Completed Banette & Guilmon - A Pokemon Movie

Presley · Aug 10, 2017

I really love this so far. Like, I actually love this. It's extremely well-written in my eyes because I honestly feel like I'm in the characters' shoes. I can almost feel the emotion coming out of them! On top of everything, the soundtrack is really nice. Great job, Pap! Looking forward to more things like this in the future.

Mashirosakura · Aug 10, 2017

I...I'm kind of at a loss for words. I just experienced 1h15mins of joy. Of relatability. Whilst making Edge Rising, Pap occasionally talked about this game. I kind of ignored it and said to myself "I'm not gonna spoil it and I'll play it when it's out." I am glad I waited. I related to Banette more than I was expecting too. Just...good job Pap, good job.

SmokedPaprika · Aug 10, 2017

Presley said:
I really love this so far. Like, I actually love this. It's extremely well-written in my eyes because I honestly feel like I'm in the characters' shoes. I can almost feel the emotion coming out of them! On top of everything, the soundtrack is really nice. Great job, Pap! Looking forward to more things like this in the future.

Hahaha, thanks a bunch! I can't really take much credit for the soundtrack, because I didn't have those songs made for the game. I'm just a dirty thief who has a decent sense of when a good song works with a scene.

Mashirosakura said:
I...I'm kind of at a loss for words. I just experienced 1h15mins of joy. Of relatability. Whilst making Edge Rising, Pap occasionally talked about this game. I kind of ignored it and said to myself "I'm not gonna spoil it and I'll play it when it's out." I am glad I waited. I related to Banette more than I was expecting too. Just...good job Pap, good job.

That's really, really flattering! I don't want to spoil anything for the people who haven't played the game yet, but there were scenes in this game that were difficult for me to write. One scene, specifically, had me prancing around my neighborhood to keep the blood flowing so I could maintain a sense of negativity that the characters were feeling. I'm glad you enjoyed it - I hope you enjoy some of the other jam games, too.

TechSkylander1518 · Aug 10, 2017

Now, I know saying this reveals a deep personal flaw, but…I have not actually played Home yet. (not of disinterest, I promise! I only discovered it during the school year, and keep putting it off due to poor time management) So B&G got to be my first time fully experiencing your visual novels-the excellent music selections (both in the synced scenes and just for setting the mood), the wonderful characterization, and the unique approach to storytelling. (and the excellent sense of humor-I absolutely lost it at Exploud)

B&G has a sense of whimsy that reminds me a bit of Pixar films-not because it’s about two monsters sharing an apartment, but in that it creates a whole universe to explore and wonder about while giving you a story of its residents so intimate you feel like you know them yourself. (which is not what most people would have done in a story that begins with a portal from the Digimon world to the Pokemon world) It was such a wonderful experience, thank you so much for sharing it with us!

OrreMIDI · Aug 10, 2017

OH. MY. GOD. This was absolutely phenomenal! Pap, you're an amazing storyteller! At first I was a little weary of such a touchy subject being brought up in a fangame, I was a little worried that it might hit a little too close to home, but I feel you found the perfect way to tell this kind of story while keeping the nice, fun, happy tone that Pokemon always carries with it. I found the characters extremely relatable, as many people have already said, and sometimes I could imagine myself and some of my friends in the shoes of Banette and Guilmon. This was an amazing game and I can't wait to see more games from you! I also really like how innovative it was to make you unable to control the character, and to use RPG Maker to simply tell a story, I haven't encountered anything like that before and am hoping B&G will inspire more people to tell stories in that style! Once again, amazing game, and I really have nothing bad to say at all!

SmokedPaprika · Aug 10, 2017

TechSkylander1518 said:
Now, I know saying this reveals a deep personal flaw, but…I have not actually played Home yet. (not of disinterest, I promise! I only discovered it during the school year, and keep putting it off due to poor time management) So B&G got to be my first time fully experiencing your visual novels-the excellent music selections (both in the synced scenes and just for setting the mood), the wonderful characterization, and the unique approach to storytelling. (and the excellent sense of humor-I absolutely lost it at Exploud)

Hey, don't even worry about it! I'll be honest - I was being a massive brat about Home. It's an unfinished concept of a game without any real immediate draw to it. I want to redo it with better visuals and a more complete story, and so it's perfectly fine if you haven't played it.

That being said, thanks a whole bunch for playing through my game. I'm absolutely flattered that you'd say such kind things about the experience. Your guys' support means the world to me, and I hope to be able to continue to write stories like these for you guys, because it's my passion. Thanks a million.

Fakemon123 said:
OH. MY. GOD. This was absolutely phenomenal! Pap, you're an amazing storyteller! At first I was a little weary of such a touchy subject being brought up in a fangame, I was a little worried that it might hit a little too close to home, but I feel you found the perfect way to tell this kind of story while keeping the nice, fun, happy tone that Pokemon always carries with it. I found the characters extremely relatable, as many people have already said, and sometimes I could imagine myself and some of my friends in the shoes of Banette and Guilmon. This was an amazing game and I can't wait to see more games from you! I also really like how innovative it was to make you unable to control the character, and to use RPG Maker to simply tell a story, I haven't encountered anything like that before and am hoping B&G will inspire more people to tell stories in that style! Once again, amazing game, and I really have nothing bad to say at all!

Jeez, you guys, you're gonna make me cry ;w;

TechSkylander1518 · Aug 10, 2017

Honestly, it really does have draw for me already, but if you're redoing it, I'd better hold off! I wanna have everything fresh when i try!

It's really clear that your passion and talent for storytelling is amazing! I can't wait to see where it takes you!

Rhyden · Aug 11, 2017

This was a very good story and it felt pretty relatable with the themes of depression, willpower and such. It kind of hurt to watch because of that but even if it was saddening I still enjoyed it for what it was, a quality piece of entertainment. Never stop writing stories, Pap.

entei · Aug 13, 2017

Wow. I don't know what to say.

If I'm honest, when I first heard about the name of "Banette and Guilmon", I was skeptical about how it would play out. Alongside not being a big fan of visual novels, I was slightly wary. But I'm glad to say that I was pleasantly surprised and thoroughly enjoyed this the whole way through. The characters were all great, truly believable and at some points it was even worrying how realistic you made them, since something to this level is usually only done with a bit of real life experience in the matter. The thoughts and feelings of characters were all understandable giving the situations that they were in, and ended up all being something that I could truly empathise with.

There's so much more I could say but I don't want to write a huge huge post. But all in all, you've truly created something amazing here. I look forward to any project you make in the future if it's even a fraction of the quality of this!

Brom · Aug 13, 2017

I believe that Banette and Guilmon could reasonably work as a feature-length animated film. The only hurdle would be to get Nintendo, GameFreak, and Saban to be fine with you using their property. ...That's a pretty big hurdle actually. Scrap that. I do think you'd be a good cinematographer, Pap, and I really hope you'll be successful in any of your future endeavors!

SmokedPaprika · Aug 13, 2017

Bromley said:
I believe that Banette and Guilmon could reasonably work as a feature-length animated film. The only hurdle would be to get Nintendo, GameFreak, and Saban to be fine with you using their property. ...That's a pretty big hurdle actually. Scrap that. I do think you'd be a good cinematographer, Pap, and I really hope you'll be successful in any of your future endeavors!

Don't forget the copyrighted music that'll scare everybody away!

Brom · Aug 13, 2017

SmokedPaprika said:
Don't forget the copyrighted music that'll scare everybody away!

And Masuda can't play piano either, so no emotional scenes. Only trumpets.

manta · Aug 13, 2017

Man. This game... well, it's not really a game, is it? It's a documentary. The cameraman/interviewer dynamic works so well, and Banette and Guilmon are very well written. Like others have mentioned, it's quite easy to see Banette in myself, and so, the whole thing just turns much more realistic. The wide array of portraits and music helped to set the mood for each scene, and added to the emotional impact. Seriously, stellar work on this. I can really tell you put your all into this, it's one of the best RPG Maker projects I've ever had the pleasure to enjoy.

Aki · Aug 14, 2017

This game is so...I dunno, I just don't have a good word for it. It's so cathartic and well made; the story is really personal and relateable while the setup is fun and still has time for jokes.

What was that ending???? I love it, the dolls just add so much hilarity even though the conversation is heavy and the situation was really dark. Plus that parallel between being dolls, and Banette being a possessed doll, and Guilmon commenting on how Banette must have felt like a doll...wtf you can't squish that many layers in, that's illegal.

Hope you don't mind comparisons, but I was reminded a lot of my experience watching Bojack Horseman; it's really good but so depressing it kinda ruins my day but I couldn't stop watching. I usually prefer my media sugar coated in idealism so the happier ending really helped me wipe away those tears that were threatening to fall.

Anyway, I noticed a tile error here:

Even though I didn't notice it in later scenes at the Convenience store. Why did I notice something so small in the first place, who knows.

Also is this Eevee a cameo? I'm curious about that black fur collar

Taq · Sep 17, 2017

I haven't wrote here yet, huh.

Well, I have to say, this was a really well made story, I like the characters and liked that it didn't go all dark and depressing. I was kinda supprised of how the plot itself was, I felt like it be doing something else but it was a different which I liked. I felt like I was watching a movie during it and made me have new life lessons.
I find both of main characters relatable in a degree and definitely are an interesting duo.
All I have to say is good job and I'm happy to experience it.

Tomix9tomix · Sep 25, 2017

I finally did it Pap! I sat down and dedicated some time to this game I've been planning to play for awhile now! So here are my dot points on it and stuff.

-So right off the bat, that sort of montage sequence when Guilmon is being interview is great, flows so nicely
-I can see why people say these two characters are relatable, I can feel for both the characters
-There were lots of small details I loved, Exploud being nice and quiet, the Zangoose and Serviper couple. And plenty other things. They all add up to give the game and world a nice feeling
-omg, the real world segment. I didn't expect anything like that to be in the game, but I enjoyed it. (also, those are some nice plushies)
-Well that was a really nice, heart warming ending, with good music in the credits too. A lot of movies/tv shows are good and can get you really depressed to show control over your emotions, but this game/experience thingy, made me feel, but at the ending I still felt happy and warm on the inside with a few extra bits of self-reflection
-I'm just trying to think of some negatives solely for the point of this review being somewhat constructive and not just praise. Nothing really stands out, the writing was solid all around, but the start seemed weaker than the later bits, I guess the experience and momentum just helped you over time.
-Thanks for making such a great game, I think you should really be proud of what you've done, this is my first time playing a pokemon fan game like this, and I think it would be cool to see it inspire many more similar to this to come.

shadow.sulphor · Sep 28, 2017

Can't believe it. Banette is none other than me, and that means I sucks at every thing and just did nothing other than pc surfing.
I played whole 6 scene and for real it just touch brain.

SmokedPaprika · Sep 28, 2017

Godric.sulphor said:
Can't believe it. Banette is none other than me, and that means I sucks at every thing and just did nothing other than pc surfing.
I played whole 6 scene and for real it just touch brain.

Banette's character isn't so much about what he is, but what he's doing, and what he can do. He doesn't suck at everything, and neither do you ;).

Greninjauzumaki · Oct 11, 2017

Hey there Pap I really enjoyed playing Banette and Guilmon. This was my very first visual novel game so at first I was unsure if I would enjoy it. I loved the characters, the various themes you depicted and also the soundtracks. However as I was playing the game I felt that the player had no significant impact on the game. The game is really good but I felt that it would have been better if the player had to choose some of Bannette's or Guilmon's dialogues (in my opinion of course as I may be wrong). On the whole great game Pap and good luck !!!!!:blush:

Completed Banette & Guilmon - A Pokemon Movie

Presley

Fastest Man Alive

Mashirosakura

With my wishes frozen in time and long forgotten

SmokedPaprika

Stinky Person

TechSkylander1518

Wiki Dweeb

OrreMIDI

AKA Fakemon123

SmokedPaprika

Stinky Person

TechSkylander1518

Wiki Dweeb

Rhyden

Shuckle Kheen

entei

Novice

Brom

Crobat Appreciator

SmokedPaprika

Stinky Person

Brom

Crobat Appreciator

manta

★★★★★

Aki

Ace trainer

Taq

Sandwich Master

Tomix9tomix

The beetle is waking up

shadow.sulphor

Novice

SmokedPaprika

Stinky Person

Greninjauzumaki

pika pika