Catherine Classic for Windows published through Steam

Jerry on 2011-05-04
Director Katsura Hashino and character designer Shigenori Soejima of the Persona series dev team wove together puzzle action gameplay with psychological horror and romance in Catherine for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (with Xbox One compatibility).

Catherine presents a melange of hip-hop and guitar rock produced by Shoji Meguro, mixing in arrangements of classical pieces by Chopin, Handel and Bach. The contrasting music styles mirror the protagonist's anxiety-ridden decision whether to pursue the impulsive, untethered Catherine or stay true to the loyal, scrupulous Katherine.


Protagonist Vincent Brooks, tormented by the attention of two love interests, finds himself propelled into a series of dreams where he must climb a tower of retractable boxes to safeguard his life. His normal life is dreamlike in its own right, set in a fictitious North American city in a near-future setting where the bars are haunted by rumors of fatally perilous seduction.

Further complicating the musical palette of the game, composer Kenichi Tsuchiya contributes gothic horror pieces, with a hint of chiptune simplicity, to the in-game arcade console "Rapunzel," whose gameplay infects Vincent's fever dreams. Persona series co-composers Atsushi Kitajoh and Toshiki Konishi round out the sound staff, while L-VOKAL provides lyrics for the English-language opening rap song "YO."

In an unexpected move for the developer, the console release received a direct port for Windows in January of 2020 under the moniker Catherine Classic. The original CD soundtrack is available for purchase domestically through CDJapan. In Japan, the original score is streaming on Apple Music, while the a sampler with music from both iterations of the psychological horror puzzler is streaming on Spotify.


From the product page:
Catherine: a tale of love, betrayal, and the terror of commitment. Experience the mature action-adventure-puzzle game unlike any other from the makers of the Persona series, now enhanced for PC in all its Classic glory. Is love over?
CDJapan - Catherine Soundtrack CD

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