Parasite Eve was one of Squaresoft's most unique franchises. As survival horror-RPG hybrids with a female lead and an all-star development team of Final Fantasy veterans, the first two games were among the PlayStation's most ground-breaking titles. Unfortunately, the series was killed by its controversial finale, The 3rd Birthday.
Despite a modest critical and commercial reception upon release, The 3rd Birthday divided fans with its contentious writing and excessive sexualization. As a result, the Parasite Eve series fell dormant. However, with stronger storytelling and modernized gameplay, Square Enix could reawaken it by replacing that schismatic sequel with a new third game.
To understand why The 3rd Birthday divided fans, one must first understand why they loved the series' protagonist. In contrast to many of Squaresoft's other heroes in the 90s, Aya Brea was a brave and capable woman. She had insecurities, particularly regarding her parasite powers, but was ultimately one of the company's boldest avatars. While the marketing did emphasize her attractiveness, like many games with female leads at the time, she was still defined primarily by her strength and protective instinct.
In The 3rd Birthday, Aya was reduced to a submissive, whimpering coward. Gone was the dynamic protagonist from the first two games, replaced with a frightened weakling constantly being talked down to by men. The writing tried to justify this by ostensibly giving her amnesia, but Aya continued acting like a helpless child for the majority of the game instead of gradually rediscovering her agency.
Some fans might have overlooked this drastic rewrite if the gameplay could distract from it. Unfortunately, The 3rd Birthday stumbled in this regard as well. Instead of being another survival horror RPG, it was a third-person shooter from a company unfamiliar with the genre. Though the body-swapping Overdive feature provided some innovation, it wasn't enough to elevate the game's passable action.
To make matters worse, that action was specifically designed to objectify its lead. Clothing damage was a major mechanic, stripping Aya down to rags as she got hurt. Furthermore, most of her outfits were revealing or fetishistic: including a maid costume, leather bunny suit and secretary outfit with lingerie. Combined with suggestive physics and sound design, alongside an unlockable camera that focused on Aya's backside, it's easy to see why her fans rejected The 3rd Birthday.
Square Enix was upfront about their desire to focus on Aya's sexuality. To the studio's credit, this isn't an inherently bad idea, as video games could certainly use more respectful discussions of the topic. Unfortunately, there's nothing respectful about this title. That fact is made abundantly clear with its final twist, which reveals that Aya died at her wedding and her adopted teenage sister has since been inhabiting her body. In other words: The 3rd Birthday was sexualizing a minor trapped in a dead woman's corpse.
The game had plenty of other narrative problems, too. Its story was confusing, leaving many plot holes unresolved, and returning fan favorites were rewritten as more perverted than before. However, it was the treatment of Aya and her sister Eve that truly outraged fans. This problematic story makes any direct continuation hard to justify. However, a brand new game that replaces it in the timeline is very much worth making.
Much like Nier, Square Enix's other franchise about apocalyptic infections, Parasite Eve's themes have aged surprisingly well. With the COVID-19 pandemic giving humanity a universal frame of reference for the dangers of contagions, a third story's horror could hit much closer to home than any past game. Supported by Square Enix's creative monster design, it would make for exactly the kind of calamity the world needs Aya Brea to fight. Finally letting fans step back into her shoes for one last battle would be a far more fitting farewell to the character.
Such a game could also take advantage of Square Enix's newfound confidence with action gameplay. The 3rd Birthday aspired to be faster than its predecessors, but was unable to realize its ambition due to the developers' inexperience. The success of Final Fantasy VII Remake proves that limitation has been overcome, and its particular blend of modern gameplay with classic RPG elements would be a perfect fit for the series.
The 3rd Birthday had some interesting ideas, but they were overshadowed by poor execution and storytelling. Square Enix's sexualization of a child in a corpse, and blatant disrespect for one of their few female icons, makes it perhaps the studio's most unpleasant game. It being the last word in the story only adds insult to injury for fans, but it doesn't have to stay that way. A new ending that restores everything great about the series could redeem it. Parasite Eve and Aya Brea are names that once commanded respect. It's high time Square Enix showed them that.
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