You’re probably staring at the screen, deep into the Chrysler Building, wondering if the Type 38 machine gun Parasite Eve offers is actually real or just some fever dream shared on 1990s message boards. Honestly, if you’ve spent any time in the post-game content of Square’s 1998 "cinematic RPG," you know the struggle. The Chrysler Building is a slog. 77 floors of recycled textures, brutal boss fights, and a loot pool that feels like it’s actively rooting against you.
The Type 38 isn't just a random drop. It’s a piece of history—both in terms of the game's mechanics and the real-world weapon it’s based on.
But here is the thing. Most players mistake it for something it isn't. They see "Machine Gun" and think they’re getting a high-rate-of-fire monster that will shred the Ultimate Being. That’s not quite how Parasite Eve works. In this game, your weapon's "Type" dictates its firing rhythm and its ability to hold specific effects. The Type 38 is a weird one. It’s a relic. It’s an Arisaka.
Why the Type 38 Machine Gun Parasite Eve Logic is So Strange
Let’s talk about the name first. In the real world, the Type 38 is a bolt-action rifle used by the Imperial Japanese Army. It’s definitely not a machine gun. Square took some creative liberties here, or perhaps they were leaning into the "junk" mechanic that defines the game's deep customization system.
In Parasite Eve, you find the Type 38 as a rare drop or within the randomized chests of the Chrysler Building during a New Game+ (EX Game) run. Specifically, it often pops up in the mid-to-high floors, usually between floors 40 and 50, though the RNG (Random Number Generation) can be a total nightmare. Some players swear they found it earlier; others reach the 70th floor without seeing a single one. That’s the nature of the beast.
The stats on it aren't world-breaking. Not at first.
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But the Type 38 matters because of the slots. In Parasite Eve, the base attack power of a gun is almost irrelevant by the time you reach the end of the Chrysler Building. What matters is how many "Plus" items you’ve dumped into it and which special effects you’ve engraved into its soul. The Type 38 machine gun comes with a decent fire rate and enough slots to make it a viable endgame platform if you’re tired of using the M8000 or the MP5 series.
Tracking Down the Loot: Where It Actually Drops
If you’re hunting the Type 38 machine gun Parasite Eve loot, you need to commit to the EX Game. You can’t get this on your first playthrough. Period. The Chrysler Building only unlocks after you’ve beaten the game once and started a New Game+ from your cleared save data.
- The Floors: Focus your search on floors 41 through 50.
- The Strategy: Don't just rush the elevators. You need to clear the rooms.
- The Junk Mechanic: If you aren't finding the Type 38 specifically, remember that Wayne can "create" weapons if you give him enough Junk. 300 pieces of Junk. Yeah. It sounds like a lot because it is. If you give Wayne 300 pieces of Junk and tell him to make a "Machine Gun," he has a chance to give you some of the rarest gear in the game, though usually, people aim for the Lawman or the HK40.
Kinda annoying, right? You spend hours fighting giant cockroaches and mutated birds just for a chance at a drop. But that’s the charm of 90s JRPGs. They didn't respect your time, and we loved them for it.
The Hidden Stats You Need to Know
The Type 38 has a specific firing animation. Unlike the handguns which have a crisp "pop-pop" or the shotguns that have a heavy recoil reset, the machine gun class in this game has a "Burst" fire mechanic.
One of the biggest traps players fall into is the "Random Roaming" or "Fire All" effects. If you put those on a high-capacity machine gun like the Type 38, Aya Brea will spend the entire battle spinning in circles shooting at everything. It looks cool. It’s also a death sentence against bosses like the giant crab or the bee. You lose control. You want the Type 38 for its Rate of Fire x2 or x3, but you almost never want to go higher than that unless you’ve got the speed stats to back it up.
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Real World Context: The Arisaka Connection
It’s worth noting why a Japanese developer included this. The Type 38 Arisaka was the standard-issue rifle for Japan for decades. By labeling it a "Machine Gun" in the game, Square was likely just filling out a weapon tier list, but for a history buff, it’s a bit of a head-scratcher.
In the context of the game's lore, New York is falling apart. The military is involved. History is being dug up. Finding an old bolt-action rifle modified into a "machine gun" fits the chaotic, "anything goes" survival vibe of the second half of the game.
Building the Ultimate Weapon
If you decide the Type 38 is going to be your primary, you need to use Tools and Super Tools wisely. Do not waste them on the early floors.
- Find a weapon with the "Burst" effect.
- Transfer that to your Type 38.
- Add "Acid" or "Cyanide" effects. Cyanide is particularly broken in the Chrysler Building for clearing out standard mobs quickly.
- Stack your Range. The Type 38 has decent base range, but in the Chrysler Building, you want to hit enemies before they even appear on the main part of the screen.
Is it better than the ultimate weapons you get for clearing the final floor? No. But the journey to floor 77 is long. You need something reliable to get you there. The Type 38 machine gun Parasite Eve drop is a solid "mid-to-late" endgame bridge. It’s the workhorse that gets you through the repetitive hallway fights so you can actually face the Maya clone at the top.
Common Misconceptions About the Type 38
People often confuse the Type 38 with the Type 64 or other Japanese-numbered weapons in the game. It’s easy to do. The inventory icons are tiny.
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Another big mistake? Thinking that a "Machine Gun" is always better than a "Handgun." In Parasite Eve, handguns are actually the kings of DPS (Damage Per Second) because they have shorter recovery times between shots. Machine guns, including our Type 38, have a slight "wind-down" animation. If you aren't careful, an enemy can hit you while Aya is still lowering her weapon.
To mitigate this, always pair your Type 38 with the Active Time (AT) Bar boosting armor. You want that bar to fill instantly so you can fire and move.
Final Verdict on the Hunt
The Type 38 is a trophy. It’s for the players who want to see every item description and try every firing rhythm.
If you are strictly looking for the most "meta" build to kill the final secret boss, you’ll probably end up transferring its stats into a handgun or a powerful rifle anyway. But for a few floors in that hellish skyscraper, the Type 38 feels like a rare, powerful find.
Next Steps for Your EX Game Run:
- Audit your Junk: Check your inventory at the police station. If you have over 100 pieces of Junk, consider grinding the rest in the early floors of the Chrysler Building to see what Wayne can whip up for you.
- Save your Super Tools: Do not use them on the Type 38 unless you are 100% sure you aren't going to find a weapon with better base slots in the next ten floors.
- Check Floor 42: This is a statistically common "sweet spot" for high-tier machine gun drops. If you find one with a high slot count (4 or 5), keep it.
- Focus on the PE (Parasite Energy): No matter how good your gun is, if your PE isn't recharged, the Chrysler Building bosses will delete you. Use the "Auto-Heal" effect on your armor to compliment your offensive output with the Type 38.