Muv-Luv General Discussion

Off-Topic
#24

Finished it just now. TL;DR version of the post below: It was pretty damn good, but not as good as I’d hoped. Spoilers for all of Alternative, naturally.

First off, since I just went through it I guess I’ll talk about the final mission and ending. I must say, I found the buildup of Operation Cherry Blossom to be quite superbly made, and the operation itself did live up to that. My main problem comes with the last stages of the operation and the subsequent ending. Sorry, but having the protagonist’s growth and overcoming his weaknesses be pretty much the main focus of THE ENTIRE SECOND THIRD of the story and then having him nowhere near over those weaknesses in the last mission to the point where all the other characters purposefully deceive him so he doesn’t compromise the mission because of it… was not nice to see. Especially with how Meiya’s death scene was stretched out to I think almost ten minutes. If that scene had instead been Takeru making up his mind and just shooting immediatly, that would’ve been a great way to show how far he had come. I feel that really was a missed opportunity. I guess he’ll never really change after all. I still have no idea how the Susano’o suddenly got all its sapped power back to make that last shot btw.

As for the whole causality conductor thing… eh. I didn’t care for the final explanation. Maybe it’s because I never got an explanation for how the space-time continuum got ripped that satisfied me. Maybe it’s because I expected an explanation that just clicks all the pieces together for an ultimate “oh shit” epiphany. Maybe it’s because I had hoped it would include an explanation for the BETA’s existence in that world beyond “they came from somewhere for some reason.” But mostly I think it’s because it just felt kinda handwaved. Like yeah, okay, Sumika was able to do that. It happened. Uh huh. Oh well. I guess I’m spoiled from other VNs when it comes to great explanations for the multiple worlds plot point.

Final Episode MuvLuv was a bit too short for my taste. No idea how that world came to be, no idea where it’s headed. I also really, really wished for Takeru to just retain all his memories. So to me, that was not the best way to end the story. Also a bit disappointed in the lack of a Music Room.

But all that negativity aside, MLA was great. Atmospherically it was incredible, building a world with such a well-conveyed feeling of desperation and immersing the reader in it completely. It has by far the best-looking action scenes I’ve ever seen in a visual novel, and it was really good at making dramatic war and battle scenes. And yet, the chapter where Takeru returns to the Extra-world is probably my overall favorite part of the entire VN because it’s really gripping and makes you so badly want to find out what’s going on and how to stop it (too freaking bad it never got a proper satisfying explanation, but I’ve gone on about that long enough). That freak accident of Sumika’s was total coincidence, wasn’t it? …anyways. One thing MLA did wonderfully was to make the ‘fun times’ of Extra feel nostalgic and make you invested in having Takeru get back to them. Takeru x Sumika was my OTP since forever so seeing it be the main focus was quite satisfying. Poor Extra-Meiya though. Besides that, the entire scene with Beta-Sumika’s backstory was so damn well made as it simultaneously shocked me and made my immediate respect for Takeru for his reaction shoot through the roof. Finally, the OST and opening movie are amazing. The best I’ve seen in quite a while.

So in the end, what can I say? I enjoyed it for sure. It was a great read. But did it live up to the hype? No, definitely not. I suppose my final impression was hindered by the high expectations I had of the story’s integrity, which reaaaally isn’t one of MLA’s good points. It takes liberties that I was dying to hear an explanation for but never got one that actually satisfied me. And it’s not trivial details that went unexplained, it’s parts of the plot I was actually very invested in, which is why it bothers me as much as it does. The cast of characters was great, but not that outstanding either. Especially when it comes to development there was a lot to be desired. Don’t get me wrong, there was quite an amount of good character development… but there was the potential for so much more than that. And that’s how I feel about much of MLA, and the entire thing as a whole as well. Great, but with some improvements it easily could’ve been unforgettable.

Well that’s that. And with that I’ve finished my must-read list of visual novels. It was a busy three months.

Edit: I didn’t go back and choose any different choices yet. Should I?

1 Like
#25

Depends on the type of person you are. I personally wont ever go back to it because, or do any more choices. The memories I have of MuvLuv will forever stay how I remember it. I don’t want to see any alternatives. Same reason why if an anime is ever made, I wont watch it.

But that’s just me. If you feel that there is more to the story then go ahead, but remember. you will never feel the same way as experiencing it for the first time.

#26

Your opinions match the general sentiment towards MLA I think. The reason it’s rated so high is because a lot of people gave it a 10/10, not because it’s objectively better than other top VNs. (I would rate CLANNAD as 11/10 or 12/10 and MLA as 10/10, but the scale only goes up to 10, so the effective score is equal to a 10/10 score. So it appears as though I would rate MLA and CLANNAD equally when I don’t.

I didn’t really like the final chapter either, I completely agree with you there — Takeru hardly got any better throughout the story!! And I wasn’t really affected by the girls’ deaths (besides Meiya) because you knew they were gonna die. And the fact that Takeru forgot everything in the new universe just made me kind of mad. Seeing Kasumi cry was touching, though.
I was satisfied by the science even if it was lolwrong, though. They mentioned several times that the G-Bombs had strange residual effects, so it wasn’t too much of a stretch that the G-Bombs were able to propel Sumika’s consciousness to bring Takeru to the Unlimited universe. (Sort of.)

1 Like
#27

The Muv-Luv localization kickstarter just went live!

3 Likes
#28

It hasn’t even been out for an hour and we’re already at $120,000! I pledged $800. Hype!

#29

Grabbed the last $300 tier~
Will be keeping an eye on my income to try and nab that TSF jacket.

2 Likes
#30

Nabbed one as well.

1 Like
#31

I’m trying to save as much money as possible to throw at Rewrite whenever that happens (please happen). As such, I’m still undecided how much to pledge. The BETA plushie is something I was really happy to see but $140 is a bit steep for my current finances.

#32

WRT to the VNs: I’m hoping to play MLA - assuming the official English does come out eventually on Steam (2017 release still possible?) - to see what all the fuss is about.

So…I have completed Extra in double quick time, completing all routes but doing a hell of a lot of skipping, and all I can manage to say about it that at least lacrosse makes a change from baseball…

Just started Unlimited and it seems much more interesting and engaging right from the off although of course you need to have got through Extra to fully appreciate that.

#33

Quite honestly, I did not find the side girl routes particularly good, with the exception of class rep’s. It gives you a taste of what Muv-Luv is really good at: Intense drama that persists over an extended period of time, never letting the reader off the hook easily. The main girl routes, however, were certainly enjoyable.

Unfortunately, the game also shows its bad side during Extra, like that disgustingly unnecessary and mood-breaking panty shot during the date with Sumika.

As for Unlimited, it can get pretty repetetive. But it’s not like you have to get through every single “route”…

Now, for the most important question, @BotanRugbyBall :
Sumika or Meiya?

#34

Put me on the spot, why don’t you :wink:

Not easy, if I had to choose one based on Extra then probably Meiya - but I’ll have one of each please :relaxed:

#35

Sorry that is the wrong answer. Even if you only look at Extra, Sumika was always, is always, and will forever be best MuvLuv girl.

1 Like
#36

What can I say? I have a thing about blue & purple haired girls!

Edited to add: Didn’t realise there is a trailer for MLA on Steam but it’s taken a helluva time since being greenlit already.

(Video has spoilers apparently)

EDIT #2
Right, well now I have finished Unlimited and I have to say I really enjoyed it. It feels much leaner than Extra with a strong narrative, and while Extra is clearly meant to major on the light and fun, the fun parts in Unlimited for me were more satisfying. Competed all endings and got all the Steam achievements, about 40 hours all told for the two parts.

I did like the shock of the new element and that it links back to Yuuko’s theory in Extra which seemed like a throwaway thing at the time. I did like that Takeru was basically pretty useless at the start of Unlimited, makes a change from some all powerful protagonist such as Grisaia. I think I’d actually pick Yuuko Sensei as best girl closely followed by Kasumi! Idid have the awkward feeling that Sumika was the brain thingy :scream:

It’s a shame the two games are lumped together in a way as I would give Extra 5.5 and Unlimited 7.5 which means a slightly misleading 6.5 for VNDB voting. It doesn’t make my top tier of VNs but I’m glad I spent the money on it albeit cheap in the winter sale.

Negatives
I liked Ayamine in Extra but her character was for me very dull in Unlimited.
Fanservice (even in Steam version) - especially the ridiculous bodyform female armour

1 Like
#37

image.jpg2048×1536 741 KB

Muv-Luv looks great

#38

Muv-Luv Alternative Official English translation VN to be released on Steam 19th September

1 Like
#39

And backers get access to a beta release~

1 Like
#40

I have to say the first 5 chapters of MLA felt rather so-so. mainly being a retread on familiar ground of ‘Unlimited’ for about 15 hours of reading. OK so we do get a slightly different perspective but all the music seemed to be the same, with the only extras being that we learn more about Kasumi.

Chapter 6 is definitely ramping it up though to a higher level with some revealing links back to things we didn’t have explained in ‘Extra’. I still don’t see why at this point MLA gets such high regard but I still have several chapters to go yet…

#41

Chapters 1-5 are all pretty much set-up. Chapter 6 is when things start happening, so from here on out it’s all uphill imo.

Chapter 7 is one of my favorite VN experiences of all time, it’s a real journey, so good luck.

#42

Hmm well Chapter 7 didn’t do that much for me, now obviously there are some very strong emotional moments poor Marimo-chan but it didn’t hit me like Chapter 6 where I had to take a couple of days away from the VN after it finished just to ready myself for the next part. Perhaps it’s because I’m just not really into Sumika (sacrilege I know…) . And at least in Episode 8 we have an explanation for the ultra revealing bodyform armour…

What I do find so far about MLA is that the good bits are really very good.

I was right then, although it hardly takes a genius to have worked that one out!

#43

Finished MLA! 68 hours! I’ll try and keep most of this not too specific and spoiler free…but be aware of the spoilered text

As I said above where this VN is good it really is top class but for me I did struggle with the pacing especially in the first 5 chapters which were merely OK I thought. And because I had no great feelings for Sumika I just never got into Takeru X Sumika which was a problem obviously in my appreciating what the VN trilogy was trying to do, but there we go - the same could be said of course with Clannad and Tomoyo X Nagisa if she isn’t your favourite. There was a frequent re-occurrence of a character saying something only for Takeru to internalise about it for what seemed like ages - well I got it without all that thanks! A little too repetitive at times and a bit of a slog now and then. And sometimes those extended conversations during critical moments in combat…

Anyway now I’ve got my gripes aside, some parts of the VN were very gripping and intense, with the story veering between imminent triumph and despair enough to keep you hooked - many times I ended up playing on a session longer that I intended (always a good thing!). With the introduction of new characters so late in the trilogy I didn’t think I’d get much attachment to them but they were all interesting in their own way and I came to like them a good deal. The art and action scenes certainly seemed very high quality to me. And although not much of a fan of Sumika the scene where she revealed just what she had been through at the er, tentacles, of the BETA was very powerful

I did feel though that episode 10 felt too short, I suppose they feared doing too much of the same but given the massive length of Episode 9 I wonder if they should have split them more equally? There was a point Capt Isumi’s death where I felt it was a more natural end to Episode 9 as it made a good springboard for the next set of events. The final chapter was kind of fun after all the intensity but in some ways a bit like unsatisfactorily leaving it open just in case anyone fancied doing a spin-off.

So that’s a pretty superficial first impression really as there is so much to discuss with the alt-universe sci-fi, theoretical physics, the characters, the BETA etc. I gave it 8.8 on VNDB and I’d put as much better than Grisaia but below Clannad and Steins; Gate.

My favourite episode was definitely number 6 the Coup d’Etat - there was something quite Game of Thrones about in-fighting amongst the compatriots and supposed allies while serious shit is going down that they should be dealing with in unity. As we didn’t learn anything much about the BETA (other than being an implacable and totally alien enemy) until right near the end, the capacity for the human race to be its own worst enemy remained for me more central to my enjoyment of the story.

Favourite and best character? Kouzuki Yuuko of course ( and I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise!), closely followed by Marimo-chan and Kasumi.

Best girl: Meiya very closely followed by Ayamine (yes, really!)

“Bye-bye”