Muv-Luv
is a Japanese visual novel developed by âge and originally released as an adult game for Windows on February 28, 2003. Consisting of two parts, and the gameplay in Muv-Luv follows a linear plot line, which offers pre-determined scenarios and courses of interaction, and focuses on the differing scenarios of the female main characters. Muv-Luv was followed by a sequel, which was released for Windows on April 24, 2006, and follows the storyline of Muv-Luv Unlimited.
The trilogy's story initially presents itself as a light-hearted romantic comedy, but changes into an alternate timeline coming-of-age story, and finally evolves into an alien invasion war epic.
Plot
The visual novel Muv-Luv is divided into two parts. The first part, titled Muv-Luv Extra, features playable character Takeru Shirogane who wakes up one morning to find a beautiful young woman sleeping in his bed, just as an infuriated Sumika Kagami, Takeru's neighbor and childhood friend, comes to wake him up that morning. The young woman, Meiya Mitsurugi, 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 girls in the main supporting cast: Chizuru Sakaki, Miki Tamase.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 came 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 have invaded and mankind fights back against the alien aggressors with mecha called Tactical Surface Fighters, usually referred to in Japanese as simply.
Muv-Luv Unlimited explains that the BETA first arrived on Earth in 1973 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 of 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 plan—cancelled at the end of Unlimited—to fruition.
Gameplay
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.
Development and release
Japanese releases
Muv-Luv was released on February 28, 2003, on Windows CD-ROM, and re-released on DVD-ROM on April 30, 2004. A fandisc, called Muv-Luv Supplement containing a number of short stories, computer wallpapers, audio clips, and a trailer for the upcoming Muv-Luv Alternative. The limited edition DVD was released on December 17, 2004, and the regular edition was released on December 24.Muv-Luv Alternative is a sequel to Muv-Luv and taking place after the events of the Unlimited arc in the original game. The DVD version of the game was released on February 24, 2006, and the CD version was released on March 3, 2006. A Muv-Luv Alternative fandisc, Muv-Luv Altered Fable, was released on August 31, 2007, containing an alternate version of the Extra arc from Muv-Luv along with a radio drama, a Senjoki vs. BETA strategy RPG, computer wallpapers, and a Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse short story.
"All-age" versions of Muv-Luv and Muv-Luv Alternative with the adult content removed were released simultaneously on September 22, 2006. In 2011, both games were ported to the Xbox 360 by 5pb. and simultaneously released on October 27, 2011. Both titles were also released for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita in 2012 and 2016, respectively.
Sequel
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.English localizations
In the early 2010s, Mangagamer attempted to negotiate an English-language release of Muv-Luv and Muv-Luv Alternative, but talks broke down, and the translator unilaterally released an unofficial fan translation patch, effectively ending Mangagamer's efforts. In 2015, âge partnered with Degica to launch a Kickstarter campaign to officially release the Muv-Luv series in English. The campaign succeeded in late 2015 after raising over US$1.25 million, against an initial goal of $250,000. The campaign also met all of its stretch goals, including ports to PlayStation Vita and Android and English localizations of photonflowers* and photonmelodies♮ side-story collections. The English localization of the first Muv-Luv visual novel was released on Steam in July 2016, and Muv-Luv Alternative was released in September 2017. PS Vita versions of both games were released in June 2018.The English version of photonflowers* was released on Steam on August 3, 2019, and the English version of photonmelodies♮ was released on July 30, 2020. The English versions of Muv-Luv Unlimited: The Day After episodes 00 through 03 were released via Steam on February 5, 2021, marking the first English release of a Muv-Luv visual novel not directly funded by the 2015 Kickstarter. In addition to the crowdfunded Android version, the iOS port was also created. Mobile versions of Extra and Unlimited were planned to be released worldwide in Spring 2022, with Alternative set to release at a later date. They were all released as part of Japan-only mobile game, Muv-Luv Dimensions, on July 11, 2023.
Related media
Manga and light novels
Muv-Luv and its sequel Muv-Luv Alternative have been adapted into three manga series by MediaWorks and were serialized in the manga magazine Dengeki Daioh through 2018. In 2020, âge announced it would digitally self-publish an English translation of the Muv-Luv Alternative manga.In addition, Shueisha has published a seven volume novel series based on Muv-Luv and Muv-Luv Alternative.
Anime
At the conclusion of an October 2019 live event, âge presented the on-screen title “Muv-Luv Alternative in Animation”, followed by a clip of new animation, seemingly indicating an anime adaptation of the original Muv-Luv Alternative visual novel. It was later announced that the new anime would be a television series. The series is animated by Yumeta Company and Graphinica, with production by Flagship Line, and is directed by Yukio Nishimoto, featuring Tatsuhiko Urahata handling the series' scripts, Takuya Tani designing the characters, and Evan Call composing the series' music. It aired from October 7 to December 23, 2021, on Fuji TV's +Ultra programming block. V.W.P performed the series' opening theme song "Rinne", while Stereo Dive Foundation performed the series' ending theme song "Tristar". Crunchyroll streamed the series. Muse Communication licensed the series in South and Southeast Asia.At the end of the series' episode finale, a second season was announced. It aired from October 6 to December 22, 2022. JAM Project and Minami Kuribayashi performed the opening theme song "Akatsuki o Ute", while V.W.P performed the ending theme song "Saikai".