BasketBelle is an experimental 2D basketball-based platformer. Each Chapter of the game uses the mechanics and idea of basketball in a different way. At one point you might be dribbling inside the intestines of a purple blob creature (what?). At others, you're likely to be dunking above the clouds in front of the Parisian moon. It gets a little weird, and I like that. BasketBelle was originally created as an experiment in synchronizing audio with interactive visuals. This has stayed true through its development, as the main character's dribbles create the bass kicks for the music in each Chapter. There was also a desire to try something new with basketball - its mechanics perfect for a videogame; its application mostly being confined to a court. As an additional change of pace, a love story was introduced, but this time dealing with the love of family members and not so much romantic love as has been explored in previous games.
This game was a really great experience. It gives you enough touching, relateable drama to really feel fear for your sister, Belle, while maintaining a mood of adventure that helps you stay the course in your search. The way the art, animation, gameplay and music all came together so harmoniously also sent chills down my spine at times.
While some have been put off by the short length and I certainly wouldn't mind seeing a bit more, there's some real meat presented here well worth the price of admission. It's also nice to have such a deep, solid game to revisit without making a major commitment in time or energy.
My only problem with the game was the couple times I felt really lost as to what I should do in some of the gameplay sequences. As a sort of gameplay anthology, the author did well in his interface instruction, but a few parts dragged on endlessly until I accidentally stumbled over how to actually make some real progress. When I think about how much of the total game time I spent in these ruts, it stings a bit, though this won't be any issue in future playthroughs.