Muv-Luv (マブラヴ)

I'm going to rate Extra and Unlimited as one cohesive story, alongside Alternative, the sequel which I'll also write a review on later. I'll also do my best to avoid spoilers.

Negatives

It's a Slog

Let's just get the general overview of the Visual Novel over with, Muv-Luv Extra is the set-up for readers to learn the characters they're going to interact with for the majority of your time reading this Visual Novel. While others say that you need to play all the routes in order to get the Maximum enjoyment (I do actually agree with this), you really only need to go through two routes, Meiya's and Sumika's, before moving on to Unlimited, where you only need to do one route, if you don't feel like spending too much time reading, however, there will be bits and pieces of information or moments that fly over your head, things that you would have understood or known had you gone through all the routes, but again, it's not needed. Although, unlike Unlimited and Alternative, Extra is the only part where the routes differ so much from one another, and that better understanding of each character allows readers to recognise or deduce why they do the things they do.
However, while the routes may be Extra's strong point, it's also one of the negatives. To put it lightly, it was a slog to get through. For me, I brought this series because I saw it ranked up there with Visual Novels like Steins:Gate, at least, the Alternative. So imagine my frustration of trying to get through all the routes quickly to get to Alternative. Now. granted, this suffering was self-inflicted, and the first two routes I did? Great! But the rest? All routes share some events, and skipping through them all is such a chore, even more so in Unlimited, where the route change barely, if any, differs. While I understand that this is more of an issue with all Visual novels, it's still valid criticism, which is why I also started off this review detailing an option to cut down some hours of reading if you so wish.

Characters

Let's get the obvious out the way. The main character, Shirogane Takeru, is a dick (at least at the start). Straight up, if you don't like reading about 'annoying characters' or 'jerks' then this too will also be a turnoff. There will be other characters with motives you won't agree with or find outright outrageous, with personalities that will rub you the wrong way, and actions that tick you off.

Positives

World-Building

Now moving onto the positives. The Visual Novel does a really great job at fleshing out it's world (More so in Unlimited and Alternative then Extra). There was a lot of consideration into why each place is the way that it is and how that has affected the state of the world, and characters that we get to know.

Characters

Despite my earlier grievances, the story does an incredible job of fleshing out each and every named character that it introduces. Motivations, goals, and consequences are properly laid out, giving a more in depth view into each characters growth. I actually found myself liking and sympathising with many of the characters that annoyed me at the start, especially the main character. His character growth from start to finish was incredible to watch, and it was a joy to see him become this amazing person. It surprised me how much the characters grew on me, and I actually cared whenever something happened to them, good and bad.

Conclusion

Now going back to my previous discussion on the routes, do you need to play all of them to get the Maximum enjoyment? The answer is still no, you can still enjoy this amazing story while following the guideline I made. But being someone who entered this with zero spoilers whatsoever, I can safely say, that for all of the slog Extra and Unlimited made me go through, it was all worth it for Alternative. I have never felt so rewarded reading something like this, and I believe that goes for the vast majority who have read this to the end.
Thanks for reading, and take care.

i truly luv the muv lacrosse arc was peak fiction i need me a 60 meter long limousine fr fr

Do you enjoy visual novels? Do you enjoy subjecting yourself to misery? Then you need Muv-Luv in your life - the finest PTSD-inducing visual novel in the land. It inspired Attack on Titan, you know, so read it!

Make sure you read in the correct order! FIrst buy Muv-Luv, which is made up of two parts: (1)Extra and (2)Unlimited. Then (3) buy Muv-Luv Alternative. The other titles you can purchase are extras and you only need them if you finish the core works and need more.

ENJOY. (and as the publisher writes in the product description for Muv-Luv Alternative, "therapy not included.")

I love tama i wish it was tama tuesday everyday





sumika best girl

You know those "LOL RANDOM!!!!!!! XD" one liners in erotic games like college kings etc?
"NO I have no id-"
Yes you do coomer.
Anyway, imagine that one liner is more slapstick Japanese "humor" an stretched out over ten pages of dialogue.
Then imagine everyone has Yugioh hair.
Now imagine these happen one after the other, for 50 hours.
Anddddd Wallah! You now have Muv Luv Extra.
"But Steam Forums all agree I need it to enjoy the GOAT!"
Weebs dude. Weebs.

まりもちゃん！

I heard a lot of good things about the muv luv series and It was really good. Can't wait to try muv luv alternative.

Extra is a pain to get through if you don't enjoy slice of life, but man Unlimited was great

"I have no relationship advice to give and can't imagine that long term romance really exists. True love certainly does but there's a reason why all good love stories end in death; where they don't, and continue, that becomes material for comedy. I want death anyway."

anyone that says extra is a bore should kill them self

extra is pretty good

extra is the best game in the trilogy. sumika sweep

What starts out as a classic rom com, quickly evolves into an ultimate battle of attrition with humanity as a whole on the brink of collapse. This VN is nothing short of a pioneer for the genre and I cant recommend it enough.

Years ago when this game came out in english, I heard that this game was one of the best visual novels.

Now after being late and finally deciding to play it in 2025, I agree, it's definitely one of the best.

The game has some really good writing in it. I wasn't sure if I'd like this game because romcom het harem stories aren't my cup of tea, but I still found myself enjoying it. I like that the game has a lot of effects and expressions and movement in the character sprites. The games are a long read, but they don't waste your time since most of the text is dialogue, and things that happen in the game are shown with movement and not long written explanations.

Muv Luv as a whole is a series that rewards you for being patient and taking the time to read all of it. This game really is required to play before playing Alternative. I was worried since this game is more light hearted that I wouldn't enjoy it as much, but I still enjoyed it a lot. The comedy is good and the emotional scenes are really hard hitting. The game starts off slow, but even those slow scenes have a lot of importance.

I genuinely hate Takeru, fuck this spineless piece of shit of a character. Dude manages to be more spineless than Shinji. Fuck the window scene on Extra during the the 23rd of december .

When you buy Muv-Luv, you get both Muv-Luv Extra and Muv-Luv Unlimited, the first two parts of the series. If you're looking into this, you’ve probably already heard that Muv-Luv Alternative is considered a masterpiece. But trust me—you have to play these first before jumping into Alternative.

Muv-Luv Extra

This one starts off slow, feeling like a typical rom-com/slice-of-life story. TBH, I got bored at times because of how cliché the LIs are: the cheerful childhood friend who’s been in love with the MC forever, the refined beauty and sole heiress to a massive corporation who believes they’re destined to be together, the tsundere glasses-wearing class rep, the clumsy loli-classmate, and the sarcastic quiet girl. I wasn’t too surprised by the tropes, considering the game is over 20 years old. But despite that, getting to know these characters is important for later parts of the story, so it’s worth sticking with. While Extra is the weakest of the three, it’s still enjoyable enough.

Muv-Luv Unlimited

On the other hand, this is where things start getting serious. This is when the series shifts from lighthearted rom-com to isekai, post-apocalyptic military drama, with humanity on the brink of extinction due to an alien war. The story here acts as a bridge to Alternative, setting up the big conflicts to come. I kinda love seeing the MC’s character development and how familiar characters adapt to this drastically different world. Unlimited is another slow buildup, but it’s a necessary step toward what comes next.

That being said, I know I might not have sounded too excited about Extra, but I still had fun playing it! Unlimited definitely pulled me in more. If you’re thinking about playing Muv-Luv Alternative, these two are absolutely necessary—so don’t skip them!

funny, overrated and frustrating
Good humor and mystery about aliens.
Unlimited and Alternative aren't PTSD inducing or despairing if you are at least slightly sophisticated reader. Don't get your hopes up or maybe down lol. I don't understand how Isayma was so despaired by it to make aot, its not even close for being that bad.
Action scenes take like 5% of the triloghy counting Valgeron battles in Extra. Terrible balance of action for a mecha series. 40% is repeating dialoge about same things over and over. They do provide interesting take on nature of human conflicts but you don't have to repeat it 6 times.
whatever I just finished the series and writting this cause of disapointement

Muv Luv Extra is a good lighthearted introduction to the game's characters. I really enjoyed it even though some of the stuff was a bit rough (Ayamine's route for example). Unlimited is where the real story starts and it also serves as a setup for Alternative.

The trilogy overall is really amazing and I recommend buying both this and Alternative.

EXTRA is the highlight of this story... it's very tropey and predictable in a lot of ways but it just wears it with confidence. very silly and charming moege and if you don't crack a smile at some point you have no soul.

...unlimited is Fine but it suffers from being sandwiched between the zaniness of extra and the fucked up nature of alternative.

both games are worth your time and it's crazy how well they hold up visually. the engine allows for crazy 3d audio tricks and unique transitions and sprite movements that work really well. don't use a guide, just play meiya/sumika and any other girls you're interested in. chizuru's route is really good

the insanely high playtime for this game is not indicative of its length -- rather me leaving the game open for several days at a time in the background. it's really around 20-30ish hours including both Extra and Unlimited

I got muv-luv because I wanted to read muv-luv alternative. In the beginning I was like "uhhhhhgggghhh I really gotta go through 20h of this annoying dragonfly girl?"
By 10h of reading I had completely forgotten about the sci fi stuff cuz I was loving every moment of the funny slice of life
And this made it hit extra hard when I realized all the funni kids were going to war and get traumatized and depressed and die (This is based off my imagination I just finished Extra and haven't started Unlimited yet)

Takeru is the biggest piece of shit MC ever. how is this considered peak? I just wanted cool mechs and an interesting storyline, not misogyny simulator 3000

Fantastic start of the muv-luv trilogy!! imo the more time you spend in Extra (finishing each characters routes) the more impact the setting shift in Unlimited will be so don't be afraid to spend lots of time with the characters because it all leads to a greater experience later on in the third part of the trilogy!!

Has some interesting ideas but I found a lot of portions fairly boring to read.

After playing through extra, Meiya and Sumika routes, i was very satisfied, characters are well-written, visuals in old anime style and it brings a certain charm to it, i honestly was surprised how Meiya route almost brought me to tears, voice acting was the best part fot me, every character have their own distinct personality, that very clearly can be heard in their voice too. In all, i recommend this novel, and Meiya is the best girl!.

not sure why i bought this, boring....

It comes with suffering.
It comes with devastation

Crazy how this is the series that inspired Attack on Titan....

Overall an amazing game with a solid story that was fun to play through. Would definitely recommend, but there were a few things that bothered me.

1. The game was originally an eroge, to get the steam version, some scenes were cut and several parts were redrawn to censor nudity. This is fine, but what bothers me is that they did not change the dialog at all. It's funny when it leads up to where a naughty scenes would have been, then talks about it afterwards. It's kinda annoying and sometimes confusing when they mention stuff that we can no longer see.

2. Extra was fine, Unlimited really only has 3 different endings. For people who get just one ending and move on its not bad, but for 100% it's annoying. 90% the same stuff, but with a different person's name.

3. Ayamine and Sakaki (not all characters are written the same).

I just can't get into it... I have never disliked the main character of any media as much as I disliked this one. And even though he's supposed to evolve throughout the story apparently he's just so insufferable that I can't make it there...
I wish anyone had said this before I spent money on this (to me) utter garbage, because I will never be able to suffer through playing as this absolute a-hole... -_-

"-Bye-Bye"

Game good

I don't want to mark this visual novel as not recommended, but honestly I didn't have the time of my life with it. The underlying plot it hints at during Unlimited looks very interesting and it was what kept me reading through all the slice-of-life parts. I'm actually looking forward to reading Alternative despite how big of a slog this game felt, especially EXTRA.

Regarding characters, most of them are pretty charismatic and lovable... except for the MC. Some of the romance routes feel slightly forced though, but I guess that's just the game being old and the genre stereotypes and clichés from back then.

ahaha it goog

Actually played this two years before finishing it in 2024. And what's funny is finding out that i was actually an hour away from completing a route before dropping it...

That said, i don't regret picking this back up.

Miki best girl

Listed as one of the best visual novels of all time, or at least the first part of it. I decided to dive into a genre of game I've never venture into. Well now I'm hooked! The characters designs and writing make me feel really reminiscent of early 90's harem Animes. Now if your not informed this series did begin as a hentai game however I'm glad to say that the writing has elevated it above that, and all of that particular content has been removed or masked, but there is some awkward jank from a narrative stand point where it feels like a scene is missing or a that something was skipped, but it not enough to ruin the experience.

Pros:
- Writing, your going to be emotionally connected with these characters.
- Fun romantic antics.

Cons:
- Sumika and Takeru have a couple brief scenes of physical violence that's played out as comedy that feels, well very dated and inappropriate. I don't think it has any malicious or fetishes intent, more of there's always a character beating up the male protagonist in anime. But the first time I seen it, well makes you immediately hate Takeru. But other then these few scenes the story is light hearted and fun. You'll just have to get through these first few scenes to find the gold.

- Chizuru (Class Rep) and Ayamine, even though their not really ment to be the main love interest of Takeru actually have more dramatic backstories with some serious content. The fact that most play throughs for regular players will only ever romance Sumika and Mei then move on is sort of sad. If you do end up buying this and your not the type to replay the game over to watch the multiple endings your really selling your experience with this game short. In fact I ended up having more of an attachment to Chizuru then Sumkia by the end of it. With Sumika and Mei it feels very much the rom/com writing of an antics filled romance anime. But with Chizuru and Ayamine they hit a lot harder emotionally, are darker, and are filled with more drama.

So far I'd say its worth the price if you can get it, the third not included till I can grind that. But from a guy who just started with VN and never usually could be bothered to replay games once their technically finished once. This game made me replay it 5 times with no struggle.

Worth the purchase and the lost hours!

Sumika best girl, BUT I definitely understand why people prefer Meiya

sumika is so stupid bro

The funny and more classic version of Alternative combined with a kind of prequel to said game. A little masterpiece to the great masterpiece that is Muv-Luv Alternative

Archetypal Idiot protagonist whose personality is that of a generic anime loser.

Need I say more? Because I really do not understand why this low effort archetype is even tolerable to anyone, and I am quite disgruntled at the user who convinced me to give this a shot under the impression "it gets better" since it does not in any way that matters.

If the main character is bad, that colors the impression of the rest of the story in a way that can not be recovered from.

class rep

This game makes me realize how low VN industry has declined since then.

It's almost perfect. What are you waiting for?

i love the girls and im a freak

Meiya and Meiya only

Great entry to an amazing series!

This is like the "Better Call Saul" of visual novels. It starts off on a really odd note and just makes no sense and seems a bit mundane. In time though it pays off and things start coming together and the story gets more interesting. Highly recommended!

Muv-Luv Extra and Unlimited? More like Unlimited Extra Trauma!

Seriously, once you play the main trilogy back to back even the "slog" of Extra will make you scream. I love this franchise, Steam time on this account doesn't do it justice, the whole trilogy is a genuine masterpiece on so many levels. Despite Alternative being leagues above Extra & Unlimited, you need to play both for that emotional roller coaster to throw you 6 feet under the ground like it should.

My highest recommend for any VN. You will laugh before you bawl.

its good

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Muv-Luv contains the first two installments of the trilogy: Muv-Luv Extra and Muv-Luv Unlimited. The first part, Muv-Luv Extra, takes place in Japan in the year 2001. You play as Shirogane Takeru, an average high school student who likes spending time with his best friend from childhood, Kagami Sumika. However, his ordinary life begins to change when he wakes up one day to find a woman sleeping in his bed with him, Mitsurugi Meiya, who seems infatuated with him. Along the way, he meets a cast of characters including the uptight class representative Sakaki Chiziru, the nervous archery enthusiast Tamase Miki, and the quiet Ayamine Kei.

The second part of the story, Muv-Luv Unlimited, takes place in an alternate universe. Again told from the perspective of Takeru, he wakes up one day and suddenly finds himself in a world ravaged by an alien invasion, but only he is aware of the peaceful life he once knew. Now he and the people he knew from his own world must train to defend Earth from this calamity. It is a big adjustment for Takeru as he has only known his old life as an ordinary high school student and now must adjust to a totally different life.

I should note that I went into this experience blind after hearing that this game, and especially its sequel Muv-Luv Alternative (2006), is considered one of the greatest visual novels of all time. Indeed, as of this writing, according to The Visual Novel Database Muv-Luv Alternative is the second highest rated visual novel behind only Steins;Gate (2009). Therefore, I do not have the perspective of having played the entire trilogy yet and will be judging Muv-Luv solely on this release.

As stated above, Muv-Luv is a visual novel so it does not contain traditional gameplay. Instead, it is mostly just reading the story and making decisions at certain points that change the course of the story and dictate which girl you end up dating. I would estimate that Muv-Luv Extra contains about forty hours of content if you view each route and listen to all of the dialogue while Muv-Luv Unlimited is around thirty to thirty-five hours of content.

I found that the artwork all around is quite good. As is fairly common with visual novels, this game sticks to an anime-inspired aesthetic. It works well in the game as all of the characters are quite distinctive and expressive in their appearances. I also appreciated how all of the characters have multiple outfits depending on the situations that they find themselves in which added a bit of realism to the game. Finally, the background art all around is well done with plenty of detail in most scenes.

The music present in the game is pleasant all around. There are several tracks that not only sound great, but are also varied and used effectively to help accentuate the moods during the various scenes. In addition to the music, this game is also fully voiced in Japanese (except for the protagonist for the most part). I generally thought that the voice actors did a good job with their work and added the proper amount of emotion to the gameplay.

The main attractions of any visual novel are the characters and the story. This is where I felt that Muv-Luv came up short. It is a little difficult to review because each of the two parts has a completely different setting, though the problems I found are similar with both. Muv-Luv Extra is mostly a slice-of-life story taking place during high school. I found that this portion of the game relied too heavily on clichés. For the most part, Muv-Luv Extra comes off as a typical high school story with the usual antics, over-the-top characters, goofy situations, and shallow romance. Indeed, not only does this part choose to begin itself with jokes about breasts within the first ten minutes, but it is also a story where the protagonist is surrounded by girls that fawn over him for practically no reason, aside from maybe Sumika who has actually known him for some time. The characters are difficult to really get invested in as well. I find it difficult to understand why the protagonist would be interested in either Sakaki or Ayamine as both come off as rather cold and unlikable. I did think that Tama's character and story was better, though, as it was interesting seeing her overcome her insecurities. Overall, for around forty hours of content, the story depth just was not there. Maybe this type of writing was more innovative back in 2003 when the game was originally released, but it comes off as a slog to get through today.

As mentioned above, Muv-Luv Unlimited takes place in an alternate universe. Most of the major characters present in Muv-Luv Extra are present in this alternate world beset by alien invasions. It essentially asks the question, what if you took these students and others and placed them in a radically different world? How would they act? I will say that when I finally got to this second part of the game, it felt like a great improvement over the first part. Instead of a typical Japanese high school setting, we get something very different. There was some interesting world building in the beginning as Takeru learns about the history of the world and what led to the current situation and his own place and role in it. Unfortunately, many of the same issues that are present in the first part are in the second part as well. Again, romance plays a role here, but it is just as shallow. That aspect is even worse in the second part because the routes are much similar. It still has the girls fawning for Takeru without much of a reason. Really, it just feels like wish fulfillment. What I found most obnoxious about Muv-Luv: Unlimited is how many loose ends are not tied before the ending. I suppose this is probably to set up for the sequel, but to have played so many hours and to have finished with so many questions still unanswered was a letdown. This part took me around thirty-five hours to complete, but it was another case of more playtime than story.

My criticisms of the writing in both parts should not imply that it was completely terrible. There were definitely some interesting ideas and storylines, more so in the second part, and there was definitely some decent humor here and there (when the jokes are not groan-inducing or cliché, that is). What really frustrates me is the great potential in the ideas presented, but the game not living up to those lofty expectations.

The other thing I want to comment on is that the current Steam released is censored to remove the H-scenes of which there are around a dozen in total between the two parts. I did play this game with a patch that restored this 18+ content. The H-scenes do not really add much to the story other than adult content themselves for the most part and a little bit of nudity in a couple of other scenes. Unless you really enjoy that type of content, you could take it or leave it.

In conclusion, after hearing the Muv-Luv trilogy being hyped up as one of the greatest visual novels of all time, I went into this with high expectations. To be sure, the game has great artwork, good music, admirable voice acting, and some decent story ideas and humor. But, after playing for seventy-five hours, I found too much of the time was spent on bland and uninteresting storytelling, filler material, and too many clichés. I really wanted to like this game as it is competently made, but the story and characters failed to engage me. I am still hoping to give Muv-Luv Alternative a play to see if this long set-up is worth the payoff, but on its own merits I am forced to give Muv-Luv a thumbs down. It is far from the worst visual novel I have ever played, so visual novel fanatics might find something to enjoy here.