“Over Energy” Customization System For 3rd Birthday

It's not just about tearing clothes, you know. There's definitely an action/RPG setting, as the character advancement process indicates.

Famitsu has revealed the customization system in Square-Enix's promising handheld title, The 3rd Birthday : it's called Over Energy. These OEs are special abilities for Aya; they're obtained by infusing "OE Chips" directly into her DNA, and this can result in attack and defense modifiers as well as recovery skills. You collect those Chips from fallen enemies and they can be found in other locations as well. Once you've collected a few, you can insert them into Aya's DNA board, which is a 3×3 panel of chip slots. Each Chip is different, as they're classified in a certain way (i.e., "Normal DNA") and they'll take up a certain number of slots, too. Before equipping, the game will tell you what sort of Over Energy ability you'll achieve with the current Chip selection.

The example provided by Famitsu was as follows: a Level 1 Normal DNA Chip takes up two slots on the board. Each slot gives Aya a Level 1 Antibody OE, so when the two Lv. 1 Antibody OEs are combined, that results in a Level 2 Antibody. Get it? Sometimes, you'll even be able to fuse Chips together, which will allow the corresponding OE level to rise. Chips can also be linked for cumulative effects. Lastly, the magazine tells us Aya will have levels of her own – gained by getting regular EXP – and foes will also give her BP, which may or may not be the same BP we had in the first two Parasite Eve titles.

Really, it's not just about some cute girl getting her clothes torn off, as many headlines may indicate.

Related Game(s): The 3rd Birthday