CONTEXT This review is only for Muv-Luv Extra, as it is all I have played at this time. I may come back to the series and complete the remaining portions of the story, but I somewhat doubt it.
Muv-Luv Extra, the opening act of the acclaimed visual novel Muv-Luv, carries the weight of immense expectations. Released in 2003 and developed by the Japanese Studio âge for nearly every available platform at the time, Extra has been touted as a gateway to a genre-defining experience, promising a charming slice-of-life narrative interwoven with themes of love and loss. However, in my opinion, Extra falls short of these lofty expectations and instead presents a generic and lackluster high school romance story. Even understanding this installment serves as a prelude to a much larger narrative, Extra lacks the depth and originality needed to keep players thoughtfully engaged over its runtime. Whether experienced on PC or other platforms, the game's attempt at humor, character development, and overall storytelling left me searching for more than the lackluster amount of high school tropes and paper-thin plots it constantly presented.
The story of Extra unfolds in a typical high school setting and introduces us to our protagonist, the lazy mech-loving Takeru Shirogane, and essentially his harem of love interests: the tsundere childhood best friend Sumika Kagami, the shy bookworm class president Chizuru Sakaki, the tiny cat-girl Miki Tamase, the kuudere Kei Ayamine, and the strange new transfer student Meiya Mitsurugi. To go into every plotline with these characters would take far too long, but suffice to say that the narrative overall relies heavily on clichés, offering little in terms of innovation or unique storytelling to push the genre forward.
Once the character introductions and opening act of Muv-Luv Extra is complete, the story essentially stalls for most of the game's run-time. While there are interesting tidbits of information scattered throughout, there are far more moments of tediousness than anything else. The story essentially meanders without purpose for far too long, bogged down by endless school festivals, sports matches, and generic slice-of-life filler that brings everything to a complete standstill. This left me just skipping through text boxes rather than engaging with the uninteresting narrative. Where's the hook? The intrigue? There is genuine interest in the actions and odd personality quirks of the exchange student Meiya Mitsurugi and why she acts the way she does, but this is forgotten for essentially all of Extra’s runtime. The game seems far more content to wallow in its predictability, than offering players an incentive to push through the endless monotony.
I assume the main point of Extra is the romance element. With so many ladies to try and woo, one would assume the game is at least engaging in this respect, but I disagree. While the female characters are visually appealing, their personalities lack depth and nuance as they all fit very well-established anime tropes. Furthermore, interactions with Takeru, absent some with Sumika, feel forced and shallow, failing to spark a genuine emotional connection at all. This, in turn, means the various potential romances fall flat, unable to evoke any emotions from players.
Fortunately, Extra isn’t a complete write-off as a visual novel. As previously stated, Extra is not a standalone game; it's a prologue, a foundation upon which the true story is built. Muv-Luv Alternative, the critically acclaimed sequel to Muv-Luv Extra, takes the familiar characters and throws them into entirely new scenarios devoid of the high school drama of Extra. While the tonal shift present in Alternative may be enough to bring me back to the series, I can’t say I’m looking forward to it. I obviously understand that judging Extra solely on its own merits is a disservice to the complete Muv-Luv experience, but Extra is so bland in its presentation, storytelling, and characters that I just can’t find the will to care at this point. I know the payoff awaits in Alternative, but going through the slog of Extra has left me devoid of care for the series as a whole.
In conclusion, Muv-Luv Extra is a paradox. It is a hollow prelude to an apparent genre-defining experience in Muv-Luv Alternative, a tedious, yet necessary, trek through a narrative trope-filled wasteland before a promised story-rich oasis. Whether the emotional payoff of Alternative outweighs the slog of Extra is a question each player must answer for themselves. I am still grappling with my own decision.
Muv-Luv Extra, the opening act of the acclaimed visual novel Muv-Luv, carries the weight of immense expectations. Released in 2003 and developed by the Japanese Studio âge for nearly every available platform at the time, Extra has been touted as a gateway to a genre-defining experience, promising a charming slice-of-life narrative interwoven with themes of love and loss. However, in my opinion, Extra falls short of these lofty expectations and instead presents a generic and lackluster high school romance story. Even understanding this installment serves as a prelude to a much larger narrative, Extra lacks the depth and originality needed to keep players thoughtfully engaged over its runtime. Whether experienced on PC or other platforms, the game's attempt at humor, character development, and overall storytelling left me searching for more than the lackluster amount of high school tropes and paper-thin plots it constantly presented.
The story of Extra unfolds in a typical high school setting and introduces us to our protagonist, the lazy mech-loving Takeru Shirogane, and essentially his harem of love interests: the tsundere childhood best friend Sumika Kagami, the shy bookworm class president Chizuru Sakaki, the tiny cat-girl Miki Tamase, the kuudere Kei Ayamine, and the strange new transfer student Meiya Mitsurugi. To go into every plotline with these characters would take far too long, but suffice to say that the narrative overall relies heavily on clichés, offering little in terms of innovation or unique storytelling to push the genre forward.
Once the character introductions and opening act of Muv-Luv Extra is complete, the story essentially stalls for most of the game's run-time. While there are interesting tidbits of information scattered throughout, there are far more moments of tediousness than anything else. The story essentially meanders without purpose for far too long, bogged down by endless school festivals, sports matches, and generic slice-of-life filler that brings everything to a complete standstill. This left me just skipping through text boxes rather than engaging with the uninteresting narrative. Where's the hook? The intrigue? There is genuine interest in the actions and odd personality quirks of the exchange student Meiya Mitsurugi and why she acts the way she does, but this is forgotten for essentially all of Extra’s runtime. The game seems far more content to wallow in its predictability, than offering players an incentive to push through the endless monotony.
I assume the main point of Extra is the romance element. With so many ladies to try and woo, one would assume the game is at least engaging in this respect, but I disagree. While the female characters are visually appealing, their personalities lack depth and nuance as they all fit very well-established anime tropes. Furthermore, interactions with Takeru, absent some with Sumika, feel forced and shallow, failing to spark a genuine emotional connection at all. This, in turn, means the various potential romances fall flat, unable to evoke any emotions from players.
Fortunately, Extra isn’t a complete write-off as a visual novel. As previously stated, Extra is not a standalone game; it's a prologue, a foundation upon which the true story is built. Muv-Luv Alternative, the critically acclaimed sequel to Muv-Luv Extra, takes the familiar characters and throws them into entirely new scenarios devoid of the high school drama of Extra. While the tonal shift present in Alternative may be enough to bring me back to the series, I can’t say I’m looking forward to it. I obviously understand that judging Extra solely on its own merits is a disservice to the complete Muv-Luv experience, but Extra is so bland in its presentation, storytelling, and characters that I just can’t find the will to care at this point. I know the payoff awaits in Alternative, but going through the slog of Extra has left me devoid of care for the series as a whole.
In conclusion, Muv-Luv Extra is a paradox. It is a hollow prelude to an apparent genre-defining experience in Muv-Luv Alternative, a tedious, yet necessary, trek through a narrative trope-filled wasteland before a promised story-rich oasis. Whether the emotional payoff of Alternative outweighs the slog of Extra is a question each player must answer for themselves. I am still grappling with my own decision.