I'd welcome other impressions.
Here's a few tracks from it. The composer was Noriko Matsueda, who also did Front Mission, FM2, and Bahamut Lagoon. It's a mix of jazz fusion & electronic music, which Japan heavily associate with racing and driving, and it's high quality stuff.
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Post by Ex on Dec 10, 2021 21:38:51 GMT -5
toeiDamn, hate to hear the encounter rate is that bad. High encounter rates are often my kryptonite in JRPGs*, always makes me wonder how the designers didn't realize how annoying that is. Oy vey. *Which goes to show just how good SMT:DDS is that I put up with it.
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Post by Xeogred on Dec 11, 2021 0:13:13 GMT -5
Knocked out PE1, at about 8:21. Did the optional "Warehouse" area apparently. This was good stuff. The story gets bunk in the final act though and I'm reading that PE2 retcons the ending anyways, lol. I looked up the true ending which requires beating the "Chrysler Building" in EX mode, which is 70 some floors. Omega padding so no thanks and then the true ending seems wack too. Oh well.
Overall this was a good time. I rocked a pistol from start to finish, it was some G9 that I stuck with and started carrying over stats/abilities to. Near the end I got some "double command" on it. That on top of the 3-shot clip let me hit hard 6 times in a row. I probably should have at least tried the rocket launcher since I got that in the optional dungeon haha, but oh well. Range was never too much of an issue and pistols just felt best. Plus Aya's rocking one in the CGI's usually.
Definitely one of Yoko Shimomura's coolest OST's to me.
I liked what I played of PE2 once, just didn't give that one enough time either. So I'll check it out again someday.
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