Catherine set for summer release in North America

Atlus announced today that its bizarre, sexually suggestive game Catherine is headed for a North American release this summer. The game was...

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Atlus announced today that its bizarre, sexually suggestive game Catherine is headed for a North American release this summer. The game was recently released in Japan, but we weren't sure if Atlus would decide to release it in the west. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game is puzzle-focused with adventure elements and a psychological thriller story.

"Catherine is an unprecedented exploration of the pleasures and horrors of love," said PR manager Aram Jabbari in the press release. "As Vincent, a man recently succumbed to the irresistible beauty of the game's titular diversion, players find themselves swept into a treacherous love triangle."

The official site is already up, but the press release promises more details to come soon. In the meantime, check out the screens and trailer.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    March 1, 2011 12:00 PM

    Comment on Catherine set for summer release in North America, by Steve Watts.

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      March 1, 2011 12:21 PM

      Summary: That weird, extremely Japanese game Catherine with the sexual ads? Atlus has decided to bring it here too, for release sometime this summer.

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      March 1, 2011 1:19 PM

      that is one wierd looking game...

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      March 1, 2011 1:26 PM

      It's a Atlus game, what could go wrong?

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      March 1, 2011 1:31 PM

      [deleted]

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      March 1, 2011 1:32 PM

      Having not played any of Atlus's more... unique offerings, I'm looking forward to this.

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      March 1, 2011 2:51 PM

      This is really big in Japan right now, and I'm going to be all over this. The cover for the PS3 version is much better then the 360 one though IMO. :( Wonder if it will have a pre-order gift.

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      March 1, 2011 2:59 PM

      I hope this is game is paving the way for a current gen Persona game. It looks beautiful, so I can't wait for them to make a more "tradional" game with this engine/team.

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      March 1, 2011 3:44 PM

      I have the Japanese version of this; though I'm stuck waiting for the patch to reduce the difficulty of the block climbing stages on Easy, I really like it. Even though I don't understand Japanese, I like the dialogue sections, and what elements of it I can understand through body language and other cues. The "free to walk around" section where you can arbitrarily start conversations is a little tough since it doesn't have animation cues, but it's still fun to order drinks and play on the "Rapunzel" arcade game (which serves as a bit of a "training ground" for the block section).

      I'll have to read up on what the various power-up items on the block section do; some of them, like the "golden bell", aren't so intuitive, but they might help me get out of the part where I'm stuck: a monster that looks like an ass with eyes that farts out pink hearts that reverse your controls.

      I have to wonder if some of the game's going to be toned down. The Japanese release is rated CERO "C" (15+), but from what I've played through, I feel like the ESRB would probably rate it "M". That's Atlus' target market for this title anyway, so no problem.

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        March 1, 2011 3:48 PM

        is there actual nudity or is it all implied?

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          March 1, 2011 3:55 PM

          It's implied, but then again, there's the ass-monster that they might have to edit a little (sort of a borderline spoiler, but that monster's been in some quick cuts in previous trailers). There's a part where Vincent wakes up, and Catherine's beside him in his bed, naked; the beginning of that section's in some of the earlier promo trailers. I believe the rest of that scene had no nudity, but I'll have to play through it again to confirm. They kept it pretty classy, but I might've forgotten about a specific section.

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        March 1, 2011 3:50 PM

        Also, Giant Bomb's Quick Look of the "Trial Edition" demo is a must-see for anyone remotely interested in the game: http://www.giantbomb.com/quick-look-catherine/17-3730/

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          March 1, 2011 3:51 PM

          I watched that earlier today, highly entertaining.

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            March 1, 2011 3:57 PM

            I hope Atlus has heard the commentary during the "Golden Gate Theater" montage ("Professor Layton's in it?" "And Godzilla!" "Oh MAN!!").

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              March 1, 2011 4:09 PM

              and I hope they keep the phone ringer as "You got a mail!"

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        March 1, 2011 4:55 PM

        Interesting; the golden bell powerup seems to "scare away" the monster a little bit, and in Stage 2, it makes many of the "slow blocks" fast again.

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        March 1, 2011 5:09 PM

        AWRIITE!! I just got past the ass-monster stage. That was brutal, but I finally found a way.

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          March 1, 2011 9:27 PM

          In the part after that, there was another apartment scene, and Catherine said, "Vinsent-oooo!" and made this ^_^ look (yes, her eyes closed and her eyelashes formed upturned semicircles; it's awesome how Atlus did that for Catherine and Midnight Venus so far).

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      March 1, 2011 4:12 PM

      Gonna have to do while I wait for Persona 5

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      March 1, 2011 5:14 PM

      If it helps bring persona 5 they can have my money for this game. It seemed er odd in the Japanese demo but you never know! Gotta have some faith in these guys who made the best two RPGs from that part of the world in years.

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      March 1, 2011 8:59 PM

      Prepare the Prudish Response! Arm the Puritanical Cannons, raise the Immorality Shield, and inform Command that an enemy target is approaching the North American coast. We must intercept the target before it reaches our shores or all will be lost.

      We stood by when the violence and the drugs and the curse words and the anime and the games and the TV and the movies and the rock 'n roll and the pulp fiction and the plays of Shakespeare all rotted away at the morality of our great species. As red blooded Americans whose colors do not run, we must stand and fight against this evil that threatens not only to provide adult gamers with an adult gaming experience, but to give that experience to our youth who are fragile flowers that will break upon the first boobie seen! We must throw everything we've got at this enemy, no matter the cost!

      FOR IT IS OUR VERY FUTURE WE MUST WIN! WIN THE FUTURE! DOWN WITH THE IMMORALITY! Long live the Puritanical Idea of Hiding Sex from our Youth! Long live MORALITY! Huzzah!

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      March 1, 2011 9:03 PM

      Fox is going to have a heyday with this.

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