While it’s not quite as juicy a way to accidentally reveal an unannounced thing as a voice actor tweeting about it, the Korean rating board may have showed that Atlus and P-Studio’s puzzle game/social sim Catherine: Full Body might be headed to Switch soon.
Full Body, the enhanced port of the 2011 game for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, came to PlayStation 4 and Vita (but only in Japan for the handheld) last year. But it was also listed as part of a wave of approved ratings in Korea for Switch games, alongside XCOM 2 and the Bioshock Collection, the latter of which was leaked through Taiwanese ratings back in January.
While Catherine: Full Body is largely the same game it was back in 2011, the additional content brings new characters and endings, which attempted to address the game’s noted transphobia and sexism to varying degrees of success. It is, at the very least, somewhat critical and subversive of the original game’s views, which makes it at least interesting to dissect on that front, if not necessarily completely redemptive.
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If Catherine isn’t your jam, this may at least be pointing to Atlus warming up to the idea of bringing more of its old games to Switch. While Persona 5 Scramble is coming to the Switch in Japan later this week, the company still has yet to bring a mainline Persona game to Nintendo’s handheld/console hybrid. Persona 5 Royal, the enhanced remake of the original game on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, seemed like the perfect chance to bring the series to Switch, but is only coming to PlayStation 4 when it comes to the west next month. It’s weird too, because a lot was going on that seemed to point to it getting a Switch port. The inclusion of protagonist Joker in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate appeared to be implying this, but it seems this was more a prelude to Persona 5 Scramble than it was a hint at a mainline Persona game finally gracing a Nintendo system. Which is a shame, because those games really lend themselves to handheld play. My first experiences with the series were on my Vita with Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden, and while I like Persona 5 a lot, playing it on a TV felt way more limiting.
Catherine: Full Body would probably be similarly well-suited for a handheld system, as its puzzles would make for good pick-up-and-play sessions for those who like to score chase or want to play local competitive matches. Perhaps with both players using one Joy-Con to control their character? That’d be neat, and a good use of the Switch’s capabilities.
With all these unannounced Switch games showing up with new ratings, perhaps that means a Nintendo Direct is imminent? Nintendo’s recent streams have been dedicated to specific games or series, such as the Pokemon Sword & Shield DLC and Byleth’s inclusion in Super Smash Bros., but it’s been several months since Nintendo had a more general Direct presentation.
