Catherine originally launched for the PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2011 for North America. It has since remained trapped on that hardware, until now. Catherine: Full Body may look like the same game on the surface, but a lot has changed underneath the core of it. On a whole it is a better game and one worth revisiting for old fans. It is also more open for newcomers as well. What has changed? Here is a handy list on the biggest differences along with some tips.
10 So What Is Catherine?
Catherine is a weird game to describe. It is mainly a narrative driven game where choices affect the outcome of every player’s experience. Vincent, the main character, is caught in the middle of a love triangle. At night he is haunted in his dreams, turning him, and other men, into sheep. This then turns the game into a puzzle platformer with an ever-looming danger chasing the player up an ever-expanding tower. The puzzles are pretty difficult too, but there are options for those only interested in the story.
9 Long Intro
When starting the game make sure to set aside 23 minutes. That is how long it takes to get to the first save point. It’s like watching the first episode of a show. Skipping through everything will make it go faster obviously. This isn’t that big of a tip, but for those with limited gaming time, we thought it should be noted as it might at least help one person.
8 Easier Modes
One of the more frustrating aspects of Catherine is the aforementioned puzzle segments. The story is some of the best out there, still, but having to get through tricky puzzles could often get infuriating. Even on the easier settings it was still challenging.
Well, this time around there are now even more causal modes along with a version that removes death so that passing through segments is less of a hassle. There is also autoplay, which literally plays the level for players and then lets them take over whenever. It’s a feature we want to see in more games. Genius!
7 Remix Mode
Every block in Catherine is a singular entity meaning that pushing, or pulling on one will move that one square. Depending on how the blocks are stacked it may cause an avalanche, but other than that this is a single block effort. However, in the new remixed version, which is just an option, puzzles will become more challenging. Blocks will take on various shapes like the classic T-block from Tetris, which will add another strategy element to the game.
6 Twice The Puzzles
On top of adding more options for the difficulty and a whole other version for every single puzzle, there are also double the amount in the game from the original. Look. Some people will come to this game for the story and some will come for the story. For those that want more puzzle action, well, Atlus answered. There are 500 to be exact, which is a daunting amount for us, but good for those block nerds.
5 How Rin Works
Rin is the biggest addition to this game and is integrated completely into the story and is completely natural. So much so that it actually feels weird rethinking on how the original scenes played out. Basically she is a young girl with amnesia that Vincent saves on his way to a bar, the Stray Sheep. It’s here that she becomes a piano player along with becoming Vincent’s next door neighbor. If one has played this game before, then this is the reason to go back and play again. Her arc is great even if the romance option is kind of creepy considering the ages.
4 The Voices
We usually don’t comment on DLC, but this pack seemed too crazy not to discuss. For $15 players can get nine additional voices for the Japanese version of Catherine. Each one of these new actresses plays the role a bit differently. For example, Megumi Toyoguchi is a “Pure Girl” and Ami Koshimizu is “Sister-Like.”
This basically means there is a type of voice for every possible quirk one might have. It is a fan service heavy pack of DLC, but also pretty cool. Too bad the same option doesn’t exist for English fans, but no one can beat Laura Bailey.
3 Online Multiplayer
When one thinks about the competitive gaming scene shooters and fighting games probably come to mind. However, there are some puzzle competitions out there too. Strangely enough the original release of Catherine sprouted a small but mighty community for those dedicated to the puzzle segments. This caught the attention of Atlus enough to include some scoreboards and other online options for this remake.
2 The Vita Lives?
Yes, despite the fact that Sony discontinued making new models of the PS Vita for retail, there are still games being made for it. One such title is of course Catherine: Full Body, which has an awesome looking special edition that differs from the PS4 special. The only problem is that this version is not coming to the West. Still, for those still in love with the Vita and know Japanese, this is the best version to get. Playing a puzzle game like this on the go is perfect.
1 Everything Else
To cover everything else, here is a bunch of obvious changes for the game. The loads are faster, which was an annoying issue in the original. The graphics have been smoothed over and it looks good on modern consoles, but the dead eyes kind of make dramatic scenes still silly. There are also new animated cutscenes, which fixes this problem. If only there were more. On top of that there are obviously more endings since that had to be the case with Rin being involved. There are also some other new characters Vincent will meet in the bar and in his dreams like Abul.