Catherine: a badly needed dose of originality, or a failed gem waiting to happen?

[cj_iwakura]

Atlus' first next-gen game is exploring what's pretty much unknown territory in the gaming industry.

The life of a 30-something year old character.

For the unfamiliar...

While the game's name is Catherine, the main character is actually a 32-year-old salaryman named Vincent (voiced by Koichi Yamadera). Catherine (voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro) is a stylish 22-year-old girl who apparently has the charms of a young girl.

The game begins when Vincent, a salaryman who has no ambition in work or love runs into the mysterious Catherine one day. Ever since meeting her, he has unending nightmares about falling to his death.

The nightmares serve as an action component for the game. Set in a world with an unending stairway, Vincent has to make it to the top of the stairs, or he will not be able to awaken.

Making matters worse is the fact that his long-term girlfriend, Katherine(with a K) has just informed Vincent of her pregnancy. And if she finds out about Catherine, sparks are bound to fly...

Trailer here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZfTlqB-xyc



So is the spark of life the game industry needs, or a direction no one cares about?

Does the industry thrive on teenage, androgynous, whiny protagonists(and worse, lolis), or could it use more actual adults?

 

[Exile714]

Why do you assume the "game industry" is filled with teenage, androgynous, whiny etc. characters? Sounds like an anime thing to me more than a game thing.

Some of the games I have recently played: Halo: Reach (I think they're adults), Alan Wake (adult), Dead Rising, The Force Unleashed, Dead Space, Modern Warfare 2, Perfect Dark (original)... I could go on, but I don't think I own a game with an anime bent to it, thus I have no characters which you claim are the majority of the industry.

On that note, this game seems utterly uninteresting to me. Maybe it's my gaming preferences. The age of the main character makes no difference to me.

 

[warprincenataku]

No doubt it will fail, kudos for trying something new.

 

[Iwata]

*Yawn*

Pass. Next.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Why do you assume the "game industry" is filled with teenage, androgynous, whiny etc. characters? Sounds like an anime thing to me more than a game thing.

Some of the games I have recently played: Halo: Reach (I think they're adults), Alan Wake (adult), Dead Rising, The Force Unleashed, Dead Space, Modern Warfare 2, Perfect Dark (original)... I could go on, but I don't think I own a game with an anime bent to it, thus I have no characters which you claim are the majority of the industry.

Well, I mean in terms of Japanese games primarily. But still, most of them are action-oriented characters.

Vincent's just a regular guy. Alan Wake is a good example, though.

 

[2xDouble]

Huh... it could be good, it could suck. Nothing really here to form an opinion...

 

[Moonmover]

Wait, it's unusual for a video game hero to be a grown man? I hadn't noticed.

*glances at game shelf*

I still don't see it.

No, Cathrine looks interesting for entirely different reasons.

Also, the next person I catch calling the Xbox 360/Playstation 3/Wii/DS/PSP generation "next gen" will get punched in the gut. It's current-gen now.

 

[TurtleBay]

Some of the games I have recently played: Halo: Reach (I think they're adults), Alan Wake (adult), Dead Rising, The Force Unleashed, Dead Space, Modern Warfare 2, Perfect Dark (original)...

To be fair, western games aim at a different set of angst driven teenage boys by centering the game around blowing up the entire world with the invincible protagonist.

This game appears to be exploring different grounds in story arc and character development. However I am worried it may play more like an interactive movie than an actual game if your main control of the character is only in their dreams.

 

[Pingieking]

No doubt it will fail, kudos for trying something new.

This. We don't want new things. Just give us more (insert yearly or bi-yearly franchise name here).

Seriously though, this game looks like a total mind-fuck. Which is kind of expected, since it's coming from the Persona people. I like mind-fuck games, so I'm eagerly awaiting this one.

 

[jpoon]

Sounds pretty frigging insane. Might be worth checking out if I can convince my girfriend I'm not psychotic while playing it.

 

[Raziel_Likes_Souls]

Well, considering the only game I've bought a sequel to was NMH, I love anything that seems totally mediocre, but ends up being totally fucking awesome. So I have a feeling Catherine might fly under the radar, but still sell like Persona and No More Heroes did.

 

[slarrs]

I play games for intense action. Not... stairs. There's stairs in real life, there are no space lasers in real life.

 

[SimuLord]

No doubt it will fail, kudos for trying something new.

This. We don't want new things. Just give us more (insert yearly or bi-yearly franchise name here).

I'll drink to that. Every game I've bought this year was a sequel to something else.

As for Catherine, I'm currently trying to get a girl by that name to date me. Seeing her name associated with a total mindfuck of a game has the potential to derail my thoughts at the worst possible time.

 

[eatenbyagrue]

Sounds exactly like an Atlus thing: strange occurences, urban fantasy and morbid visions. This is EXACTLY why I love Atlus to death, and will defend them even if it risks me having the "weeaboo" stamp affixed firmly to my forehead.

 

[SimuLord]

Just out of curiosity, but is this a paint-by-numbers JRPG or is it more like the Japanese answer to Heavy Rain?

 

[cj_iwakura]

Just out of curiosity, but is this a paint-by-numbers JRPG or is it more like the Japanese answer to Heavy Rain?

More like the second. Adventure game with horror elements.

 

[Blue_vision]

This game appears to be exploring different grounds in story arc and character development. However I am worried it may play more like an interactive movie than an actual game if your main control of the character is only in their dreams.

This is what I was thinking of when I saw that trailer. The concept's a cool one, but I think the focus will be skewed more towards a movie rather than as an interactive medium.