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Catherine has four difficulties which influence various gameplay factors of the nightmare stages. Though the difficulty is first selected in the beginning of the game, it can be changed at any point in the Stray Sheep by accessing the Config menu of Vincent's phone. Note that some achievements and game modes can only be unlocked on certain difficulties.

Catherine/Catherine Classic[]

Easy[]

"If you're a player who's only interested in Catherine for the story, this is for you. This mode is balanced for beginning players."
— In-game description
  • Easy allows the player to undo up to the last 10 block movements by pressing Back/Select in a Nightmare stage.
  • This mode's Nightmare stages are identical to those in Very Easy.
  • Collecting a Mystic Pillow will grant Vincent 3 retries.
  • The Safety Bonus score multiplier is 2.0.

Normal[]

"Attack challenging puzzles and experience the thrilling action you can only find in Catherine! this is for you. Balanced for average players."
— In-game description
  • Normal allows the player to undo up to the last 10 block movements by pressing Back/Select during Nightmare stage.
  • This mode's Nightmare levels are slightly different than those in Easy and more difficult.
  • There is less time to keep up the chain step counter.
  • Collecting a Mystic Pillow will grant Vincent 2 retries.
  • The Safety Bonus score multiplier is 1.5.
  • Certain Achievements for the game are only obtainable on the Normal difficulty.

Hard[]

"Are you a total masochist? The puzzles in this mode are hellishly difficult, and balanced for the best of the best."
— In-game description
  • Hard difficulty does not allow the player to undo block movements during a Nightmare stage, as with Babel and Colosseum.
  • This mode's Nightmare levels are different and far more difficult than those in the other difficulties.
  • There is less time to keep up the chain step counter.
  • Collecting a Mystic Pillow will grant Vincent only 1 retry.
  • The Safety Bonus score multiplier is 1.0.
  • Only one achievement for the game is obtainable on the Hard difficulty.

Very Easy[]

This is the only difficulty not present on the main menu by default. To play on Very Easy, the player has to hold down the Back/Select button for a few seconds on the main screen while highlighting Golden Theater. After a tone is heard, the description of Golden Theater will now display "Very Easy Mode activated". The player can then select 'Easy' mode, which will now be Very Easy. The player can disable Very Easy by simply pressing Back/Select in the main menu with Golden Theater mode highlighted and the setting persists each time the game is relaunched.

Overall, all gameplay properties in Very Easy mode are identical to Easy, though in addition, Power Drinks now have a chance to show up on top of any block when it is pulled out.

This feature was not present in the initial launch of the Japanese version of Catherine and was added in a patch in response to the complaints of Japanese gamers who found the game being too hard.[1]

Catherine: Full Body[]

Safety[]

"Peaceful nightmares will haunt our protagonist. Choose this if you never want to die."
— In-game description
  • The player starts each stage with 10 undos.
  • This mode's Nightmare levels are the least difficult compared to the other difficulties.
  • The stages do not crumble until the player reaches 11 steps; from this point, the lowest level will then crumble for every new step the player reaches. Also, the stages do not crumble over time like in the original game, essentially giving the player an unlimited amount of time to complete a Nightmare stage. This also effectively caps the base Safety Bonus score to 550 in most stages as such.
  • Any special hazardous blocks in Nightmare stages are encased inside metal cages where they do not trigger, essentially being treated as regular White Blocks.
  • The Safety Bonus score multiplier is 2.0.
  • The player can enable Auto-Play, allowing the game to automatically control Vincent to take the shortest path to the goal of a Nightmare stage.
  • The player can also skip Nightmare stages entirely, even if they haven't cleared that stage yet.
  • Safety mode stages cannot be replayed via Awards, scores attained in Safety are listed in Easy instead.

Easy[]

"Simple nightmares will haunt our protagonist. Choose this if you'd like to play at a relaxed pace."
— In-game description
  • The player starts each stage with 5 undos.
  • This mode's Nightmare levels are identical to those in Safety with the exception of the hazardous blocks now fully enabled.
  • The stages do not crumble until the player reaches 11 steps; from this point, the lowest level will then crumble for every new step the player reaches. Also, the stages do not crumble over time like in the original game, essentially giving the player an unlimited amount of time to complete a Nightmare stage. This also effectively caps the base Safety Bonus score to 550 in most stages as such.
  • The Safety Bonus score multiplier is 2.0.
  • The player can enable Auto-Play, allowing the game to automatically control Vincent to take the shortest path to the goal of a Nightmare stage.

Normal[]

"Average nightmares will haunt our protagonist. Choose this if you'd enjoy a bit of a challenge."
— In-game description
  • The player starts each stage with 3 undos.
  • This mode's Nightmare levels are slightly different than those in Easy and more difficult.
  • The Safety Bonus score multiplier is 1.5.

Hard[]

"Frightening nightmares will haunt our protagonist. Choose this if you wish to hone your skills."
— In-game description
  • The player starts each stage with only 1 undo.
  • This mode's Nightmare levels are different and far more difficult than those in the other difficulties.
  • If Vincent dies in a Nightmare stage other than falling off of the stage, the Love is Over sequence will still be shown display even if the player has undos available, requiring the player to either restart the stage from the beginning or checkpoint, or return to the title screen.
  • The Safety Bonus score multiplier is 1.0.

References[]


Game Information
Game Info  · Gameplay  · Puzzle Mechanics  · Items  · Block Types  · Enemies  · Difficulties  · Scoring  · Techniques  · Undo
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