History VideoGame / The3rdBirthday

* AmbiguousSituation: [[Aya Brea's fate is actually left in doubt in the secret ending, as does the existence of the Twisted not actually being gone for good. Kyle stated his belief that she wasn't actually gone either.]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Eve in Aya’s body continues her work as a government agent in the alternate timeline, and most of the people killed during the events of the game are brought back and live happy lives. However, the real Aya has been [[UnPerson erased from the timeline completely]] and [[RippleProofMemory Eve is the only one who remembers]]]].

* ResetButton: Partially: [[spoiler:Thanks to Aya's HeroicSacrifice, a new timeline is created where the Twisted were never created in the first place. This effectively undoes the damage they caused, but at the cost of Aya]].

* CutsceneIncompetence: [[GameplayStorySegregation No matter how powerful]] you actually are in the game, Aya gets pushed around quite a bit.

{{Chickification}}: Aya is noticeably more demure and submissive toward her authority figures and is in a constant state of self loathing and doubt about her own abilities, completely out of character and a far cry from her original depictions in the first two games. This is a major hint that [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope Aya isn’t the character the player is actually playing as]], but as her sister Eve, the real protagonist of the game, possessing the real Aya’s body after being shot to death by SWAT soldiers in a misguided attempt to save her life.]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Eve-as-Aya continues her work as a government agent in the alternate timeline, and most of the people killed during the events of the game are brought back and live happy lives. However, the real Aya has been [[UnPerson erased from the timeline completely]] and [[RippleProofMemory Eve is the only one who remembers]]]].

* NewGamePlus: UpToEleven - The game requires you to beat it several times for certain costumes, cheat codes, [[spoiler:Deadly and Genocide difficulty modes, ''and'' an unlockable alternate ending]].

** Taken UpToEleven by the ending: [[spoiler:Aya travels back in time to stop the event that created the High Ones in the first place, which is also the source of her Overdive ability. So basically, she uses time travel to prevent both the creation of time travel technology and the reason she traveled back in time.]]

* OlderThanTheyLook / YoungerThanTheyLook: Zigzagged throughout the game. Continuing from ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve2'''s explanation, Aya's unique mitochondria makes her look like she's in her early 20s, even though by the time of ''The 3rd Birthday'' she'd have just turned 41. Meanwhile, her younger sister Eve (a genetic clone of Aya) is an example of the inverse, as when she was rescued she was chronologically only 2-3 years old but had the appearance and behavior of a preteen girl. Ten years later on the day of Aya's wedding, Eve ''still'' looked like a young adolescent instead of aging into a 20-something, even though by now she'd graduated from college.[[note]]Her friend [[spoiler:Emily]] was a child prodigy attending college, but it's not explicitly stated whether Eve was considered the same.[[/note]] [[spoiler:In the ending, it's revealed that the person the player has been controlling is actually Eve in Aya's body. She permanently takes over after Aya's death, making her a teenager in an 38-year-old body that looks 20.]]

* OlderThanTheyLook / YoungerThanTheyLook: Zigzagged throughout the game. Continuing from ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve2'''s explanation, Aya's unique mitochondria makes her look like she's in her early 20s, even though by the time of ''The 3rd Birthday'' she'd have just turned 41. Meanwhile, her younger sister Eve (a genetic clone of Aya) is an exanple of the inverse, as when she was rescued she was chronologically only 2-3 years old but had the appearance and behavior of a preteen girl. Ten years later on the day of Aya's wedding, Eve ''still'' looked like a young adolescent instead of aging into a 20-something, even though by now she'd graduated from college.[[note]]Her friend [[spoiler:Emily]] was a child prodigy attending college, but it's not explicitly stated whether Eve was considered the same.[[/note]] [[spoiler:In the ending, it's revealed that the "Aya" the player has been controlling is actually Eve in her older sister's body. She permanently takes over after Aya's death, making her a teenager in an 38-year-old body that looks 20.]]

* HopelessBossFight: The first time you encounter a Reaper, you're told to run like hell. The thing is invulnerable to your current weapons, it can FlashStep, and it creates barriers to keep you from escaping. You can BodySurf into someone on the other side of the barriers, but no suck luck for the poor soldier you leave behind.

* FanDisservice: Aya has the chance to wear more sexier clothing but the game also boasts that any damage done to Aya will be visibly shown. Ergo, the swimsuit will be tattered and torn to reveal more of Aya and her scars, making it look really disgusting and creepy.

%%* BodyHorror: Possibly less here than in others in the series, but still a lot.

%%* HumanoidAbomination: [[spoiler:The High Ones, before turning into their monstrous forms]].

%%* ShowerScene: Upgraded to soft-core porn, with Aya[[spoiler:'s body, which is inhabited by the questionably young Eve]].

It was originally announced for Japanese cellphones but has since been changed to a PSP game; it got a December 2010 release in Japan and a March 2011 release everywhere else. Speculation is that the game is not billed as "Parasite Eve" because Square Enix doesn't want to pay to keep using the license -- fair enough, since due to the [[ThirdPersonShooter radical gameplay departure]] between this [[SurvivalHorror and]] [[VideoGame/ParasiteEve previous]] [[VideoGame/ParasiteEve2 titles]], it'd really matter just for the name.

* AndYourRewardIsClothes

* BodyHorror: Possibly less here than in others in the series, but still a lot.

* BottomlessMagazines: An unlockable cheat.

* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: Due to all of the checkpoints, dieing doesn't set you back too far.
* EldritchAbomination: Many, if not ''all'' enemies in the series tend to be this, but the ones in ''"The 3rd Birthday"'' take the cake. ''ESPECIALLY'' the boss enemies. They're not called "The Twisted" for nothing; they warp out of holes in the space-time continuum and have nearly-impossible shapes.

* ExpositionBreak: Whenever you talk to Maeda.

* FreeFallFight: The fight with the Queen.
* HarderThanHard: It's called "Genocide Mode" for a reason.

* HumanoidAbomination: [[spoiler:The High Ones, before turning into their monstrous forms]].

* MentalTimeTravel: The apparent function of the Overdive system in ''The 3rd Birthday.'' [[spoiler:Which accidentally creates the Twisted]].

* TheMultiverse: Theorized by Blank in one of his emails to be the secret behind Aya's "time-travel" ability.

* NintendoHard: You can die a few times even during Easy mode.
* NoCutsceneInventoryInertia: Played straight. Justified, in that a meido outfit would look pretty weird in a serious cutscene.
* OutOfClothesExperience: How Aya appears in when between bodies. Naturally, BarbieDollAnatomy is used.
* PileBunker: An unlockable weapon.

* RuleOfCool: The law that defines the entire game, arguably. And...
* RuleOfSexy: The other law.

* SexySantaDress: One of the unlockable outfits.
* ShapedLikeItself: Due to [[spoiler: Eve's soul inhabiting Aya's body through the entirety of the game]], The name "Parasite Eve" is actually pretty clever. Its a shame the game [[Main/NonindicativeName isn't actually called that.]]

** The ShowerScene is a ShoutOut to [[VideoGame/ParasiteEve2 PE2]]
** The way the concert scene plays out is similar to the infamous opera scene from [[VideoGame/ParasiteEve PE1]].
* ShowerScene: Upgraded to soft-core porn, with Aya[[spoiler:'s body, which is inhabited by the questionably young Eve]].

* TeasedWithAwesome: The occasional times you get to use the KillSat.

* VoiceGrunting: What you get for the few bits of dialogue that aren't voiced.
* WasOnceAMan:
** Implied to be the origin of The Twisted. The weakest Twisted still have human-like legs and most of the bosses are apparently humans who transform directly.
** [[{{Squick}} Even worse]] is [[spoiler:the High Ones, who can take human form]].
* WeCanRuleTogether: [[spoiler:Hyde]]'s offer to Eve.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/The_Third_Birthday_Cover_5112.jpg]]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/The_Third_Birthday_Cover_5112.jpg]]

** Even [[{{Squick}} worse]] with [[spoiler: the High Ones, who can take human form]].

* SuperMode: "Liberation", formerly a spell that wiped out nearly everything in the original installment, returns as a meter that fills up as you take or receive damage. Activating it causes Aya to FlashStep instead of walk, makes her invulnerable to damage [[note]]Reapers can still damage her, however little it does[[/note]], and makes her weapons do much more damage.