In this day and age, where Square-Enix is churning out new IP such as The Diofield Chronicle, and resuscitating long lost IP such as Valkyrie Profile with new entries such as Valkyrie Elysium, it seems that anything is possible. Now rumblings are emerging that another long-dormant franchise might be on the verge of a return to the spotlight – the beloved Parasite Eve may be on the way back to the spotlight, at last, a recent trademark from the Japanese mega-publisher has seen of that.
On October 13, but only recently discovered, Square-Enix’s trademark for a new title, “Symbiogenesis” was registered. At face value, it seems quirky but nothing notable, and perhaps just reflective of a new IP – unless of course, you’re a Parasite Eve fan. Fans were quick to connect the phrase to its Wiktionary definition of the word, one that states “merging of two separate organisms to form a single new organism.” Now again, this may not seem much, unless you know the Parasite Eve franchise, because it’s that core concept that underpins the narrative of the franchise.
Parasite Eve‘s legacy hails back to a period before its video game rendition; Parasite Eve began as a novel by Hideaki Sena that was launched all the way back in 1995, before then being expanded into manga and film before Square-Enix (then just Square as they were pre-merger with Enix) then begun work on the franchise’s first video game adaptation. Parasite Eve launched during a period where Japanese horror was booming, which then led to two further entries, 1999’s Parasite Eve 2 on the PlayStation One, and then eventually the PSP title, titled The 3rd Birthday. If the wait between the franchise’s second and third entries was long, the wait for anything more has been painstaking for fans of the franchise, ensuring that the excitement for the IP’s prospects are now sky-high.
The news of what could amount to a new Parasite Eve franchise entry comes at a time where Japanese horror is once again booming. Capcom’s Resident Evil franchise since 2017’s Resident Evil VII, thru 2019’s beloved Resident Evil 2 Remake, 2020’s Resident Evil 3 Remake, 2021’s Resident Evil Village, and now the upcoming remake of the acclaimed, genre-shaking Resident Evil 4 is just a mere few months away; all to date have been received astoundingly well by fans and critics alike. Meanwhile, Konami has re-entered the frame with several Silent Hill games all having been announced successively, including a remake of Silent Hill 2, a new core entry Silent Hill F, and more. A return of Parasite Eve, in light of all of this sudden growth in the genre, would be ideal for Square-Enix, and the IP as it looks to grow further in the future.
