Muv-Luv [Series]

[Tatsujin]

I played Muv-Luv Alternative last year during the summer. I loved every damn minute of it. The beginning was weird and all but once that incident that happens on 12/5 begins it changed my view about the whole series - story - characters, pretty much everything. Anyways! Yesterday I came back to Fuwanovel to see what's new and I saw Chronicles Volume 1 released. I stopped all my manga and anime and downloaded it and began playing it. I haven't finished it. I'm like 4 or 6 hours deep. I heard it's very short but I so don't care!

 

I went a little overboard and went on a shopping spree for all the Muv-Luv stuff. :/ I even see that light novel this one and it took my breath away. I love the suits. I'm not a fan of mecha stuff, but Muv-Luv is an exception because of the depth and structure of the plot. I see that someone's working on Chronicles volume 2. >_<! Give it to Tatsu!!!!!!! Playing Chronicles Volume 1 is killing me again to play Muv-Luv Alternative all over again ... I played it twice, the second time I stopped before that PSTD phase (extreme gore and really fucked up scenes, can't handle it well).

 

Oh yea, a new visual novel called Schwarzesmarken is in development by age. It's suppose to be out next year. The official site is here. I'm looking forward to it!

 

Okay, yeah, whatever. I think I spoke too much.

[JustThisOne]

I remember my experience with Muv Luv Alternative. Instead of studying for my high school final exams, I was staying up to like 3 in the morning reading it. I still don't regret it to this day. 

[InvertMouse]

I have heard nothing but great things about this game from everyone here. Really need to get on it ~

[Mr Poltroon]

I have heard nothing but great things about this game from everyone here. Really need to get on it ~

 

If you plan on doing such a reckless thing, please clear your schedule for the next few months.

I can almost guarantee you'll do nothing productive during this time. 

[Tatsujin]

I have heard nothing but great things about this game from everyone here. Really need to get on it ~

You'll need a lot .. a lot of time. This game is freaking long. Over 50 hours of reading. I put about, I think a bit over a hundred hours. It took me about 3 weeks and a half to read the whole thing (or play, whatever you want to call it ). The good thing is the story is linear. One ending, regardless of which choices you make (it really only affects few lines, no impact on the story or characters, everything stays the same, except the 'confession' of kasumi if you feel like reading it. It's a really cute confession and a bitter one).

 

 

If you plan on doing such a reckless thing, please clear your schedule for the next few months.

I can almost guarantee you'll do nothing productive during this time. 

 

^ What he said. You really gotta make time for AL. It's a very long, addictive, very deep story. Just when you think "wow, this is really good" the next part will blow you away.

 

 

I remember my experience with Muv Luv Alternative. Instead of studying for my high school final exams, I was staying up to like 3 in the morning reading it. I still don't regret it to this day. 

I pushed my University classes few months away while playing this. Before I started, I read some basic/surface story of Muv-Luv EXTRA/UNLIMITED from the group that translated AL (Alternative) and .. well I don't recommend that. After I beat AL, I went on ahead and played Muv-Luv EXTRA/UNLIMITED and I kinda regret not reading those two before Alternative.

 

I can also relate this to Fate/Stay Night Realta Nua VN. I played that game for three weeks as well and I logged over a hundred hours in that game. Really, really, really good plot and story. The ending (Final Episode) is the best epilogue at the moment. AL holds the best bitter-sweet ending ... uh, seriously twisted, bitter sweet ending. That sounds good?

 

Ah yeah, I played AL while holding two jobs and putting 55-70 hours a week of work. I remember, 10 PM to 7 AM for my night job, and 7:30 AM to 11:30AM-2PM. Nice money, cool people, but so wasn't worth the time.

[crunchytaco]

Muv Luv was the reason I made an account here .

When I first saw this series I thought Muv Luv was the weirdest title you can give a game like Alternative. Now its synonymous with anything outstanding for me.

"This salad sauce is like Muv Luv in my mouth."

[InvertMouse]

I see (O_O)... Maybe I will get on it during the Christmas break or something. The money is a worry XD. Whenever I love a game, I want to buy a bunch of stuff to support it~

 

My only experience of Muv Luv was that anime for a while back. Never got into it too much, so I will guess the VN is completely different .

[Tatsujin]

Muv Luv Alternative Total Eclipse is another story. The anime is for the otaku genre that want ecchi and m'oe. Total Eclipse is NOT the Alternative we're talking about. All the characters in Alternative are way different than Total Eclipse. So forget the anime. Here's the super small guide:

 

Muv-Luv EXTRA - beat Sumika's arc, then Meiya's arc. Once you do that then UNLIMITED unlocks. Beat Meiya's arc and you are done with those two games (they're both in one-game really). The other characters are all the same route or whatever. I hear its so bad it's not worth the time. All the characters you encounter and see play big roles in Alternative. Sumika and Meiya are the main characters in Muv-Luv EXTRA and UNLIMITED (won't spoil too much into this) and especially Meiya ... (won't spoil that either)

 

Then you are ready for Muv-Luv Alternative. And ... enjoy.

[InvertMouse]

So do I need to play these Muv Luv games in order? All I have heard praises for is Alternative so I want to get straight to the good stuff ~ One VN is so long so it is hard to force one's way through anything average X'D.

[Tatsujin]

So do I need to play these Muv Luv games in order? All I have heard praises for is Alternative so I want to get straight to the good stuff ~ One VN is so long so it is hard to force one's way through anything average X'D.

You can't jump into Alternative because Alternative jumps into the middle of the story right from the beginning. I hope that makes sense. Basically, you will be perfectly lost in Alternative without knowing Takeru's feelings and you won't know (will barely know) who the characters are and what they feel like, at least at minimum.

 

I gave you the minimum routes. Both EXTRA and UNLIMITED should be done by like 35 hours on average with Sumika and Meiya from EXTRA and Meiya from UNLIMITED. Avoid the other routes (they're useless/repetitive/terrible). That's just the maximum experience, if you want to read whatever notes is with Alternative then do that but you'll end up like me.

 

ah, time to sleep now.

[Life]

So do I need to play these Muv Luv games in order? All I have heard praises for is Alternative so I want to get straight to the good stuff ~ One VN is so long so it is hard to force one's way through anything average X'D.

I posted this picture recently but it answers many possible questions including that one.

[Mr Poltroon]

Jeez, it's like some kind of cult. 

Someone mentions the game might be worth checking out, and there's twenty people on top of him shoving praise and instructions on how to play in his face.

[Funnerific]

Welcome to fandoms

[Albedo]

So do I need to play these Muv Luv games in order? All I have heard praises for is Alternative so I want to get straight to the good stuff ~ One VN is so long so it is hard to force one's way through anything average X'D.

 

Well, if you're really, really pressed for time, you could ctrl-skip Extra, since it's just a generic romantic comedy (did I mention that it's generic? because it is) without missing much and jump straight to Unlimited, which you pretty much need to play to get the most out of Alternative and it is kind of interesting on its own. But you should play Alternative, as far as translated VNs go, this is the best of the bunch.

[InvertMouse]

You can't jump into Alternative because Alternative jumps into the middle of the story right from the beginning. I hope that makes sense. Basically, you will be perfectly lost in Alternative without knowing Takeru's feelings and you won't know (will barely know) who the characters are and what they feel like, at least at minimum.

 

I gave you the minimum routes. Both EXTRA and UNLIMITED should be done by like 35 hours on average with Sumika and Meiya from EXTRA and Meiya from UNLIMITED. Avoid the other routes (they're useless/repetitive/terrible). That's just the maximum experience, if you want to read whatever notes is with Alternative then do that but you'll end up like me.

 

ah, time to sleep now.

 

Haha, you make it seem as if 70 hours is nothing XD~

 

Thanks for all the guides everyone. That's obviously some overflowing love over this game. Very intrigued ~

[Down]

 

Haha, you make it seem as if 70 hours is nothing XD~

Well that really depends on your reading speed. For the record it took me 10 hours to make my way through Extra (3 routes) and same amount (a bit less, only one route) for Unlimited. Then 40 hours for Alternative. I'm probably a bit above average in terms of reading speed but with the other indications you had in this thread it should give you an idea of what to expect.

 

And yeah, do read it. Can't add much to what has been said already. I mean, maybe it won't be as great for you as we make it out to be, but on the other hand there's the chance that it will be the best VN you'll EVER play like it was for some of us.

[Tatsujin]

Well that really depends on your reading speed. For the record it took me 10 hours to make my way through Extra (3 routes) and same amount (a bit less, only one route) for Unlimited. Then 40 hours for Alternative. I'm probably a bit above average in terms of reading speed but with the other indications you had in this thread it should give you an idea of what to expect.

 

And yeah, do read it. Can't add much to what has been said already. I mean, maybe it won't be as great for you as we make it out to be, but on the other hand there's the chance that it will be the best VN you'll EVER play like it was for some of us.

If the characters are speaking then I let it end to that. I find it to be a better experience to me.

 

I tried to save that picture and ... this websites operates really weird. Can you share that Muv-Luv guide for me please? Nevermind, drag and drop for the win.

 

(are double posts okay?) -> nope =p

 

I have all my saved files from my previous installation. I had Windows 7 back in September before I built this computer. I remember running MLA once a long while back to see if it was working. Not working, so I re-installed it and I'm trying to figure out how to transfer my saved data back. Where do I put these files?

[GetterEmperor]

You can put your saves in a folder called Vmreg.

[Scars Unseen]

Well, if you're really, really pressed for time, you could ctrl-skip Extra, since it's just a generic romantic comedy (did I mention that it's generic? because it is) without missing much and jump straight to Unlimited, which you pretty much need to play to get the most out of Alternative and it is kind of interesting on its own. But you should play Alternative, as far as translated VNs go, this is the best of the bunch.

 

I said this in another similar thread, but I don't personally recommend doing that, except for through the second mandatory playthrough(seriously, there is almost no difference at all between Sumika's and Meiya's routes).  Aside from getting to know the characters, which makes even Unlimited more meaningful, there is a lot of Alternative relevant foreshadowing in Extra.  Even though I kind of struggled my first time through, if I were to do it again knowing what I do now, I would have at least played Ayamine's route in addition to the required routes prior to moving on.

 

Extra becomes a better VN retroactively after Alternative.  It's just kind of hard to see it when you first play it.

[Albedo]

I said this in another similar thread, but I don't personally recommend doing that, except for through the second mandatory playthrough(seriously, there is almost no difference at all between Sumika's and Meiya's routes).  Aside from getting to know the characters, which makes even Unlimited more meaningful, there is a lot of Alternative relevant foreshadowing in Extra.  Even though I kind of struggled my first time through, if I were to do it again knowing what I do now, I would have at least played Ayamine's route in addition to the required routes prior to moving on.

 

Extra becomes a better VN retroactively after Alternative.  It's just kind of hard to see it when you first play it.

 

Well, that's why I said that if he's really pressed for time, Extra is skippable. Because it's a generic romcom (plus lacrosse.) Also, I gotta disagree, while a lot of the stuff that was foreshadowed in Extra was kinda cool (say, Yuuko's physics exam question, for example,) I don't think you lose that much by skipping it. I did play all of the routes on my first time, and if I had to do it again, I'd ctrl-skip my way through Sumika and Meiya. You'll get the information (Ayamine) or the character development (Tama) sooner or later, anyway.

 

And Altered Fable makes extra look worse. Because it manages to be actually funny in some parts... and there's no lacrosse.

[Tatsujin]

Well, that's why I said that if he's really pressed for time, Extra is skippable. Because it's a generic romcom (plus lacrosse.) Also, I gotta disagree, while a lot of the stuff that was foreshadowed in Extra was kinda cool (say, Yuuko's physics exam question, for example,) I don't think you lose that much by skipping it. I did play all of the routes on my first time, and if I had to do it again, I'd ctrl-skip my way through Sumika and Meiya. You'll get the information (Ayamine) or the character development (Tama) sooner or later, anyway.

 

And Altered Fable makes extra look worse. Because it manages to be actually funny in some parts... and there's no lacrosse.

Extra is indefinitely generic (and boring in many areas). But skipping on Extra will ultimately throw the reader off in various areas - like how you, Albedo, stated with Yuuko's labs and physics, or Sumika and Meiya's memories, etc. So it is still up to the reader if they want to take that risk of venturing into the unknown. Besides that, how would a person really jump into Unlimited without playing Extra? Have you thought about his personal relationships with the characters, personalities, and so on? How about the TSF's (was the name?) and how he was relating the realistic mecha to the game he used to play a lot in the gaming center? Those are just few examples to throw out there to think about.

[crunchytaco]

Still Lacrosse serves almost 0 purpose to the series. Yet it's the longest part. You can figure out Chizuru's relationship with Ayamine from the beginning of that arc and the end of it.

[Tatsujin]

Photon stuff. Divided into Melodies and Flowers. Both seem to be for PS3. Are they VNs? I think they are.

[GetterEmperor]

This will give you more information on what they are.

[Tatsujin]

^ So basically there are some new stories and compiled stuff from other releases.

And it's on a freaking PS3 ... not on PS4 or PC. Ha!