ReFantazio’s Catherina Should Appear in Another Atlus Franchise

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home December 24, 2024 4 Views 6 Min Read
ReFantazio's Catherina Should Appear in Another Atlus Franchise

An expected part of any Atlus game is a diverse cast of characters that players will grow to know over the course of the game, and Metaphor: ReFantazio is no different. Building bonds with the protagonist’s Followers is a core part of Metaphor: ReFantazio—much like the Social Link mechanic of the Persona series before it—allowing players to get to know the game’s cast on a deeper level. While Metaphor does a great job of fleshing out these Followers, one in particular feels strangely reminiscent of another Atlus IP.

Catherina Grann is the heritor of the Brawler Archetype and a fellow contestant for the crown that players will meet early in Metaphor: ReFantazio. While she has a penchant for challenging the player’s party to battle whenever their gauntlet runners cross paths, she is ultimately an ally of the protagonist and aligns with his vision of a better world. However, longtime Atlus fans may notice the similarities between Catherina’s design and that of Rin in Catherine: Full Body, another Atlus title that Catherina would be perfect for a crossover with.

Metaphor Refantazio Eupha Anime Cutscene

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Catherina Appears to Draw Inspiration from Full Body’s Rin

A pink-haired character with a variant of the name “Catherine” is not a new concept for Atlus, as the developer prominently featured the character Rin in Catherine: Full Body, the definitive version of the puzzle-meets-visual-novel title Catherine. Rin’s addition to Full Body gives the protagonist, Vincent, a third love interest and potential story route to follow. While Full Body gives players the choice to pursue three different “Catherines” —Katherine, Catherine, and Qatherine (Rin)—it seems that Atlus still had room for one more namesake to appear outside this franchise.

Atlus’ Studio Zero, which developed Catherine: Full Body, also developed Metaphor: ReFantazio.

Rin’s signature look in Catherine: Full Body includes a bright pink bob cut and a light blue dress. These design elements bear a striking resemblance to Catherina in Metaphor: ReFantazio, who also has a bright pink bob cut underneath her paripus ears, and wears a similarly silver-blue set of armor. While it’s clear elements of Catherina’s design were influenced by Full Body‘s Rin, the Metaphor: ReFanatzio character deserves to return the favor and appear in a potential Catherine sequel, whether as a simple cameo or a full love interest for players to pursue.

Atlus Has a History of Referencing Its Franchises within One Another

This wouldn’t be the first instance of Atlus hiding Easter eggs for its franchises within one another, as Catherine is full of nods to series like Persona and Shin Megami Tensei. Players can find things like plushes of Persona‘s Koromaru, Teddie, and Morgana within Catherine‘s Stray Sheep bar, references to Persona 3‘s Gekkoukan High School, and music from the Shin Megami Tensei series in the Stray Sheep’s jukebox. However, a sequel to Catherine could take these Easter eggs a step further after Metaphor: ReFantazio gives the developer the perfect excuse to feature Catherina as a crossover character.

Whether as the exact character herself or a lookalike, including Catherina as a new patron of the Stray Sheep in a Catherine sequel would be the perfect way for these games to cross over. Each of the three romantic interests in Catherine: Full Body has their pros and cons that Vincent must grapple with as he decides which option to pursue, so perhaps Catherina could appear as a new love interest that becomes involved with the protagonist because she is using them as a mark for her life as a thief. This type of arc would make sense given that Catherina first appears in Metaphor: ReFantazio as a thief who steals from the rich to support her fellow poor paripus followers.

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