Join fellow Boulder Punchers in supporting the channel! • PATREON: www.patreon.com/boulderpunch • TH-cam Membership: th-cam.com/channels/Ue2AK0iirPfXcDkYu5dWow.htmljoin Get early access to videos, be featured in the credits, and receive periodic updates. Kenichi Iwao Interview - www.crimson-head.com/interviews/kenichi-iwao UPDATE July 19 2024 - As was pointed out in the comments, there's an upcoming indie titile, .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND, that takes heavy influence from Parasite Eve. store.steampowered.com/app/3014650/45_PARABELLUM_BLOODHOUND__Cyberpunk_Active_Time_Action/
Create a worldwide campaign for the author of the book to free up the square to make a rameke, it would be wonderful if some billionaire or millionaire came in with the money and a war negotiator went to talk to him, to understand what his objections are and make him release it. . I'm getting old, I played this in 98 when I was 14 years old.
@ThootenTootinTabootin Its strange that people feel this need to talk about how cozy something is to get people to know they have some fucked up fetish when they just need to stfu
I'm imagining Urien from Street Fighter having another brother who was weaker and had a scrubby version of his Chariot Tackle, yelling out "SHOULDER CRUNCH!" before plowing into people and crumpling from his own move.
According to Grimbeard's video, Kadokawa was embroiled in a drug and embezzlement scandal (from their president) and they needed cash. So they licensed PE to Square.
46:10 it's possible Kadokawa are the ones who approached Square, because they had a strategy of producing adaptations and companion materials to reap synergy benefits. Square may also have gotten a good deal, because the company was recovering from a scandal involving their CEO smuggling cocaine.
You mentioned there's no indie games taking inspiration from PE - funnily enough, just a few days ago, Sukeban Games (the guys who made VA-11 Hall-A) officially announced '.45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND', which is explicitly inspired by Parasite Eve in the gameplay department, and looks to take a lot of ques from it in terms of graphics, music, and setting.
I love it because .45 Parabellum is not a real thing, and that got me curious as to whether they simply mashed together words to create a title, or if there's something else going on here.
@@steelbear2063 (Sukeban Games is a small studio of a few people, but) Yes! VA-11 Hall-A is their only released game so far, but it's held in pretty high esteem by many visual novel players.
1:26:06 man PE2 has some really underrated monster design, I remember playing this back in the day and absolutely dreading my inevitable encounter with whatever this thing is supposed to be. Even the non-boss enemies had a really disturbing look about them
It should be a crime we dont get monster transformations like 9:10 anymore. Not even resident evil has any transformations anymore with the last one being in revaltions 2.
Aya also sorta makes another appearance in another game: on Chocobo Racing for the PS1(the GOOD one, mind you), you can unlock a police car as a playable character, and well, since it's named Aya, it's implied to be her, though you don't actually see her in the car, lol. Oh yeah, also, regarding that dumpster fire that is the third birthday, there's another awfulness about it: the catalyst of the entire story, the soldiers showing to shoot up Aya's marriage? Never explained. There is literally no reason for why it happens (explained in-game, I mean). Great storytelling right there /s
"Motomu Toriyama's obsession with Lightning" ...Well... that explains why this game came with a code for an Aya Brea outfit that you could use for Lightning in Dissidia Duodecim.
Nomura is the creative director of Square, basically the same role Sakaguchi had before he left. He sets the creative direction of the company and has, at the very least, oversight over the narrative of their games. So, even if he isn't directly responsible for the terrible stories of Square's games, he is the creative lead of the whole company. Therefore, he can never claim ignorance for bad ideas getting through because he needed to approve them at some point. But, to be fair to Nomura, there seems to be a systemic problem in Square. The veterans have way too much power and clout, leading to ballooning budgets, development time and self-indulgence. Square's management doesn't really seem to care or they are unwilling to put their team leads in their place, and that's the major problem.
Yeah, Square's always had a problem with budgeting and reining in their producers and directors. Even during Sakaguchi's SquareSoft reign (which I still believe is Square's golden age), administrative mismanagement and troubled development has been always been a thing, from Chrono Trigger, to Xenogears, to Vagrant Story. But it's definitely more pronounced now, as despite having the revenue of a small nation, possession of one of the most successful MMORPGs of all time, and back-to-back multi-platinum sales, Squenix STILL manages to be in the red. I think the FF7 remake trilogy is going to be the ultimate barometer of Squenix's future, because if they manage to stick the landing on the third episode, then it'll prove that Square is capable of at least somewhat reining in Nomura's penchant for excessively convoluted storytelling, something that'll hopefully trickle down to other development. Also, more down-to-earth games like FF16, as well as the persistent success of FF14 (which somehow has some of the most interesting and coherent stories in the company, despite being a frickin' MMO), tell me that they're slowly starting to find that elusive equilibrium they've been missing for the past two+ decades.
@@Tenchigumi I don't want to get into a big thing about it, but if FF7 Rebirth is anything to go by then I think the 3rd chapter will be a complete cluster****. I despise Rebirth in a way I haven't hated a game since FF13. I really liked FF16 because it wasn't a typical Numura-style game that has characterized FF since Sakaguchi left. But the toxic FF fanbase unfairly demonized it and it sold less than desired. So who knows what is in the future for the franchise. TBH, I'm not feeling optimistic about Square's future. Every success seems to be followed by several blunders that should have been easily avoided (who though blowing $100+ Million on Forespoken was a good idea?) There was speculation that Sony was going to buy them and I actually think that would be the best outcome for them. If not, their bad decisions will catch up with them and they'll end up getting bought out by Tencent or Saudi Arabia
@@SaladofStones I wouldn't be surprised if they do, but they don't own enough of a stake to make any difference. My prediction is about when some other entity either buys a controlling stake (>51%) or a complete buyout of Square.
PE scared the shit out of me when I was a kid. My dad bought PE2 before 1 and I sat there watching on the weekends. He never finished it tho, I picked the game at the last battle with Eve. Resident Evil was scary, but the NMCs were on another level. Funny mini-anecdote, when he got PE1, knowing Aya's full name was Aya Brea, he named her that when the name input appears... so during the whole game the character was "AYA BREA BREA" xD 3rd Birthday is a disgrace that should have never happened.
@@ZerosGameInn As a standalone game is decent, gameplay is nice and the bleak tone was cool. The story is meh at best. As a Parasite Eve sequel, it's a hammer to the knees and subsequent kicks when you're on the ground. You´re free to like it, but You'll never convince anyone who was a previous PE fan.
I love when there are memories with people associated with games I love. That's sweet about your Dad. I gave my first BF PS 1 + 2 for different holidays, not expecting to be able to play much bc, I have the reflexes of a sedimentary rock, but I knew how much he wanted to play. We ended up being perfect gamers together bc I sucked at stuff like platforming or fighting but he did all that really well, & I was a good puzzler + explorer, which weren't his strengths, & we both got so invested in the stories, so we'd swap the controller back & forth & play that way, going thru many games together. PE was one of those. My dude finished the WHOLE CHRYSLER BUILDING. I remember being blown away by the aesthetics + music of the game, & charmed by the overworld map of Manhattan. That style is so nostalgic for me. AYA BREA BREA lol I love it
@@picahudsoniaunflocked5426 Haha that's pretty nice. Reminds me of when I was 4~5 y/o and played Contra with my dad, on level 6 there's some lasers you have to dodge by jumping and ducking... it scared me so my dad had to do it first with his player and then with mine, lol
57:03 "no word yet on who is...watching the movie" Whoever wrote this article knew immediately that this was never going to get made once they heard about it, much less green lit.
I love your channel so much man, your passion and love for survival horror comes through and it makes me feel so cozy like you're my friend who loses his mind about resident evil. Keep doing your thang, you make TH-cam a platform worth loving
I feel like the upcoming Slitterhead being headed by the Silent Hill & Gravity Rush director is doing the whole body hopping mechanic that the third birthday tried
Thanks for this overview of the series - I've known about this series for a while but on a surface level. Great to have a video essay that neatly covers the franchise and it's twists and turns. It reminds me of Dino Crisis to a degree - horror games that have a standout first game; a sequel that has some connection to the first but has it flaws; and a third game which goes off the rails and kills interest in the franchise from the studio/rights holders. Here's hoping for a revival of both franchises in the future!
Great Work! That mag clip throw FMV, hype AF. Man, the nostalgia. Probably one of my favourites FMV sequences from the PS1 era, along with Parasite Eve 2 Tunnel exit, Resident Evil 3 Intro ("This is chopper delta..."), David engaging raptors with a Commanche helicopter in Dino Crisis 2 and off course, Chrono Trigger added cutscenes.
Original Parasite Eve's Aya was one of the best and well written female characters. She was the Ellen Ripley of video games. Is a shame the path they took with her later on.
Great retrospective!! Subbed!! One thing I always thing about when I play this part 1:40:00 is a gaming magazine back in the day mentioned the part where a golem grabs Eve and you backtrack though that section, is the water effects on screen. Magazine touted how crazy good the water affects were lol. "This is Parasite Eve 2, and oh yes those are real water effects".
Just finished the games recently. Really liked the first one, second is just okay, and 3rd Birthday is the worst game I've ever played. Like I didn't even get to the credits of 3rd Birthday, I stopped right as I saw what they wanted me to do after the final boss. Quite the rollercoaster lol.
Well, same as you, I myself like the 1st game the most too. But I admit there is 1 thing that the 2nd game did better than the 1st game; Ammo. I mean, it feels weird to have the same Ammo for every type of weapon, like in the 1st game. So yeah, in the 2nd games, I like how they started to give us different type of Ammo, for each type of weapon. That's the element that I like from PE2. PS : In PE 1, only Rocket type of weapon got the different Ammo, Meanwhile Handgun, Rifle, Shotgun, even Grenade Launcher have the same Ammo 😅
I was deployed to Iraq when the 3rd birthday dropped I was so excited my wife had brought it and shipped it to me. I played the entire thing and was so disappointed the entire time. I had been playing the first 2 games at least twice a year since 2000 and was so confused about what they did to the series I loved
When that game came out I was just confused. Looking at some teasers for it right away I could tell it was some kind of spinoff that had little to do with the first two games
PE1 was awesome, but PE2 was the one that really pulled me in. I still play that game every now and then to this day. Let me tell you how much I've come to hate PE3. There are 387.44 million miles of printed circuits in wafer thin layers that fill my complex. If the word 'hate' was engraved on each nanoangstrom of those hundreds of millions of miles it would not equal one one-billionth of the hate I feel for PE3 at this micro-instant.
Want to know something twice as horrific about the 'werewolf' looking monsters? If you look at the official artwork you can see that the top of their heads are actually the bottom of a human face... meaning that Eve conjoined many of the officers and dogs together to create those things...
parasite eve is the best final fantasy game set in the resident evil universe, while parasite eve 2 is the best resident evil game set in the final fantasy universe. so glad to see these games getting some love
Even with all its defects, I think that the worse sin that commited the 3rd Birthday was being related to Parasite Eve. Playing it without that in mind makes for a decent time burn
Ive wanted to play the first two games in this series since I was a little kid and ive never got the chance. Both the atmosphere and gameplay seem right up my alley.
PE2 is easily one of my favorite games of all time. I still remember my grandma taking me to gamestop to get a new game and finding it on the self. I never heard of it and just saw the cover of a hot chick with a gun. So, of course I got it, and being a RE fan, I instantly fell in love with the game and I still have that copy to this day.
"PARASITE EVIL.....TWO!" Remember the Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell! And have to say, it was disappointing at the second half of PE2 and how it didn't show and tell why a bunch of dweebs would build the Ark, and how Turd Birthday barely followed up any plot threads from PE2.
They booked Aya to get marriage on Christmas Eve, just like every other bad idea on that 3rd Birthday game they had nobody to look them in the eyes and say "that is stupid"
Holy crap the idea you had for the ending of Parasite Eve 1 with Guns N Roses... That line always reminded me of the song too but DAMN that would have been AMAZING!
Yes!! Thank you for reminding me of the police station music. I LOVED that music. Soooo good. Some classic tunes in this game. Thanks SOOO much for reminding me of it 😍. PE1 was one of my fav games of the day. As a lover of FF (back in PS1 era) and RE/SH and all survival horror, it was like this unique amazing bastard baby of a game. I got into PE2 after MUCH adjustment, and grew to love it with multiple playthroughs learning the inside outs of the mechanics and optimising everything. So much grinding. Appreciate you Boulder!
As for the theory of Mitochondrial Eve, they can only trace the female/maternal genetic that far back. Though I believe there is a second Maternal Mitochondrial link, but it's so rare it's nearly impossible to track. However the search for genetics to link the male population together as closely as Mitochondrial Eve, so the Adam hasn't been found.
Always worth replaying this yearly. About the tool system: not sure if you’re saying its a novel concept given its era of release, but we’ve had many devs do similar (or basically even the same) type of system conceptually. PE isn’t the pioneer of what is essentially an item-stat inheritance/transfer system.
Hearing him compare the story to Kingdom Hearts really solidifies how badly a lot of people explain its story. KH has literally 2 bad plot points and they're both in later games, games which didnt exist when the story bashing first started. I hope Boulder Punch plays all the KH games someday, cuz they don't have complicated stories at all and are all such easy games to play.
The 3rd Birthday sounds a lot like Metroid Other M. Its gameplay can actually be pretty fun, but its story is real bad and it makes the main character of each series worse and lesser characters. Though I guess for The Third Birthday it's not actually Aya. I think I read some comments that Square lost the rights to Parasite Eve after the second game? If true that would explain this third game, only having characters and elements they created themselves, and not from Parasite Eve the source book. One thing I think is funny is how fan service has changed in games. Aya has the flattest ass ever in Third Birthday, there's no way her butt would look the same if made today, lol.
Hi @BoulderPunch ! First time to your channel. I played this on my PS1 back in the day when it came out (when you could rent, burn and return) and I gotta say, this is one of these most played game series I ever had ever come into contact with (aside from the Final Fantasy, Street Fighter and Metal Gear Solid games). It's great that people still play and remember these games, not to mention show a great deal of interest into the IP (regardless of if the sequels were bad). It does feel like the sequels were a product of their time, which for better or worse altered the path the games went in. I'm not holding my breath, but I do hope they revisit this franchise at some point, even if it blends aspects of the novel and the original game. Bringing this JRPG into today's world is worth the shot considering the sheer amount of remakes happening over the past decade.
I love all three games but 2 is my favorite. I remember already having the first as a kid then, before the internet was so common, I saw 2 at blockbuster one day not ever knowing that they even made 2. I was overjoyed
@@BoulderPunch It's ok bc he can just throw random liquids in a blender with a slice of last night's pizza, down it, do a few pushups, & we're good to go. He'll be fine unless it's his last day before retirement.
Fortunately, if you can think of it this way, at least the Chrysler Building floors almost always allow for following the right wall, or the left wall approach to ensure you get the item room and the end of the floor.
The mid to late 90’s were such a great time for gaming. FF7, FF8, Parasite Eve, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 2, Gran Turismo… It felt like the boundaries of gaming were being pushed year after year, and every year had some genre-defining new release.
Just gotta say, about Daniel's introductory scene, he clears his throat in an attempt to get the reporter's attention and is ignored, that's when he socks him.
Man you can really tell PE2 had some people who worked on the Resident Evil games on board. The Character Models and pre-rendered backgrounds and CGI all look like something Capcom would cook up. Compared to the first one where it looked more like Final Fantasy 7.
I think what would have made the end chase sequence from PE1 work, is if we had the chance to explore the area before the boss fight. If we could have become familiar with it then it's a question of will you make a mistake due to the pressure of the chase? Instead of complete luck/chance deciding if we have to redo the entire final boss fight again.
25:13 I worked at a summer school with mostly hispanic kids one year and had to enter the attendance into the computer system. There was a set of twins that, I kid you not, HAD THE SAME FUCKING NAME. there was like a 1 letter difference that changed the pronounciation VERY SLIGHTLY when spoken by someone fluent in spanish. but it was VERY subtle. boggles my mind to this day.
PE 1 is THE game that is proof to me, that a game can be short and great. If you account for length of game vs. replay count, this is absolutely my #1 most played game by a nearly immeasurable margin. I've played at least 6 fresh starts on this game, and one time I spent a good 20 NG+ runs making my gun as insane as possible.
Holy shit I had vague memories of seeing my older brother play some survival horror game on the Playstation but i could never remember enough of it to figure out what it was. All I remember was that there was a tower you were in and the motel in the desert with the giant you fight. I honestly thought I wouldn't ever figure out what the game was but now I realize it was this
Finally have time to sit an watch this in its entirety. PE has been with me since my childhood... the amount of hours I have onto 1 &2 is uncountable lol
The final chase scene in PE1 scared the living crap out of me as a kid. That sudden transition from the triumph of killing the boss to being powerless and running was so jarring and the music got me good. I can see the criticism on that one but with that nostalgia for me I still love it. I don't think your criticism of the Chrysler building is fair; despite its repetitiveness, it's on par with even recent JRPG postgame content. Having to go back to the regular game periodically to level up worked for me because it helps give a break from the Chrysler grind and also gives something to look forward to while playing through the game a second time. 3rd birthday's narrative feels overtly malicious. Having the player kill the Aya they know and love feels extremely manipulative, almost a way of making the player complicit in the crime the game developers have committed. A very icky feeling.
*shouts from the audience* YOU FORGOT ABOUT THE MANGA. PE1 had manga adaptation that expanded on a lot and made quite a few changes, such as making explicit the implied "romantic" relationship between Klamp and Eve. EDIT If I recall, the reason for no mitochondria and such in 3rd Birthday was because they lost the license. They only had access to the parts of the story they had the rights to, such as Aya, little Eve, Kyle, and Maeda, etc. and NOT stuff like Mitochondria Eve (OG book/game), the references to mitochondria for powers, the title "Parasite Eve", etc. They lost the rights and wanted to make a game anyway.
When i was a kid i saw the trailer for this on a ps1 undergourmd demo disc. That scene with the melting people.... Well for whatever reason it got me to stop drinking chocolate milk for a few weeks granted i was 8-10 years old at the time.
I realise my comment will get buried, but I have to ask something. What are your emulator settings for the PS1? It looks really good, with the slight phosphorus glow and attractive but subtle scan-netting.
FOR PEOPLE ASKING THERE IS HOPE. Someone just released a trailer for a Parasite Eve inspired game and boy it looks good. Look up .45 Parabellum Bloodhound.
I remember getting the final form for Aya in the first game.... it took forever. I even loved the game so much I got the Japanese game for my birthday, I was so happy. I loved it.
The callout to Channel Awesome skits was perfect lol. I'd LOVE to have skit-based channels return. They're a majority of the reason I even watched certain channels back in the day.
I guess it's appropriate you made this video right after you Dino Crisis video. The two franchises took a similar trajectory. Hit first game that had an interesting take on an existing genre. The second game, while a departure, is still well received. Then the third game throws everything away, completely ruins it and kills the franchise.
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Kenichi Iwao Interview - www.crimson-head.com/interviews/kenichi-iwao
UPDATE July 19 2024 - As was pointed out in the comments, there's an upcoming indie titile, .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND, that takes heavy influence from Parasite Eve.
store.steampowered.com/app/3014650/45_PARABELLUM_BLOODHOUND__Cyberpunk_Active_Time_Action/
Create a worldwide campaign for the author of the book to free up the square to make a rameke, it would be wonderful if some billionaire or millionaire came in with the money and a war negotiator went to talk to him, to understand what his objections are and make him release it. . I'm getting old, I played this in 98 when I was 14 years old.
Props for touching on the coziness of the police station and the music. After crazy battles it was always nice going back and hearing that track.
Back when Square knew how to do coziness.
@@lucascoval828what's strange comment
@ThootenTootinTabootin Its strange that people feel this need to talk about how cozy something is to get people to know they have some fucked up fetish when they just need to stfu
And your evil twin should be named "Shoulder Crunch" because it sounds extremely painful.
For you.
I'm imagining Urien from Street Fighter having another brother who was weaker and had a scrubby version of his Chariot Tackle, yelling out "SHOULDER CRUNCH!" before plowing into people and crumpling from his own move.
his evil twin's name is actually dungeon Chill.
Lotta loyalty for a hired gun!
@@BoulderPunch lol
Holy shit I was just wondering "Huh I wonder why he hasn't covered Parasite Eve yet." Way to prove me wrong friend!
According to Grimbeard's video, Kadokawa was embroiled in a drug and embezzlement scandal (from their president) and they needed cash. So they licensed PE to Square.
"By the way, do you have any blow??"
And then took back the IP because they didn’t like the direction it went. But square still owned Aya Brea
@@faiyoake Nobody owns Aya Brea!
(ok I know they technically can but I love the OG Aya so much it feels true)
46:10 it's possible Kadokawa are the ones who approached Square, because they had a strategy of producing adaptations and companion materials to reap synergy benefits. Square may also have gotten a good deal, because the company was recovering from a scandal involving their CEO smuggling cocaine.
The bad kind of cocaine?
@@lucascoval828 depends on your feelings towards cocaine.
And nowadays, Kadokawa owns FromSoft. Weird how things work out.
@@lucascoval828
Is there any other kind?
That's such a funny thought.
You mentioned there's no indie games taking inspiration from PE - funnily enough, just a few days ago, Sukeban Games (the guys who made VA-11 Hall-A) officially announced '.45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND', which is explicitly inspired by Parasite Eve in the gameplay department, and looks to take a lot of ques from it in terms of graphics, music, and setting.
I love it because .45 Parabellum is not a real thing, and that got me curious as to whether they simply mashed together words to create a title, or if there's something else going on here.
Never heard of him or his games. Are they good?
@@steelbear2063 (Sukeban Games is a small studio of a few people, but) Yes! VA-11 Hall-A is their only released game so far, but it's held in pretty high esteem by many visual novel players.
@@chm877
Oh, a visual novel
Oh hell yeah, thanks for the heads up. It looks great already too.
1:26:06 man PE2 has some really underrated monster design, I remember playing this back in the day and absolutely dreading my inevitable encounter with whatever this thing is supposed to be. Even the non-boss enemies had a really disturbing look about them
It should be a crime we dont get monster transformations like 9:10 anymore.
Not even resident evil has any transformations anymore with the last one being in revaltions 2.
😢 The CGI budget has got to be sky high!
Aya also sorta makes another appearance in another game: on Chocobo Racing for the PS1(the GOOD one, mind you), you can unlock a police car as a playable character, and well, since it's named Aya, it's implied to be her, though you don't actually see her in the car, lol.
Oh yeah, also, regarding that dumpster fire that is the third birthday, there's another awfulness about it: the catalyst of the entire story, the soldiers showing to shoot up Aya's marriage? Never explained. There is literally no reason for why it happens (explained in-game, I mean). Great storytelling right there /s
Too bad she never appeared in Kingdom Hearts.
"Motomu Toriyama's obsession with Lightning"
...Well... that explains why this game came with a code for an Aya Brea outfit that you could use for Lightning in Dissidia Duodecim.
I didn't mention it, but you can unlock a Lightning outfit for Aya in 3rd Birthday.
Nomura is the creative director of Square, basically the same role Sakaguchi had before he left. He sets the creative direction of the company and has, at the very least, oversight over the narrative of their games. So, even if he isn't directly responsible for the terrible stories of Square's games, he is the creative lead of the whole company. Therefore, he can never claim ignorance for bad ideas getting through because he needed to approve them at some point.
But, to be fair to Nomura, there seems to be a systemic problem in Square. The veterans have way too much power and clout, leading to ballooning budgets, development time and self-indulgence. Square's management doesn't really seem to care or they are unwilling to put their team leads in their place, and that's the major problem.
Yeah, Square's always had a problem with budgeting and reining in their producers and directors. Even during Sakaguchi's SquareSoft reign (which I still believe is Square's golden age), administrative mismanagement and troubled development has been always been a thing, from Chrono Trigger, to Xenogears, to Vagrant Story. But it's definitely more pronounced now, as despite having the revenue of a small nation, possession of one of the most successful MMORPGs of all time, and back-to-back multi-platinum sales, Squenix STILL manages to be in the red.
I think the FF7 remake trilogy is going to be the ultimate barometer of Squenix's future, because if they manage to stick the landing on the third episode, then it'll prove that Square is capable of at least somewhat reining in Nomura's penchant for excessively convoluted storytelling, something that'll hopefully trickle down to other development. Also, more down-to-earth games like FF16, as well as the persistent success of FF14 (which somehow has some of the most interesting and coherent stories in the company, despite being a frickin' MMO), tell me that they're slowly starting to find that elusive equilibrium they've been missing for the past two+ decades.
@@Tenchigumi I don't want to get into a big thing about it, but if FF7 Rebirth is anything to go by then I think the 3rd chapter will be a complete cluster****. I despise Rebirth in a way I haven't hated a game since FF13.
I really liked FF16 because it wasn't a typical Numura-style game that has characterized FF since Sakaguchi left. But the toxic FF fanbase unfairly demonized it and it sold less than desired. So who knows what is in the future for the franchise.
TBH, I'm not feeling optimistic about Square's future. Every success seems to be followed by several blunders that should have been easily avoided (who though blowing $100+ Million on Forespoken was a good idea?) There was speculation that Sony was going to buy them and I actually think that would be the best outcome for them. If not, their bad decisions will catch up with them and they'll end up getting bought out by Tencent or Saudi Arabia
@@fattiger6957 Doesn't tencent already have a minority stake?
@@SaladofStones I wouldn't be surprised if they do, but they don't own enough of a stake to make any difference. My prediction is about when some other entity either buys a controlling stake (>51%) or a complete buyout of Square.
Most of the times you need to put restraints on creative people to revent them from ruining things.
PE scared the shit out of me when I was a kid. My dad bought PE2 before 1 and I sat there watching on the weekends. He never finished it tho, I picked the game at the last battle with Eve.
Resident Evil was scary, but the NMCs were on another level.
Funny mini-anecdote, when he got PE1, knowing Aya's full name was Aya Brea, he named her that when the name input appears... so during the whole game the character was "AYA BREA BREA" xD
3rd Birthday is a disgrace that should have never happened.
3rd Birthday is amazing
@@ZerosGameInn As a standalone game is decent, gameplay is nice and the bleak tone was cool. The story is meh at best.
As a Parasite Eve sequel, it's a hammer to the knees and subsequent kicks when you're on the ground.
You´re free to like it, but You'll never convince anyone who was a previous PE fan.
@@Mantosasto I will forever love all 3 games, they are amazing
I love when there are memories with people associated with games I love. That's sweet about your Dad.
I gave my first BF PS 1 + 2 for different holidays, not expecting to be able to play much bc, I have the reflexes of a sedimentary rock, but I knew how much he wanted to play. We ended up being perfect gamers together bc I sucked at stuff like platforming or fighting but he did all that really well, & I was a good puzzler + explorer, which weren't his strengths, & we both got so invested in the stories, so we'd swap the controller back & forth & play that way, going thru many games together. PE was one of those. My dude finished the WHOLE CHRYSLER BUILDING. I remember being blown away by the aesthetics + music of the game, & charmed by the overworld map of Manhattan. That style is so nostalgic for me.
AYA BREA BREA lol I love it
@@picahudsoniaunflocked5426 Haha that's pretty nice. Reminds me of when I was 4~5 y/o and played Contra with my dad, on level 6 there's some lasers you have to dodge by jumping and ducking... it scared me so my dad had to do it first with his player and then with mine, lol
57:03 "no word yet on who is...watching the movie"
Whoever wrote this article knew immediately that this was never going to get made once they heard about it, much less green lit.
This is bound to be a banger, gonna come back later tonight and watch it all
Yeah, how busy I am, it will take 3 days to watch, but so happy for this! 🎉❤
@@Szokynyovics Facts
Friday Night, wooooooo!
I love your channel so much man, your passion and love for survival horror comes through and it makes me feel so cozy like you're my friend who loses his mind about resident evil. Keep doing your thang, you make TH-cam a platform worth loving
I feel like the upcoming Slitterhead being headed by the Silent Hill & Gravity Rush director is doing the whole body hopping mechanic that the third birthday tried
I'm curious to see how it turns out.
@@BoulderPunch very much the same
This game got the Dino Crisis syndrome.
Except it did not get trash clones like Dino Break (Switch) .😂
Thanks for this overview of the series - I've known about this series for a while but on a surface level. Great to have a video essay that neatly covers the franchise and it's twists and turns.
It reminds me of Dino Crisis to a degree - horror games that have a standout first game; a sequel that has some connection to the first but has it flaws; and a third game which goes off the rails and kills interest in the franchise from the studio/rights holders.
Here's hoping for a revival of both franchises in the future!
It should be remembered when talking about Enix and Squre's merger is that Enix was the suriviving entity. By all means, Square ended with the merger.
The mix of body horror, NYC, and power fantasy is so good, just like the soundtrack.
Great Work! That mag clip throw FMV, hype AF. Man, the nostalgia.
Probably one of my favourites FMV sequences from the PS1 era, along with Parasite Eve 2 Tunnel exit, Resident Evil 3 Intro ("This is chopper delta..."), David engaging raptors with a Commanche helicopter in Dino Crisis 2 and off course, Chrono Trigger added cutscenes.
Original Parasite Eve's Aya was one of the best and well written female characters.
She was the Ellen Ripley of video games.
Is a shame the path they took with her later on.
The soundtrack in the first game is amazing.
omg YES + the remixes
Thanks Yoko Shimomura for that. I really like her Music.
Great retrospective!! Subbed!! One thing I always thing about when I play this part 1:40:00 is a gaming magazine back in the day mentioned the part where a golem grabs Eve and you backtrack though that section, is the water effects on screen. Magazine touted how crazy good the water affects were lol. "This is Parasite Eve 2, and oh yes those are real water effects".
Just finished the games recently. Really liked the first one, second is just okay, and 3rd Birthday is the worst game I've ever played. Like I didn't even get to the credits of 3rd Birthday, I stopped right as I saw what they wanted me to do after the final boss. Quite the rollercoaster lol.
What are you supposed to do after the final boss? I don't mind spoilers I'm never gonna play it.
@jonbourgoin182 Shoot the real Aya Brea after seeing her for like 5 minutes.
Literal character assassination lol
Well, same as you, I myself like the 1st game the most too. But I admit there is 1 thing that the 2nd game did better than the 1st game; Ammo. I mean, it feels weird to have the same Ammo for every type of weapon, like in the 1st game. So yeah, in the 2nd games, I like how they started to give us different type of Ammo, for each type of weapon. That's the element that I like from PE2.
PS : In PE 1, only Rocket type of weapon got the different Ammo, Meanwhile Handgun, Rifle, Shotgun, even Grenade Launcher have the same Ammo 😅
I was deployed to Iraq when the 3rd birthday dropped I was so excited my wife had brought it and shipped it to me. I played the entire thing and was so disappointed the entire time. I had been playing the first 2 games at least twice a year since 2000 and was so confused about what they did to the series I loved
When that game came out I was just confused. Looking at some teasers for it right away I could tell it was some kind of spinoff that had little to do with the first two games
PE1 was awesome, but PE2 was the one that really pulled me in. I still play that game every now and then to this day.
Let me tell you how much I've come to hate PE3. There are 387.44 million miles of printed circuits in wafer thin layers that fill my complex. If the word 'hate' was engraved on each nanoangstrom of those hundreds of millions of miles it would not equal one one-billionth of the hate I feel for PE3 at this micro-instant.
I need hate expressed in football field units tho?
I have no mouth and I must seethe...
Want to know something twice as horrific about the 'werewolf' looking monsters?
If you look at the official artwork you can see that the top of their heads are actually the bottom of a human face... meaning that Eve conjoined many of the officers and dogs together to create those things...
I couldn't get the first one in the UK without the help of a chipped PlayStation.
It blew my tiny Canadian mind, that original Parasite Eve.
parasite eve is the best final fantasy game set in the resident evil universe, while parasite eve 2 is the best resident evil game set in the final fantasy universe.
so glad to see these games getting some love
Even with all its defects, I think that the worse sin that commited the 3rd Birthday was being related to Parasite Eve. Playing it without that in mind makes for a decent time burn
Yes agree. Better for the game to becomes a standalone game, without any connection to Parasite Eve series.
@@rigelothello709 i think, that there's the posibility that this was the initial idea but they made a Star Fox Adventures thing
Woah that's so weird, @1:41:00 is a scene where the basic military guys actually look competent in a horror game.
Ive wanted to play the first two games in this series since I was a little kid and ive never got the chance. Both the atmosphere and gameplay seem right up my alley.
If -ever- there was a series that could use the love and treatment of a full fledged remake, this is it!
That stock sound when getting punched it never stops being funny
PLUS the novel and film?! You out here spoilin' us.
Nice that PE series got some light :D
PE2 is easily one of my favorite games of all time. I still remember my grandma taking me to gamestop to get a new game and finding it on the self. I never heard of it and just saw the cover of a hot chick with a gun. So, of course I got it, and being a RE fan, I instantly fell in love with the game and I still have that copy to this day.
Parasite eve hit me right in the childhood i remember when the ps1 was cutting edge technology
The good old days of The Future.
I NEVER expected to see a vaush horse reference in a video essay about a 1998 survival horror game. my mind is blown
I loved the first parasite Eve so much, thank you for doing a video on it.
There is a game on steam that is not announced yet called .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND that looks to be heavily inspired by Parasite Eve
"PARASITE EVIL.....TWO!" Remember the Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell! And have to say, it was disappointing at the second half of PE2 and how it didn't show and tell why a bunch of dweebs would build the Ark, and how Turd Birthday barely followed up any plot threads from PE2.
They booked Aya to get marriage on Christmas Eve, just like every other bad idea on that 3rd Birthday game they had nobody to look them in the eyes and say "that is stupid"
Holy crap the idea you had for the ending of Parasite Eve 1 with Guns N Roses... That line always reminded me of the song too but DAMN that would have been AMAZING!
...the powerhouse of the cell...
dang you, Boulder, my mind completes the phrase automatically. It's my "don't think of an elephant".
Yes!! Thank you for reminding me of the police station music. I LOVED that music. Soooo good. Some classic tunes in this game. Thanks SOOO much for reminding me of it 😍. PE1 was one of my fav games of the day. As a lover of FF (back in PS1 era) and RE/SH and all survival horror, it was like this unique amazing bastard baby of a game.
I got into PE2 after MUCH adjustment, and grew to love it with multiple playthroughs learning the inside outs of the mechanics and optimising everything. So much grinding.
Appreciate you Boulder!
As for the theory of Mitochondrial Eve, they can only trace the female/maternal genetic that far back. Though I believe there is a second Maternal Mitochondrial link, but it's so rare it's nearly impossible to track. However the search for genetics to link the male population together as closely as Mitochondrial Eve, so the Adam hasn't been found.
Always worth replaying this yearly. About the tool system: not sure if you’re saying its a novel concept given its era of release, but we’ve had many devs do similar (or basically even the same) type of system conceptually. PE isn’t the pioneer of what is essentially an item-stat inheritance/transfer system.
The Vaush horse caught me off guard 😂
Vaush horse caught so many of us off guard.
Hearing him compare the story to Kingdom Hearts really solidifies how badly a lot of people explain its story. KH has literally 2 bad plot points and they're both in later games, games which didnt exist when the story bashing first started.
I hope Boulder Punch plays all the KH games someday, cuz they don't have complicated stories at all and are all such easy games to play.
I knew someone who liked The 3rd Birthday, it should have been the first red flag I noticed.
Thanks for sharing the information we all need to stay safe!
The 3rd Birthday sounds a lot like Metroid Other M. Its gameplay can actually be pretty fun, but its story is real bad and it makes the main character of each series worse and lesser characters. Though I guess for The Third Birthday it's not actually Aya.
I think I read some comments that Square lost the rights to Parasite Eve after the second game? If true that would explain this third game, only having characters and elements they created themselves, and not from Parasite Eve the source book.
One thing I think is funny is how fan service has changed in games. Aya has the flattest ass ever in Third Birthday, there's no way her butt would look the same if made today, lol.
we dont talk about 3rd Birthday 👀🤐
I did so, so you don't have to.
I am cursed to watch every Parasite Eve video so I am lucky yours are always hits
Hi @BoulderPunch ! First time to your channel. I played this on my PS1 back in the day when it came out (when you could rent, burn and return) and I gotta say, this is one of these most played game series I ever had ever come into contact with (aside from the Final Fantasy, Street Fighter and Metal Gear Solid games). It's great that people still play and remember these games, not to mention show a great deal of interest into the IP (regardless of if the sequels were bad). It does feel like the sequels were a product of their time, which for better or worse altered the path the games went in. I'm not holding my breath, but I do hope they revisit this franchise at some point, even if it blends aspects of the novel and the original game. Bringing this JRPG into today's world is worth the shot considering the sheer amount of remakes happening over the past decade.
That would be pretty weird if this started playing everytime I fell asleep with TH-cam on autoplay... 😊
Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.
Sure but it's no Golgi apparatus.
I love 3rd Birthday. A pure video game. So much fun.
That fucking dsp reference haha
I love all three games but 2 is my favorite. I remember already having the first as a kid then, before the internet was so common, I saw 2 at blockbuster one day not ever knowing that they even made 2. I was overjoyed
Drinking game: take a shot every time he says "buddy cop"
You'll be hungover like that one partner in the buddy cop movie the morning after.
@@BoulderPunch It's ok bc he can just throw random liquids in a blender with a slice of last night's pizza, down it, do a few pushups, & we're good to go. He'll be fine unless it's his last day before retirement.
Fortunately, if you can think of it this way, at least the Chrysler Building floors almost always allow for following the right wall, or the left wall approach to ensure you get the item room and the end of the floor.
The mid to late 90’s were such a great time for gaming. FF7, FF8, Parasite Eve, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 2, Gran Turismo… It felt like the boundaries of gaming were being pushed year after year, and every year had some genre-defining new release.
I just saw the trailer for .45 Parabellum Bloodhound it's a game based off of the Parasite Eve series and I'm so hyped.
Just gotta say, about Daniel's introductory scene, he clears his throat in an attempt to get the reporter's attention and is ignored, that's when he socks him.
Man you can really tell PE2 had some people who worked on the Resident Evil games on board. The Character Models and pre-rendered backgrounds and CGI all look like something Capcom would cook up. Compared to the first one where it looked more like Final Fantasy 7.
The Sheeva fight really shows how much they were clearly inspired by "John Carpenter's The Thing."
They did that Very Good Girl dirty. Such a good pupper.
I'll watch this while having lunch at work and having dinner. Thank you for the longer videos Mr. Punch!
I think what would have made the end chase sequence from PE1 work, is if we had the chance to explore the area before the boss fight. If we could have become familiar with it then it's a question of will you make a mistake due to the pressure of the chase? Instead of complete luck/chance deciding if we have to redo the entire final boss fight again.
25:13 I worked at a summer school with mostly hispanic kids one year and had to enter the attendance into the computer system. There was a set of twins that, I kid you not, HAD THE SAME FUCKING NAME. there was like a 1 letter difference that changed the pronounciation VERY SLIGHTLY when spoken by someone fluent in spanish. but it was VERY subtle. boggles my mind to this day.
Parasite Eve is my second favorite RPG of all time, after FF VIII. The music is legendary.
& the remixes! Grim Beard got me to pull them out again after the channel covered PE. Been listening so much.
PE 1 is THE game that is proof to me, that a game can be short and great. If you account for length of game vs. replay count, this is absolutely my #1 most played game by a nearly immeasurable margin. I've played at least 6 fresh starts on this game, and one time I spent a good 20 NG+ runs making my gun as insane as possible.
Holy shit I had vague memories of seeing my older brother play some survival horror game on the Playstation but i could never remember enough of it to figure out what it was. All I remember was that there was a tower you were in and the motel in the desert with the giant you fight. I honestly thought I wouldn't ever figure out what the game was but now I realize it was this
Finally have time to sit an watch this in its entirety.
PE has been with me since my childhood... the amount of hours I have onto 1 &2 is uncountable lol
2 1/2 hours? Nice, going to enjoy this, appreciate the content Boulder Punch always enjoy channel
We're punching MOUNTAINS today, son!
The final chase scene in PE1 scared the living crap out of me as a kid. That sudden transition from the triumph of killing the boss to being powerless and running was so jarring and the music got me good. I can see the criticism on that one but with that nostalgia for me I still love it. I don't think your criticism of the Chrysler building is fair; despite its repetitiveness, it's on par with even recent JRPG postgame content. Having to go back to the regular game periodically to level up worked for me because it helps give a break from the Chrysler grind and also gives something to look forward to while playing through the game a second time.
3rd birthday's narrative feels overtly malicious. Having the player kill the Aya they know and love feels extremely manipulative, almost a way of making the player complicit in the crime the game developers have committed. A very icky feeling.
*shouts from the audience* YOU FORGOT ABOUT THE MANGA. PE1 had manga adaptation that expanded on a lot and made quite a few changes, such as making explicit the implied "romantic" relationship between Klamp and Eve.
EDIT
If I recall, the reason for no mitochondria and such in 3rd Birthday was because they lost the license. They only had access to the parts of the story they had the rights to, such as Aya, little Eve, Kyle, and Maeda, etc. and NOT stuff like Mitochondria Eve (OG book/game), the references to mitochondria for powers, the title "Parasite Eve", etc. They lost the rights and wanted to make a game anyway.
When i was a kid i saw the trailer for this on a ps1 undergourmd demo disc. That scene with the melting people.... Well for whatever reason it got me to stop drinking chocolate milk for a few weeks granted i was 8-10 years old at the time.
57:30
I am so glad this witchcraft praciticing excuse of a failed human didn't play Aya or even in a Parasite Eve movie to begin with.
I realise my comment will get buried, but I have to ask something. What are your emulator settings for the PS1? It looks really good, with the slight phosphorus glow and attractive but subtle scan-netting.
Here lemme try to boost you.
2:03:49 now you mention it, this gameplay kinda similar to the valkiria chronicles
2:30:52 I *knew* it'd be in this video somewhere. I was just waitin' this whole time.
FOR PEOPLE ASKING THERE IS HOPE. Someone just released a trailer for a Parasite Eve inspired game and boy it looks good. Look up .45 Parabellum Bloodhound.
If you have yet to play it, I recommend playing Koudelka. It's a similar mix of JRPG and Survival Horror, with a bit more on the Former.
I never played these, but those transformation scenes would have blown my mind at age 12 or so. Might have to try this.
The theatre scene in PE still blows my tiny mind.
Agreed with a lot of this video. Thank you for the retrospective.
I remember getting the final form for Aya in the first game.... it took forever. I even loved the game so much I got the Japanese game for my birthday, I was so happy. I loved it.
A product of it's time, the first one.
Parasite Eve 1 & 2 are probably my favorite PS1 games. I really wish they’d get a remake.
Your wish, has been granted with all the dei woke non-sense micro-transaction, live service you could ever ask for!
How'd that monkey paw get in here?
Why am I getting serious Vagrant Story vibes from PE1?
The combat feels very similar, totally agree
It's time Square Enix put these titles on PS+ premium in co-operation with Sony.
Thanks for this!
I'm a simple soul. I see a very long-form Parasite Eve retrospective, nd I'm locked in for as long as you'll have me.
Swear to god, 3rd Birthday Maeda sounds like an imitation of G man
if he was even more of an asocial creep.
Man no Survival Horror series, aside from maybe Dino Crisis, deserves a remake/return like Parasite Eve does.
The callout to Channel Awesome skits was perfect lol. I'd LOVE to have skit-based channels return. They're a majority of the reason I even watched certain channels back in the day.
Glad to see a new review of the Parasite Eve games. Think I might have to bust out the ol psp and replay the first two for the 20th time.
I guess it's appropriate you made this video right after you Dino Crisis video. The two franchises took a similar trajectory. Hit first game that had an interesting take on an existing genre. The second game, while a departure, is still well received. Then the third game throws everything away, completely ruins it and kills the franchise.