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Catherine Full Body |OT| Look at that body!

Komatsu

Member
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Developer: Atlus
Publisher: Atlus (SEGA)
Platform: Playstation 4, Playstation Vita (JP only)
Release Date: September 3rd, 2019
Genre: Puzzle / Narrative

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Set in an unnamed city in the United States of America, Catherine Full Body tells the story of Vincent Brooks, a 32-year old systems engineer whose life hasn't progressed in years. He has a job that he doesn't very much like, a steady girlfriend whose very idea of marrying gives him severe anxiety and a couple of friends with whom he meets semi-regularly at this bar called "The Stray Sheep" . One day, he bumps into a gorgeous blonde girl in her early 20s and, somehow, finds himself in bed with her. That's when his problems start.

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The original Catherine was developed by the "2nd Creative Production Department", a team within Atlus who had previously handled development for the Persona series, a subseries within the Megami Tensei franchise. Planning for Catherine began while the development team were performing final polishing work for Persona 4 prior to the latter's 2008 release. The three key staff members were all veterans of the Persona series: director and producer Katsura Hashino had helmed both Persona 3 and Persona 4; art director and character designer Shigenori Soejima had designed characters for both Persona 3 and Persona 4; and composer Shoji Meguro had created music for multiple Megami Tensei titles, including the Persona series. The chief designer was Kazuhisa Wada, while the chief programmer was Yujiro Kosaka.

Catherine was the very first title developed by Atlus for high-definition (HD) video game consoles, specifically the PlayStation 3 (PS3) and Xbox 360 (360). Using HD consoles they were able to fully portray the world of Catherine. Despite the shift onto HD consoles making their vision easier to realize, debugging for multiple consoles caused problems that pushed back the planned development schedule. In a 2012 statement, an Atlus staff member said that Catherine was a "difficult" game for the company to make. The game would later be called a "test" for the development of Persona 5.

The aim with Catherine was to create a game that was not within the role-playing genre as with the majority of Atlus' titles, in addition to making something that was aimed at adults. The main aim was to create something new as a change prior to developing a new role-playing game. It used the third-party Gamebryo game engine. Hashino had wanted an in-house engine, but the team's lack of experience with HD consoles meant this was impracticable. While they had the option of developing the title for handheld consoles or mobile devices, Hashino felt that the game would lose its charm on less powerful hardware.

The initial story was written by Hashino, who originally worked alone on the scenario before other writers were brought on to help. The scenario's main writer was Yuichiro Tanaka, previously lead writer for the Persona series. The setting incorporated both Japanese and American influences. Hashino felt that Catherine was an ambitious title due to its themes and subject matter, saying that no-one but Atlus would have supported the project. The main theme is love between men and women, although in its infancy the project was themed around conflict. In order to make the love triangle between Vincent, Catherine and Katherine sound realistic, he asked other members of Atlus staff for their experiences. One story, where a woman detailed killing people in her dreams, was almost directly referenced within the game. Vincent was a very unlikeable character, but based on staff feedback he was adjusted to appear more sympathetic. As the initial premise could not be changed, the team instead added Mutton's plot and worked to make Vincent a more sympathetic character within this framework.

Soejima, who had mainly worked on the Persona series up to this point, was most focused on making the characters' expressions seem realistic within the context of the story. All the characters were designed around being realistic, with their proportions being more akin to real people rather than stylized figures. According to him, he was influenced by the game's themes of instinctual desire intruding into everyday life, the desire for sleep, and the concept of greed. Vincent exemplified these themes. Vincent's character was based on and named after Vincent Gallo, specifically his appearance in the 1998 film Buffalo '66. The younger "Catherine" was designed to be beautiful and youthful when compared to "Katherine", who had an adult charm. The pink coloring of the game's user interface was intended to evoke its sensual and "kitschy" atmosphere. The cutscenes were created by anime production studio Studio 4°C. While the Persona games up to that point boasted around half an hour of cutscenes, the number in Catherine came to considerably more. Studio 4 °C spent around a year working on the anime cutscenes.
[SOURCE OF THE TEXT ABOVE: WIKIPEDIA]

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Original Game Director: Katsura Hashino

Starting his career with ATLUS in 1994, Hashino was the planner responsible for " Shin Megami Tensei If...", the SMT spin-off that later inspired the Persona series. His first game credit as director was Maken X for the Dreamcast and he directed Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne before taking over the Persona series, starting with Persona 3. His stewardship of the Persona franchise is lauded as being instrumental in taking a somewhat obscure spin-off and turning it into a cultural juggernaut not only in Japan, but in the West. The original Catherine was his first non-Persona, non-SMT game in ten years.

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Famitsu: 33/40
Metacritic: 81 (as of 09/01/2019)
 
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Mista

Banned
This is releasing sooner than I thought. If I finished Astral Chain I might think of getting it but the focus right now is on Borderlands 3

Also I’m glad we have a lad like you here that makes beautiful OTs. Thank you
 
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protonion

Member
I got it yesterday.
It was a rare blind purchase based on some positive impressions I read here and there.

I played for 3 hours and find it a very entertaining and unique game. Also the puzzle aspect is very good. If you dont care about the story you will still find a tough and meaty puzzle game in there.
 

ROMhack

Member
Nice OP! I'll get around to this eventually.

I also have to say that there's nuance to Vincent's situation that I appreciate more with age. I know a few men around their late 20's/early 30s who are insecure about their careers and long-term partners. Not to the point where they cheat on them a la Vincent (even if unintended) but definitely to the point where their anxiety manifests into unintended insecurity. It's amazing how many people I know who went from having what seemed like a full blown existential crisis to 'dude, me and X got engaged!' in like six months.
 
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Komatsu

Member
This is releasing sooner than I thought. If I finished Astral Chain I might think of getting it but the focus right now is on Borderlands 3

Also I’m glad we have a lad like you here that makes beautiful OTs. Thank you

My pleasure! OTs are literally my favorite thing about this website, since, well, a decade ago when I was a lurker.

I still remember lurking here and reading the original OT back in 2011.


Nice OP! I'll get around to this eventually.

I also have to say that there's some nuance to Vincent's situation that I appreciate more with age. I know a few men around their late 20's/early 30s who are insecure about their careers and long-term partners. Not to the point where they cheat on them a la Vincent (even if unintended) but definitely to the point where their anxiety manifests into unintended insecurity. It's amazing how many people I know who went from having what seemed like a full blown existential crisis to 'dude, me and X got engaged!' in like six months.

Yep, I was in my early 20s, single, and in my first corporate, full-time job when Catherine first came out and Vincent's situation mainly came off as comic relief. Now that I'm about his age (and married), playing through the game is a somewhat more anguishing experience..
 

Verdanth

Member
Will get it when it's cheaper. Really liked the puzzle mechanic in the PS3 version, but sadly did not finish the game.
 

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
My Hearts Desire Collector's Edition arrived yesterday.
Can't wait to jump in again.
 

Shantae

Banned
What about The censoring thing? Is there or not🤔?
Yeah, I'd like some clarification on this or not when it comes out. I don't like not supporting this game, because I loved it when it originally came out. However if it is censored in the way that I was told
where an entire ending is missing
then I don't want to support it.
 
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Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
Yeah it is, do you have hard time believing people like things that you personally don’t like?


Let’s just say there much more changes compare to Persona 4 Golden.
nah not really but BEST puzzle game?
 

GrayFoxPL

Member
The puzzle element was so stressful in the original. Core gameplay was good, intriguing even but you had to rush so hard, basically had to memorise pattern solutions and go as fast as possible or it's over.

Probably that's why there's bunch of easy difficulties in this version(checked the demo).
 
Yeah, I'd like some clarification on this or not when it comes out. I don't like not supporting this game, because I loved it when it originally came out. However if it is censored in the way that I was told
where an entire ending is missing
then I don't want to support it.


Looking at the meltdowns at REE censorship attempt failed.
 

Gargus

Banned

Looking at the meltdowns at REE censorship attempt failed.


Good, I'm glad.

Can't wait for mine to arrive.
 
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CuNi

Member
Didn't play the original but I gave this a shot over at GamesCom and hooboyyyy they either reveal a Steam release soon or I'll get weak and get it for the PS4.. damn that gameplay was fun!! How did I miss the original game!?
 
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Shantae

Banned

Looking at the meltdowns at REE censorship attempt failed.
That’s great news! I may end up getting this after all. I can live with a small name change.
 

Komatsu

Member
I played the game at Japan Expo in Paris and it was great. I really liked the new remix mode and the additional difficulty options.

So this game is not censored at all? I only played a little bit of it on PS Now. I will pick this up if not censored.

No - there's nothing to censor, really. Atlus USA just (correctly, IMO) changed the name of a trans character in the credits. Previously, it listed said character's past name, something that is considered in very poor taste in many LGBTQ circles. There were no other changes - even the jokes that certain people deemed transphobic or bigoted were kept.
 
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Heimdall_Xtreme

Jim Ryan Fanclub's #1 Member
ok i decided to get the collector edition of catherine full body because i dont want other overprice of the edition like Persona 5 collector edition.

Was hard... Catherine full body or astral chain (regular edition).

Next month will be for astral chain.

BTW... The reviews are stupid... like Metacritic, the game deserve it a 9.5-10 of score.
 
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Northeastmonk

Gold Member
Did anyone import it for Vita? What a way to sadden Vita owners outside Japan. I finished it back on PS3, so I’d love it on the Vita.
 

Cha

Member
Glad everyone westward is finally getting a chance to play this (again-ish?). Made my way through this game for the first time as soon as it released here, completely in Japanese(not a lang i'm proficient in). I only ever played a tiny piece of the original Catherine at a friends house, but it left quite an impression. Full Body was an absolute joy to play. More than anything I was blown away by the mature and somewhat relatable issues that Vincent faced. Heard about some of the stuff people were worried/unhappy about online, and was weary while playing, but dare I say, everything was handled with tact and class. I frikken loved this journey, and hope you all have a brilliant ride!

Edit: Of course, the puzzling is fun too ;)
 
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Looking at the meltdowns at REE censorship attempt failed.
REEsetEra being unhappy is a good sign. I was holding out on this, despite loving the original, but I think I can go ahead and buy it now.
 
Bought the original when it came out in Japan and this one again 7 months ago. Loved it the first time, even more now. That music...
 

mekes

Member
I had a little break from gaming around 2011 when the Original game released and tried the game some time later when it was included with PS Plus. I played a few games around that time that I credit with getting me back enjoying gaming again, Catherine is absolutely one of those games! I would credit this game as my favourite from Katsura Hashino. I have a busy week this week, but I’ve bought the game digital and can’t wait til Friday where I’ll start my play through.
 

kunonabi

Member
Quick question, in the original ps3 release is it possible to avoid banging Catherine or does it have to happen no matter what?
 

cireza

Banned
Quick question, in the original ps3 release is it possible to avoid banging Catherine or does it have to happen no matter what?
It happens no matter what. The game is exactly the same until the very end, which does not make much sense.
 
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Komatsu

Member
hahaha this is just he reposting from a faggot of retardera.

There's no need for that here, man.

---

Did anyone import it for Vita? What a way to sadden Vita owners outside Japan. I finished it back on PS3, so I’d love it on the Vita.

Nope, but a played a bit of the Vita version and I hope someone, somewhere will release a translation patch. This would be a great game to play on the commute.
 

bronk

Banned
I absolutely loved it on 360. It was a random purchase for me and it ended up being one of my favorite games on the system.
 

Ivellios

Member
I like the story and writing in Catherine, but for some reason i just cant stand the puzzles, i find them too stressful.

I am dropping in to say: Wow. The transphobia is worse than I thought, and I thought it was pretty shit to begin with. Disgusting that a lot of reviewers aren't making a bigger deal of the blatant transphobia added/left unchanged to this release, they might as well have changed nothing.
So they're not deadnaming a character in the credits. They've superficially understood "thing bad". Great. Ok. And they've removed some side dialogue, I can't remember which dialogue that was but I'll assume that was also a good decision.
But not only is the character still deadnamed elsewhere, but the text *and* subtext still treats the character as the wrong gender, and HOOO BOOOY does the new stuff completely shit the bed.

SPOILERS FOR FULL BODY, A BAD GAME
Erica is considered a man by the supernatural sheep dreams. This could have been a clever way of calling the big bad out on him being backwards, but since the original never did so I can only assume that wasn't the intent. You don't leave such a tantalising plot idea alone, especially when said trans character is *in the big bad confronting conversation*. Since a lot of dialogue is recycled from the original where applicable, I can only assume this wasn't changed, since outside of being a nice thing to do there's not much reason to do so.
There's the whole "travel back in time for a different future with Catherine" ending, which was brought up back with the Japanese release and features Erica not transitioning for seemingly no reason. Again, you could give the devs the benefit of the doubt and say "maybe it's earlier in time and she hasn't transitioned yet", but consider this: no other characters have a new character design for this new time period. It would have taken time and effort to create this new design. And uh, it's just a weird decision in general, since if you wanted to treat the character as a woman, you wouldn't drop this in, in an ending cutscene, without much explanation. If absolutely nothing else, if you believe Atlus believes she's a woman (they don't, there's a reason why the localisation had to change anything in the first place), it's bad writing.

And then Rin. I'd already heard a lot about them (I'm going to use they/them in an ambiguous sense because I highly doubt Atlus was going for the very specific niche of "nonbinary person who presents super femininely yet uses he/him pronouns exclusively"), but having a biological sex reveal. Then switching the pronouns. And claiming that a character who persistently presents as a woman is a cross-dresser rather than their way of life. Like, it's not impossible that this character has a very nuanced gender identity, but nothing about the text suggests that Atlus is going for this.
And they're an ALIEN?!?! I knew about this too but way to A) sidestep queer issues, and B) make Rin ultimately a bit of a joke character. Yaaaaay.

When I was younger, I actually really liked Catherine. Heck I liked the trans character too, I thought she was cool despite some asshole friends (I didn't see the problem in the credits). But my opinion of Atlus has since changed, and the amount and quality of trans representation has drastically improved since the original release, even if it's still got a long way to go, and my understanding of trans issues is much better, so I can say this. We don't need to settle for bullshit. I don't care how good the gameplay is, or the art, or the music - even if I love all these things, something so inherently hateful is not worthy of my time or money.

I can't believe I used to like these devs. For queer issues too! How naive I was. I'll give them this: They do a great job at *pretending* to care. There's just enough subtlety to say "Well is it really trans/homophobic?", especially in Persona 4. Well I've had enough, I'm calling them out, they can sell me games again when they manage the seemingly incredibly difficult accomplishment of not dumping on minorities for a game.

I always laugh when people take your satirical posts seriously haha
 

Dthomp

Member
I am dropping in to say: Wow. The transphobia is worse than I thought, and I thought it was pretty shit to begin with. Disgusting that a lot of reviewers aren't making a bigger deal of the blatant transphobia added/left unchanged to this release, they might as well have changed nothing.
So they're not deadnaming a character in the credits. They've superficially understood "thing bad". Great. Ok. And they've removed some side dialogue, I can't remember which dialogue that was but I'll assume that was also a good decision.
But not only is the character still deadnamed elsewhere, but the text *and* subtext still treats the character as the wrong gender, and HOOO BOOOY does the new stuff completely shit the bed.

SPOILERS FOR FULL BODY, A BAD GAME
Erica is considered a man by the supernatural sheep dreams. This could have been a clever way of calling the big bad out on him being backwards, but since the original never did so I can only assume that wasn't the intent. You don't leave such a tantalising plot idea alone, especially when said trans character is *in the big bad confronting conversation*. Since a lot of dialogue is recycled from the original where applicable, I can only assume this wasn't changed, since outside of being a nice thing to do there's not much reason to do so.
There's the whole "travel back in time for a different future with Catherine" ending, which was brought up back with the Japanese release and features Erica not transitioning for seemingly no reason. Again, you could give the devs the benefit of the doubt and say "maybe it's earlier in time and she hasn't transitioned yet", but consider this: no other characters have a new character design for this new time period. It would have taken time and effort to create this new design. And uh, it's just a weird decision in general, since if you wanted to treat the character as a woman, you wouldn't drop this in, in an ending cutscene, without much explanation. If absolutely nothing else, if you believe Atlus believes she's a woman (they don't, there's a reason why the localisation had to change anything in the first place), it's bad writing.

And then Rin. I'd already heard a lot about them (I'm going to use they/them in an ambiguous sense because I highly doubt Atlus was going for the very specific niche of "nonbinary person who presents super femininely yet uses he/him pronouns exclusively"), but having a biological sex reveal. Then switching the pronouns. And claiming that a character who persistently presents as a woman is a cross-dresser rather than their way of life. Like, it's not impossible that this character has a very nuanced gender identity, but nothing about the text suggests that Atlus is going for this.
And they're an ALIEN?!?! I knew about this too but way to A) sidestep queer issues, and B) make Rin ultimately a bit of a joke character. Yaaaaay.

When I was younger, I actually really liked Catherine. Heck I liked the trans character too, I thought she was cool despite some asshole friends (I didn't see the problem in the credits). But my opinion of Atlus has since changed, and the amount and quality of trans representation has drastically improved since the original release, even if it's still got a long way to go, and my understanding of trans issues is much better, so I can say this. We don't need to settle for bullshit. I don't care how good the gameplay is, or the art, or the music - even if I love all these things, something so inherently hateful is not worthy of my time or money.

I can't believe I used to like these devs. For queer issues too! How naive I was. I'll give them this: They do a great job at *pretending* to care. There's just enough subtlety to say "Well is it really trans/homophobic?", especially in Persona 4. Well I've had enough, I'm calling them out, they can sell me games again when they manage the seemingly incredibly difficult accomplishment of not dumping on minorities for a game.

lol, had I not seen some of your other gems Xaero Gravity Xaero Gravity I'd almost say you had me there. However without the /s tag too many new folk gonna think you crazy :)

I need to pick this up, but man I should wait out a sale. Just grabbed and am playing Man of Medan and FF8, and BL3 in 10 days...I don't have time to replay this right now
 
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