Catherine Update Overload

 
Over the past few weeks, a large amount of information and media has been released from Atlus on their upcoming title Catherine, from the developers behind Persona 3 andf 4, and we want to get everyone all caught up so you can stay up to date with the latest that this fascinating new game has to offer. From what has been shown, Catherine is going in a pretty radical direction with its heavy sexual overtones and what's sure to be controversial imagery. Of course, if you were someone like me who got to play Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne or Devil Summoner, this is not too far off the beaten path with what is norm for the group. In my case, it tops my list as my most anticipated game of 2011.
 
First, let's talk about the story. A couple of days ago, Atlus finally revealed via the official site what the details of the plot will be. Apparently, young men have been found deceased in their beds with a [horrified expressions] on their faces after suffering from a nightmare. People have started to spread the rumor that in order to avoid this grizzly fate, he must wake up immediately or die. 
 
The game starts with Vincent and Katherine, his current girlfriend, spending time at a sushi bar. After five years of dating, Katherine finally suggests to our protagonist that they should get married -- and in reaction, Vincent freezes up like a champ. After Katherine leaves, Catherine enters the scene and sits down next to Vincent. After a short conversation, the pair heads back to Vincent's apartment where he proceeds to rock that poon tang. Unfortunately, right after this encounter, Vincent starts to have nightmares, and this is where things get pretty ugly.
 
Next up, we have the intro video for Catherine that has that real Persona vibe going for it, what with the hip hop tune, abstract imagery, and piping-fresh Engrish vocals. In this video, we get to take a closer look at the sushi bar shown in the previous Catherine trailer, along with shots of Vincent's bedroom in his underear, the sheep, clocks, and peep-holes. We also finally get to hear the Japanese voice acting for the game, including a Mr. Koichi Yamadera as Vincent, who was also the voice actor for Cowboy Bebop's Spike Spiegel and Albedo from Xenosaga. For a second, you also see the name Norio Wakamoto, one of the most famous voice actors in Japan who did Johnny in Guilty Gear, Xemnas in Kingdom Hearts II, Vicious from Cowboy Bebop, and Cell in the Dragon Ball Z series. It is not yet confirmed what role he exactly has in this game, however.
 

 
Finally, we have a number of screenshots for you to take a look at, full of the aforementioned NSFW media I was talking about before. For the younger people out there, I highly recommend throwing a blanket over your computer monitor with you under it if you don't want anyone else to see this imagery. I don't remember ever seeing a "mainstream" title ever taking the Mature rating in this direction before.
 

 
I think that last image defies any and all explanation. For all of the images that have been posted so far, you can check out our Media Vault section for the game.
 
Last but not least, we also finally have a release date set for Catherine. Atlus announced a couple of weeks ago that the game will be released on February 17 for both the PS3 and Xbox 360 in Japan. For more information, if you can read through the Japanese, you can check out the official site.