Catherine (video game)
| Catherine | |
|---|---|
 North American PlayStation 3 cover art featuring the titular character, Catherine | |
| Developer(s) | Atlus Persona Team |
| Publisher(s) | Atlus |
| Producer(s) | Katsura Hashino[7] |
| Designer(s) | Shigenori Soejima (Character Designer)[7] |
| Composer(s) | Shoji Meguro[7] |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 3[7] Xbox 360[7] |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure Puzzle Survival horror[7] |
| Mode(s) | Single-player[7] Multiplayer |
Catherine (キャサリン, Kyasarin) is an action-adventure[8] puzzle video game developed and published by Atlus for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game is Atlus’ first game for seventh-generation consoles in high definition, described as an 'adult' title by the game's character designer, Shigenori Soejima.[9] The cinematic portion of the game is handled by Studio 4°C.[10] The game was released in Japan on February 17, 2011 and is planned for a release in North America on July 26, 2011.[2]
Gameplay
Players control a man named Vincent who, after meeting a strange girl named Catherine, begins having strange nightmares, during which he might be killed. The main story mode, Golden Theater, follows the story between Daytime and Nightmare scenarios. During the daytime, Vincent will converse with his friends as well as try to handle his relationship with the two women, Catherine and Katherine. Most of this time takes place in the Stray Sheep bar where Vincent can save and send text messages from his mobile phone, talk to customers, order drinks, play a minigame titled Rapunzel or listen to a jukebox containing tracks from other Atlus games such as the Persona series.[7][11]
The Nightmare stages are where the main gameplay takes place. In a nightmarish dreamworld inhabited by other men, who are represented as sheep, Vincent must climb up giant staircases that are slowly collapsing underneath him and safely reach the top. To accomplish this, Vincent must push, pull and climb blocks as quickly as possible while avoiding various traps such as spikes and ice. Climbing up steps in quick succession increases a score multiplier, and at the end of the level, players are given an award based on their score. Each stage is split up into numerous areas, culminating in a boss stage in which a nightmarish creature also attempts to kill Vincent. Items found throughout the levels include pillows which give extra lives, block items that can be placed anywhere in the level and lightning that can destroy sheep which block your path. There are also certain attributes Vincent can get depending on what he drinks during the day.[12] Vincent will die if he falls off the bottom of the level, gets caught by a trap or is killed by a boss, with the game ending if Vincent runs out of retry pillows. In between action stages, Vincent can interact with the other sheep, save his game, learn techniques or spend coins on special items. Whilst playing in easy difficulty, players can push the Select/Back button to correct a single block move.[13][14]
Throughout the game, the choices the player makes during these sequences will affect the development of Vincent's character and the route the story takes place. These can occur in several ways, such as how Vincent types out a text message to one of the girls, or how he responds to certain questions. The game will feature multiple endings based on the route Vincent takes, giving it over twenty hours of gameplay.[15] Babel Mode features four large stages playable with up to two players, whilst Vs Colosseum features two players simultaneously playing a stage in order to reach the top first.[16]
Plot
In the neighbourhood Vincent lives in, there have recently been a number of bizarre incidents in which people die in their sleep, with a look of anguish upon their faces. Strangely enough, all of the victims are young men. The story quickly spreads throughout the media, attracting widespread attention and theories as to the cause of death. A strange rumour begins to spread that if a person dreams of falling, if they don't wake up they will soon become unable to wake at all, and die.
Vincent is at a bar contemplating marriage to Katherine, his lover of five years, who is pressuring him to get married, when he meets a beautiful and mysterious woman named Catherine. Although there are many vacant seats she sits next to Vincent and, well-proportioned and pretty, she is exactly his type. The two end up spending the night together at Vincent's house.
After meeting the woman, Vincent begins to have nightmares every single night, which he believes may be related to the rumours. In these dreams, he, and several other men who appear to him as sheep, must escape from various horrors trying to kill him, for if he dies in his dream, he will die for real. As dreams and reality begin to blend together, Vincent must not only fight to survive, but he must choose between Katherine and Catherine.[17]
Characters
- Vincent Brooks (ヴィンセント・ブルックス, Vinsento Burukkusu)[18]
- Voiced by: Kōichi Yamadera (Japanese), Troy Baker (English)
- Vincent is the game's main protagonist. He is a 32-year-old single salaryman at the point in life between independence from one's parents and marriage. He has no ambitions in terms of love and romance. He is under pressure to marry Katherine, but wants to continue his carefree ways of living alone. His life changes when he meets Catherine, a mysterious beauty, by chance, at a bar. Dreams and reality begin to blur together, and he seemingly becomes trapped in a different world within his nightmares. He also makes a cameo appearance in Persona 3 Portable.
- Catherine (キャサリン, Kyasarin)
- Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro
- Catherine is a mysterious 22-year-old woman who has a charming face and a "well-proportioned" body, which makes men turn and stare. She also has a "Koakuma (Gyaru) air" about her, which happens to be Vincent's type, and the two end up spending the night together after she seduces him. Her carefree behaviour begins to disturb Vincent's life. It is after meeting Catherine that Vincent begins to have nightmares. Catherine is featured on the PS3 version's cover art.
- Katherine McBride (キャサリン・マクブライド, Kyasarin Makuburaido)
- Voiced by: Kotono Mitsuishi
- Katherine is a 32-year-old mid-management level employee at an apparel maker. She and Vincent are from the same town and were classmates at school, and after a chance meeting at a school reunion they strike up a relationship. Katherine suggests marriage to Vincent, which he is not ready for. She is apparently pregnant with Vincent's baby.[19] Katherine is featured on the Xbox 360 version's cover art.
- Orlando Haddick (オーランド, Ōrando)
- Voiced by: Hiroaki Hirata
- Orlando is a 32-year-old software engineer, long time friend of Vincent, and also a regular at the bar. He often hangs around the sushi bar, Kappa Heaven, during the day. He is carefree in both his words and actions, and doesn't seem too fond of the idea of marriage, which he advises a worried Vincent against.[20]
- Jonathan "Johnny" Ariga (ジョニー, Jonī)
- Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu
- Johnny is a 32-year-old used car salesman. He's Vincent and Orlando's old friend, a bachelor, and also a regular at the bar. He works at his father's used car lot and plans on continuing the family business. He has high ideals with regards to marriage, stating that he believes marriage should be with one's destined partner.[20]
- Tobias "Toby" Nebbins (トビー, Tobī)
- Voiced by: Kishō Taniyama
- Tobias is a 23-year-old used car salesman and a colleague of Johnny's. He is also a regular at the bar. He has a strong desire to get married, saying that the moment he gets a girlfriend he will marry her. He has a thing for older women and a crush on the bar's waitress, Erica.[20]
- Erica Anderson (エリカ, Erika)
- Voiced by: Junko Minagawa
- Erica is the Stray Sheep's 32-year-old bar waitress and Vincent's childhood friend. She has a bright personality and is up to date on town gossip.[21] Tobias has a crush on her.
- Master (マスター, Masutā)
- Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto
- The Stray Sheep's barkeep. The player will go through him to make friends with new customers. He's personally experienced many scenes of carnage.[21]
- Voice (声, Koe)
- Voiced by: Mitsuki Saiga
- A strange voice that cryptically announces that he chose Vincent to test if his life is worth continuing before killing him by having him climb the tower night by night, talking to him from a window of a confession booth. He can talk to Vincent outside Nightmares too, mostly informing him of what's to come in the next Nightmare while Vincent is washing his face in Stray Sheep's bathroom.
- Midnight Venus (ミッドナイトヴィーナス, Middonaito Vīnasu)
- The host of the Golden Theatre mode, who sports a large red afro. She provides an introduction to the game's modes and will occassionally text Vincent concerning his achievements in the Nightmare stages.
Development
The game's existence was first hinted at in the PSP game Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable. In this game, Vincent appears at Club Escapade on certain days, though in the game he never reveals his name and is simply referred to as "Man Drinking Alone" in his dialogue boxes. However, on a certain day, if you put in the right choices in the pop-up, a picture will appear and will speak more about his relationships in the game. In conversing with the player character, he reveals hints related to his problems, though also states specifically that they are "nothing that [the player character] needs to worry about." It is not yet clear if the game is considered part of Atlus' Megami Tensei franchise, or if it has any specific ties to the Shin Megami Tensei: Persona universe outside of Vincent's cameo. The game was also mentioned at Konami's TGS 2010 booth.[22]
Producer Hashino stated less than two weeks after its announcement that Catherine has actually been in development for quite a while, saying: "the Persona 4 development team would switch back and forth between developing Catherine's first stages and polishing up Persona 4."[15]
A playable demo was released on January 27, 2011 in Japan,[23] but was later removed from PSN.[24] It has since been put back up.
To prevent gamers from posting spoiler videos, specifically those after Night 8 of the game, or hosting live streams of the game before its intended street date, Atlus posted a humorous public service announcement picture of an in-game sheep, warning gamers who post spoilers on video sharing sites, such as Youtube and Nico Nico Douga, run the risk of having their accounts banned.[25][26] To promote the game, Tokyo restaurant Collabo Dining is offering a Catherine-themed drinks and meal menu between February 17, 2011 and March 31, 2011.[27]
Atlus made an announcement on March 1, 2011 and confirmed the game will be coming to North America in Summer 2011.[28][29] Prior to the official announcement, GameStop accidentally made the game available for pre-order on their website, revealing a more definite release date of July 26, 2011.[2]
Reception
Famitsu gave the game a score of 35/40 based on four scores of 9, 9, 8 and 9.[30] Some Japanese gamers have complained that the game is too difficult, even on the easy setting, with Atlus possibly releasing a patch to correct it.[31] The PlayStation 3 version topped the Japanese charts in its opening week with over 140,000 copies sold while the 360 version came in 7th with over 21,000. [32]
References
- ^ "Date Decision!". Atlus, Co. October 22, 2010. Retrieved February 16, 2011.
- ^ a b c Jackson, Mike (2011-02-28). "News: Catherine hitting US in July, says GameStop". ComputerAndVideoGames.com. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
- ^ "Amazon.com: Catherine: Video Games". Retrieved 2011-03-01.
- ^ "Amazon.com: Catherine: Video Games". Retrieved 2011-03-01.
- ^ "Catherine for Xbox 360". Retrieved 2011-03-01.
- ^ "Catherine for Playstation 3". Retrieved 2011-03-01.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Atlus (August 23, 2010). "キャサリン - CATHERINE - 製品情報". Atlus. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
- ^ Japanese Demo Catherine Set for January 27th, Game Focus
- ^ Anoop Gantayat (August 19, 2010). "Atlus Goes HD With Catherine". Andriasang. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
- ^ "『キャサリン』アダルト＆ホラーな完全新作" (in Japanese). Famitsu. August 20, 2010. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
- ^ Winterhalter, Ryan (February 2, 2011). "New mini-games revealed for Catherine". GamesRadar. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
- ^ http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/11/30/catherine_drinks/
- ^ http://kotaku.com/5725398/catherine-gameplay-is-quite-puzzling
- ^ Antista, Chris (January 26, 2011). "Catherine video - Full Access Preview". GamesRadar. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
- ^ a b Romano, Sal (August 27, 2010). "Catherine is twenty-hours long, has multiple endings". Scrawl. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
- ^ Jackson, Mike (January 27, 2011). "Multiplayer detailed for Atlus' 'Catherine'". ComputerAndVideoGames.com. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
- ^ "Catherine: Story" (in Japanese). Atlas. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
- ^ Anoop Gantayat (January 29, 2011). "Multiplayer Catherine: First Look". Andriasang. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
- ^ Anoop Gantayat (September 11, 2010). "Catherine: Meet Katherine". Andriasang. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
- ^ a b c Anoop Gantayat (October 26, 2010). "Catherine: Meet Vincent's Friends (Again)". Andriasang. Retrieved November 2, 2010.
- ^ a b Anoop Gantayat (January 12, 2011). "Catherine: Stray Sheep Bar Detailed". Andriasang. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
- ^ "［TGS 2010］新作アーケードゲーム「ラブプラスメダルHappy Daily Life（仮）」が目玉か。"ウイイレ2011"や「キャッスルヴァニア」 の試遊台も大量設置。KONAMIブース速報" (in Japanese). 4gamer. September 16, 2010. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
- ^ "Catherine and Gal Gun demos available in Japan this month". Joystiq. 2011-01-17. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
{{cite web}}:|first=missing|last=(help); Unknown parameter|second=ignored (help) - ^ "Catherine demo pulled from Japanese PSN". Joystiq. 2011-02-07. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
{{cite web}}:|first=missing|last=(help); Unknown parameter|second=ignored (help) - ^ "Atlus requests no Catherine spoilers online". Gamespot. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
- ^ http://kotaku.com/#!5762814/spoil-catherine-and-get-your-ass-banned
- ^ http://www.gamesradar.com/ps3/catherine/news/catherine-themed-bar-open-for-business/a-2011021615499926013/g-20100819114534837010
- ^ "Catherine Is Coming". Giant Bomb. March 1, 2011. Retrieved March 1, 2011.
- ^ http://www.siliconera.com/2011/03/01/catherine-officially-confirmed-for-summer-2011/
- ^ http://scrawlfx.com/2011/02/catherine-reviewed-in-famitsu
- ^ http://kotaku.com/#!5766057/catherine-is-so-hard-lets-make-her-easy
- ^ http://www.computerandvideogames.com/290521/news/catherine-tops-marvel-vs-capcom-in-japanese-chart-battle/
