Reviews of Catherine, episode five of Thundercats, and proper reviews of episode 21 through 23 of Transformers Prime. In that order (yay, alphabetical order!)
ALL OF THESE CONTAIN MASSIVE SPOILERS!
CatherineCatherine didn't do anything for me. I just saw the title and a couple of screenshots, but I phased it out. It was made by the developers of Persona and while that meant a great deal for many, it meant far little to me. I never played those RPGs and while I am vaguely curious to try them out one day, I simply don't really have the time to play really long RPGs (let along super hard ones, from what I heard). However, my interested rose when I heard Catherine was a puzzle-platform game. Safely said, I love puzzle games. I can be the greatest or the absolute worst and I will eat that shit up. I'll gladly spend hours trying to solve a puzzle in Professor Layton without having to waste my 50 picarats and I take full glee on laying down my sword and shield to push stupid amounts of blocks to get out in a Zelda temple.
Catherine stars a 32-year-old man named Vincent Brooks, a normal, average city man. He has a job that lets him comfortably afford his small apartment and a girlfriend (Katherine) of five years. He has no desire to push her into marriage or make something more of himself...and he's fine with it. However, Vincent's life takes a turn for the worse (and weird) when he accidentally ends up sleeping with a blonde vixen by the name of, well, Catherine. He also starts having vivid nightmares where he has to climb a tower of blocks in order to survive and make it to the next round, as do all men who are unfaithful to their loved ones or unwilling to commit.
The graphics are lovely to view: while the backgrounds and bosses are rendered in general video game 3D, the characters are given a semi-cel-shaded approach that lends it that sort of "cartoonish" appeal that matches side-by-side with its anime cutscenes fairly well. The music is amusing in the sense that it's an intriguing and oddly, an appropriate choice. Nearly every track are classical orchestras (slightly remixed with various instruments beyond the average classical musical requirement of violins, cellos, and stuffy composers). It works because the tone and tune of the scores actually emphasize the dire situation you're put into. Listen to this www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsuJth… and tell me you don't get the sense of impending doom and the urge to get the fuck up before shit gets worse: (recommend checking out the other tunes - very awesome listening)
As for gameplay, well...
I had high hopes for this game based on unique experience and high scores from various critics - both fans and professionals - and largely, it delivered, but not without clumsy steps in the process. The game is toted as puzzle-platform, but it's really two games in one: that and one where you control Vincent at his local bar and make him do various shit closely related to it. The former comes whenever Vincent enters his nightmare. The game is hellish and brutally hard, even on Easy Mode. You must push and pull blocks to form paths and move obstacles, all the while as a time limit brews down on you as the tower you climb slowly falls, ensuring your death. To quote Lord Kat, you will die a lot. The game requires strategic thinking at breakneck speed. It's never enough that they make you senselessly rush, but you can't sit around and lollygag either. There are several different types of blocks that can help or hinder your progress and new ones keep popping up even to the very last world. This is obviously the part I like the most. There truly is a sense of rewarding experience when you finish a tough level. The amount of strategy and ways to get up there is immense, even if it's largely straightforward. You can create a ladder of sorts, spider-climb to a whole different part of the stage, or push blocks out to lower the tower a bit - it's up to you! Critical thinking is the key and if you are severely impatient with puzzles, you aren't going to enjoy this section, let alone this game at all. My only complaint is that the controls can get finnicky at times - when I want to push, I end up pulling. When I want to push/pull, I end up climbing. I hang from a ledge and try to move, but end up in a completely different direction than I wanted. You get used to it in time, but that annoyance never really leaves.
The latter form of gameplay occurs when Vincent is awake and serves as a "break" from the puzzle solving. It mostly consists of you moving Vincent around his favorite bar, talking to your buddies and other customers. If you are the type to complete everything, it is absolutely vital to listen to what everyone says, it may very well hold the key to helping other distressed men in need. You can listen to music from the game (and other Atlus games) as well as play the mini-game Rapunzel which, as of this writing, I have not complete. Apparently that game has enough levels to be its own game, so food for thought. Also, if you drink enough alcohol, you get random trivias about alcohol. It's so bizarre and out there, but amusing nonetheless. Sadly, this is where the game takes that clumsy turn.
In conjunction with the story, any time the game isn't puzzle-platform, I found myself on edge. I know I said you need patience (and good timing) to get through the puzzles, but I'm pulling both an irony and hypocrisy here. I couldn't stand much of the cutscenes and talking bits in the game and I ended up losing patience on a lot of the cutscenes by the halfway point. If any of you out there still wanted to recommend the Xenosaga series, I must inform you to stop because I realize I cannot sit through tediously looooooooooooooong ass minutes of cutscenes to get to the actual gameplay. The goddamn story takes its sweet time moving their molasses butt that I desperately wanted to skip it (and thankfully, you do have the option to do so) just so I can get to the friggin' puzzles, but I can't because story is a heavy focus here and I need to sit my ass down and pay attention. Look, I like a good story just as much as the next guy, but when cutscenes take as long as five to ten minutes frequently to end, this gets boring, very fucking boring. I may be spoiled by Nintendo's philosophy, but I like it when the game gets to the friggin' point and just lets me play the thing. I might have been fine if the cutscene time were reduced by half. Sure, this may mean more days and more puzzles, but I'm not complaining. If I want to hear a loser complain about his girlfriend issue for more than five minutes, I got real life for that.
I DO like the overall theme and tone of the story though. There's something oddly rare about seeing a Japanese video game purely focused on an adult demographic - given a good portion of their games (or at least the ones shipped over to the US) stars some pansy-looking pretty teenage boy with teenage urges. Vincent is a man in his 30s and he and his friends all suffer through everyday life. It's sad to say I totally get that feeling of unaccomplished desire and to live a life where you don't need to worry beyond your basic needs. I've actually seen a few message boards where the younger generations who played this game just could not get his deal or why he acts the way he does, citing he should have been a younger character. Sorry, kiddies, but for once, we got a game focused and centered directly for us "old" 20-something and beyond. I like the adult themes here. While love triangles and adultery are a-plenty with teenagers as well, it's clear Catherine has that adult appeal. The general feel, the idea, the sense - it's all there. It's remarkably refreshing.
However, the story is largely mixed for me. The most interesting aspect of the game is that it gives you the ability to choose which girl you want: do you commit and stick with the hardworking, no-nonsense Katherine (which, in some ways, she makes me think of myself because - and future boyfriends, better pay attention - I would likely do what she did and be a demanding, if not bitchy little thing) or live a more chaotic and unpredictable life with the more "free" Catherine? Or take a third option and choose neither? The game has eight endings and depending on the choices you make, your dialogues are slightly altered and you can eventually choose between the three major path (Freedom, Lover, or Cheater routes). However, I really wish they took better advantage of this. Choosing between Catherine and Katherine rarely changes anything beyond certain inner monologues inside Vincent's head. This is especially problematic when you are leaning to Catherine's end - Vincent will still try and repair his damaged relationship with Katherine, you will still work with her on World Eight. This is jarring. I'm not for cheating on your significant other, but damn it, if I'm going to choose Catherine, seeing Vincent still stick with Katherine that late in the game makes absolutely no sense and wastes perfectly good story materials. I really wished the creators did take the effort and branch out, showing individual cutscenes that reward players for the choice they did make - it would have felt like I actually did make a proper decision. Instead, it's like they decided to play it safe until the very last levels where the questions you ask does impact the ending. Damn it, I don't care if Vincent ends up dumping Katherine for Catherine and comes off as a total douche, I, the player chose that option and I'd like to stick with the consequences, however ill-regarded it may be.
Overall, the game is still loads of fun. The platform-puzzle is definitely the best part, but story and other sections of the gameplay needed more tuning. Cut down on the cutscenes' average time and offer more freedom in terms of major altered scenes and actions depending on the choice you make and this game could have been perfect. For now, it just stands as above-average.
7/10
Thundercats, Episode 5: "Old Friends"Well, this is a disappointing episode compared to the last. It's not bad or anything, I just largely did not care for it. Panthro as a whole didn't interest me nor did I care for his origin story with Grune. While it is inevitable that we find out how Mumm-Ra came to be and how exactly Grune betrayed his kingdom, the flashback as a whole doesn't necessary bring anything new persay. Origin stories are tricky because for the most part, it consists of it delivering additional exposition on events already established and acknowledge by the show. In the end, Episode Five only further confirms that yes, Grune is a jerk for betraying Thundera and yes, Mumm-Ra is free from his containment and ready to dish out some serious shit. I think how Mumm-Ra's escape is something we would (and likely should) have known overtime, so hey. why the hell not in Episode Five? Just tell it and get it over with so we can focus on more interesting parts of the character and story (and I hope future episodes will focus on the others besides Lion-O).
The other problem I had was the rushed conclusion. While Panthro has a certain respect for the strong, I find it hard to believe he decides Lion-O is a worthwhile King and earning of his respect just because he rushed in and defeated that drill robot (who looks like what would happen if Gurren Lagaan dated a Transformers). It's clearly shown in the flashbacks that Panthro shows immense loyalty to the King not just for his strength, but for his intelligence. He trusts his wise judgments so much that he would willingly risk his life on a possible fool's errand to locate the Book of Omens, despite the off-chance that said book may not exist. Lion-O basically runs into battle without a second thought and while bravery should be commended, he was also acting impulsively and behaving as such throughout the episode without any repercussion. This makes no sense since last episode, Lion-O himself chastised Young Emrick for doing the same. Um, what?
Seriously, this is the "worse" episode by far on virtue of its plain averageness. It does what it needs to do, but I admit, I simply didn't care. Let's hope the next one is better.
5/10
Transformers Prime, Episode 21 to 23Episode 21: T.M.I
Boring episode. Absolutely did not care. It's yet another Bulkhead and Miko-centric episode and I am utterly, utterly sick as shit for either characters. Bulkhead has none of the charm and appeal of his TFA counterpart (though I don't necessary dislike him, I just can't care for him) and Miko is still a little fucktard. It's irritating that the animators consider her their favorite character to animate - it means we're forced to endure her annoying suicidal tendencies 85% of the time. If she's not going to die, it's not worth staring for 22-minutes hoping she gets cleaved in two by a Decepticon because she simply won't learn! The episode also explores their loyalty and self-sacrifice to one another...again. Hey guys, you did this before in "Rock Bottom" and it was much more better and emotional. This is just a repeat of the same and has none of the appeal or charm. Worse, it ends on a stupid-ass dues ex machina that you can see coming a mile away because Bulkhead has to go back to status quo.
There is one great moment with Knockout though: Bulkhead paints over his torso and Knockout gets SUPER pissed, "You...painted my paint job! Prepare for surgery!" Absolutely brilliant. It's only three seconds and does not save this episode at all, but it's one of those brief moments where we see a sense of character. I want his toy so badly. It's too bad this is not the case between him and Breakdown. They both came at the same time and I was under the impression the two are best friends or really good partners to one another. I am disappointed that this really does not seem to be the case. No scene of Knockout cooing over Breakdown's missing eye - not even from a doctor's POV? I really wished they bonded as friends (either platonic or plenty of ho yays - it's Knockout, you have to expect it) so we get the sense that they're more than their stereotypes - that Decepticons can be more than "LOL, EVIL". But no. Of course not.
Whatever.
I don't even know how to score the crappy episodes anymore. Let's go with, three Hot Dogs over 14 Monkey Balls
Episode 22: Stronger, Faster (Harder, Better)
Better episode than the last two episodes actually, but it made me sad. I waited months for a Ratchet-focused episode and it took half a year and 21 episodes to get there. By the time this aired though, I found myself not caring. At all. I didn't feel for Ratchet or his plight. There were some mild amusement so it didn't go completely to waste - seeing Ratchet behave like, well, a steroid-injected muscle head is oddly delightful - but goddamn, all I kept thinking throughout the show was how much I would have loved it more if this aired earlier. Ratchet's clearly the best Autobot in the series for me, but by this point, even I could not care for whatever situation he put himself into because prior to that, he never moved beyond his character archetype. Yes, his sarcasm is funny and totally makes his character, but it does nothing for me when it doesn't go beyond that. There is no pay-off for Episode 22 as a result - I've simply lost patience by this point of ever hoping for a Ratchet-focused episode that by the time they aired one, the feeling for longing is gone. I can assure if they plan to make an Optimus-centric episode, I will care even less because he's even more boring and stereotypical than Ratchet.
Also, I think Ratchet was slightly out of character here regardless. I think it's in-character for him to feel frustrated over the war and how little he feels he has been contributing - it fits with his biting characteristics - but his impulsive act is something I can't see him do. He's gotten carried away before (like the science project he poured his spark into back in Episode Six) and as a doctor, he has that scientific urge to test the synthetic energon, but it's too quick and too immature. It's the kind of act I can actually see Arcee doing if not the fact that she learned her lesson Episode 20 (and from watching Episode 23, she seems to have stuck with it - good for her). Also, I love Raf, but kid, you are completely unneeded for this episode.
Good points: Medic vs. Medic. I was worried that the writers would not take advantage of Ratchet vs. Knockout, but they totally did it and I am happy. Also, Ratchet briefly hitting on Arcee. Came out of left field and hilarious to boot.
It's a fairly good episode regardless, but it's unremarkable as a whole.
7/10
Episode 23: Um...I have no idea what the title is yet
Actually, this is a pretty good episode, too, but I feel the same way I did with "Stronger, Faster" - I would have liked it more if I gave more of a damn - I figured it would have reached that feeling I got when I first watched "Sick Mind" and "Out Of Your Head" - epicness and awesome. Oh, Episode 23 has both, but I just wasn't as enticed.
But it still struck a chord with me because I did get emotionally invested in Raf's fate. I knew he wasn't going to die, but he's my favorite human on the show. He's so adorable and useful and has done nothing to incur my wrath. Seeing him nearly dying actually did get to me in that I was emotionally invested in his story - I wanted to see him pull through this. I know the story handwaved Raf's Dark Energon exposure by canceling it out with reg. Energon and I assume he's back to normal, but is it wrong for me to want to see a possible future storyline arc where something happens to the kid because of say, leftover Energon residue built into his system? Energon is fatal to humans, so what would happen if something different happened to Raf instead? Ahhh, wishful thinking. Even if this does come true, I have a terrible feeling I'll be eating my own words.
What else? Oh, the Optimus and Megatron battle is actually very damn epic. They mention prophecy and destiny a lot and I get that sense of urgency and doom, though I think it would have stuck more with me if the prophecies were foreshadowed as early as the beginning episodes. Megs claimed he "saw" his destiny while comatose. Just imagine visions and little peaks into his mind sprinkled throughout the show - it would have kept me guessing! Alas, not the case. I also can't help but feel this episode more or less dragged on to its "To Be Continued" because all the good parts will be in Part 2. ...You know what, so be it. If it gets more awesome, I'm all for it - Lord knows this show needs it.
I give it 150,000 Awesome Bananas over -1768 Not-Awesome Bananas (Yeah, Episode 22 is the only one I can think to give it a proper score. I'm thinking what to give this one specifically, get back to me. ><
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