The Puzzle Game That Became A Fighting Game - Catherine

When one thinks of an esport, a game like Catherine isn't what typically comes to mind.
Developed by Atlus, Catherine is a cross-genre video game divided into two parts, a social simulation where the player as Vincent Brooks makes choices between the women in his life and a series of nightmare segments where one must apply puzzle-solving skills to navigate through three-dimensional towers.
While not originally developed with esports in mind, a competitive scene began to develop around the game's multiplayer mode. This is the story of Catherine esports.
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[@QuestionableLogic_]

The only competitive game where cheating is a core aspect

[@Akshonesports]

That's an interesting way to put it

[@RobinClower]

What do you mean by that?

[@K4nra]

@@RobinClower The games subject matter is infidelity (or cheating) in relationships.

[@realtalk13]

@@RobinClower the narrative of the story centers around the player character cheating on his long time girlfriend Katherine (at least emotionally, debatable if it ever happened physically) with another girl named Catherine

[@silverwind9906]

@@realtalk13 only diffrence it the one letter lol

[@MapleMilk]

I love how Atlus was like "Woah we accidentally made a Puzzle Fighting Game? SWEET! Lets sponsor this!"

[@amuro9624]

The opposite of Nintendo

[@ironmaster6496]

@@amuro9624 Huh so people are enjoying a game we dont even sell anymore? LEST CANCEL THOSE FUCKERS

[@illuminoeye_gaming]

@@amuro9624 pain....

[@phuuc8075]

@@ironmaster6496 not saying nintendo is right but you can see their reasoning tho... They want ultimate to be the only smash game running because they can earned money from the DLC.

[@phuuc8075]

@@gayboy1142 i think they want melee to die but they don't want to do so directly because they afraid of backlash

[@fuzzymini12]

Smash: fist bump Tekken: handshake Catherine: *weird but good bro hug*

[@Manachi93]

Cause hugs are made with the Full Body ;) ;) ;)

[@diegodeluquev1433]

@@Manachi93 I see what you did there

[@ProphitDesigns]

Fist bump is the most you could do with a Smash player before needing to take a shower. And every one knows Catherine players are all just horndogs. I mean how do you think they all started playing to begin with? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@cs_derp]

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@chrisrockett5897]

@@cs_derp ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@OmicronGaming]

yeah, I'm a pro Catherine player

[@silverwind9906]

are you now?

[@alexisgeovann]

Condolences to your family.

[@silverwind9906]

@@alexisgeovann LOLL

[@hammerpaw7338]

I CANT FIND A VIDEO WITHOUT YOU COMMENTING ON IT

[@silverwind9906]

@@hammerpaw7338 ?

[@DanDennisRobloxman]

It sucks that most of these obscure competitive scene videos always end in "Due the pandemic the scene has died down" or something along those lines

[@ramontavaresdacruz2256]

They'll all probably be back after the vaccines get shipped worldwide

[@authorssd]

I literally just got Full Body and now competitive Catherine is a thing and wanna try just for fun (even though I'm not much of a competitive game person), but even finding a random person to play with online seems impossible ^^;

[@nyahnyahson523]

@That other Guy Fair enough prediction, but let's stay optimistic for now yeah? At the very least, it will be significantly slowed. (Especially since anti-vaccines is almost solely a US thing)

[@ironmaster6496]

@@nyahnyahson523 Sadly no, Argentina is also FULL of those dumbasses too

[@dr.velious5411]

@@nyahnyahson523 No, unfortunately we haven't actually established a monopoly on stupidity, contrary to what you might hear on TV.

[@ScarletStarManor]

To find out this actually did happen and wasn't a joke, makes me so happy, as I LOVE Catherine.

[@furiousdestroyah9999]

Katherine: *triggered*

[@vincenthawthorne9360]

So, what is the official subgenre to this new type of fighting game? I mean like, you have to still get on up the Colosseum before it’s too late and or at least kill your opponent.

[@furiousdestroyah9999]

@@vincenthawthorne9360 Yeah that's what I imagine would be the win conditions

[@ScarletStarManor]

@@vincenthawthorne9360 Platform Fighter.

[@Fretful_]

Two sheep men battle it out while climbing a tower.

[@yellowstarproductions6743]

True

[@something3746]

tbh you can talk about how hotdogs are so tasty and i will still feel like a scientist great job on vids akshon team

[@AB-py6jl]

So true lol

[@battosaijenkins946]

@some thing, Well why is it so bad then? Is it because it never came with netcode to play anyone at anytime? Or is puzzle just not your cup of tea? I mean... don't knock it if you've never tried it bro~

[@something3746]

@@battosaijenkins946 umm it was a joke

[@battosaijenkins946]

@@something3746 jerk..

[@something3746]

@@battosaijenkins946 bruh

[@MangoSlurper]

So is losing in this game called 'getting full bodied'?

[@Ramsey276one]

Love is over

[@RallyCar08]

Now's not the time to be dead

[@MugdhaMahdiShams]

@@RallyCar08 time to go to bed

[@boiboi7717]

"getting qrushed"

[@ju2tunknown]

@@MugdhaMahdiShams who are you? Morgana?

[@AnthanKrufix]

It took me literally years after the game was released to even know that a multiplayer mode existed. Even after watching multiple 'complete' reviews of the game it wasn't mentioned once. That is until I suddenly saw it at EVO and even knowing literally nothing about the game or how it was played, picked it up from a spectator perspective and suddenly found it fuckin' seat grippingly hype.

[@marrowyoutube]

I got into atlus games in about June of this year with p5, and I swear the same thing happened to me, literally nobody mentioned this in the reviews I saw

[@oliverkat]

@@marrowyoutube i tought it was added recently i watched a gameplay of 6 yrs ago

[@nosajsamaniego4512]

Woah;

[@Lunarl4ndr]

I don't think I even noticed the multiplayer when I beat it years ago.

[@Vulji]

You didn't even speak about how Atlus tried to implement netplay with fullbody but botched it and never fixed it

[@Xprh]

How

[@nemonobody6232]

How

[@Waddlejpg]

How

[@Vulji]

How

[@ThatGuy-en2nn]

Woh

[@Pen7Ninja]

Oh hey, it me.

[@vioco]

Oh wow, you do pen spinning as well.

[@UltimegaSeven]

Pog

[@HxH2011DRA]

It's you

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

@@HxH2011DRA it's him

[@spring3281]

Omg THE pen ninja? It really is him😲

[@Eggroll3s]

As a Comp Catherine rep, Ty for this video. It's amazing and I'm so glad you're shining light on this amazing community

[@Akshonesports]

Thank you so much!

[@hundvd_7]

I am so happy that there is a competitive scene for Catherine. I always though that the skill ceiling was pretty high for a puzzle game, but I didn't even think about how _mind-bogglingly_ hard it must be to master it in versus.

[@corrosive_mongol1415]

so when are we gonna see connect 4 at EVO?

[@jakk9560]

Why not

[@marrowyoutube]

love to see it

[@SirJeroldFrench]

Nah fr tho

[@edrickjackson1092]

2021 Connect 4 Grand Finals

[@SirJeroldFrench]

@@edrickjackson1092 I want games. Who will give me games

[@Videogamer80]

Wow, I never knew that Catherine had a competitive scene. Hopefully it can pick right back up after the world recovers from the pandemic

[@chimuoma390]

I Will Have Sex With Saint Catherine Of Alexandria!She Is My Mistress And Spiritual Spouse!😇

[@EggHeadShowTV]

I remember when Catherine first came out. It was one of my favorite games of all time. Today I find out that it has a competitive scene. Which I shouldn't be surprised, but now I'm so interested.

[@lloxu]

It's so cool that there's actually a competitive scene for this game, the mechanics of Catherine is so addicting and fun

[@lechonkawali5725]

Ahh yes games this days are like 1987: Horror 2007: Survival Horror 2020: Survive Virgin Succubus Horror

[@NaruBrilu]

The game came out in 2011

[@Ghostguy693]

@@NaruBrilu I think they're talking about Full Body.

[@swordmeisterguy6752]

Survival Horror started around the late 90s...

[@HectorGonzalez-qx9nk]

Even if you don’t wanna play Catherine(Full Body) competitively, I still recommend playing it! The puzzles are fun, albeit a bit difficult(thought there are easy, medium, and hard modes with Classic and Remix modes, allowing for you to play as you want), the social-life simulation part is endearing, the story and it’s multiple endings are great and add to replayability. It’s just a good time!

[@omegabluebomber6695]

I didn't even know Catherine was considered a fighting game tbh

[@Ramsey276one]

The first ACTUAL puzzle fighting game You literally do BOTH

[@arandomhashbrown3756]

@@Ramsey276one Tetris 99 exists

[@Ramsey276one]

@@arandomhashbrown3756 that's competition puzzle I meant Actually smacking the Opponent XD

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

@@Ramsey276one makes sense

[@Lucky-lt7lz]

@@Ramsey276one so would puyo puyo tetris count, since you send garbage in 1v1s which work as attacks. At the same time the garbage also works as a come back mechanic as smart players can turn them into t spins or tetrises. Plus part of the game is watching what the opponent is doing to know when you should start sending lines.

[@lewisnorden3744]

Catherine is a Brilliant game, definitely give it a try!

[@jakk9560]

Will get it on my switch soon I love seeing others play

[@fnors2]

I remember blindly getting it when it released. Simply because it looked and felt like SMT and Persona. I didn't regret it. It turned out different, but oh so amazing. It's a really nice feeling when you start seeing the paths and moves just by looking at the wall.

[@Zergito]

Man I use to be addicted to this game. Didn’t even know there was a competitive scene around it lol. I’m re-installing it on my Xbox rn!

[@jomama5935]

any ogs rember that this was on of supers first variety games

[@nonygart1010]

Bruh yeah i remember

[@gavinfederizo3125]

only the real ones

[@tenns7650]

Catherine: Full body

[@BeretBay]

what

[@sagusvalivian]

I remember FKO starting this whole thing. Miss you vibrating sheep

[@itisime423]

Generic Speedrunner: "I've been speed running this game for years" Some random person online: "Hold my beer, I'll destroy this person's whole career."

[@d9d470]

That rhymes, not gonna lie.

[@yoshisc861]

@@d9d470 why would you lie?

[@d9d470]

@@yoshisc861 what?

[@Lin-nz9nt]

@@d9d470 It's a joke lmao, read it again.

[@d9d470]

@@Lin-nz9nt Yea I got confused first but I got the joke an hour ago I just didnt reply👍

[@SilverRay85]

Yooo, I asked about the possibility of a Catherine video in another vid of yours and I'm glad to see one's come up! Thanks for the video, good stuff.

[@Akshonesports]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@andres.__]

😂 I’m from Maryland and the way he says it is so funny 9:19

[@iTheBeep]

lol yeah nobody here actually pronounces the Mary as 'Mary' but it does sound appropriate lol

[@Duffy_SSBM]

I literally didn't know what he meant at first! It took me a sec to think oh, Maryland

[@FunctionallyLiteratePerson]

Same hahaha

[@MoguMogu818]

Catherine has a good competitive scene, yet small and an amazing story! Bless atlus for this game.

[@ninjahacker2]

Catherine is legit one of my favorite games, so the fact that it managed to spawn such a passionate community and a competitive scene at that, is surreal, it warms my heart

[@duchi882]

*What makes it even harder* is that you would have to fight the temptation if you play Catherine during November

[@artixvon4619]

That would make Catherine one of the hardest fighting game lol

[@TehFoamy]

I was at NCI during the birth of competitive Catherine, it was magical to witness

[@anongos]

Seeing the OG Gamecenter in this video was such a throwback too

[@MastaNeko]

Honestly never heard of anyone talk about Gathering or even knew there was a puzzle game competitive scene like this. You've introduced me to an entirely new world. Subscribed and liked and gonna watch more.

[@theseekerofdankness959]

Imma gonna take advantage of the fact that the subject is Catherine to say: People needs to give more credit to the game's OST, I mean C'mon *Hen To Hen IS A FRIGGIN BOP*

[@McCaroni_Sup]

Anything Meguro, and for that matter Atlus does is gonna be a banger

[@Kurayamiblack]

I misread the thumbnail as "Catherine, Rise of an Unlikely Escort" 😅 Don't ask me why I clicked, I just need to go to bed and get my brain back together

[@unamejames]

About the lack of netcode: Catherine was one of my favorite console games ever, but when I noticed it had local multiplayer all I could say was "I can't think of one person I know in real life that would play this game single player let alone competitive multiplayer."

[@stevecosmolove1045]

My first Atlus game.....these people make games on a whole other level. This one was an art piece

[@EduSolsa]

Gosh, I didn't know this game had a competitive scene =O

[@kyocerii1924]

absouletly amazingly made video! I recently just got into Catherine but I love it a lot and had no idea a competitive side to the game existed. It’s so cool and awesome to see the ideas and passion of people come to life and bring in so many new people not only to the competitive side of Catherine, but also to the whole game as well which I love

[@ihsaningersoll9232]

You kinda just threw out that it’s similar to fighting games but didn’t elaborate and I was really excited to hear more on that ;-;

[@PokeToki]

yeah me too

[@kenniethjimenez2823]

It's sad how Nintendo won't even help out their community and Atlas will full-on sponsor a Puzzle Game as a Fighting Game.

[@muammarraihan9351]

Nintendo what happened? I'm clueless

[@kenniethjimenez2823]

@@muammarraihan9351 Nintendo has been wanting to shut down local events for Smash Bros. Melee, Ultimate, and PM for the longest. After covid hit online was required for Tournaments, so after someone made a fan mod for Melee that allows you to play online (that’s 100% legal for use by anyone) they tried to take it down and say it was due to the fact they were using a mod, but even back in 2013 (before online for smash existed) they tried to prevent EVO from streaming Melee even though the Melee community had to raise money for Breast Cancer awareness to even be able to play at EVO. They Shut down PM a mod for Brawl because according to them it was ruining their profits.

[@lizardqueen6041]

​@@kenniethjimenez2823Ah, stupid Nintendo. Why they always have to be so weirdly uptight about their IPs is beyond me. Fostering a community around your games brings in new players, which brings in further potential profits

[@klaus.sfc01official30]

The people got bored of speedrunning devorce so now they play this game competitivly.

[@ramaluminus]

Holy crap Atlus officially support the scene? That's awesome

[@elijahchaney7715]

This feels like watching a fanfic come true. Not a bad fanfic tho.

[@Ramsey276one]

Fully agree

[@EvanSaltare]

obligatory comment

[@chaijiahao221]

This is one of the best topics I've ever seen brought up. I've always known Catherine and was part of its incarnation but I've never once heard about its competitive scene. I love this game and this just makes it that much better.

[@hunterbeaune7626]

It would be cool to see an Ice Climbers game made into this kind of game style

[@amuro9624]

Except Nintendo doesn't like competitive games

[@jakezepeda1267]

While a good idea, fuck Nintendo rn.

[@q4241]

Im so glad you made a video anout this. I remember when me and my friend found out about competitive catherine being a thing and thinking it was the funniest shit, but its so cool honestly we both love the game

[@ThePenally1]

Oh wow!? I’ve loved both the Catherine games since release and never had any idea or heard about these tournaments for this game! Thanks for telling us all about it!

[@GuardsOfNohr]

Atlus be bringing out bangers what can i say

[@facundolucianogomezcena5801]

7:38 bro, smash players would play anything but a traditional fighting game lmao

[@stijndekok8196]

6:59 Imagine going to a club and need to impress some people so you say “I am the king of Catherine”

[@zipsnap]

Hope someone makes an indie game based on this so we can play online (and maybe rollback)

[@Phurzt]

I mean, if you're going to talk about Catherine, you should do an expose on the rise of Beyblade tournaments at FGC events. See Beys spin in person at CEO in 2019 was one of the most hilarious things I've ever witnessed.

[@JosephFlores-yn4yi]

Bruh i loved Beyblade and i didnt knew that happened

[@Phurzt]

@@JosephFlores-yn4yi its not that big right now, but the Majors that have done it as a side-tournament have had wide success so far. Hope to see it grow. You cant even begin to imagine the hype of 50 people screaming "3, 2, 1, LET IT RIP!" at the top of thier lungs.

[@arnovanboxem2519]

@@Phurzt flashback to being 10 not that I complain

[@HenriqueHCA14]

I love Catherine, such an underrated game full of passion, that introduced me to the franchise that would help me with depression during the pandemic, Persona. Since Sega ported it for PC I beat it seven times and I still struggle with later levels, only to find out there's a hole competitive side of it

[@youngmagic8343]

Great video. Was happy to see Dacidbro and Toph hug after their grand final!! ❤

[@sodathejunker]

Lovely spotlight on my favorite competitive scene and all my fav competitive bros. Really missed everyone this year, so it was nice to see all that past event footage ^^ Here's to hoping 2021 brings some new opportunities, and that Switch release boosts the scene even more.

[@sweggs3599]

I remember watching this games playthrough when it came out. And then it was randomly recommended years later to me. I didnt realise why till this vid. Thanks

[@SuperMono64]

Insane how I have loved the Catherine game since 2013 but just realized there's a competitive scene just now. Good shit I got Full body for my bday this same week >:3

[@DjamTG12345]

The youtube algorithm has gotten so good that it brought up video about this game that I thought about yesterday which I haven't seen in years.

[@shiningwizard327]

I remember years ago, maybe early 2010s when Catherine was still new, in a small arcade here in NorCal, I saw Pavo playing Catherine competitively. I thought 'Cool, they're playing Catherine Vs. Mode'. Little did I know how deep the game actually can get. I might want to start learning its fundamentals now that I just bought Full Body on sale during the Black Friday sales.

[@angelveda8651]

I've been wanting to get this game ever since classic released. Someday I'll buy it... someday

[@glenmoody-elias1040]

Man, I always enjoy going back to watch some finals for Catherine. They are so seat grippingly tense that I just don't get out of watching other fighting games.

[@baaittyy]

this was a very surprising video to have found and Im all for it. Can't wait to check this out live one day

[@suburiboy]

I knew vaguely of this, but wasn’t aware that it had grown: I must look into this since Catherine is one of my favorite games of all time.

[@suburiboy]

Catherine is one of my favorite games of all time. I would love to find a multiplayer community to practice with. This sounds really cool.

[@chloez8504]

I’ve been meaning to play this game for so long - this just pushes me to finally do it

[@OtterSC2]

Great video, super informative and well written. Toph is an excellent commentator but boy is it generous to call him a melee player in the same sentence lol.

[@josemiguelhernandez7569]

That hug at the end was incredible.

[@71snack48]

thanks for your content , it make me discover thing i would never know about

[@zapranoth]

Thats really wild. I always wondered how there was enough interest in the game to make full body. Now I understand. Was always one of my absolute favorite games.

[@jahniedez6834]

Wow... I loved this game when it first hit the shelves on PS3. This is absolutely amazing!

[@juanrodriguez9971]

Me after reading the title: So, it's the story of a game that started as a fighting game ending as a platformer, or is just that a puzzle platformer got a fighting game spin off? Me after watching the video: wtf???

[@Openreality]

It's a puzzle game with fighting style elements according to the people talking. It's always been a puzzle game at it's core.

[@GatoEpico]

totally a puzzle game but the players in online aim for killing the other player instead of finishing the puzzle first so its considered a fighting game even when it isnt.

[@satyamSaha]

How did you misunderstand so badly? The title practically says it’s a puzzle game which is what it always has been.

[@juanrodriguez9971]

@@satyamSaha I read it a bit too fast.

[@OmegaTurtle]

I remember first seeing the game in 2014/15 when a channel I followed on twitch for smash weeklies in MD/VA started having it on streams sometimes. Now I’m a big persona fan, and I’ve been playing through Full Body casually on my switch. Always love hearing the history of these scenes.

[@adamshumate8858]

Dude this is dope, I've been a fan of Catherine for years but had no idea people were making it competitive

[@brittanypage1706]

Catherine has been my second favorite game forever.

[@Firenmage433]

Well, What's your first favorite?

[@cg5380]

This honestly looked like a super cool game. And oh my gosh there was a fighting game of it

[@TheiPhonePianist]

I... really should be studying for my finals tomorrow but Im glad I took 16mins off my study time to watch this. 16 mins well spent

[@TeamSakurasou]

man this was a game when I played the original, I was too young to appreciate it. I feel like I need another run through of this game see where I lie with these choices ass an adult instead of a teenager.

[@xadek821]

That was super interesting. Great video!

[@hybridwolf5266]

I see the akshon logo and immediately click.

[@phatoume227]

Oh hey! This was on my wishlist! I remember trying to find it after a GameStop video on it.

[@Sasiwa30]

This will probably be the only competitive fighting game I'll watch. Heck I'm going to search this right now even though I never going play it.

[@Hollowdude15]

It's interesting to found how a puzzle game became a fight game for some reason and cool video man :]

[@KATinBLACK]

I didn’t know there were competitions until articles mentioned it when FB came out I love this game, so this makes me happy

[@josealejandroangelesgallar9763]

Catherine is one of my favorite games, and until now I discover it has a competitive scene. I didn't even know it was widely liked.

[@popegrilledcheese4333]

Love your guys videos

[@LuckiSir]

Man, I really can’t wait for the next tournament I’ve been watching vids and I really wanna pick up the game now.

[@bluecloud4652]

Ah the memories I have from watching youtubers play this game back in 2011. Still remember the music.

[@minichou]

this video was so interesting!! I love Catherine but I didn't know there was a competitive market behind it. Cool!!

[@celastik]

I LOVED watching this game on Twitch but one day I suddenly didn't find any tournaments any more. I thougth that Atlus killed it with Full Body. Glad to know it's still alive.

[@remyxedfern5008]

Your videos are always made very professionally and are also very entertaining. Good job!

[@Akshonesports]

Thank you very much!

[@remyxedfern5008]

@@Akshonesports you are welcome

[@stephoneley6771]

I loved how you called Maryland Mary-land lol

[@ChrisKramer_]

at first i read the title and was like: ... what? but then i thought about it and would love to see this beccome big in esports. always want this game to get more recognition. and we can all talk about techniques.

[@fistofsunstoyourface]

love this game

[@amuro9624]

Ah yes the game that I had to stop playing with my friend cause we were afraid our 10year friendship couldn't handle it.

[@Omio9999]

Just waiting for Panel de Pon / Pokémon Puzzle League to show up. I'll admit, though, Katharine looks HYPE.

[@apae225]

This actually looks pretty fun. I wonder if the developers will ever consider a standalone version with more options for customizing rules and things, more game modes, and support for more players. Oh and online multiplayer of course.

[@McCaroni_Sup]

I think full body had online, but it sucks. But yeah, I agree. This game has a lot of potential and while I think it's unlikely I think they should make a version with both Classic and Full body multiplayer modes, as well as the other stuff you mentioned. Also, as a big fan of Atlus' games even before Catherine, I'm surprised and extremely glad to hear there's such an unexpectedly passionate competitive scene for this game. Atlus is a name I never thought I'd hear in eSports, since they mostly make single player RPGs. And it's literally a game about cheating, name a more ironic combination. If you want a good JRPG I highly recommend the newly released Shin Megami Tensei V for Nintendo Switch.

[@indieflowerutau]

jeez, i adore catherine mostly for the story and what it did for p5's artsyle, i had no idea there was this whole other layer to it.

[@TheHumanPurpleTape]

As a Baltimorean who got into Catherine in 2015/16 during the rise of the local scene, the way you said "Mary-land" legit made me question if you were talking about us for a second haha

[@mileswellington-deanda3902]

Sig is a good friend of mine from high school. Was so excited from him when he got second place at evo japan

[@kylewoodowens4488]

Played Catherine Full Body for the first time when it came out on the Switch and the puzzle gameplay is strangely addicting.