Muv Luv Alternative Review By Link

[Linkman19 10]

WARNING: DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT READ MUV LUV EXTRA OR UNLIMITED AS THIS CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS RELATED TO THE TWO

 

 

Muv Luv Alternative Review

 

Hi Link here and this time it is a review of Age’s highly acclaimed Muv Luv Alternative. This game is from the titular Muv Luv series from which many spin offs have spun from.

 

 

“Time is the cruellest kindness” – Kouzuki Yuuko

 

Plot Summary

You are Shirogane Takeru, a simple ordinary student… Or at least you were. One day you woke up in a world in which humanity were at war with an Alien race known as the BETA. You ended up joining the military (though not entirely by your own choice) and trained to become a soldier. After all of the happenings in the previous game ‘Muv Luv Unlimited’ You wake up once again on October 22nd, at the start of Unlimited, now armed with the knowledge from what happened in Unlimited you swear to ensure that Alternative V never comes about by helping your English teacher in your old world, Kouzuki Yuuko to finish Alternative IV.

 

Prepare yourself for a rollercoaster of a game…

WARNING: Make sure you play the previous Muv Luv titles before you pick up this one, it does reference quite a few things from ‘Unlimited’ and a few things from ‘Extra’ so make sure to play in this order:

• ‘Muv Luv Extra’

• ‘Muv Luv Unlimited’ (These two come together, under the game name Muv Luv, you have to complete Extra to unlock Unlimited)

• ‘Muv Luv Alternative’

• Any of the spin offs (Makes more sense since you’re finished with the main trilogy)

 

Character Bios

 

Shirogane Takeru

 

That’s you the protag of the game, After witnessing what occurred as a result of the deployment of Alternative V, you harden your resolve to help Yuuko complete Alternative IV (Won’t mention what either of these are, you want to know? Play the previous games) You are the sort of person who will do whatever he can for his friends, sadly though (I’m referring back from Extra here) You are blind to the feelings that the girls in your life have for you, (In Alternative in my opinion you are pretty awesome but sadly still so blind)

 

Kagami Sumika

 

Takeru’s childhood friend from the original world, she has a rather crass personality but is in actuality a very fragile individual who worries when any women tries to make any sort of advance on Takeru, however he seems to be unaware of this fact. Sumika does not seem to appear in Unlimited as Yuuko claims that she ‘doesn’t exist in this world’ However a new loop brings new things and something may happen to bring Sumika back to Takeru

 

Mitsurugi Meiya

 

In Unlimited/Alternative she is the part of Cadet Squad 207, the squad to which Takeru is assigned, she seems to have a secret which she is hiding from the other members of the squad but seems to get on very well with Takeru in Alternative due to his open personality. She has a complex set of morals which were shown very clearly in Unlimited and she is very stubborn and reluctant to compromise on said morals, however when she is needed she will come through for the entire squad, offering word of advice and wisdom.

Sakaki Chizuru

 

In Unlimited/Alternative she is the squad leader of Cadet Squad 207. She seems to have a good grasp on general military tactic and is generally seen as the Tactician of the squad. She seems to have rivalries with both Ayamine and someone called Suzumiya Akane; however Takeru eventually gets Ayamine and Sakaki to get on reasonably well with one another.

 

Ayamine Kei

 

In Unlimited/Alternative she is a member of Cadet Squad 207. She has incredible skills when it comes to hand to hand combat and is thus classed as a prodigy in this regard. She is also one of the only people who can keep up with Meiya in regards with melee combat. Though she is a not a talk active individual she has no problem at all in expressing herself when it comes to Sakaki.

Tamase Miki

 

In Unlimited/Alternative she is a member of Cadet Squad 207. Her skills with a sniper rifle are amazing and she seems to be a prodigy in it and is thus generally seen as being the Squad’s Sniper. She and Takeru still retain a good relationship with one another, which is amazing considering the circumstances. She does however seem to have panic attacks whenever someone watches her while she is sniping.

 

Yoroi Mikoto

 

In Unlimited/Alternative She is a member of Cadet Squad 207. Yoroi’s outdoor survival skills are second to none and thus is classed as the survival expert of the team; she also is the medical expert of the team. She does however have a problem when it comes to listening to people, but it is a defining part of her character

 

Jinguuji Marimo

 

In Unlimited/Alternative she is the instructor for Cadet Squad 207. She seems to expect great things from the members of 207 and holds them in high esteem. She does get a bit annoyed whenever Takeru calls her ‘Marimo-chan’ despite Yuuko calling her the exact same thing.

 

Kouzuki Yuuko

 

In Unlimited/Alternative she is the mastermind of the Alternative IV project, which is shrouded in a great deal of mystery. She is extremely good at when it comes to manipulating people and she is classed as being a demon by Takeru because of this fact. Though she appears to be an inhumane individual for whom the ends justify the means, she is like any other person, desperately trying to hold onto her humanity and sanity in this messed up world.

 

Yashiro Kasumi

 

A mysterious individual who seems to spend the majority of time in the room where the brain is kept, she seems to have remarkable perception and understanding of people for a girl her age but she is extremely shy with new people and has difficulty socialising with them.

00 Unit

 

Humanity’s trump card against the BETA, supposedly if this is completed and Alternative IV is successful then the war against the BETA will eventually turn in Humanity’s favour. All that Yuuko has said is that it has something do with the brain in the room where Kasumi is.

 

Ratings

 

Music

In my opinion I believe the music of Muv Luv Alternative to be of a high quality, there seems to be a piece for every conceivable mood or any situation that occurs. I especially loved Takeru’s own theme ‘Storm Vanguard’ as it has an amazing rhythm that is strangely addictive and seems to fit him when he’s in combat. I would give the music of Muv Luv a 9/10 due to the fact that it can get rather repetitive after a while

 

Characters

I believe that the characters in Muv Luv have been extremely well done, but I believe you can only see this if you’ve played from Extra all the way to Alternative, really the characters come on in leaps and bounds. And the thing is, they do in a rather compelling way in my opinion. I would give the characters of Muv Luv a 10/10 due to the sheer amount of development to character done in this game.

 

Art

The art in Muv Luv Alternative is really good and it seems to be aging well, the standard of artwork is close to that of modern games and this is game that is now 7 years old. So I would give the artwork of Muv Luv Alternative an 8/10 mainly on account of the artwork for some of the BETA, they were relatively out of place.

 

Story/Plot

Initially I was a bit put off with the premise of it, it seemed like they were just trying to redo Unlimited but with a hell of a lot happier ending, However after playing this I can say with complete confidence that I was sorely mistaken, there is so much stuff that happens in Alternative that really defines as being separate from Unlimited, sure one or two things are repeated from Unlimited but that’s bound to happen with how it is, The overall story of Alternative is a lot more gritty and realistic, telling the tale of one man trying to save the whole of humanity, it has lost its light-heartedness from Extra and maybe Unlimited to a degree as it becomes very serious and fast paced. I would give the story of Muv Luv Alternative a 10/10 on account of its sheer depth and how it draws you in

 

Conclusion

So in conclusion, I believe Muv Luv Alternative is a must play for any VN player, it is extremely well written and has a group of compelling characters and is a game that sucks you right in and won’t get you go until the whole things over. So I would give Muv Luv Alternative a definite 10/10

Edited April 20, 2013 by Linkman19