078 - Catherine [Prep Kit]

[GoatedQuest 078 Prep Kit]

- Catherine -

Developed by Atlus

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Released July 26th, 2011 for PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360

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"As Vincent, a man recently succumbed to the irresistible beauty of the game's titular diversion, players find themselves swept into a treacherous love triangle. Catherine's core themes those of free will, of the delicate nature of relationships and the choices we make within them, marry perfectly with the intense, terrorfilled gameplay that serves to accurately reflect Vincent's growing sense of anxiety. It is an experience wholly unlike any to come before it, and is certain to leave gamers talking and thinking about Vincent's tribulations long after the credits have rolled."

- Gamestop.com Store Page Description

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PS3 Box Contents

EU Manual [PDF]

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Pre-Release Coverage

Catherine Is Coming - Giant Bomb (March 1st, 2011)

Welp, I figured we wouldn't hear about this until E3 and that a holiday release made more sense, but Atlus ain't messing around. The publisher has launched a North American site devoted to a domestic release of Catherine, the Japanese block-pulling puzzle release that's been getting a whole lot of attention lately.

Catherine Exclusive Preview - GameSpot (May 12th, 2011)

Vincent is 32 years old and has been with his girlfriend Katherine for five years now. He likes the way things are going and sees no need to change, especially when Katherine pushes him to commit. Things start to get even more complicated when he meets Catherine, a perky blond girl who somehow winds up naked in his bed the next morning. Due to some excessive drinking the night before, Vincent is not sure if he actually slept with her. The juicy story unfolds during gorgeous cel-shaded cutscenes that are fully voice acted. It might sound like a soap opera at this point, but there's more to throw into the already intriguing mix. A series of mysterious deaths have occurred and the news reports are calling them the "Women's Wrath" because they all involve young men who died in their sleep.

Catherine Straddles Genres - IGN (May 16th, 2011)

When Vincent dozes off at night, he's met with scary dream sequences that force him to overcome obstacles in the form of spiraling towers. These towers are made up of square-shaped blocks, and Vincent must manipulate and climb these blocks before the tower crumbles beneath him, or before he meets an untimely death at the hands of some other hazard. As these deaths appear to be tragically parlayed into the real world, it's important that Vincent survive to see the next day while in a dream state at night. And as gamers who have played the Japanese version of Catherine (or simply read about it), these sequences can be tough. Really tough.

E3 2011 Hands On: Catherine - VGChartz (June 10th, 2011)

I came away from this E3 completely sold on Catherine. I had some apprehension about the puzzle aspects of the game coming into it, but it really looks like a lot of fun even if it’s going to take some judicious swearing to get through. Interesting mature story, funny dialogue, and beautiful visuals that I didn’t even mention seal the deal. Seriously go look up some videos of this game, it’s got quite the pleasing Cel Shaded style. I can’t wait for Catherine’s release in July and I hope everyone that writes this game off as something only meant for 13 year-olds looking to peep some boobies gives it a chance. When you find out how wrong you are make sure to send all apologies and admissions of greatness to kjkoebke@VGChartz.com. And I guess you can send some to Atlus as well.

Catherine (Preview) - Destructoid (June 15th, 2011)

During my play I had a chat with Atlus’ Aram Jabbari about how to classify this game. Sexy puzzle time? That works for me. Aram says that Atlus Japan originally called it an erotic horror game. I think that misses the mark by a bit. Atlus USA has been calling it an action adventure/puzzle game, and that feels more right. Whatever you might call it, don’t let the sexy visuals trick you. This is a puzzle game with a great story that unfolds between puzzles. There’s also a fair bit of exploration and dialogue, but you’ll come away remembering the puzzle action most.

Love & Death (6 Page Preview Feature) - Official PlayStation Magazine (August 2011)

X-Play Hands On Preview

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Developer Interviews

Katsura Hashino Interview - Dengeki Gamers Monthly (April 2011)

Dengeki: Judging from reviews and feedback online, a segment of gamers feel repelled by titles with romantic elements. They want their games to be straight fantasy, almost as if they’re afraid that otherwise it’ll come back and bite them in the real world.

Hashino: That’s precisely why the protagonist doesn’t follow the Persona model—He’s Vincent. Not you. Making the player a spectator helps lessen the blow. And although you mentioned that some fans don’t want their games to be serious business, I don’t think that’s the case. Catherine's story isn’t totally grounded in reality. It’s more of a dreamlike vignette that ties up neatly at the end. Even without the romantic element, the game still stands on its own merits.

Inside the Twisted Psyche of Catherine (Aram Jabbari Interview) - PlayStation Blog (July 22nd, 2011)

PSB: Was this game’s localization process any different than usual?

Jabbari: Yes and no. I think there were a lot more cultural challenges. The game was actually written to take place in the States. A lot of fans say it takes place in Chicago, and that’s not really the case. It’s supposed to take place in an undefined American city. So in that sense, the developers did a lot to make it authentic and culturally, there wasn’t a lot to do. But our localizers talk about the challenges that lie in its realness. The characters interactions with each other – some of it is tongue-in-cheek – but most of it is supposed to be real human interaction. And there’s some dialogue things that will come up, including references and jokes, so our localizers go the extra mile. Our localizers say: “it’s not translating the definition, it’s translating the intent.” So a lot of care is taken to find that. Even though the game is so bizarrely unique, visually, it actually I don’t think it was as dramatic a localization effort as one might think.

Troy Baker, Valerie Arem, & Travis Willingham Interview @ E3 2011