After hearing the cries of gamers in Japan calling for Altus to make the game easier, Atlus released a patch for its difficulty for the PS3 (360 version in development) soon after receiving a long list of complaints. Luckily, the North American version will come with the patch already in the box. Finally, a “Super Easy” mode.
The game’s mechanic for each puzzle left players desperate for an escape as each challenge allows no mistakes. Even though the original game comes with three difficulties to begin with, “Easy”, “Normal”, and “Hard”, it was not enough for the players to feel they could get through the game. Not only are the puzzles difficult, they also come with a ridiculous time limit.
With the new “Super Easy” mode, the player will have “Drink Assist”, allowing them create a drink that will strength the main character’s mobility. Pillows, a collectible item that allows for retries for puzzles, is also now worth more “extra lives” depending on your chosen difficulty. Hopefully with this update, the Japanese players can rejoice.
As for me, I’ve already pre-ordered this game. “Super Easy” mode or not, I’m ready.
Rian Quenlin
It must be pretty crazy to be honest. Ever play Etrian Odyssey? That game is so ridiculously hard you practically need to cheat the entire system and exploit every detail to beat the final boss.
I’ll be playing on the default thankyouverymuch, easy mode is for kids.
Chris Hernandez
I played the demo of it and it seemed to be of a fair difficulty, though this was of course the first three levels, I am sure it gets harder later on.
Rian Quenlin
Kinda like most Japanese games eh? The ones complaining have clearly not played Touhou on the higher settings. That takes high degrees of skill.
Hm… I wonder if Catherine will pave the way to Japanese eroge being sold more openly in the US rather than just from companies like J-list. It’s a major niche someone needs to exploit.
Julie Mok
While Catherine is an erotic game, it’s nowhere close to being pornographic or Hentai and I think it’s going to stay that way for a while. Catherine is just a nice tease but with all these legislature stuff going on with just about violence and free speech… I don’t think anyone will want to add to the problem anytime soon.
Rian Quenlin
The Supreme Court ruled just the other day that games are protected by free speech and any means of prohibiting their sale at a legal level is unconstitutional. I said that in an article I wrote recently. Meaning the legal issues are resolved once and for all.