Parasite Eve is the most modern rpg I've played in years. Mind you, I am referring to the Playstation mid-era game released in 1998, the one that is hardly a new product by any stretch of the imagination.

Modernity in this sense is referencial to its pacing, presentation and length.It’s a tight and well managed 9-12 hour experience that explores its gameplay precepts to its limits, it’s a game that efficiently administers and completes its task. The game reminded I think has more in common with games like Mirrors Edge, Prince of Persia, Bioshock and Crisis Core. Though archaic random battles still exist, Aya is a relatively mobile avatar. Evasion and quick reflexes are rewarded in this game. It offers a kind of a fusion of Secret of Mana’s mobile characters with the Final Fantasy active time battle system, a unique evolution of Square’s major gameplay innovations that has remained woefully unexplored since the Playstation era.

Parasite Eve was also a game that was able to meld a cinematic experience into its presentation without being too drawn out or hokey. The cinematics are short, rife with symbolism and help give context to what is kind of a blurry world, graphicly. This is a game from my immense backlog that was able to give me a fulfilling experience with a reasonable amount of commitment, a game that didn't force me to bash my head against a wall of random battle to get some satisfaction! Thumbs up!

Aya looking decidedly more silly than her representation in Parasite Eve, well, at least were getting a sequel that isn't just on cell phones!