Parasite Eve series
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Parasite Eve is the name of a Japanese novel by Hideaki Sena, first published in Kadokawa Horror Bunko, which has been adapted into a 1997 film and a 1998 video game for the Sony PlayStation by Squaresoft. A sequel to the game was released in 1999, also for the PlayStation.
The story of the novel and movie revolve around a genetic scientist whose research in mitochondria causes him to take extreme measures to revive his wife, and eventually leads to the creation of a new threat to all mankind. The scientific basis for the story is the endosymbiotic theory: mitochondria were originally free-living bacteria, which coevolved with host cells to become mutually interdependent. The fictional premise is that mitochondria are able to rebel and to develop unusual capabilities. In addition, scientists traced mitochondrial DNA, which is inherited matrilineally, to a single woman in Africa. They dubbed her, "Mitochondrial Eve." This report appeared in "Nature" in 1987.
In reality, roughly 99% of the original mitochondrial genome has been lost or transferred to the host cell nucleus, so their evolutionary potential is actually very limited. It is far more likely that full-fledged symbiotic bacteria would rebel (as occurs, less spectacularly, in pathogenic E. coli strains).
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Book
It was Parasite Eve, along with Koji Suzuki’s Ring series, that began the J-Horror boom. A pageturner about the rebellion of mitochondria, it became the Japan Horror Novel Award’s first winner and the inspiration for a videogame that has sold close to a million copies throughout the world. In Japan, the film version of Parasite Eve was so popular that in one study, when asked what color they thought mitochondria were, most people responded, “green” (which is how they were represented in the film, but obviously not how they actually look).
Eve is a parasitic mitochondria reproducing itself at alarming speed. Her goal? To take over human evolution. Two manifestations of Eve will work independently to a wild, scientific and absurdly sexual end. The one Eve in a lab is mutating into the form of a perfect woman, the other is growing inside the kidney of an unhappy teenage girl, waiting to be impregnated by her lab-sample counterpart. In her path are doctors whose fascination with Eve may ultimately lead to her victory. Hideaki Sena holds a Ph.D. in pharmacology and has given numerous lectures on the subject of cell biology as well as the future of the sci-fi genre. He lives in Japan.
Plans are complete to localize the novel for U.S. readers; Vertical Inc. estimated a September 2005 release date (Amazon suggested November 25, 2005). The actual release date was closer to December 2005, available from the direct manufacturer and on multiple online retail stores.
Film
Image:Parasiteevemovie.jpg Tagline: It's not a virus... IT'S EVOLUTION
Summary: Toshiaki Nagashima is a biologist who is doing major research on mitochondria. When his beautiful young wife is tragically involved in a car accident which leaves her brain dead, in desperation he steals her liver from her body in order to receive the mitochondria from it to resurrect his wife from the dead. The killer mitochondria takes the form of his assistant who then uses the biologist for the host of a terrifying new species that is threatening to take over the world.
Rumors in early 1999 stated that Madonna bought the rights to a US adaption and would star as Aya. Nothing happened, and the rumors appear to be false.
In 2001, ADV Films released the original Japanese movie on DVD in the United States. The movie does not contain an English dub track and its subtitles are hardsubs, unusual for an American release.
Video games
Parasite Eve
| Parasite Eve {{#if:{{{image|}}}|<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">{{{image|}}} | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Square Co., Ltd. {{#if:{{{publisher|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Publisher(s)<td>{{{publisher|}}} |
| Release date(s) | March 29, 1998 (Japan) September 8, 1998 (U.S.) |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing game, Survival horror |
| Mode(s) | Single player {{#if:{{{ratings|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Rating(s)<td>{{{ratings|}}} |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation {{#if:{{{media|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Media<td>{{{media|}}} |
Yoko Shimomura composed the game's soundtrack.
The game followed the style of titles such as Resident Evil, But it offered gameplay elements found in RPG style titles. It offered a magic system and the graphics were ground breaking considering it was a PS1 game a long with a very involving story.
There was also a manga released in Japan called Parasite Eve DIVA that was made after the game which never saw an American release. However, a handfull of untranslated pages can be seen on a few unofficial Parasite Eve websites. Template:-
Parasite Eve II
| Parasite Eve II {{#if:{{{image|}}}|<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">{{{image|}}} | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Square Co., Ltd. {{#if:{{{publisher|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Publisher(s)<td>{{{publisher|}}} |
| Release date(s) | December 16, 1999 (Japan) September 12, 2000 (U.S.) |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing game, Survival horror |
| Mode(s) | Single player {{#if:{{{ratings|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Rating(s)<td>{{{ratings|}}} |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation {{#if:{{{media|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Media<td>{{{media|}}} |
In 1999, Square released Parasite Eve II. This game followed the traditional survival horror mold, and bore little resemblance to the original game. This installment was set several years after the events in the original game. Aya is now based out of Los Angeles, working for an FBI division named M.I.S.T. (Mitochondrion Investigation and Suppression Team) that suppresses and neutralizes Neo-Mitochondrion Creatures (NMCs) in the various regions of L.A. The story eventually leads to an underground bunker in the Nevada desert and the discovery of a vast conspiracy. This game was much less popular than the original - and many criticized the fact it was no longer a role-playing game but instead a survival horror game, which (while possessing many RPG elements) played very similar to the Resident Evil series (two notable changes being the removal of the experience point and turn-based battle systems). In addition, the game itself was much shorter, the gameplay was harder for players to master, the soundtrack was no longer composed by Yoko Shimomura, and the replay value was seen to be lower than in the original. These factors contributed to the game's lower-than-expected sales and poor critical reception, and as of 2006 there are no plans for a third entry in the series. However, avid fans felt that the game had an appropriate ending that tied up enough loose ends in the series. The game also contained references to previous Square games, most noticably the inclusion of a Gunblade, which could be used as an unlocked weapon by Aya.
External links
- Parasite Eve Headquarters
- Parasite Eve website
- Parasite Eve II website
- {{{2|{{{title|Parasite Eve series}}}}}} at The Internet Movie Database
- {{{2|{{{title|Parasite Eve series}}}}}} at The Internet Movie Database
- {{{2|{{{title|Parasite Eve series}}}}}} at The Internet Movie Database
- IGN: Parasite Eve
- IGN: Parasite Eve II
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- Template:Musicbrainz album 2
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Template:-Template:Parasite Evees:Parasite Eve II fr:Parasite Eve it:Parasite Eve ja:パラサイト・イヴ zh:寄生前夜
Categories: 1997 films | 1998 computer and video games | 1999 computer and video games | Computer and video games based on licensed properties | Computer and video role-playing games | Japanese films | Japanese novels | Media franchises | Parasite Eve | PlayStation games | Square games | Survival horror games