The 3rd Birthday Official Site Opens

[Carnivol]

Darn... I guess I've been wrong about thinking women like Christina Applegate, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jennifer Connelly are pretty... 35 is the point of no return. Thanks for clearing that up for me, Japan.

Yeah... no. I guess it just shows where the limitations of their collective talent goes ('Cause it really is a bit of a tricky thing! There's like this weird gap in Asian graphical design, especially when it comes to women... where you either don't properly show it or you over-exaggerate someone's age and make them look like they're 30 years older than they really are... so you just avoid even trying and instead sell on sex and cheap merchandise.)

You know, the chaps that worked on Spirits Within (many of which were Square USA staff from the original Parasite Eve team, if I'm not mistaken) really did an ace job with Aki Ross and the rest of that movie's cast, making them all look their age (of course, the majority of that movie's cast were late 20s/early 30s, but they all look pretty darn good and age-accurate. Even compared to a lot of stuff made today, nearly 10 years later. Facial textures and such in that movie still beats most stuff whipped together today, mostly 'cause they feature the most important thing of all; the imperfections.)

So how come Square-Enix (and most other Japanese companies) are so gimped and incapable of making anything between ages 20~55 (unless they've aged absurdly slowly or rapidly). Is it' 'cause they don't know dick about facial traits? 'Cause they are perfectionists? Do they hate "ugly" people?

[Archelon]

Here it is:

Most interesting of all to me is a comment about Aya's age from Scenario director Motomu Toriyama. As you may have noticed, she is looking rather young for her stated age (she is 35 in The 3rd Birthday). Toriyama commented that it was "difficult to make a woman in her mid-thirties the main attraction for any video game". Wow. Hey ladies, you know after thirty, you become utterly devoid of worth, right?

http://www.destructoid.com/director-says-the-3rd-birthday-will-be-kind-of-a-3rd-person-shooter-117232.phtml

It originally appeared here, though.

As a special bonus for all you hormonally driven male teenagers out there, Aya is around 35 years old…but thanks to a side effect of her inherent ability, she still has the look and body of a 20-year-old woman. And what woman out there wouldn’t want that nice little side effect? Scenario director Motomu Toriyama has said it can be difficult to make a woman in her mid-30s the main attraction in any video game, and unfortunately, we do have to agree. We know you remember the shower scene from Parasite Eve II…

[Carnivol]

It's because, apparently, you can't create an attractive female character in her thirties.

No, seriously.

I really hate this thing in games.

I believe it's mostly a Japanese thing (which is rapidly spreading). Where if the designer doesn't make you feel like the cops are about to bust in your door, there's clearly something wrong with the character design!

[Darkmoon]

...well, a good reason to buy the game new for once.

[Vector]

Depending on the success of The 3rd Birthday, the Parasite Eve series could come to the PS3.

http://www.videogamer.com/news/parasite_eve_could_come_to_ps3.html

[Archelon]

The director/producers have already stated that there is a reason why the Aya in the 3rd Birthday has a different "image" to the Aya in PE1 and PE2.

It's because, apparently, you can't create an attractive female character in her thirties.

No, seriously.

I'll see if I can dig up the interview, but one of them said that the reason Aya looks even younger in this game is because they wanted to keep her as attractive as possible, and they didn't see how they could do it if she looked her age.

That's not going to be the story-related reason, obviously.

[News Bot]

I must admit, I'm agreeing with that. Given the whole 3rd Birthday thing I'm guessing Eve grew very, very fast.

She's only 10 months old in Parasite Eve 2, actually. But has the body of a 10 (or 12, can't remember) year old. If you examine the x-rays in the surgery room in the laboratory in PE2, Aya gets quite confused over it. That's one of the reasons I think its actually Eve in the 3rd Birthday. It either has to be her, or she's dead from advanced ageing. The director/producers have already stated that there is a reason why the Aya in the 3rd Birthday has a different "image" to the Aya in PE1 and PE2. Plus, apparently Aya's suffering from Solid Snake Syndrome and believes that her only home is the battlefield, which is a horrible, horrible piece of writing if its the real Aya Brea.

I essentially got that, basically the premise of Quantum Leap but its the whole body dying, switching to a different soldier near by that I was referring to Agent Smith, and essentially the mechanic that leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.

Actually, the soldier's don't die unless you let them get killed in combat. Aya just leaps with her conciousness from body to body.

[Enrico Marini]

Aya herself remains in C.T.I. HQ, naked in the Overdrive system

I essentially got that, basically the premise of Quantum Leap but its the whole body dying, switching to a different soldier near by that I was referring to Agent Smith, and essentially the mechanic that leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.

[Darkmoon]

I must admit, I'm agreeing with that. Given the whole 3rd Birthday thing I'm guessing Eve grew very, very fast.

[News Bot]

Thats an aweful lot of Agent Smithing in my RPG.

To be fair, Aya's "image" is not actually taking over the soldiers, from the perspective of the game's story. Aya herself remains in C.T.I. HQ, naked in the Overdrive system, which sends her conciousness out into the battlefield. The soldier's appearance remains the same in the story.

The story could go either way in my opinion, as long as they explain the time travel and Aya's "mysterious past" isn't complete shit, considering her backstory has always been fairly fleshed out and consistent...

Also I'm leaning towards "Aya" not being Aya at all, but Eve, her clone from Parasite Eve 2.

[Enrico Marini]

Thats an aweful lot of Agent Smithing in my RPG.

Not too sure about this. Only time will tell if it becomes the 2nd game I'd ever buy for my PSP. First game being SH:Origins and no others used on my psp :S.

[Darkmoon]

Hmmm, not sure I'm impressed. The storyline sounds bizzare, even by Parasite Eve standards, and thats an awful lot of run and gun in my RPG.

[MeanBob]

Here's your new trailer for the game, straight from GamesCom 2010

http://www.viddler.com/explore/Joystiq/videos/4210/0.634

[Wesker_101]

Wow. Aya looks soooooo young. Forgot she stated in PE2 that her Mitochondria keeps her looking young, tho.

And yes, that theme took me way back to my childhood and gave me chills, too. I can't wait to learn more about this one.

[BBboy20]

Ordinary cop looking vanquished and depressed (or "moping") while equipped with the latest in military weaponry.

Damn it, Square, took you long enough. =/

(Chills from the music)