History YMMV / The3rdBirthday

* ReplacementScrappy: Sure, killing off [[spoiler: the popular main character your entire franchise is built around]] to replace them with a younger character different enough from the original to lack the same appeal but similar enough to beg the question of ''why'' the beloved original had to die has succeeded with the audience precisely zero times in the history of storytelling, but this time it'll work for sure! Even if the plot twist had been handled well, it was never going to survive the remaining ''Parasite Eve'' fans watching [[spoiler: their heroine]] die in the court of public opinion.

* ReplacementScrappy: Sure, killing off [[spoiler: the popular main character your entire franchise is built around]] to replace them with a younger character not different enough from them to be fresh but not similar enough to them to capture the charismatic appeal of the original has succeeded with the audience precisely zero times in the history of storytelling, but this time it'll work for sure! Even if the plot twist had been handled well, it was never going to survive the remaining ''Parasite Eve'' fans watching [[spoiler: their heroine]] die in the court of public opinion.

** Maeda's new characterization makes him sound like a genuinely disturbed pervert, saying things like "how sweet must your tears taste" to ''Aya'', without a hint of sarcasm. No, they didn't turn him into a villain either. He says that ''affectionately''.

* {{Squick}}: Beat the game, then think about that shower scene. [[spoiler:Technically, Eve's still VERY much underage, and even with clone genetics being what they are, she still doesn't quite look legal...]]
** All the ClothingDamage and suggestive moaning becomes rather disturbing when you realize it's being done with [[spoiler: an underage girl in an adult woman's body]].

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: Rather than play as confident, badass heroine Aya Brea the game instead has you play as an insecure amnesiac version who is constantly condescended to and lusted over by her allies despite being the only person who can save the world. Gameplay has also changed from a mix of RPG and survival horror game to a generic third-person shooter without any of the impressive mitochondria powers the player used in previous games.

* CatharsisFactor: [[spoiler:Getting to finally wail on the Reaper with the Berserker after being chased so long is very satisfying.]]

* FranchiseOriginalSin: There has always been an element of sex appeal to Aya Brea, with her design deliberately being made to be strong AND sexy, which led her actually being considered a sex symbol. The illustrations definitely did indeed show this aspect of her quite a lot as well and the beginning of the first game famously had her chasing after Mitochondria Eve in a rather revealing black dress. What stopped it from being distracting is that it was clear Aya was still depicted as a strong-willed and determined woman who had full control over her life and didn't take crap from anyone, [[spoiler: while Eve is a much more insecure girl and has very little control over her situation for a good chunk of the game, while also upping the fanservice to capitalize on Aya's sex appeal, making the leering much more noticeable and distracting even before you added the squick factor of Eve being a much younger girl in an adult woman's body.]]
* GameBreaker: The Berserker weapon obtained late in the game [[spoiler: to fight the Reaper]] due to GoodBadBugs,and [[FigureItOutYourself we'll leave it at that.]]