It may seem like some trashy anime-esque reveal, but in truth, this is one of the biggest turning points for Vincent during the entire game. A boy that Vincent has grown quite fond of throughout their time together. The cutesy pink-haired Rin is actually a boy. Well, that’s because Rin’s hiding a bit of a secret. You may have noticed that I’ve been referring to Rin with ‘they/them’ pronouns throughout this article. In Catherine: Full Body, Rin is thrown into the mix as a romantic option and I can say without hesitation that their route is the most fulfilling. Like I said at the start, in the original, Vincent only had two choices: a steady relationship with Katherine or a wild life of sin with Catherine. Considering their absence in the original, Rin’s ability is unique to Catherine: Full Body, giving them a more meaningful role in the game overall. Not as a horrific creature, but as help, playing their piano to stop the blocks beneath our protagonist from falling. From here, Rin is practically a constant, sitting on their piano stool waiting to be spoken to every evening.Īs the game progresses and Vincent’s bonds grow stronger, Rin even starts appearing in the nightmare puzzles. Through Erica, The Stray Sheep’s waitress and long-time friend, Vincent gets Rin their own apartment and a job as the bar’s pianist, since it’s the only skill they can remember. So Vincent takes it upon himself to make sure this newcomer is okay until they regain their memory. This isn’t anything too unusual, until he learns that Rin has amnesia.
The player is aware of Rin’s presence from the very beginning with the game’s opening Vincent saves them from what he assumes to be a stalker. It would’ve been easy for the developers to make Rin an arbitrary third option, adding nothing to the story or gameplay. Sprinkled in are many a moral dilemma that determine whether Vincent chooses his girlfriend or his new squeeze by the end of the game. But, as this is a puzzle game, these nightmares are presented as wall-scaling block puzzles with a metaphorical boss at the end of each set of stages.Įssentially, the game’s can be boiled down to: relationship problem, hijinks at The Stray Sheep, and then a nightmare puzzle. This causes Vincent to be thrown into what the game calls ‘the woman’s wrath’ – a curse that punishes unfaithful men with a week’s worth of grueling nightmares before eventually killing them.
While attempting to distract himself from the prospect of marriage, our protagonist meets a mysterious young woman – conveniently also named Catherine – with whom he ends up spending the night. Four of these are Vincent and his mixed bag of buddies ladies man Orlando, cynic Jonny, and the rather naïve Toby. For the driven, independent Katherine, this is a great opportunity to move on to the next chapter in her life, but for Vincent? Not so much.Ĭut to The Stray Sheep, a bar that appears to have a clientele of 11 regulars, all of whom you can chat to throughout the game. At the time we get to peek in on their lives, we learn that the pair are at a stage where everyone around them is either getting married or asking when the wedding will be. It follows the unfortunate tale of 32-year-old Vincent Brooks and his girlfriend of five years, Katherine McBride. They are not only the best character in the game thematically, but they also make the experience of Catherine: Full Body far more rewarding.īoth the original Catherine and its remake follow the same story – for the most part. The most notable addition being the new romance-able character: Rin. What I forgot however was that the remaster added some extra content to the original – giving it a ‘fuller body,’ if you will. To be honest, I didn’t know too much about the game, but there were two things I did know: A) It was primarily a puzzle game with some dating sim/visual novel elements sprinkled in, and B) You have the choice to date one of two girls, Katherine and Catherine. Finally, I was able to indulge in this guilty pleasure that had evaded me for years and…I was surprised. So, as the responsible adult I am, I bought a physical copy of the game on its day of release. For as much of a disaster 2020 has been, it did bless us with one thing: a port of Catherine: Full Body for the Nintendo Switch. So, once again, the forbidden fruit that was Catherine was out of my grasp.īut then my luck changed. Fast forward to 2019 and Catherine gets a remake: Catherine: Full Body, which was exclusive to the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita – two consoles I did not have.
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