Is Catherine any good?
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Yeah, I'm curious too. And I want to hear from people who aren't die-hard JRPG fans, since those are the types that tend to like it.
Catherine strikes me as a dressed up dating sim, but I've been wrong before, so someone please enlighten me.
Catherine strikes me as a dressed up dating sim, but I've been wrong before, so someone please enlighten me.
Well, I like JRPGs, but I wouldn't call myself diehard, as I only play 1-2 of them a year.Cheery Lunatic said:
I like it. The climbing gameplay is actually real intense and fun, and not too hard if you use the undo button a lot, since it rewinds the "time limit", too.
The story is pretty good, but you have to suspend disbelief a fair bit and just accept that a lot of things go unexplained. It's a good story, but I wouldn't call it "immersive".
Japanese games aren't really into lore and...logic...even.
Eh, not a die hard JRPG fan here. Most JRPG's are a resounding "miss" for me.
That being said, I do like Atlus. Persona has been pretty good for me so far, and I've been mostly curious in Catherine simply because it's an Atlus product.
I bought it last weekend, and it quite honestly held my attention ever since. The puzzles are challenging and addicting, the soundtrack is pretty good, the story while being incredibly bizarre is curious enough to make me genuinely wonder what happens next with Vincent. Also, the cutscenes are pretty amusing. The boss levels are ridiculous, but very intense and challenging. Completing every nightmare is very rewarding.
The problems I have with the game are some of the clumsy controls, a certain amount of "luck" required for some of the later boss levels, and well. Just how many times I end up dying (playing on Normal) though I haven't actually ran out of continues yet.
It's definitely not a "regular" game. Whether or not you think the game is worth the full-price purchase is up to you. I certainly have no regrets with it and I'm having a blast. It's not something for everyone, but something new and fresh and different to me.
That being said, I do like Atlus. Persona has been pretty good for me so far, and I've been mostly curious in Catherine simply because it's an Atlus product.
I bought it last weekend, and it quite honestly held my attention ever since. The puzzles are challenging and addicting, the soundtrack is pretty good, the story while being incredibly bizarre is curious enough to make me genuinely wonder what happens next with Vincent. Also, the cutscenes are pretty amusing. The boss levels are ridiculous, but very intense and challenging. Completing every nightmare is very rewarding.
The problems I have with the game are some of the clumsy controls, a certain amount of "luck" required for some of the later boss levels, and well. Just how many times I end up dying (playing on Normal) though I haven't actually ran out of continues yet.
It's definitely not a "regular" game. Whether or not you think the game is worth the full-price purchase is up to you. I certainly have no regrets with it and I'm having a blast. It's not something for everyone, but something new and fresh and different to me.
I should add that I'm a avid opponent of JRPGs. However, I bought Catherine and love it. The story is really good, and has some nice twists to it later. And, being the normally stone cold jerk I normally am, actually let out audible "Da'w"s near the end with how stuff played out.
One thing I really appreciate is how the dialog sounds pretty natural too. It really sounds like they are a group of friends shooting the breeze with each other. Especially the character Orlando. Reminds me of some friends I have.
One thing I really appreciate is how the dialog sounds pretty natural too. It really sounds like they are a group of friends shooting the breeze with each other. Especially the character Orlando. Reminds me of some friends I have.
Yeah, this is how I feel. It's hard to understand how interesting the block tower gameplay is if you just watch it. But it doesn't ever feel repetitive (to me, at least) because of the ever-looming threat. I'm too focused on surviving and trying to come up with a plan on the fly to be hit with a sense of "been-there-done-that".Onyx Oblivion said:
SO MUCH YES. It's fantastic.
It's a weird combination and makes no apologies for it. It's tough, but rewards you with a fantastically mature, adult story with no ero hentai crap either. It's nothing like a dating sim, even though it has social interactions. The block tower gameplay is actually quite open-ended, with many techniques for climbing up the towers.
Play it somehow in some way that isn't the demo. Rent it first, then decide.
It's a weird combination and makes no apologies for it. It's tough, but rewards you with a fantastically mature, adult story with no ero hentai crap either. It's nothing like a dating sim, even though it has social interactions. The block tower gameplay is actually quite open-ended, with many techniques for climbing up the towers.
Play it somehow in some way that isn't the demo. Rent it first, then decide.
Well, having imported the thing, it better be.
I'm hoping to find something resembling ChäoS;HEAd in its storyline (even if that one was to some extent a dressed up dating sim, at least if you picked the hallucinations over the delusions), but that this nightmare world will be used to tie into a substantially better plot than that one ultimately had.
The whole setup of being some sheepish guy stuck between embracing - or perhaps rather passively be embraced by - either commitment or temptation does seem like it has serious potential, but whether it's actually handled well is of course another matter. Word of mouth seems to lean towards that it is.
I'm hoping to find something resembling ChäoS;HEAd in its storyline (even if that one was to some extent a dressed up dating sim, at least if you picked the hallucinations over the delusions), but that this nightmare world will be used to tie into a substantially better plot than that one ultimately had.
The whole setup of being some sheepish guy stuck between embracing - or perhaps rather passively be embraced by - either commitment or temptation does seem like it has serious potential, but whether it's actually handled well is of course another matter. Word of mouth seems to lean towards that it is.
You won't find much in the way of "freaky" in something that's been commercially approved for a console release.FalloutJack said:
Hi. You seem to have an assumption about consoles. Let me just straighten you out with one word: Don't.Imperator_DK said:
That said, enjoy your game. My word was, in fact, coming from someone who was playing it last night, so I have a pretty good idea.
I dread jrps. I'm also not very big on J-culture in general - I don't like anime or manga.
But so far I like Catherine. The story is weird and some of the stuff that character do make little sense (in a typical Japanase story telling style). That being said, the story is endearing and beside some weird quirk, the characters are all relatable and feel 'real' - which is something I haven't been able to say about pretty much any jrpg character in the history of forever.
The gameplay is crazy addictive and challenging too. And I'm normally a big puzzle fan.
To me tho, Catherine is an interesting anthropological piece if you will - a 32 years old guy who has commitment issue would never have been the protagonist of a mainstream videogame 10 years ago. The media is 'growing'.
But so far I like Catherine. The story is weird and some of the stuff that character do make little sense (in a typical Japanase story telling style). That being said, the story is endearing and beside some weird quirk, the characters are all relatable and feel 'real' - which is something I haven't been able to say about pretty much any jrpg character in the history of forever.
The gameplay is crazy addictive and challenging too. And I'm normally a big puzzle fan.
To me tho, Catherine is an interesting anthropological piece if you will - a 32 years old guy who has commitment issue would never have been the protagonist of a mainstream videogame 10 years ago. The media is 'growing'.
This. Right when an area may be getting a bit repetitive, here comes a a gigantic boss to freshen things up and give you a completely different challenge. I loved it. And the story taking a left turn into Crazyville makes sense when you realize that this is a SMT game in all, but name.DustyDrB said:
Since everybody else covered everything, I'm just going to say it's the most fun I've had with a PS3 game all year.
Well, I certainly assume that the company which created the platform has some measure of standards for what content and themes they'll allow on it, imposing a natural limit on just how freaky things can get. A limit which does not exist on open platforms, where absolutely anything could - and largely can - be found. Where's my genderbent Vladimir Putin [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/95937-This-Is-the-Best-Trailer-for-a-Japanese-Porn-Game-Ever] on my PS3?FalloutJack said:
Sounds great, although I get the feeling that perhaps we aren't quite on the same page in regard to just what constitutes "freaky".
I'm not going to even PRETEND that this game is for everyone. It's almost like a Killer7 in that it's too unique to really classify and that I can't guarantee that everyone who plays it is going to enjoy it. The plot is actually quite good due to it dealing with subject matter that a lot of games shy away from because they're different from the typical power fantasy most game writers project into the narrative. And the characters quite fascinating. The gameplay itself is fine as there's nothing wrong with it from a design standpoint, but again I'm not going to act that everyone will enjoy it due to the eccentric nature of it as well as the pretty nasty difficulty (seriously, there's no shame in looking at walkthroughs for this).
If you're curious, at least check it out. Everyone whines that developers just constantly rehash stuff, but let's face it, they can't be the only ones taking risks, gamers HAVE to do the same if they want things to change. I say reward Atlus for their guts in doing something like this
If you're curious, at least check it out. Everyone whines that developers just constantly rehash stuff, but let's face it, they can't be the only ones taking risks, gamers HAVE to do the same if they want things to change. I say reward Atlus for their guts in doing something like this
My thoughts exactly. Now here is your prize, open it on a staircase.Aiddon said:
Since this guy said all I could ever say take this, and the Catherine song below, and make a judgement, OP. Do you like good music, but quirky story and mechanics?
Then maybe you'll like Catherine.
I quite enjoy it, even if bizarre horror block puzzles aren't my thing. It's thrilling, and despite my inability to think in staircases, always entices me to pick it back up