Parasite Eve: The 3rd Birthday
Source: Famitsu

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Guild Wars 2

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Kingdom Hearts Coded
Source: Famitsu

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Metal Max 3
Source: Game Watch

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Shining Hearts
Source: Game Watch

Final Fantasy XIV
Source: Game Watch

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Harvest Moon: Twin Villages
Source: Dengeki

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Parasite Eve: The 3rd Birthday
Source: Game Watch

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Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll
Source: Famitsu

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Guild Wars 2

• Initially planned as a cell phone game, The 3rd Birthday was moved to the PSP to take better advantage of the hardware, and to make the game more accessible worldwide.
• Toriyama mentioned an “episodic” nature to the story layout, in a similar vein to US TV shows; Lost, Heroes, and 24 were referenced in particular.
• The game’s visual style has been adjusted from the original cell phone concept, shifting from a relatively unscathed Manhattan at the onset to the more ruined cityscape depicted in previews so far. Essentially, the PSP version starts further along in the story than was first intended.
• Aya’s “Overdive” ability lets her take command of various soldiers in the field and directly battle the Twisted, the otherworldly force assaulting downtown NYC. In this fashion she can not only attack Twisted, but also position soldiers intelligently and shift bodies as necessary, even if whoever she’s inhabiting is killed.  Rather than simply hopping bodies when one dies, she can initiate flanking maneuvers and other group tactics against more dangerous enemies.
• As far as equipment goes, she’s generally limited to whatever the NPC she inhabits is carrying. However, she can customize her own weapons, which can be brought into the fight somehow; it’s not specified if these are brought with you between bodies or dropped into a combat zone in advance.
• Some customization of Aya has been hinted at, but not explained. Tabata mentioned a similarity with Aya’s powers in past Parasite Eve games, but did not elaborate.
• Aya’s clothing will confer defensive bonuses depending on how much, or little, she is wearing. Her outfits will tear and become more tattered as she takes damage; Nomura is credited for the idea. A sizable portion of the interview seemed to focus on the degree of nudity in the game, and Toriyama did confirm that Aya appeared naked during Overdive prior to inhabiting a body; upon possession, she appears as normal.
• As the game displays Aya in an NPC’s body for convenience, it’s unclear how her outfit can affect a soldier’s defense.  When asked whether Aya’s torn clothes represent her own state, Tabata replied “No, it’s probably just our image.”
• The Twisted are designed to run counter to traditional monster appearances – they have no concrete form, per se – and will be difficult to predict simply by virtue of being so utterly alien.  Their environments may be similarly bizarre and unpredictable.  In-game, the FBI speculates that the Twisted have somehow come from the future.
• The developers hinted that a future console adaptation is being considered, and that The 3rd Birthday might be the start of a new series.
• Nomura directly stated that The 3rd Birthday is not a sequel to the Parasite Eve series, but rather “a new piece of content.” What place it has alongside Parasite Eve was not explained.
• Regarding Aya, Nomura commented that she’s meant to be a fairly normal character; not really a warrior, her cool-headed demeanor masks someone trying to “accept her fate.” Emphasis will be placed on her internal conflicts throughout the game.

Source: Famitsu

Translation: andriasang

Our session began with Mr. Tabata demonstrating a build of the game for us, using a PSP rigged up to a television at the end of the table. Parasite Eve itself is, at its core, a very unique experience amongst RPGs; rather than a post-apocalyptic wasteland or a fantasy kingdom, part of the magic of the franchise is its portrayal of New York City, Right About Today. That’s a very powerful tool in the “Horror-Game” genre, and part of what made the first iteration of the series a breakout hit back in ’98.

Admittedly, the first moments of the demonstration looked to be a more-or-less standard squadron-based battle in the streets of NYC, though some evil-looking towery things were in the background and the hostiles seemed not entirely human.  Aya swapped through guns (authentic in this case, though we were informed that more fantastic arms would be appearing as well),  moved about the battlefield, and received support from her comrades in arms. Not exactly what I was expecting from a Parasite Eve title…

… and then she jumped into another guy’s body.

The four dull thuds heard shortly thereafter were the jaws of Jordan, myself, and the gentlemen from IGN and Game Informer hitting the conference-room table. She just… jumped… into a guy. Target guy then took on the distinguishing characteristics of Aya Brea – short blonde hair, slender figure, breasts. We were informed that the change was more a representation of the “will” of Aya moving from one unit to the next in the combat.

She just… jumped into a guy.

This is the “Overdive” system. (No bonus points if you see what they did there.) There is an unsettling parallel between what we, as gamers, are familiar with doing – controlling largescale conflicts by possessing and micromanaging strategic units – and what the Aya character can now do. It’s a level of meta-consciousness that calls into question the very nature of the game-gamer paradigm.

Unsettling on a unique level. Our old friend Parasite Eve returns.

Some rationality remains – inventory remains static between soldiers, and when they die, they stay that way (though Aya can jump out of a fresh corpse if the player is quick enough). The enemies are designed to be tough, to make the player exercise full control of the Overdive system and the associated strategies. The scenery is meant to evoke familiarity with the environment, but at the same time horrify the player by defiling the great bastion of modern culture that is New York City. (See also: Men in Black, Ghostbusters, Sakura Wars: So Long My Love.)

The demonstration ended with the acknowledgment of Mr. Kamikokuryo’s art department, and their extensive experience with HD content (Final Fantasy XIII, in particular). The artistic direction and graphical quality are utmost priorities for The Third Birthday, and the evocative cityscapes and psychedelic Overdive effects attest to their skill.

Mr. Tabata then opened the floor to questions. When asked how newcomers to the Parasite Eve series would take to the title, he expressed the hope that they’d come to appreciate it on its own merits. The backstory, though helpful, won’t be necessary to appreciate The Third Birthday, though callbacks, references, and easter eggs may be apparent to those with an understanding of the games.

The topic of the game’s origins and original destination – cellphones – arose. Mr. Tabata gave a number of reasons for the move to the PSP, citing a desire for a higher-spec, higher-quality product; a more global appeal (as compatible cellphone networks aren’t yet available in many regions), and the platform’s compatability with the project’s intended budget and scope. The development team felt that the PSP would provide the best possible combination of these factors, and hope that this title will re-energize the Parasite Eve franchise. Certainly, the ability to portray Aya more realistically (both in terms of graphics and character) will work to these ends.

The next questions centered on the length of the game experience. While the overall length of the game was still in question, Mr. Tabata indicated that each combat engagement would be a significant tactical affair, likely in excess of 20-30 minutes. While no ad-hoc multiplayer is in store at this time, the developers hinted that a successful PSP release may, in turn, lead to future console iterations where such online elements may arise.

Jordan and I would like to thank Mr. Tabata and Mr. Kamikokuryo, as well as the whole Square Enix E3 staff, for this opportunity. Be sure to check RandomNPC for The Third Birthday news and updates! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to Overdive out of this computer chair and into bed.

Perhaps the most popular choice, Rifles sport great range and bullet capacity, allowing players a fair amount of safety for when their ammo finally runs dry. This class of gun also has some of the best attack power available, and although its rate of fire tends to be rather poor, high attack power and good range is a highly effective combination any day of the week. Rifles are a solid choice for most character builds, except perhaps for one that revolves around quick AT recharge time. Since rifles have such a poor rate of fire, Aya’s next turn would come up about the same time she fired the second shot.

Handguns, on the other hand, are my personal favorite. Though their attack power is only average and their range is somewhat underwhelming, handguns offer a fast rate of fire, solid bullet capacity, and, with one specific equip, the possibility of two commands per round. Handguns are a great choice for characters based on high AT speed, though their good spread of abilities make them decent equips for almost any character build. One should avoid trying to increase the number of shots per turn beyond three, though; since a weapon’s attack power is spread out over each of the shots, a handgun with more than three shots per round will do increasingly paltry damage with each attack.

Machine guns, a fairly rare kind of equip, suffer fairly seriously from this problem. Most automatic weapons fire between five and seven shots per turn, but their attack power isn’t really enough to make any one shot particularly powerful. Added to this, machine guns have a rapid-fire ability that randomly targets enemies. This can be great with only a few enemies to deal with or in close quarters, but random targetting makes it impossible to focus your damage output in battles with more than two or three enemies, and can also lead to a lot of missed shots in battles that take place in wide-open areas, as Aya attempts to shoot a foe well outside her attack range. Automatic weapons do sport decent range and attack power, though, and perhaps the fastest rate of fire in the game, meaning the rapid-fire ability of a particularly powerful machine gun may be a good target for removal with a Super Tool. Machine guns can be fun to use, but on the whole, they’re a bit too much novelty to be really effective without a huge investment in time and effort.

Another type of weaponry with unique side effects are the grenade launchers. This class of weapon has great attack range and power, but their real strength lies in the elemental properties all grenade launchers posess. One of the only ways of dealing elemental damage in Parasite Eve, grenade launchers can deal truly impressive amounts of damage, but they also carry some unique problems. Given that a foe’s elemental weakness is never particularly obvious, the player will have to use at least one turn scanning the foe, and then a second switching to a weapon with the proper elemental attribute, at which point a basic handgun would have already outpaced the grenade launcher rather easily. On the whole, grenade launchers can be useful in certain circumstances, particularly during the late game, which is full of powerful but lumbering boss monsters, but they make a fairly poor choice for normal encounters.

Although they don’t get a lot of respect, club weapons can actually form the basis for their own strategy. Generally speaking, clubs exist as a weapon of last resort, in the extremely unlikely event that the player runs out of ammunition. However, the club weapons have very useful secondary effects. Club 3 in particular is impressive, as it is the only way Aya can steal items from her foes. By combining this ability with an inventory expanded with bonus points, Aya essentially becomes a Chemist. With pockets full of medicine and other curative items, Aya can become exceptionally difficult to take down. This strategy can be difficult to use, largely because clubs are so ineffective as offensive weapons. They sport the smallest attack range of any weapon, and their attack speed is slow enough that most enemies can simply walk out of the attack area. All of this makes it a good idea to back this strategy up with a high-powered weapon — a rifle or grenade launcher, for instance — for boss fights and other particularly stubborn foes.

Parasite Eve‘s unusual combat system makes it a fertile ground for creative strategies, and those listed here are just some of the most basic. That’s about it for this particular backwards-looking edition of Strategy Session, and remember, if you have a game you’d like to see featured in this article, just drop me a line in the comments or at cactuarjoe (at) randomnpc.com!

Tabata also dished on a few other details, such as the fact that another development studio is working on the game as well, but he wouldn’t say whom. He also said that he is considering wireless play, but he wouldn’t specify if it was ad-hoc or Wi-Fi.

Tabata also gave a couple tidbits about the game’s plot and gameplay, both of which are linked due to a system called “overdrive” that crosses time. Aya utilizes this ability to fight and gain information from the game’s enemies, known as the Twisted.

Finally, he said that the game’s scenario and design are nearly finished, but he did not give a release time frame.

Source: IGN

The next good news is both Final Fantasy XIII Agito and Parasite Eve: The 3rd Birthday will be released on the PSP, though a date has not yet been set. Previously, those two games were announced only for DoCoMo mobile phones in Japan. Since there is no North American equivalent of DoCoMo, nor is cell phone gaming nearly as common here as it is on the other side of the planet, cell phone games have almost zero chance of ever making the trip outside of Japan.

At this point, neither game has been announced for localization, but the odds are extremely good that they will. In the worst-case scenario, all PSP games are region free, so impatient gamers will be able to get their hands on them a few days after they hit Japanese shelves, depending on shipping. Sadly, another cell phone game, Final Fantasy IV: The After was not listed at the show, but new precedents have just been set, so all hope is not yet lost for it, either.

Finally, Square Enix showed trailers for a HUGE list of games including: Sigma Harmonics, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Kingdom Hearts Coded, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Final Fantasy Dissidia, and all the games already listed. With the exception of Final Fantasy XIII for the 360, none of these games were available in any form at E3. With any luck, some of these trailers will hit the internet so gamers in other countries will be able to share in some of the fun.

Sources: Famitsu, Kotaku