Parasite Eve 2 hasn't really changed since our import review of the Japanese version. Its combat is handled even more like Resident Evil than its predecessor's. When enemies are encountered throughout the game's prerendered backgrounds, battle is automatically initiated. Returning main character Aya is then controlled in real time during the battle. An automatic targeting system makes enemies easy to track and hit with the game's (largely projectile-based) weapons. Aya also has a variety of "parasite energies" (magic spells) to use against her foes. Moving around is a little more difficult than in either Parasite Eve or the Resident Evil games - it's not a huge difference, but the control is a bit stiffer.

Not all of Parasite Eve's RPG elements have disappeared in its sequel. Killing monsters will earn you experience points, which unlock new spells, as well as "bounty points" that you can cash in for more items. You can obtain new weapons and armor, which are equipped much like they are in a typical RPG.

As stated earlier, the text is really the only ostensible change in the American version of Parasite Eve 2, and it seems to be a standard Square translation. It's grammatically correct and fairly well worded, but at the same time, it's not quite up to the majesty of Vagrant Story. Still, a good effort all around.

Parasite Eve 2 is less an RPG and more an adventure game than its prequel, but it uses enough positive elements from both those genres to appeal to fans of either. Look for it on store shelves in September.
 
By Brad Shoemaker, GameSpot VG 

 Aya Brea is back. The blonde FBI psycho-bomber with the mitochondria fix is bigger, blonder, and badder than ever, and I mean that in a good way. In Parasite Eve II, Aya returns three years after the events that took place in the original PE. Interestingly, the team that developed the first episode isn't responsible for the sequel. Instead, a whole new team has created what Square hopes is a reinvention of the series. While the game still takes place on detailed, pre-rendered backgrounds a la Resident Evil, the battle system has changed, and if first impressions are anything to judge by, then it's changed for the better.

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The biggest improvement in Parasite Eve II is a new an auto-targeting system. You can now see your enemies before you approach them and initiate battle sequences by locking onto them. From there, you can choose to attack a couple of different ways. The standard option is to attack using your firearm, whichever firearm that may be. Aside from filling your opponents with lead, you can also select a Parasite attack that will subtract energy from your Parasite energy bar. One of your basic Parasite attacks is a fireball that's not too different from one Ken or Ryu, of Street fighter fame, might throw. As in the first game, there is an extensive customization interface that lets you tailor your armament to suit your particular preferences.

Graphically, the game has taken a leap forward by providing the best-looking polygonal characters this side of Resident Evil 3. Aya, in particular, has been given extra special attention, with a superbly modeled figure that looks awesome with all of PE II's high-contrast lighting effects. Control is still Resident Evil-ish, and this works fine.

From initial impressions and about an hour of playtime, it looks as if Square has actually improved the feel of the game, rather than simply rehashing the old one. Kudos to them for the effort, as lackluster titles such as Chocobo Racing gave off the impression that Square was getting lazy. One final nongameplay note is that the Japanese version of Parasite Eve II has an extremely well-designed cover (read: quite sexy), and it would be great if the American release featured the same one. Check back for the full review, coming shortly.

By James Mielke, videogames.com

Aya Brea is back, back to the nightmares, the memories, to that fateful Christmas that she was hoping to someday forget.  

Eve is gone, and so are the others whose lives she claimed, but are they?  Do those restless spirits still walk Central Park? Manhattan? The World?  

It's a whole New Los Angeles based adventure as Aya tries to escape her memories of Eve and what she herself is, but is there any where on earth Aya can hide?  Be sure to watch out for this hot title available from Squaresoft this coming Spring 2000.  

After the tidbit of info Square showed at E3, we've been left wondering about PE2. Wonder no more, this game is coming this year.

Parasite Eve 2 takes place three years after the original Parasite Eve game. On September 9th 2000,  some odd occurrences dealing with more victims of mitochondria out of control wreak havoc in  Los Angeles.  Aya Brea and her team are called in to investigate and so the new adventure begins.

More information listed below from another source

TOKYO - One of the few "surprise" titles at TGS this year (though we already saw video snippets of it at E3) was Square's Parasite Eve II. Being called a "Cinematic Adventure," this time, PEII features the same RPG-like game play as that of the original game, but according to Square, there will be more adventure elements, making for "a heightened element of mystery and thrilling story development."

PEII takes places three years after the events of the first game. The mitochondria-related incidents that were plaguing the land have finally come to an end. However, on the evening of September 9, 2000, a bunch of mitochondrial creatures suddenly appear in the Akropolis Tower, a modern high-rise in the middle of downtown Los Angeles. In an effort to control the chaos, the FBI sends its newly formed MIST team (Mitochondria Investigation and Suppression Team) in to investigate, and this is where Aya comes in.

As was the case in the first PE, PEII features pre-rendered backgrounds with polygonal characters, similar to Final Fantasy and Resident Evil. This time the game takes place in several different locales, and the battle system has been improved quite a bit. When Aya gets into a battle, the action begins right on the spot. She can run around freely, and now her attacks involve her targeting her enemies with a special targeting system, rather than having a dome pop up around her whenever she's ready to attack. Weapons can be combined and customized (as in PE), and there are a ton of new parasite-energy spells available, each of which has a different range.

At this point, the game seems like a more polished version of the original (which is good), but we've learned that a second character will join Aya in battle. However, you won't have control over this character during battle, so... make of that what you will.

One last tidbit worth mentioning is that Tetsuya Nomura, character designer for the original Parasite Eve, doesn't seem to be involved with PEII. Additionally, the Osaka-based development team is brand new (this is its first game).

Parasite Eve II is due out in Japan in December, with a US release confirmed for late 2000.

 
As to date, Parasite Eve 2 has been released  in Japan to date and we are all hoping it will arrive in North America sometime this spring. Below are some screen shots of this impressive title from the kings of game design, Squaresoft.

 Screenshots courtesy of Videogames.com and VGN

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