Catherine (PS3/360)

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Catherine (PS3/360)

still find it funny that this game was hinted at in Persona 3 ;p shows how long they had been working on it.

It was an easter egg in Persona 3 Portable, actually. He didn't appear in the other versions. The team started work on Catherine right after P4 because they wanted to make a game that didn't make them all want to kill each other.

The Social Link system in P3 and P4 is great, but the games follow a calender system and P4 had weather patterns, too. Just think about that - you have to scenario plan for every character in the game and who is where on what day and under which conditions. and that's for almost ten simulated months of the game's story.

I'd imagine that's why Nintendo hasn't done another game like Majora's Mask, Sega doesn't want to drop the money on another Shenmue and why it takes like five years for another Elder Scrolls game to be made.

[Kailea]

Re: Catherine (PS3/360)

It was an easter egg in Persona 3 Portable, actually. He didn't appear in the other versions. The team started work on Catherine right after P4 because they wanted to make a game that didn't make them all want to kill each other.

The Social Link system in P3 and P4 is great, but the games follow a calender system and P4 had weather patterns, too. Just think about that - you have to scenario plan for every character in the game and who is where on what day and under which conditions. and that's for almost ten simulated months of the game's story.

I'd imagine that's why Nintendo hasn't done another game like Majora's Mask, Sega doesn't want to drop the money on another Shenmue and why it takes like five years for another Elder Scrolls game to be made.

oh ok it was only in the PsP re-release? my bad, but still cool that it was in there. and I agree, I have not played 3 yet, getting ready to after I finish 2, and I have already played and beat 4.... god that was was crazy to play, I could not even imagine programming that -.-

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Catherine (PS3/360)

Wow.

I set this to normal and its true what they've been saying - the difficulty doesn't mess around. I'm sticking with it on the current setting, though. At first you're just scrambling to move blocks, but they let you know about some techniques early onto get you started.

Its kinda like Boxxle meets Ice Climbers meets Jenga except the blocks have different properties, there are one-use power ups and if the bottom isn't constantly dropping out then there's something tearing away at it and also reaching further up to kill you. And this isn't counting the sheep out to knock you down from the tower of blocks you ascending.

The moral choices are presented in NPC conversations, a confessional booth within the nightmares and also in Vincent's text messages. The confessional booth is a factor like any other, but the neat thing about it is that it's also a live online poll that the results post to as the next stage loads. The tone of your text messages is influenced by the first and previous lines, you can change them to say various things in the scope of how you'd feel in Vincent's shows.

Its an interesting take compared to the usual dialog branch/wheel stuff.

As for the presentation, this is mature in the sense of the Persona games before it, moreso actually. People with real problems facing a rather fantastic threat, but one psychologically rooted to the real life problems and spun from an urban legend. The Rapunzel fairy tale also seems to be a big theme here The conversations are a bit more frank here, if not brutal at times. The team apparently wanted to get away from the high school setting and youthful outlook of Persona and put the spotlight on adults and adult pressures. They've been out in the world, either living their careers, perhaps still not having established one, wanting to meet that special loved one or facing the social pressure of getting married and being "normal" or getting cheated on.

That's not to say Persona games aren't as mature, but they do feel like a high school graduation when all is said and done. This game contains all the futility of being a grown-up.

TL:DR version: Catherine is the Jessica Rabbit of video games.

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Catherine (PS3/360)

TL:DR version: Catherine is the Jessica Rabbit of video games.

Not bad, just drawn that way?

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Catherine (PS3/360)

Well that and a bit more substance.

Also, this is the second game this year I've played that directly references Ghosts'n'Goblins/Ghouls'n'Ghosts with its level map screen.

First was Shadows of the Damned, now its Catherine. That and there's a man running around in his boxers this time.

[Kailea]

Re: Catherine (PS3/360)

yeah just started the game myself, I like it but damn it is kicking my butt on normal -.-

[Neverslip]

Re: Catherine (PS3/360)

I'll be honest. I only played the demo but what I found, didn't interest me at all. Now the demo could be a old build and it's been smoothed out for final release but the CS's seemed to go way too slow and the loading of them was annoying. The English voice over was flat and felt uninspired. I really wasn't expecting the gameplay to be puzzling out how to outclimb your nightmare girl. I really had no idea what the gameplay would be at all... but I wasn't really interested in what I found. I applaud them on their concept but it doesn't appeal to me at all and I wanted to like it as someone who enjoys most ATLUS games I've played. Glad others have found enjoyment though.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Catherine (PS3/360)

I'll be honest. I only played the demo but what I found, didn't interest me at all. Now the demo could be a old build and it's been smoothed out for final release but the CS's seemed to go way too slow and the loading of them was annoying. The English voice over was flat and felt uninspired. I really wasn't expecting the gameplay to be puzzling out how to outclimb your nightmare girl. I really had no idea what the gameplay would be at all... but I wasn't really interested in what I found. I applaud them on their concept but it doesn't appeal to me at all and I wanted to like it as someone who enjoys most ATLUS games I've played. Glad others have found enjoyment though.

Demos aren't always representative of the final product.

The level in the demo doesn't exist in this game, it was more of an abridged version of the first three levels minus some of the twists. It was also rigged to easy and the presentation of early scenes was much more linear in the demo than the final game.

I also find the VO to be pretty much on-point, but I accept anime fetishists will never be happy with anything they're given. I actually like that adults are conversing like adults and this isn't full-on anime craziness in the day-to-day stuff.

[Kailea]

Re: Catherine (PS3/360)

I have to agree, but Atlus has been pretty good with VAs for a good long time now, Persona 3/4 was good and so is this.

[Icemage]

Re: Catherine (PS3/360)

I picked up the game yesterday afternoon but have yet to open the shrink-wrap. Will post impressions when I have a chance to give it some time.


Icemage

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Catherine (PS3/360)

Sweet, they have unlockable SMT tunes on the Stray Sheep jukebox! Nice touch!

The soundtrack itself is surprisingly mostly classical arrangements rather than originals from Meguro this time out, but he puts an interesting spin on them all the same and classical did always go well with puzzle games, I must admit.

I just finished the second official boss and it was pretty intense stuff, though my moral choices seem to push the meter back and forth a bit. I may be playing Vincent a little too literally in that respect.

Another common thread with Shadows of the Damned - its in your best interest for your character to drink a lot. The more Vincent drinks, the faster he moves. With Garcia in SotD it was a means of recovering health because liquor in hell doesn't give you liver cancer, apparently.

The puzzles and techniques you adapt to it remain pleasantly varied so far. Everything scales about right here. By which I mean it ranges from "oh shit" to "fuckity fuck fuck fuck" in terms of how hard the stages are. Each "nightmare" starts you off easy, let's you build up a few retries and then just sets out to destroy you in the subsequent levels of the nightmare.

[Kailea]

Re: Catherine (PS3/360)

going to have to take this game slow..... I love it, but I am bad at puzzle games ;p

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Catherine (PS3/360)

Trap blocks, crumbling blocks, ice blocks, spring Blocks, two tiers of bomb blocks... they really know how to raise the stakes in this game.

I'm on Stage 7 and everything is getting really crazy now, though I've pushed Vincent to the Law side for the most part so far even that's been a bit tricky.

[Kailea]

Re: Catherine (PS3/360)

I normally have a "leave it on normal" rule for myself, but this might be the first time I need to set it on easy -.- Going to give it my all first though, because I really like sticking to my rule ;p

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Catherine (PS3/360)

I'm still on normal, at level 7-2 now. 7-1 wasn't too hard and they're pretty generous on the retries.

Though if you want to be a total lily-livered pansy, hold select one the main screen difficulty select while hovering over "Easy" until you hear a chime, then select Easy for Very Easy mode.

Paying attention to the narrator and talking with your fellow sheeple to swap techniques does help add some insight as to how you should go about doing things. Of course it does get more tense on the boss levels.

I've been able to go back and score gold trophies on levels 1 and 2 (not PSN trophies, the in-game ones), unlocking my first level of the Babel levels that way and some additional Jukebox selections from Persona 4 and Digital Devil Saga 2.