Catherine Full Body - Review

Ten years ago now I heard about Catherine. I saw a teaser trailer and some mild details about it, my first thoughts were 'this looks crazy, I must play it'.  I have played Catherine quite a number of times over the years and seen all the endings, it is an awesome game and is like no other I have played.  Naturally, when Atlus announced they would be releasing a new edition of the game with a new story, characters, dialogue, animations, and music I was pumped.


I love yum-yums! What the hell is a yum-yum I hear you asking? They are like a doughnut only softer, full of sugar and frosting and make you go yum-yum.  It's a stupidly good name and even while I type these words I am thinking how much I want one or four.  Playing Catherine Fully Body I found myself asking was it is tasty and sweet as I remember or was there a chance it was better?

Story 


The story of Catherine follows Vincent Brooks, a guy who loves drinking with his friends and is trying to figure out what he is doing with his life.  His long time girlfriend Catherine is getting tired of his antics and wants him to commit more to their relationship. He is happy where he is, but the time has come for Vincent to figure things out. That might seem tough enough already but add in a girl he has woken up beside who is also called Katherine. Then there is Rin a mysterious girl with amnesia who Vincent is trying to help out, but who is she really? And that is just his waking hours, at night he is plagued by nightmares.


The added dialogue and characters are awesome, there are new challenges and new endings to the game recorded by the original voice actors. I loved playing Catherine Fully Body and look forward to seeing all the new endings in time.  Overall the story is fantastic and really adds something new to the game.

Graphics


The visuals in the original release of Catherine in 2011 were awesome. They mixed great in-game visuals and character designs with anime sequences. This time Atlus has given the visuals a bit of an overall upgrade along with adding in some new stuff as well.  The game features some new characters that all add their own flair to the world of Catherine.  There is now a new story puzzle mode where the deadly blocks look very different and offer a lot more of a challenge. Additionally, there is a whole slew of new cut sequences that look amazing.


Overall the visuals look amazing, the upgrades and the addition of new story sequences help make Catherine Fully Body even more impressive than the original release.



Music


The music style used in Catherine Fully Body is varied, including jazz, rock, and anime. Shoji Meguro is the Japanese composer for the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei series. This time he adds his talent to the soundtrack of Catherine Full Body (as he did with the original release). Japanese composer Takeshi Kuramochi also adds his talents to the soundtrack and is best known for his work on the Magical Halloween Series.  The soundtrack also features Japanese hip-hop and rapper L-VOKAL.


The soundtrack runs slightly over two hours and features nothing but great tracks! The soundtrack adds a load of new tracks, including those featured in the Persona series that can now be played on the Juke Box at the Stray Sheep while Vincent is killing time. Overall a great soundtrack that goes way beyond the original.

Gameplay
The gameplay is quite different from any other game I have played before.  It manages to feel like an anime, crossed with an RPG and something else too.  The combination works well and there is time to enjoy all elements of the game.  For example, when Vincent is in the Stray Sheep Bar talking to his friends and speaking with its patrons it seems like the most important thing.  I loved going around talking to people, drinking, sending texts, listening to music, and sometimes if I was in the mood I would play Rapunzel.


Each night when Vincent falls to sleep he must navigate a wall of blocks, build paths to get to the top and try to avoid traps, or falling, or killer sheep.  The puzzle mechanics have been improved quite a lot from the original.  In the original release, the camera angles could be a bit of pain making it awkward to plan your path.  There is now a blue light that indicates when blocks are touching each other and show the potential route you can take while hanging.  The game did not feel as tough as the original and made me wonder if this was due to how many times I had played it before or had Atlus removed some of the difficulty?


In between the puzzles of certain death, a voice asks you certain questions to get a better idea of who you are.  The scale will either tip closer to the red or into the blue depending on how you answer.  More questions have been added this time, and like last time you get to see how other players answered.


Finding the game to easy? Put up the difficulty! Want more of a challenge? Take on the Tower of Babel or take on people online.


Overall the gameplay has enjoyed some tweaks and improvements which really helped provide a smoother experience.





Final Thoughts

So, after twelve hours how did I feel?  Amazing.  The story was awesome and the addition of Rin, along with other characters and the new endings provide a lot of excuses to replay it in the future. The visuals have gone from great to amazing and love the new anime sequences.  The music is awesome and manages to make something old new and then some.  The gameplay improvements are welcome and make the overall experience that much better.  This one gets a solid 5 out of 5

Persona 4 Golden - Review

A good number of years ago I worked for HMV and all was well.  I used to get a great discount and being a gamer this really helped.  I took it all for granted and alas they eventually put themselves out of business.  When this happened I was both sad and unsure as to what I would do next, it was at this point in my life I found Persona 4 Golden.  It helped get me through a tough time in my life and forget my woes.


Jacobs. Mini. Cheddars.  Mini cheesy biscuits, a great snack and you can never have enough of them.  I recently tried a new flavour, Red Leicester, they are a game changer.  They are super cheesy, so much so it feels like my eyes were rolling back in my head. Basically, they are good, really good.  Playing Persona 4 Golden I found myself asking was this super cheesy biscuit heaven?

Story


The story has you play as the high school student Yu, your parents send to you to the quiet town of Inaba to live with your Uncle.  Shortly after you arrive a strange spate of kidnappings and murders occur.  It turns out Yu along with some of his newly made friends might be able to stop all of this from happening.  That is the bare basics of the premise, and honestly anymore than that might spoil it for you.


There is a slew of side missions and activities to complete so you will never be stuck for something to do.  You can hang out with your friends, study, fish, work and that is just some of the things available, all of which have their own stories.


Overall Persona 4 Golden has a really great well-paced story, and anytime you want to take a break from saving the town of Inaba you will find plenty of other things to do.

Visuals


When you are dealing with a handheld console you automatically need to reduce your expectations visually, if for no other reason then the fact they aren't powerful as a standard games consoles.  However, playing Persona 4 Golden my expectations were exceeded greatly.  The cute style of the town looks great and works really in making the various dungeons you will visit stand out more.  As if this was not enough they also have a healthy sprinkling of high-quality anime sequences which look amazing.


The character designs are really cool, especially the Personas you can summon, and some of the enemies look so outlandish, but in a good way. Similar to the story I don't want to mention any of my favorite areas as it is difficult to do so without revealing too much.


Overall Persona Golden is visually impressive and a delight to explore.



Music


The score is like an onion, that has many layers to it.  There is the upbeat pop style layer, the somber layer, and the 'things are getting intense' layer.  This interesting onion is composed by Japanese composers Shoji Meguro and Atsushi Kitajoh.  They have worked on the Shin Megami/Persona Series, Catherine, and Trauma Centre New Blood.  The vocals are supplied by Shihoko Hirata and Rie Kugimiya.  The two of them combined has worked on Persona 4 The Animation, Catherine, Persona 4 Dancing All Night, Bleach, Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Fairytale to name but a few.


The score runs at over two hours, my favorite tracks include...well I didn't list any.  The reason being is that there were so many I liked it was easier to list those I didn't like...which is none.  Overall a fantastic score that I never get tired of listening to.

Gameplay


So...much...gameplay!  Persona 4 Golden is a JRPG, and while I have played a number of RPG's I've never played a JRPG.  The best and worst part of Persona 4 Golden is the amount you can do in it, there is literally so much, in fact, it can be a little overwhelming.


First, you have the combat system, it's turn-based, which is my preferred playstyle with RPG's.  There are good old fashioned physical attacks and Persona attacks.   The Persona attacks can vary hugely depending on which ones you use.  Personas can be collected or fused together to create whatever you need to overcome any enemy.


The biggest appeal for me was all the things you could do when you weren't fighting.  There is making friends and building those relationships, which in turn has a direct effect on the Personas you can create.  There are jobs which can be a great way to make money but also have the added benefit of creating new relationships.  There are clubs like basketball, soccer, and band.   There is fishing, butterfly catching, model making, reading, gardening and those are just the things I can think of off the top my head.


The second playthrough was even more than my first, due to the experience I had gained from the first time around.  Overall the gameplay is fantastic and while the amount of things you can do does feel a little overwhelming it's also nice to always have something to do!




Final Thoughts


So, after seventy hours (on this playthrough) how did I feel?  Awesome.  I loved the story, visuals, music and gameplay.  In honesty, it's hard to fault the game.  I'm already looking forward to the next time I play it, lucky enough I still have Persona 4 Arena, Persona 4 Ultimax and Persona 4 Dancing All Night to play - yay!  This one gets a super solid 5 out of 5