One of our absolute favourite games from the last console generation, Atlus' Catherine is a sublimely stylish mix of visual novel, dating simulation and fiendish block tower puzzler that tells a captivatingly warped story whilst constantly challenging its players with its clever and rewarding platform puzzle elements. Originally released back in 2011, it arrives here on Switch in this upgraded Catherine: Full Body edition which beefs up the base game with a brand new character woven into the story, five new endings, new cutscenes, lighting and texture upgrades, a remix mode, online versus and a safety mode that allows players to sit back and enjoy the story side of things. It is, in short, the ultimate version of a surreal cult classic, and it's one that looks and plays absolutely beautifully on Switch.
In Catherine: Full Body you assume the role of Vincent Brooks, a terminally stressed out, sweating mess of a systems engineer who, aged 32, has so far managed to avoid any real adult responsibility, spending his days working and his nights drinking with his knuckleheaded pals at the Stray Sheep bar. However time, it seems, is running out for dear Vincent and his bachelor ways as his long-term girlfriend, Katherine, announces she's pregnant and ready to take the next big step in their relationship.
Whilst struggling with the notion of fully committing himself to marriage with Katherine and, in turn, the perceived loss of freedom that this represents, Vincent meets the mysterious, free-spirited Catherine (yes, with a 'C'). Catherine seems to embody just about everything he is about to give up; she's spontaneous, breaks the rules and is the polar opposite of his rather serious bride-to-be. Vincent gives in to temptation, they have a steamy one night stand and embark upon an ill-advised affair.
As this illicit relationship develops, however, Vincent begins to experience hideous nightmares in which he's forced to climb terrifying death towers composed of huge blocks which he must move around in order to fashion an escape route as horrors from his subconscious attempt to drag him to his doom. Set over the course of nine days, the game's narrative sees Vincent begin to lose his grip on reality as the stresses of lying to his pregnant girlfriend, dealing with the increasingly unhinged demands of Catherine and the constant threat of death every time he falls asleep slowly erode his ability to cope.
On top of all of this, Full Body adds in a new character, Qatherine – or Rin – an amnesiac pianist who moves in next door to Vincent and starts to play at the Stray Sheep, slowly becoming entangled in our protagonist's complicated web of relationship woes. Rin is a strong addition to the central storyline, even becoming a potential love interest for Vincent if very specific expectations are met, and, by and large, Atlus has done a fantastic job of seamlessly integrating this new story arc into the already existing material.
There are somewhere in the region of twenty new cutscenes added to the original story in this souped-up edition, and overall, they've been patched in without ruining the flow of the delicately-poised plot. Needless to say, between his seriously messed up relationship status, the newly added Rin and constantly looming threat of death via enormous nightmare puzzle demons, Vincent absolutely goes off at the deep end and it's the game's excellent portrayal of his fantastically sweaty struggle to stay sane, via some excellent writing and voice-acting (particularly on the part of Troy Baker and Laura Bailey) where Catherine: Full Body really takes flight.
With Persona's Katsura Hashino at the helm, this was always going to be a slick and super-stylish game and the story gains so much from just how well-realised its world and characters are. The Stray Sheep bar – where Vincent, Rin, Erica and the rest of the gang hang out – is an outstandingly atmospheric little hub where you can drink your lights out, chat to patrons, put some music on the jukebox or hone your skills on Super Rapunzel, the game's excellent old-school arcade take on its very own puzzle elements.
The banter between Vincent and his clique of buddies is never less than highly entertaining, and it mulls over the game's underlying themes in interesting ways; chatting to both your friends and random patrons in this cosy little snug can affect conversations and plot points later in the game, so it's always worth taking your time to chug a few rum and cokes, stick a tune or two on the jukebox and get to know the people around you.
If we have to pick holes, there are a handful of small issues with some narrative strands leading to rather unsatisfying endings and a couple of scenes that set themselves up to be explosive, trapping Vincent in a tough situation, before fizzling out and letting him off the hook. Overall though, it's all just supremely enjoyable stuff; the game is often hilariously funny, always completely engaging and comes with the ability to twist and turn effortlessly between knockabout fun and dark, adult material.
To say much more about the story side of things would be to risk ruining some of the fun for newcomers, but what we will say is this really is one of the very best visual novel aspects to a game we've played. What starts out as a pretty stressful but ultimately fairly realistic and relatable situation for Vincent spirals entirely out of control, and by the time you've completed your first playthrough – there are at least thirteen different endings here – you'll really feel as though you've been on one hell of a ride through an absolute fever dream.
Of course, as tight as the narrative elements of Catherine: Full Body are, they'd all be for nought if its puzzle aspects weren't up to scratch – and in this respect the game, once again, nails it. The block-busting action here is top-notch stuff, deeply rewarding and addictive puzzling that manages to strike a perfect balance between being supremely addictive and moreish whilst constantly stressing you out or terrifying you with some abomination plucked from deep within Vincent's frazzled subconscious.
As you climb through levels you'll also meet other men – now transformed into talking sheep – at a rest area of sorts between towers who are also climbing for their lives, and they share techniques with you on various ways in which you can manipulate blocks in order to get back to reality. You'll learn all about pyramids, sliders, pullbacks, tornados, cut-outs and more, and this enhanced edition allows you to pause at any time and look over all of these techniques, an option that was sadly missing in the original game and is a massive help when you inevitably get stuck at some point or other.
As well as this, Catherine: Full Body also now allows you to undo your last move on a puzzle if you mess up; you begin with three 'undos' but can pick up more in the form of pillows as you traverse towers, and this simple tweak really helps the flow of the game, keeping you in the zone and vastly reducing the number of times you'll be faced with a frustrating game over screen.
The block puzzles may sound pretty simple on paper, and they do start out in a fairly chilled manner, but they soon begin to crank up the tension as different types of blocks – cracked ones, springy ones, ice, bomb and black hole ones to name a few – are added to the mix, and by the time you reach the game's climax, you'll be edging your way up seemingly impossible routes while avoiding all of these and fending off attacks from ghastly monstrosities.
Of course, you can now also feel free to switch the game to the new safety mode if you don't feel up to the stresses of the puzzle aspect of things here, letting the AI take over with the option to jump back in whenever you feel like it on a climb, or simply skip these elements of the game entirely and stick to the story. It's a brilliant addition and the narrative here is more than strong enough that, even without the challenge of the puzzles, you'll still likely find yourself engrossed in Vincent's tale.
This new edition also doubles the number of puzzle stages available in the game and comes with a new Remix mode which sees things get even more challenging as it adds coloured clusters of blocks which move as one large piece, seriously disrupting the flow of how you go about solving these fiendish courses. As well as Remix, there's also the new online versus option which sees you work with, or pit your wits against, other players in Colosseum or Babel game modes.
In Colosseum, you'll race to solve puzzles against another player in ranked or casual matches, whereas Babel sees you work either together or against another player in order to climb sets of randomly-arranged towers. Colosseum has actually been really well-received on other platforms where this version of the game was released last year, with its head to head set-up providing fertile ground for intense competitive action.
In short, Catherine: Full Body is the definitive, feature-packed version of a cult classic and it's also one that runs fantastically well on Nintendo's hybrid console. In both handheld and docked modes, we encountered zero bugs or framerate issues and the game itself looks stunning, from its stylish cutscenes to the moody interior of the Stray Sheep and those revamped puzzle tower areas with their reworked lighting and texture elements. We did have some slight niggles with oversensitive controls – a criticism which could be pointed at all other versions of the game – and you may find yourself struggling on occasion to pull yourself up from an edge or find Vincent inadvertently pushing or pulling on the wrong block, but beyond this small issue, this is pretty much a perfect port of one of our favourite games.
Conclusion
Catherine: Full Body is a fantastic revamp of a bonafide cult classic. With an excellent new character and several new endings slickly inserted into an already highly entertaining narrative – not to mention a slew of fun new modes – this is the definitive version of an outstanding game. If you've never played Catherine before then you're in for an absolute treat, and if you have, we'd say there's enough new content here to make it worth diving in all over again.
Comments 101
Sounds like a fantastic port. Really looking forward to finally playing this.
It is a good game but I could never fully get into it. Too many things just didn’t sit right with me and the plot was a little close to home.
Not going anywhere near this
At some point, I really want this game. On the other hand, not sure if it will keep me going.
Reason:
When the game first came out, I imported the US version on PS3. Enjoyed it, finished it.
A year or so later, I bought the EU version as well, but got bored with the game as I already knew the ending(s).
So... Not sure on getting the Switch version at some point... Hmmm...
You'll better be buying this, so that atlus will give us persona 5 royal👌
@nessisonett Can't say it hits home for me but I know the big "twist" and the story itself is not something I'm that into.
I played the PC version of the original when it came out in January of last year and had a great time, but it definitely wasn't my favorite Atlus title and lacked a bit for me compared to Persona 5 or TMS#Fe. However, seeing this review, if I see the game on sale, I may give it another shot and explore the True Katherine and Rin endings.
@Rpg-lover
Never happening.
Persona is Sonys, the other one is Nintendos, Shin something (can't remember the series name).
I'll definitely get this, but not at the moment. Can't really afford it and I have other titles to keep me busy anyway.
The port is really good though, tried the Japanese demo and was really impressed. Wasn't sure if it was going to be an HD Vita port but it definitely leans towards the PS4 version.
I liked this game on 360. I said I would get this game again but I skipped it on PS4. Maybe I’ll get it on Switch.
@TheFullAndy
People still think Sony owns Persona. Poor kid i feel sorry for you.
@TheFullAndy We've had 3 Persona spin-off games on Nintendo consoles already, and Persona 4 Golden just came out on PC. I'd say it's definitely a possibility - Sega is pushing them to do more ports anyway.
@JokerCK
I do not think Sony own Persona but obviously money has exchanged hands to keep the series console exclusive, and Nintendo may have done the same with Shin something series.
But hey keep on hoping....they say that is what kills you.
@Kimyonaakuma
I hope for all your sakes the game does come to Switch, mainly because I am sick of all the begging for it, but also so people get the game they want.
But I highly doubt it will happen.
I'm one of the few people I guess... but I don't see why this game gets high rating/review score all the time.. what'so special about it? I don't see it and totally doesn't makes me want to get the game.. what's the trick?
Hell yeah! So happy to read this review. Had been looking forward to this. Gonna be Day One buy! Woot woot!
@Alucard83
Not every game is for everyone. Simples.
I am the same with this one, doesn't mean it isn't very good though.
@TheFullAndy it may not happen soon. But i believe at some point it will.
I have a feeling this will be one I buy and it will sit on my shelf for many, many months.
@Rpg-lover
I hope for your sake it does, honestly.
@TheFullAndy Persona is a spin-off of the mainline Shin Megami Tensei series. It would be great for both lines of games to be in one place. Maybe one day.
3DS had so many SMT games (mostly enhanced ports), and I wish Switch got the same kind of attention from Atlus.
persona 5 scramble came to the switch. Believe me persona 5R or whatever can still happen. It may take time but will happen.
I’m getting this going into the game blind. I know nothing about it and haven’t even watched one trailer... I just really like the cover with large women and small men.
@imgrowinglegs
There is a new SMT coming isn't there? Maybe Atlus needs to get that one out asap to give the fans something to play.
@Rpg-lover
Dead Space Extraction came to the Wii, the main games never did come to any Nintendo console. Spin offs does not guarantee main games showing up.
Likewise with Kingdom Hearts
@gloom You're in for a delightful treat.
@LillianC14 why is that?
Not your cup of thea?
@DenDen If I had to guess (Their avatar being from Picrew), it's that they don't like the changes made to the Transwoman character's story in this version.
I'll definitely be picking this up at some point. I'm unfamiliar with anything Atlus has made aside from Tokyo Mirage Sessions and I'm rather intrigued by this one. I'll wait for a sale, though, $70 Canadian is absolute lunacy for a port of an almost decade-old game.
Great review! Really looking forward to Tuesday!
@TheFullAndy persona 5S is not a spin off according to atlus, it's a direct sequel to persona 5. So there is hope.
@TheFullAndy 3DS has 6 SMTs and 2 Persona Q games. We’ve been waiting for the Switch SMT title for soooo long with nothing shown since the initial trailer.
I’m dying here, haha.
@Quarth that should be 3days:5hours from now👌
This is one of the only games from Atlus that I haven't played and I can't wait to get my hands on this. Fantastic review.
@imgrowinglegs
Hopefully not too much longer!
I’ll be saving my copy as a birthday present to myself. I can’t wait to finally play this game.
@Rpg-lover That's excellent. In the meantime I'm having fun with The Wonderful 101.
This is one of those games where you either love it or it's not really for you.
@Quarth playing as well got stock in one of the missions can't remember what i was asked to do, cause i stopped playing.
Glad to know the port holds up well on Switch, it was the only issue on my mind but can await my copy without worry now.
When I first got it way back on PS3 I bought it more for the story but the gameplay was so simple yet so damn addictive. Another chance to relive that is more than welcome.
@SquallLeonhart86 Damn straight.
i have already seen full playthrough of the original game , so im not very convinced on buying this .
I just finished SMT IV and really hungry for more Atlus content. Their writing is just so clever, funky and hilarious at the same time.
This will be my first time playing this, sounds right up my alley.
This game was crazy difficult for me in the later stages even on Easy. And ready to throw controllers frustrating on boss levels. If you're awesome at 3D block puzzle games more power to you.
Somehow this game's gameplay is less niche and its story is better than any Mystery Dungeon game.
@tanaka2687 got it for free and sat on the hdd for years lol. did play it for an hour and was mehhhhhhhh
I picked it up for $30 on PS4 with the steelbook. Fun game, but not worth $60 imo.
@TheFullAndy Japan is abandoning playstation. Persona is now on PC. It might come to switch, but who knows.
I'm buying the game for two reasons 1) I'm interested in Catherine Full Body and 2) i want to support Atlus games on Switch in hopes they put more of their games on Switch
@Trajan
Playstation 4 is coming to the end of its lifespan. Need to see how PS5 does before saying Japan is abandoning Playstation.
@TheFullAndy Persona has been released on Nintendo before. I have Persona Q on my 3DS. And it’s Shin Megami Tensei you’re thinking of and it’s been released for Sony before as a PSP port.
@Rpg-lover The game is really tough to get into, almost too much happening on the screen at the same time. But I like it so far.
@AllieKitsune ahh didn’t know that.
Tnx!
@RabidPikachu
Well as I said above I hope it does come for the people who want it but I reckon the game has probably been money hatted by Sony to remain playstation exclusive otherwise it would have already happened.
@TheFullAndy Japan's PC market is growing very quickly. A downturn in their interest with PS is correlated with PS becoming a Californian company.
@Trajan
Interesting. Guess we will see the real impact as the new gen launches. Switch and Nintendo needs competition to stay honest.
@DevlinMandrake C’est la vie 😉
@nessisonett
That reply actually made me choke on my rum. Well played sir.
I've never played this but did watch a no commentary playthrough (and all possible endings) back when this first released that focused on the story and cut a lot of the puzzle sections besides the boss stages. A very interesting and entertaining story indeed. I'd be curious to see how Rin fits in with everything since she wasn't in the original cut at all.
@Seananigans
PC is not really a factor. Street Fighter V was money hatted by Sony to launch only on their console but they had no problem with it launching on PC at the same time.
As I have already said, I hope yous get the game on Switch (if only to stop the begging) but don't hold your breath.
Strange to be that Nintendo World Report would spend so much time on some of the dates content, and not a mention here.
Anyway...
Catherine is cool; I played the original on PS3 and its really refreshing to play something which doesn't involve shooting or killing, but rather subjects like relationships. Its mostly pretty surface level stuff, but cool nonetheless and the story is really entertaining.
The puzzle sections are fun, albeit a bit trial and error at times.
Don't know if I would rebuy it again; I actually like the premiss of Rin, but eh, reading up on it and seeing where they are taking it is just wrong. Not the best choice, lets leave it at that. Also the weird stuff around Erica is regrettable.
Wow okay. Reading all of this was... an experience.
Thank you though. Thanks for everyone who is having the back of us LGBT+ folks. You are all lovely!
Regarding the game though. I am thinking of getting it because I love Atlus but I have never been too much into puzzle games. Is it a hard game to get into? Not in terms of difficulty but I am just wondering if its a super niche type of gameplay or is it kinda easy to jump into?
Loved it on ps3 back in the day. Would absolutely but again but not for 50 bucks...
Anyway, on topic. I loved Persona 5 so hopefully the storytelling in Catherine is at that level
looks at comments
@Ralizah Kiryu, icon.
@nessisonett @Ralizah Actually playing Yakuza sounds like a great idea. Good to see people have taste in games. Politics clearly makes everyone angry so I will drop the politics for now
@SquallLeonhart86 Yakuza is the great unifier of peoples.
@nessisonett ...might I humbly request that you tell me which Yakuza game that's from?
@Ralizah Yes it is
@Ralizah Kiwami 2, there’s a substory where Kiryu is a voice actor for a ‘certain type of VN’ 😂😂
Wait, this game is considered a classic now?
I feel so old...
This comment section is up there with the worst of them. There's been worse on Nintendolife over the years, no doubt about it but this is a definite Top 10 contender.
@nessisonett I'll admit, I felt cheated when that "banana bar" substory in Kiwami went absolutely nowhere, so it looks like it's up to Kiwami 2 to dose me with the Kiryu fanservice I need in my life.
I've enjoyed the bit of Catherine that I've played, and think it looks great on Switch even though its running at 30fps instead of the vastly preferred 60fps. But what I really came here for is the effort to promote a culture that protects people's lives. Thomas Frank does a wonderful and hilarious job in his book What's the Matter with Kansas of describing the absolute inability of right wing religious activists to take criticism. Trump is sort of the ultimate example of this since he claims to have never made a mistake. Anyways, I'm just going to share some stories and info now! I've danced down Market St in San Fransisco in the Pride parade. It was fun! I've also seen how incredibly difficult and dangerous it is to be trans in the U.S. The best way to understand how violent culture can be is probably to read White Fragility, or watch one of Robin Deangelo's videos (her book release talk at the Seattle Public Library is a great summary), and then consider how all the things she says about anti-Black systemic racism apply to Trans people. Those things really also apply in many ways to classism, misogyny, and religious bigotry (especially anti-Muslim hatred, which is sickeningly rampant here in the U.S.). I strongly wish for healing and expansion of our hearts and expansive growth in everyone's ability to demonstrate compassion in our thoughts, words, and deeds.
Well, this comment section being a smoldering trash fire regardless, I'm glad Atlus didn't screw up the port, seems like! They seem to be doing better on the porting front lately. Hope that means good things in the future.
People, people calm down. You're all a bunch of snowflakes. Wonderful snowflakes.
Looking forward to playing the game. Definately a cult classic.
@TheFullAndy I might be wrong, but if I had to guess: I don't think Sony ever had an exclusive deal with Atlus; Atlus probably felt the series was too niche, so they played it safe and made it exclusive to PlayStation, which was generally always the platform leader.
But after the massive success of Persona 4 Golden on Steam, it's pretty obvious that there's way more money to be made from making the series multiplatform. Persona 5 Royal is most likely getting a PC port next, and if I had to guess, they will probably announce a Switch port around the same time.
@ReaperExTenebris This sounds like South Africa or Bermuda. That said, what on earth has any of this got to do with videogames?
This game looks really good but it is currently $29.99 on Ps4. I wont pay $30 for portability, and yet I do like portability. It isn't an essential buy so I'm going to let this one sit for a while until a compelling sale price emerges.
Can an admin go through this and delete all the comments that are not actually about the game?
Done. Ordered Catherine. Hopefully it's as good as Persona series story
@Alucard83 I played the heck out of the original on PS3 and my wife really enjoyed watching because of the storyline.
The block puzzles are devilishly simple at first and the game does an amazing job increasing the difficulty. It's just damn good arcade puzzle fun with a wonderful story to keep things interesting. I also spent too much time playing the Super Rapunzel minigame to brush up my skills.
Anyway, if you don't care for the puzzle gameplay then yeah, I can see why it wouldn't work for you. I skipped out on the PS4 Full Body, but am really tempted to grab it on Switch. Having it on the go seems like an ideal way to enjoy it.
I think I will just watch my brother play this instead of me playing it. But it does feel strange that my name is in the game title, even more weird saying the game title.
@Moistnado It's always nice of how PS4 game sales are great than the switch sales because the PS4 games get a pretty good price on big games! Most of the time my brother paid all of his games when they were on sale for pretty cheap price.
Makes Bayonetta look like an E for Everyone game.
@RPGamer
If you read your last two comments and ignore the ats....
It's a great game. I played in original version on PS3 and in Full Body version on PS4. I'm not gonna buy it twice anyway. I hope we'll see Persona 5 Scramble on West and something new about SMT V.
@RPGamer
I have never once stated Persona is owned by Sony. Not once.
Learn to read and calm yourself.
@yuwarite
You may be correct, I have just given reasons why it may be incorrect. The mainline series released on PC is not really proof as Sony does not see PC as a competitor like it does Nintendo and Microsoft. Street Fighter V being the ultimate example and Sony do not own Street Fighter.
I have also said I hope the game will come to Switch for the people who want it, but I just doubt it will.
@RPGamer
Yes the relevant games series are on their systems. Does not mean either owns the games series though which again I never said.
Did you bother to read the rest of my comments before getting all shouty?
@RPGamer
No probs, as I said I hope the game does arrive for all who want it.
This prob wont do well on the Switch in America. The title is already off- putting.
Looks interesting might pick it up, price seems a bit expensive for 10 year old game, but PS4 version still $99.95
Absolutely love Catherine. I played the original many years ago on both 360 and PS3 and played Full Body on the PS4 already as well. For some reason, FB on Normal at times seemed more difficult than the original on Hard, though maybe I've just lost some skillz over the years, lol. I'm still grabbing the Switch version as I'd like to do some extra playthrus for more endings, and it'll be easier to make time for it with the option of playing in handheld mode.
@Alucard83 It's a fantastic mix of puzzle and anime drama. If that's not your thing then fair enough. A lot of people would disagree but that's what's so great about games being available in all flavours.
@LillianC14 Give it a try. It's a fantastic game and brilliant to finally have it on Switch. Great graphics, incredibly challenging puzzles and a really intriguing story. What's not to like???
@kirbygirl Me too. I played it to death on 360. Got the PS4 version last year and just got my Switch copy today. I love, love, LOVE this game!
@LillianC14 Having now finally completed the game I'm even more unsure why you didn't like the game. Have you played it? I had the original on 360 and got horrendously stuck. Bought it on PS4 because of the extra content but didn't really play it much. Traded that in for a Switch copy and couldn't put it down. It's been great. A huge thumbs up from me.
@Alucard83 A game can be amazing and niche at the same time.
@Rpg-lover I've been gamin for over 30 years and P5R is the first game I've played where after I finished it once I immediately start replaying. Really good game and It's extremely long.
@TheFullAndy oh really 🤔🤔🤔🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤣🤣🤣
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