After more than a decade since my initial encounter with Atlus’ Catherine, I embarked on a journey to rediscover this iconic title and was astonished to find out how skewed my first impressions had been. When I first played the game back in 2011, my familiarity with Atlus was limited, having only recently enjoyed Persona 5 and starting to explore the studio’s prior offerings, including different titles within the Persona franchise. This background left me apprehensive about revisiting Catherine, even knowing it belonged to the same creative team.
My initial experience didn’t lead to any outright dislike; in fact, I was such a fan that I made the humorous decision to buy a red plaid fedora similar to the one worn by Orlando, one of the characters. However, I felt conflicted about my admiration at the time. Revisiting the game through Catherine: Full Body, I found that my earlier judgments were misguided.
Revisiting Catherine 14 Years Later
Discovering the Nuance
The narrative of Catherine centers around Vincent, a man caught in the turmoil of commitment to his girlfriend, Katherine, while grappling with a temptress named Catherine and the frightening manifestations of his insecurities—nightmares featuring demons and cryptic messages linked to real-life incidents. My latest exploration of Catherine: Full Body revealed added plot points and alternative endings while largely preserving the original story.
During my first playthrough in 2011, I became overly focused on providing the “correct”answers to the game’s moral dilemmas rather than responding authentically to its themes. This tendency skewed my judgment toward the game’s “Mysterious Meter, ” leading me to favor choices believed to represent responsibility and moral propriety. As a teenager then, I was intensely afraid of judgment, even from a digital medium.
Rediscovering the game, I was delighted to find a depth I had overlooked. Initially, I perceived Catherine as critiquing sexual liberation through the character Catherine while simultaneously promoting a more stable life with Katherine, a notion supported by the revelation that Catherine was a literal succubus in the latter part of the game. While I won’t assert that Catherine is flawless, my recent revisit illuminated its nuanced perspective that I had missed before.
Allowing myself the freedom to explore choices without clinging to preconceived “right”answers, I realized that the game is not solely about making the “correct” decision but about identifying the choice that resonates best with you personally. Achieving the “freedom” ending, where Vincent admits he’s not ready for commitment, brought me unexpected satisfaction. This realization prompted me to conclude that my initial judgments of Catherine were too harsh.
Personal Growth and Understanding
The Game Became More Relevant
The reason for my renewed appreciation of Catherine during this second playthrough wasn’t due to radical changes made in Catherine: Full Body; rather, it was about my evolving perspective and life circumstances. My approach to storytelling and understanding of abstract themes have matured significantly since my teenage years.
Back then, I struggled to connect with Vincent’s journey, partly due to my reluctance to fully immerse myself in the game’s dynamics. Additionally, I often concealed my enthusiasm for fear that peers would dismiss me as interested only in its risqué themes rather than its rich narrative. Now, having experienced substantial personal changes, including navigating a long-term relationship’s conclusion, Vincent’s character arc resonated profoundly with me.
Being closer to Vincent’s age and adept at processing the complexities of relationships allowed me to appreciate the intricacies of his and Katherine’s experiences. I recognized Vincent’s immaturity as an element for character growth, rather than an absolute flaw, illustrating my maturation since my first playthrough.
Engaging openly with the game lifted the burden of conforming to perceived expectations. The result was a more enjoyable experience, one that underscored how my willingness to embrace my views enhanced my understanding. This journey of rediscovery also prompted me to reconsider how replayability should be evaluated in video games.
Rethinking Replayability in Games
Traditionally, I viewed a game’s replayability as a core factor in my enjoyment. While immediate replay isn’t a requirement, I tend to favor titles I deem to offer high replayability due to engaging gameplay, enjoyable multiplayer mechanics, or compelling narratives. In the past, I evaluated replayability from a short-term perspective, focusing on whether I’d want to dive back into the game shortly after completing it.
However, revisiting Catherine after 14 years felt far different from picking up a game like Mario Galaxy for a second round. It resembled a profound engagement with literature, akin to revisiting Slaughterhouse-Five from a more mature viewpoint as an educator rather than a student. Content I previously found abstract and irrelevant suddenly emerged with new significance.
Although I may not rush to replay the game soon, I now understand that Catherine is the type of experience that can yield diverse interpretations based on the life stages through which we journey. This insight has redefined my definition of replayability, revealing that a game doesn’t need to impress me at once; rather, the most impactful stories may be the ones revisited with greater time horizons allowing for deeper appreciation.
Ultimately, Catherine taught me that the value of video games, much like other artistic media, transcends immediate gratification. They may resonate through distinct life phases, suggesting that longer gaps between playthroughs can enrich our understanding.
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