Muv-Luv

The visual novel Muv-Luv is divided into two parts. The first part, titled Muv-Luv Extra, features playable character Takeru Shirogane (voiced by Takeshi Aiba in the Windows version and Soichiro Hoshi in ports) who wakes up one morning to find a beautiful young woman sleeping in his bed, just as an infuriated Sumika Kagami (voiced by Hiroko Taguchi, credited as Rika Fujiwara in the Windows version), Takeru's neighbor and childhood friend, comes to wake him up that morning. The young woman, Meiya Mitsurugi (voiced by Aki Okuda in the Windows version and Kazumi Okushima in ports), is the heiress to a financially powerful family and is determined to be Takeru's bride. As the story progresses, both girls compete for Takeru's affections while Takeru has recurring dreams about a marriage promise he made to a girl long ago. At first, he believes the girl was Sumika, but eventually realizes that it was actually Meiya. At the conclusion, Takeru must choose between which of the girls he truly loves. In addition, the player may also make decisions to choose between one of the three main supporting cast: Chizuru Sakaki (voiced by Masayo Kurata), Miki Tamase (voiced by Hitomi), and Kei Ayamine (voiced by Nagashima Yuuko).

The second part, Muv-Luv Unlimited, starts with Takeru Shirogane waking up in his bed, reminiscent of the start of Muv-Luv Extra; however, Takeru quickly realizes that neither Meiya nor Sumika come to wake him that morning. Upon leaving his house, he finds his neighborhood destroyed and Sumika's house crushed under the wreckage of a large mecha. Takeru later learns that he is in an alternate world to Extra, where aliens called BETA (an acronym for "Beings of Extra Terrestrial origin which are Adversary of the human race") have invaded and mankind fights back against the alien aggressors with mecha called Tactical Surface Fighters (戦術歩行戦闘機, Senjutsuhokōsentōki), usually referred to in Japanese as simply Senjutsuki (戦術機).

Muv-Luv Unlimited explains that the BETA first arrived on Earth in 1973 (in China and Canada) after arriving on the Moon in 1967 and being spotted on Mars in 1958. Subsequent battles with BETA resulted in the global population dropping to 2.4 billion with most of mainland Eurasia having been lost by the time the game starts in 2001. Most of the major characters from the Extra timeline are present in Unlimited, notably excluding the Unlimited world's Takeru, who is said to be dead, and Sumika, who does not seem to exist in the Unlimited timeline. The characters are mostly identical to their Extra counterparts, with the notable exception Yoroi, Takeru's best friend in Extra who, for reasons unclear, is a girl in this reality.

In the sequel Muv-Luv Alternative, Takeru wakes up three years after the beginning of Unlimited to find himself back in his room. Although he first thinks that the events of Muv-Luv Unlimited were a dream, he soon feels that something is wrong, and leaves the house to find that he has been sent back in time to the beginning of the events in Unlimited. Unwilling to accept the events at the end of Unlimited, he decides to help professor Kouzuki save the earth and mankind by bringing the mysterious Alternative IV — cancelled at the end of Unlimited — to fruition.

A typical conversation in Muv-Luv featuring the player character talking to Sumika.

The gameplay in Muv-Luv requires little player interaction as most time is spent reading the text that appears on the lower portion of the screen, representing either dialogue between characters, narration, or the inner thoughts of the player character. Every so often, the player will arrive at a "decision point", and be required to choose between multiple options. Gameplay pauses and depending upon the player's choice, the plot will develop in a specific direction. There are multiple plot lines that the player can follow, one for each heroine in the story, and there are nineteen possible endings. To view all plot lines, the player must replay the game multiple times. The game can end in failure if the player makes the wrong decisions. When this occurs, the player can return to a previously saved spot to try again.

Muv-Luv is divided into two segments, or story arcs—Extra and Unlimited—which serve as different phases in the overall story. Initially, only the Extra arc is available to play, but once the player has completed the Extra scenarios for the two main heroines, Sumika Kagami and Meiya Mitsurugi, the Unlimited arc becomes accessible. The 2016 Steam release removes this lock and makes Unlimited available immediately, albeit with a warning that the player should experience Extra first.

Muv-Luv has prompted many spin-offs, and is itself a spin-off of âge's Kimi ga Nozomu Eien and its sequel Akane Maniax, as it features several characters, locations, and story elements from those games. Muv-Luv Alternative also adds a character from âge's first visual novel, Kimi ga Ita Kisetsu.

Muv-Luv Unlimited The Day After continues the story of Muv-Luv Unlimited, showing what happens after the end of that story and prior to Takeru's backward time-skip that begins Muv-Luv Alternative. Currently incomplete, TDA was released episodically (as episodes "00" through "03") as part of the Muv-Luv Alternative Chronicles series of side-story discs. In 2020, âge announced that it will release episodes 00 through 03 in English, and that work has begun on episode 04.[1]

Muv-Luv Alternative Total Eclipse is a spin-off story set parallel to Muv-Luv Alternative, which focuses on the development of experimental TSF craft and the relationship between Yuuya Bridges, a Japanese-American test pilot and Yui Takamura, a leading figure in the development of a new generation TSF, which may able to change the course of the war.

Schwarzesmarken[lower-alpha 10] is a series set in the Germany of the Alternative universe, during the early years of the BETA invasion in 1983. The protagonists are the 666th TSF squadron of East Germany, who fight both the BETA and opponents from the corrupt Stasi (Ministry of State Security). Schwarzesmarken replaced the Total Eclipse serialization in Tech Gian magazine. The series is written by Hiroki Uchida and illustrated by CARNELIAN. The series was followed in Tech Gian by its prequel, Bernhard im Schatten.

Several other prose spin-offs were published as short stories in Tech Gian magazine. In addition, two fandiscs were also released, Muv-Luv Supplement[lower-alpha 11] and Muv-Luv Altered Fable[lower-alpha 12], containing alternate scenarios, short stories, computer wallpapers, and audio dramas. Other spin-off material appeared as short visual novels in re-releases of earlier games, and in the Muv-Luv Alternative Chronicles series. Some of these visual novel segments for PC were assembled into the collections photonflowers* and photonmelodies♮ for the PlayStation 3 in 2014.

In an October 2019 livestream producer Koki Yoshimune announced he was working on a new sequel to Alternative, called Muv-Luv INTEGRATE, but was not sure at that time what form the project would ultimately take or when it might be released.[2]

The opening theme of Muv-Luv is "Muv-Luv"[lower-alpha 13] by Minami Kuribayashi. The closing theme for the Extra segment of Muv-Luv is "I Will" and the Unlimited segment's ending theme is "Harukanaru Furusato no Uta"[lower-alpha 14], both by Minami Kuribayashi. For the all ages version, the opening theme the Extra segment is "divergence" by Minami Kuribayashi. For the Unlimited segment, the opening theme is "Sion"[lower-alpha 15] by Masami Okui. The all ages version featured several ending themes depending on the ending, including "I will" by Minami Kuribayashi, "Kizu wa Kaseki ni Narenai Keredo"[lower-alpha 16] by Aki Misato, "Astraea" by Miyuki Hashimoto, and "Little More"[lower-alpha 17] by CooRie.

The opening themes for the sequel Muv-Luv Alternative are "Asu e no Hōkō"[lower-alpha 18] by JAM Project for the original release and "NAME ~Kimi no Na wa~"[lower-alpha 19] by JAM Project for the all age release. The ending theme for both releases is "Muv-Luv (2005 ver.)" by Minami Kuribayashi. "Carry On" by Masaaki Endoh of JAM Project is used as an insert song in Alternative.

Muv-Luv merchandise created as rewards for Kickstarter backers. Clockwise from rear: Mitsuki Hayase dakimakura, Destroyer-class BETA plush, Sumika Kagami figure, Muv-Luv Alternative Codex book

The Muv-Luv franchise has prompted the creation of a wide variety of tie-in merchandise, including clothing, model kits, action figures, dakimakura (hug pillows), and more. Several tie-in books provide coverage of the franchise's lore, such as Muv-Luv Alternative Integral Works[36]

The Kickstarter campaign that funded the official English translation of the core trilogy commissioned new merchandise as rewards for backers.[37] Unique items included a plush BETA toy, and Muv-Luv Alternative Codex, an English translation of most of Integral Works along with other material.

In 2003, Muv-Luv was number one in national PC sales following its release.[38] The sequel, Muv-Luv Alternative, released in 2006, was number three in sales during the first half of 2006.[39]

Muv-Luv has received a median rating of 79 out of 100 on Erogamescape (EGS),[40] while Muv-Luv Alternative has received a median rating of 93 out of 100,[41] making it the third-highest rated visual novel on the website. On the Visual Novel Database (VNDB), Muv-Luv Alternative received an average rating of 9.13 (out of 10), making it the site's #1 visual novel by Bayesian ranking.[42]

The English-language release of Muv-Luv has a Metacritic score of 76/100 based on reviews from four critics.[43] RPGFan writer Don Kim gave the game a mixed review, writing "although Extra is nothing more than a glorified character introduction (and a terrible one at that), the game went far beyond my expectations in Unlimited, making the mediocrity of Extra almost forgivable."[44]

Muv-Luv Alternative's English release has a Metacritic score of 83/100, based on reviews form six critics.[45] Summarizing the series for DualShockers, Giuseppe Nelva wrote: "If you love strong storytelling, solid and realistic sci-fi, diverse and engaging characters, quite a bit of charming fanservice, and to be deeply engaged on the emotional level, you owe it to yourself to try the Muv-Luv trilogy out."[46]

According to the manga author Hajime Isayama, his hit manga series Attack on Titan was partly inspired by Muv-Luv Alternative.[47]

• Official website
• Muv-Luv at The Visual Novel Database
• Muv Luv Alternative at The Visual Novel Database
• Muv-Luv Alternative - Total Eclipse at The Visual Novel Database
• Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Schwarzesmarken at The Visual Novel Database
• Schwarzesmarken (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia