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I have not read Muv Kuv Alternative, what am I missing out on?


CeruleanGamer

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I recently went through the main Muv Luv games (Extra, Unlimited, Alternative) back-to-back, so I'll give you the low down on this whole deal.

 

How much you read before Alternative is largely up to you and your preferences. To start with, the first two games of the series, Extra and Unlimited, are packaged together. In order to get access to Unlimited you must clear the Meiya and Sumika routes in Extra. There are three other routes in Extra, and honestly, even though I like Iinchou and Ayamine a lot as characters, the story they decide to tell is largely something I didn't want to see. From a storyline standpoint I actually liked Tama's route, even though the thought of doing an H scene with her makes me throw up a bit in my mouth. I would still suggest you play every route in Extra. Why? The characters introduced in these routes will show up in Alternative, and their appearance and roles will make far more sense. I also loved the "bad" end with Marimo, which I thought was awesome and wouldn't call a bad end at all. It answers a nagging question I had throughout the VN as well.

 

While we're talking about the world of Muv Luv Extra, this happens in the same world as Kimi ga Nozomu Eien. There are several tie ins with KimiNozo. As it is only in the beginning of being translated, and is one of the longest VNs of all time, it's probably not an option if your kanji isn't at JLPT level 1. I would say watching the TV series is absolutely necessary. You should actually watch it before playing Extra as one of the characters from Kiminozo has a good amount of screen time. Watch Second Season is you want, and watch Akane Maniax after you play Extra for a chance to see some Muv Luv characters in anime. AyuMayu Theater will make far more sense after you play Alternative, so wait on that one.

 

Unlimited is a different story. All of the routes are the same and the choices you make have almost no impact on the story. Instead of event A happening with character A, you could manipulate it into being character B with enough of the right choices, but the differences are minor. There is no reason to play the game more than once unless you want to see the H scene of another character. The endings are all EXACTLY the fucking same, to the point that it doesn't feel true to the characters. It's done to plant seeds for Alternative and it makes sense now in retrospect, but it drags on a LOT when playing for 100% and felt like a big fuck you from the writer to the fanbase IMO. I'd suggest making choices that seem like they will maximize time with your favorite character and to play Alternative before going through the game again. Clearing it to 100% after the first character was brutal.

 

Alternative is extremely linear. The choices you make have only a minor impact on the story, and after going back through it to see what would happen with all of the opposite choices, there's basically no difference. The game gives you a big middle finger by having zero benefits after clearing the game. No soundtracks. No CG gallery. Nothing. It's like "Oh, you just forked over 60 hours of your life and thought that would let you listen to the game's music? Well fuck you." There are only 2 H scenes in the whole game, and they're both with a character I wouldn't even want to bang in real life.

 

Now that I've said all of the bad parts about it, on the whole it's really great. Just about everything I didn't like in Extra and Unlimited tied into the story and paid off in a way that made sense. The effects that they pull off are visually stunning. While the others would have points where the story was interesting and would then drag, this went more than 10 hours before it even came close to slowing down once. The more you pay attention to little details in the prior games the more you are rewarded in Alternative. Alternative doesn't expect you to remember every hint about the way things might go and reminds you of lines here and there when foreshadowing is paid off. As you go farther into Alternative you'll be glad you at least watched KimiNozo as a lot of characters from Kimizono appear, and are true to the characters you've come to know. There aren't a lot of areas that are light-hearted in this one, but it will grab you by the balls and not let go for hours at a time. The ending is certainly divisive, you'll probably love or hate it, but the ending of the ending gave me huge blue balls for Altered Fable. I can't wait to play it.

 

For other Muv Luv games that are translated, Haruko Maniax could be played anywhere as long as you don't play it first. It's...kinda weird and kinda gross when you consider where the H scenes come from. Shows you a softer family side of Haruko if you want to see it, but nothing lost if you don't.

 

Chronicles vol.1 is also translated and should be played after Alternative. It's all new characters though and further expands the world after Alternative ends.

 

 

Erogamescape rates Muv Luv Alternative as one of the top 10 games in their DB, as ranked by thousands of native Japanese VN players. That's not just better than 90% - that's better than 99%. It's the competition with games like YU-NO, Clannad, or Steins;Gate.

Remember, there are huge numbers of pure crap nukiges and half-assed doujin games out there that never get mentioned in the West, because they aren't worth the time it takes to write out the title.

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So whats the correct order to play the Muv Luv series?

I'll just clarify this to make it as simple as possible. Extra and Unlimited are both in the same VN, to unlock Unlimited you need to read the Meiya/Sumika routes. Once you finish that, download Alternative and read that. The entire process is lengthy but god damn I don't regret calling in sick for work for 3 days. Worth it.

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You are't missing anything, since as far as I know a VN named Muv Kuv Alternative doesn't exist. If I have to ignore your typo, it's another matter. It's quite a masterpiece (some people said, not me). Its story and development is wonderful (some people said).

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  • 2 months later...

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