Catherine remake adds trans romance option, Twitter outrage

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Catherine remake adds trans romance option, Twitter outrage

Postby KleinerKiller » Fri Dec 22, 2017 8:02 pm

Catherine: Full Body, the expanded remake of a really damn good Atlus puzzler known for both its steamy, misrepresentative marketing and handling relationships and sexuality in a mature, complex light uncommon to much of gaming, is causing a social media stir over the addition of its third romance option: Rin, an apparent transwoman.



The game's trailer seems to depict main character Vincent gaping in horror at Rin's undressed body, and while it still isn't 100% confirmed that Rin is trans (though the fact that there's already a semi-major trans character in the main game makes it more likely), outrage is already spreading like wildfire on social media and the usual threats of cancelled preorders and boycotts are making the rounds amongst the usual sources.

A few things to note:

Spoiler: show
1. The reaction drawing ire, VIncent's horrified expression, is a running gag in the game: it's his reaction to any vaguely sexual situation he encounters, because he's already engaged to another woman in-story and is terrified to unconsciously cheat on her. Later in the plot, he starts making it to any situation that changes the status quo of his life in any major way, since -- you know -- his life and relationships are collapsing.

2. The entire driving point of Catherine is that Vincent and his friends are abject scumbags; they drink all day, everyone other than Vincent is prone to openly objectifying women, and most of them don't have any real aspirations. This is what gets them sentenced to the allegorical nightmare world where they have to deal with their romantic failings, and it's what pushes Vincent to mature as a character and stop treating both of his potential partners like garbage.

3. Erica, the existing trans character in the original game, isn't a negative depiction at all. The game has her as the only rational moral center Vincent ever gets among all of the friends telling him to lie and cheat, and with regards to certain actions undertaken by both love interests, she's pretty much the only genuinely decent person in the whole story. The deadnaming gag by which she's revealed to be trans is unfortunate, but note that this scene only takes place in the best "light side" ending, and the only one freaked out by the reveal is the youngest man who's undergone the least character growth -- Vincent and the other friends explicitly already knew.

4. Atlus may have a (well-deserved) reputation for generally failing at LGBT+ representation, but everyone conveniently leaves out that Persona 5 featured a supporting trans character in Lala Escargot, who is depicted positively and respectfully, always referred to with female pronouns, and is -- like Erica -- a responsible moral figure despite having a much smaller role in the game; enough that of all people, she placed first in Japan's NPC popularity poll. This trans-positive track record is exceptionally rare for big studios of any kind, let alone Japanese game developers (the only other Japanese dev who comes to mind as successful in this regard is Yoko Taro).

5. The simplest fact of the matter of all is that by nature of being a romance option in this game, Rin will have Vincent able to pursue and grow more comfortable with her, and will have at least a few possible endings where the two of them are together. That's just how the game works. Even if his shitty reaction is indicative of his trans panic, her path must include him growing as a person in some way like the other two do, and they'll either end up splitting peacefully or pursuing the relationship further if the path hews to similar beats as the other two. But people have lost the ability to judge things after all information is available, so I doubt even confirmation that Rin is trans and a positive in-game path will quell the outrage.
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Re: Catherine remake adds trans romance option, Twitter outr

Postby Windy » Sun Dec 24, 2017 3:26 pm

throw hissy fit over sexuality and video games
accuse japan of being the sexually repressed ones
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Re: Catherine remake adds trans romance option, Twitter outr

Postby Deathclaw_Puncher » Sun Dec 24, 2017 7:27 pm

This could mean that they're potentially doing away with
Spoiler: show
Erica's
state as a trans woman being a twist, because she'd have a few things to say if she found out about Vincent's reaction there.
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Re: Catherine remake adds trans romance option, Twitter outr

Postby iMURDAu » Sun Dec 24, 2017 10:36 pm

Windy wrote:throw hissy fit over sexuality and video games
accuse japan of being the sexually repressed ones


Let's not forget how often gamers in the West cry Censorship! whenever there's the tiniest bit of cut content.
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Re: Catherine remake adds trans romance option, Twitter outr

Postby Deathclaw_Puncher » Sun Dec 24, 2017 10:46 pm

Buh dey sensuhd da boobies! Da boobies!
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Re: Catherine remake adds trans romance option, Twitter outr

Postby sunglasses » Mon Dec 25, 2017 3:00 am

I really feel this is a non issue as he makes those (faces) after every possible sexual encounter.

But I mean, it's a game about a succubus and making men into sheep so... Really think it's a silly thing to get upset about.
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Re: Catherine remake adds trans romance option, Twitter outr

Postby Windy » Mon Dec 25, 2017 3:35 am

iMURDAu wrote:
Windy wrote:throw hissy fit over sexuality and video games
accuse japan of being the sexually repressed ones


Let's not forget how often gamers in the West cry Censorship! whenever there's the tiniest bit of cut content.


Those gamers are wrong. The word they're looking for is cultural appropriation.
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Re: Catherine remake adds trans romance option, Twitter outr

Postby octoberpumpkin » Wed Jan 03, 2018 1:30 pm

I'm not really happy about the inclusion of another romance option because I liked the plot of the C/Katherines and it fit narratively well to me, personally, and I think adding in a third romance kind of undermines a bit of what I read in to the game when I played it

But I didn't know there was even a rumor that this may be a trans characters so idk

Point is, maybe not everyone who is unhappy is unhappy because she may or may not be trans
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Re: Catherine remake adds trans romance option, Twitter outr

Postby Deathclaw_Puncher » Sat Feb 16, 2019 7:09 am


Jesus fucking Christ, Atlus!
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Re: Catherine remake adds trans romance option, Twitter outr

Postby iMURDAu » Sat Feb 16, 2019 5:52 pm

I believe you're referencing this.

So to totally spoil the whole thing:

Spoiler: show
There's no trans option, the "trans" character ended up being a doll. Or a being that is of an alien race that is doll-like. Whatever. It isn't human and apparently has no naughty bits so there ya go.


Still not seeing a Switch release, that's my issue with Atlus.
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Re: Catherine remake adds trans romance option, Twitter outr

Postby NathanLoiselle » Sat Feb 16, 2019 6:54 pm

So.... now they got men with boobs? Oh wait. It's chicks with dicks. Or is it men with boobs? Oh I can't recall.
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