77. Muv-Luv Alternative (Vita)There are seemingly countless "multiverse" and "parallel universe" theories to be found within the realms of science and theology alike. The basic idea is that a web of alternate universes are running along in tandem with this one; some nearly identical with the exception of a tiny anecdotal modification, some vastly different. Proponents of these theories claim that individuals will "shift" between universes with little to no awareness, oftentimes following a traumatic event. But what if someone had the power to willingly and knowingly cross these boundaries? Would they attempt to influence the events of the world to unfold in accordance with moral and ethical principles? And does an attempt to avoid the mistakes of the past simply lead to a host of new ones?
Muv-Luv Alternative is a visual novel developed by âge, a direct sequel to the original Muv-Luv. Somewhat confusingly, Muv-Luv was split into a duo of disparate arcs (Extra and Unlimited), giving it a type of "two games in one" feel, and thus rendering Alternative the final installment of a trilogy. Alternative has a release history similar to that of the original Muv-Luv: there was that initial physical PC game in Japan (2006), followed by an English fan patch, and then an official localization thanks to a Kickstarter campaign which culminated in releases on both Steam and the PlayStation Vita. Both Muv-Luv and Muv-Luv Alternative alike have received heaps of praise, in Japan (then) and the West (now). However, while Muv-Luv is typically viewed as a "very good" visual novel, Alternative is frequently heralded as the best the genre has ever had to offer. Indeed, it earns top marks on websites like the Visual Novel Database (VNDB), where it's currently the only VN to retain an average score of 9+ (out of ten), based on thousands of ratings. And I'm not one to argue with the popular consensus here. The original Muv-Luv is fantastic, funny, wholly entertaining. Alternative is on an entirely different tier: stunning, gorgeous, transcendentally powerful. All cards on the table: this is one of the best video games I've ever played by a wide margin. "Played"... or read? Sure, visual novels aren't "standard" video games, rendering cross-genre comparisons somewhat useless. Nevertheless, this is the absolute pinnacle of the VN style, and of Japanese interactive fiction. The emotional commitment it demands of the player is absolutely staggering, as is the resulting impact.
Muv-Luv Alternative picks up right after the original Muv-Luv, albeit somewhat indirectly. Note that it's absolutely essential to play Muv-Luv before tackling this one, or else nothing will make any sense. It'd be like picking up a copy of Final Fantasy III and playing through an old save file that begins at the "World of Ruin" while totally ignoring the first half of the saga -- don't do that!! I'd recommend playing Alternative immediately after finishing the previous game, as everything flows together as one lengthy epic (then again, Japanese gamers who purchased these VNs at launch had to endure a three-year waiting period). Muv-Luv Unlimited did an excellent job priming the player for a sequel, without having to resort to a clichéd cliffhanger. Alternative manages to do something opposite: it contextualizes and clarifies so many events of Extra and Unlimited that Muv-Luv retroactively ends up feeling like a "better game" once Alternative is completed. All the weird random ideas presented in the first Muv-Luv -- why the protagonist is a ladies man, how multiple endings can coexist, the purpose of the cat that pops up from the bushes, and much much more -- it's all explained here in a compelling unified fashion. No stone is left unturned, and there are additionally some great cameos of forgotten incidental characters slyly inserted into Alternative (look for the limo driver). In fact, in a strange kind of meta moment, as soon as I completed Muv-Luv Alternative I immediately desired to "loop" to experience that first title once more, now with a newfound understanding of the games' lore.
Taking center stage of Alternative is one Shirogane Takeru: Japanese teenager, schoolboy turned warrior, zero turned hero, reluctant time-traveler, savior of all humanity. In Extra Takeru was navigating late adolescence, surrounded by a harem of gorgeous women (we can all relate, right?). In Unlimited, Takeru awakens one day to find himself in an alternate timeline: most of his friends and acquaintances are present, except humanity is now utilizing mechas to battle a hostile alien race known as the BETA. Unlimited wraps up on a late December day, with the fate of mankind looking grim. Alternative thrusts Takeru back into the world of Unlimited, except he's back in October, and armed with all the knowledge he's gained from previous time loops. His mission: to use his accumulated wisdom and skills to slay the alien menace and steer the world into its former prosperity. It won't be easy. Takeru was a somewhat annoying and questionable protagonist in Extra, largely redeemed in Unlimited, and fully realized within the world of Alternative. The game deftly avoids the most common pitfalls associated with visual novel heroes. Takeru isn't a quasi-first-person stand-in for the player, nor is he an invincible superman. He's his own person, with moods that oscillate heavily as the Alternative tale unfolds. He can be funny, despondent, anxious, terrified, infuriating. Above all else he feels real: a person whose experiences are irreparably altered by surrounding calamities, finding solace within those fleeting vignettes that make things slightly more bearable.
The (primarily female) supporting cast is back, of course. Mitsurugi Meiya reprises her role as the mysterious, brilliant, and occasionally aloof female warrior, with a history and backstory deep enough to rival Takeru's own. Plus there's those other pals of Takeru: Tamase Miki, Ayamine Kei, Sakaki Chizuru, and Yoroi Mikoto (and the mysterious bunny-eared Yashiro Kasumi); each character comes with her own backstory, baggage, hopes, fears, fighting styles, cafeteria food preferences. Some critics have commented on an apparent lack of "character development" contained within the story, which is missing the mark by some margin. Muv-Luv Alternative is an excellent case study in character
consistency. All told, while a lengthy game, all events take place within a scant two month period, showcasing a tight-knit group under extreme and constant duress. The game juggles an absolutely massive amount of dialogue, and does so brilliantly. Every line spoken by a particular character feels appropriate coming from him or her (okay, usually her). Every young lady is granted a small side story or two, and some private moments with Takeru. By the end of the entire rigmarole that is Muv-Luv, it's nigh impossible to not feel deep affection for all parties involved. The writers even had the nerve to dump a second "waifu brigade" of (mostly) new ladies halfway through the game. At first this feels a touch overwhelming, but eventually the fresh personalities elevate the experience to unforeseen levels.
Muv-Luv Alternative also marks the return of Kagami "Best Girl" Sumika, Takeru's main love interest from Extra who was conspicuously absent from Unlimited. This is of no real surprise to the player, as she graces both the game's box art and title screen. Overall, she's a great addition to the story. Her very existence is shrouded in mystery, with details of her life slowly trickling in, to full in the gaps of the Muv-Luv mystery. That said, the weakest writing of Alternative is also that which pertains to Sumika. She's given a tragic backstory, designed to motivate both Takeru and the player. But the writers went
way overboard, and I do mean way overboard, even in the toned-down Vita port. One (in)famous part of the story, encountered later on, is really just disgusting, exploitative, and ultimately unneeded. It's a crass moment of shock value that doesn't necessarily detract from the main plotline, but it most certainly adds very little of value.
A final character that deserves mention is the teacher-turned-scientist Kouzuki Yuuko. Attractive and seemingly skilled at everything imaginable, she'd be considered a "Mary Sue" if this were indeed her tale to tell. If anything, she's a sort of "deus ex machina" character, with her sudden resolutions occasionally feeling a little too convenient. Most importantly, Yuuko drives the story forward. As the most knowledgeable member of the bunch, she's the primary source of the Muv-Luv Alternative "info dumping." Alternative is a show
and tell experience. Once the game concludes, not much has been left to the player's imagination. The inner workings of the mecha, the fundamentals of time travel and interdimensional jumping, varying species of the BETA, all of it is explained in intense detail. There's even some "real life" science worked into the mix. At one point Yuuko drops everything to discuss double-slit experiments!
And you know what? This isn't a problem. Muv-Luv Alternative is over 50 hours(!) long, and unwaveringly fascinating. It eschews melodrama in favor of a massive series of taut scenarios. There's so much going on -- time travel, mecha battles, conspiracies, politicking, scandals, interpersonal relationships -- and all of it is weaved together brilliantly. The game's self-referential with no loose ends: a seemingly innocuous conversion at hour 5 swings back into relevance come hour 40. But most important is the overarching tone of the game itself. Gone is the good-natured parody humor of Extra, and the slow-burn mysterious feel of Unlimited. Alternative is a tragic tale, and one told with a voracious intensity. It demands attention, and calculatingly projects feelings of extreme anxiety and sorrow from Takeru (and others) to the player directly. For example, at one pivotal point in the tale Takeru tries to "run away" from the horrors of the battered world, only to be confronted by a series of newly-formed issues as a result. It's a gradual descent into abject madness, and one of the most terrifying scenarios seen in a video game. Not in an edge-of-your-seat jump-scare type of way, but in a way that makes the player feel uncomfortable and ill at ease. For hours on end. Muv-Luv Alternative is punctuated by happy-cry highs and the lowest of gut-punch lows. It's a binge-worthy title, with long play sessions required just to get from one "emotion" to the next. It's unrelenting, uncompromising, and impossible to walk away from.
The game's not all a bunch of chit-chat. The mecha vs. alien battles are pretty incredible, each being the length of a feature film. The attention to detail put into these skirmishes is just astonishing: from the pre-battle briefings, to the in-battle tactics, mecha and BETA designs, Japanese geography analysis, and so on. Most battles are presented in a weird sort of fashion that seems to straddle the line between visual novel and full animation: think of cardboard cut-out combatants moved around a chess board. It produces a disorienting effect, punctuating the ensuing chaos. The intensity of said battles ramps up as Alternative progresses: the game's ultimate showdown would make a wholly compelling self-contained visual novel in and of itself.
Muv-Luv Alternative showcases some of the highest production values of a visual novel of its era (or to date, really). The character artwork is just superb, with fluidly animated lip movements accompanying every voiced line. The voice-acting is absolutely top-notch; each actor nails their respective character just perfectly. I'm quite partial to Kei's slacker mumbles, Sumika's adorable hyperactive ramblings, and Yuuko's authoritative explanations. Note that Takeru is only voiced in the most "serious" of situations, a wise move by the developers. The soundtrack is one of the best around. It contains all the hits from the original Muv-Luv, plus a bunch of new driving militaristic tunes for those dire situations. Besides the standard "video game music" there are some great songs with vocals. These are saved for the game's unskippable anime cutscenes, which bookend the game and are also initiated at specific pivotal moments.
In contrast to its predecessors, Muv-Luv Alternative contains but one ending. This is a good thing. Given the tumultuous events of the game, things should (and do) conclude in one very specific way. And yes, the ending is an absolute tearjerker. That said, there are "choices" to be made throughout the journey. These are few and far between. In fact, the final selection is made something like ten hours before the game ends! Choices not only alter some game dialogue, but do impact a couple of key scenes (including the penultimate one). After completing the game, one can go back, armed with both a chapter select and fast-forward function, to influence events differently. Whether this is "worth it" is debatable. Even a sped-up playthrough of the game is a serious time sink, and no serious modifications to the story can truly be made.
The Vita port of Muv-Luv Alternative varies from all other (PC) versions in a few key ways. The handheld format is great, and lends itself to lengthy play sessions, though the smaller screen image almost makes the text a bit too tiny. While the localization is fantastic, some spelling errors can be found, though this is easily remedied with an available update. The "h-scenes" are missing, naturally (no complaints here). That said, another scene deemed objectionable is one of a particularly violent nature that occurs midway through. It's still here, and absolutely needs to be, though it's obviously censored in a somewhat clumsy fashion (anyone playing this is going to immediately head to the internet to view "the real deal"). It's clear the publisher was trying to avoid any ESRB issues, and it's a shame that this particular crucial moment had its impact dulled. Upon completion of the game, a lovely "gallery" is made available to view numerous artwork stills. Unfortunately, there's no comparable "jukebox" for the tunes.
Muv-Luv Alternative is absolutely essential. For lovers of video games, anime, and for those who simply desire an incredibly gripping story. I really can't overstate how compelling this entire trilogy is; there's really nothing else like it. It's probably the most "manipulative" piece of media I've ever experienced. It transformed this "I'll play an hour of video games a night to relax" guy into a five-hour-session binge-gamer. I "platinumed" the game, despite being unaware of what a platinum trophy was. There are scenes here that I'll be able to recall verbatim a decade from now, which is probably the highest praise I can give to any video game (or story, generally speaking). An absolute masterpiece that deserves every single ounce of praise thrust upon it. Ryoukai!