Atlus’ Classic Catherine Returns as Catherine Classic on PC

By: GeekyGamerGirl87

I remember when Catherine first came out during the era of PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. I was really drawn into the game because of the gameplay and the story that went along with it. If you are old enough to remember the game Intelligent Cube for the PlayStation One, this is exactly what Catherine is with more character and depth. As there is a new Catherine Game releasing soon it is very fitting to see that Catherine has been ported over to the PC as Catherine Classic, and having played the original on console, I was excited when Sega and Atlus offered thedialygamepad.com with a free review copy of the game just so that I could see how the game had aged over time. Before I go further into my review, I would like to thank both Atlus and Sega for providing us with the free review code of Catherine Classic.

In Catherine Classic, you play as Vincent Brooks a 32-year-old man who has been dating his old high school friend Katherine McBride for the last five years. Vincent who appears to be a stand-up guy has an issue with getting over the hurdle known as committing to a marriage. Katherine who apparently wants to tie the knot –as everyone she seems to know is tying the knot and having kids— is beginning to push the issue. Vincent’s main defense for not wanting to tie the knot is because he just started a new job and he doesn’t want to distract Katherine who pretty much has her life together and is successfully working as a manager at a clothing company.

As if worrying about whether or not he wants to get married to Katherine wasn’t enough; He meets Catherine, a younger woman who is a carefree spirit and who he has a one night stand with. Vincent struggles on if he should tell Katherine about the affair or not. As if there wasn’t enough going on in poor Vincent’s life there is a series of deaths happening to young man only, which has become sort of an Urban Legend known as the “Woman’s Wrath” in which men who cheat are said to be cursed. As these strange deaths occur Vincent is having these reoccurring nightmares.  In these nightmares, there are other men who appear as sheep. He is told by one of the sheepmen that in order to survive he must climb the tower and if he doesn’t climb or make it to the top of the tower, he will not only die in the dream but in real life as well.

There are two modes you can choose from one is Golden Theater for those of us who are really into the story when it comes to the game, and then there is Babel which is for those who are more adapted to the game. Majority of the gameplay takes place inside of Vincent’s Nightmares. Your main objective is to climb the tower which is done by moving blocks into place. You must keep a clear head because if you rush you could easily seal your fate. You keep doing this until you reach the top of the tower, which is indicated by the sound of a bell ringing. There are a total of nine levels in Catherine Classic. Each of the nightmare levels has a different total of levels within their respective levels. To make it easier on the breakdown of the levels; I have provided the name of the level and how many levels are within that level.

In between the levels that have multiple levels there are landings in which you can talk to the other sheep (men). Some will offer you tips and techniques, others will talk to you about how they are freaking out about being pulled into this nightmare, and how they don’t want to die. There is another hefty sheep who will sell you items from time to time to use in your ascend of the tower. However, using these items does have an impact on whether you get a gold trophy in the game and the gold trophies are something you want to get especially if you are playing on Normal or Hard. Also, on the landing to move onto the next stage of that night, you will have to go to the confessional booth, in which you are asked a question in which these questions weigh Vincent’s moral compass, whether he is a good guy, or a bad guy depends on how you as the player answer the questions.  There are three different trophy’s that you can be awarded per stage depending on your point value. That is Bronze, Silver, and Gold. There are also three modes to choose from as well. There is Easy mode, that allows you to rewind a move once if you mess up. Then there is Normal and Hard Mode. Each mode offers continues but to get more continues you must collect pillows, once you run out of continues it is game over.

Outside of the nightmare stages, the game is really story driven. Vincent usually spends a lot of time in the bar Stray Sheep. I wanted to take the time to say I absolutely loved the name of the Bar, and if you decide to play the game you will see why I thought the name of the bar was fantastic. I won’t go into more of it out of respect for the game and as not to spoil everything. Somethings are just better left unsaid.

There are quite a few things that Vincent can do inside of the Stray Sheep. He can talk to other patrons from the bar. Answer text messages, which again be careful on how you answer the messages as this also influences the moral compass.  He will get phone calls from Katherine from time to time and again be careful how you answer them.  In addition to that Vincent can walk freely around the bar, He can go to the bathroom, change the music in the bar, and even play the arcade machine Rapunzel.

Just like with true fashion, one of my favorite things about video games is video games that include a game within a game that you can play. In Catherine Classic, there is an arcade machine called Rapunzel. The game is a simulation of the tower you climb in the nightmare levels, but a lot tamer. You get up to three tries to play the game and after that, the game is over. As the game suggests, if you are having some trouble with the tower in the nightmare, playing this game could help you improve your skills for the nightmare levels. I love that they included the Rapunzel game, not just because it can help you improve your skills, but because it is a game within a game. Who doesn’t like a game within a game? It also to me adds more personality to the characters and make them more relatable to me.

When it comes to the controls of the game you have the option of using the gamepad or keyboard. As always, I have played the game with both sets of controls. The game moves a little more fluidly and is a lot simpler with the gamepad. However, if you want to challenge yourself even more; then keyboard would be the right way to go. I found the controls for the keyboard to be difficult to use in their default state. You use WASD to move around, enter key serves as the button to grab the blocks with, again in their default state the keyboard controls are difficult. Luckily, you do have the option to customize your controls to make it make more sense to you.  Overall, if I had to choose a preferred method for controls then it would be a gamepad.

The game does offer achievements for those of you who are achievement hunters. There are a total of fifty achievements for Catherine Classic. Some of them come relatively easy and others you must work for. Also, some of the achievements you cannot obtain unless you are in normal and hard modes. So be sure you understand that, while on your achievement hunter run.  If you enjoy collecting the trading cards on steam, you will be happy to know that Catherine Classic does offer trading cards and that there are a total of nine different trading cards to collect.

Overall, I can say that I do highly recommend Catherine Classic, especially if you are someone who enjoys a good story and puzzle game. If you had the luxury of playing this gem in the past, I recommend picking up Catherine Classic as this port is simply beautiful on PC. I am looking forward to the new Catherine game that is due to release, just so I can dive into that world as well. Again, I want to thank Atlus and Sega for providing us with a free review copy of the game. If you would like to play Catherine Classic for yourself you can pick it up on Steam or Humble Bundle,  for $19.99 USD.