Should I play Muv-Luv or go straight to Muv-Luv Alternative

[BIGendBolt]

Heard good things about alternative, but not much about muv-luv (original) and it has a pretty average scores compared to alternative, is it worth playing through before jumping into alternative, and will I be lost if I play alternative first?

[Kenshin_sama]

Yeah, Muv-Luv Extra isn't the most exciting story in the world, but it is necessary for MLA. However, unless you have some kind of interest in the other girls, you only need to read Sumika's and Meiya's routes before moving on to Unlimited and Alternative.

Personally, I didn't find Extra all that tedious. It did give me a few laughs here and there, and I couldn't help but admire the joy and creativity that went into Sumika's ahoge.

Edited February 13, 2019 by Kenshin_sama

[Ren'ai Arrow]

You have two choices:

1. Play Extra and Unlimited before Alternative

2. Don't play Alternative at all.

[ChaosRaven]

If I could go back in time, I'd definitely skip the first one - or at least the Extra story arc. Alternative had more than enough flashbacks to clear up the missing pieces.

[Larxe1]

I played Muv luv for a short time then just read a summary and skipped it and then went straight to Unlimited. At the very least play Unlimited or you won't get the full experience

[alpacaman]

Alternative works well enough as a standalone story. There is very little exposition in Extra or Unlimited that you need to understand the plot of Alternative and it's not that hard to fill in the blanks yourself. That being said I'd still heavily recommend reading MuvLuv first as otherwise you won't get the protagonist's complete arc and his motivation remains kind of abstract when you haven't seen him and certain characters in their original environment. Also there is some emotional payoff in Alternative that works better when you've been through Extra.

 

[AustriaVNFan]

I would NOT recommend reading only Alternative. There are a few reasons:

• you totally missed the MCs development
• all the heroines are strangers to you. That you know them so well after Extra + Unlimited is what makes Alternative so good!
• I think you won't understand many things like what the MC does differently than before or why he treats the heroines the way he does
• I don't think Extra and Unlimited are that bad. I had pretty much fun reading them

I still see all 3 parts as one huge VN. For me they belong together

[Dreamysyu]

Even though I personally hated Extra when I read it originally, I still heavily recommend reading it before going to Alternative. As for Unlimited, even though it is definitely not as good as Alternative, it is still a good game overall, so I don't see much point in skipping it. At the same time, Alternative is such a great VN only because it is based of the foundation laid out by Extra and Unlimited. I'm actually against relying on summaries, the main point of Extra is that you actually have to force yourself through all this slice-of-life to make the emotional payoff in the end even greater.

[Inorin]

Play Muv Luv, then Muv Luv Alternative. You should never skip a sequel before reading a prequel, even if said prequel is not as good as the sequel. As others have mentioned, the Muv Luv series is supposed to be experienced as a whole. Even if Muv Luv Alternative works well on its own, its emotional impact is far greater if you had read Muv Luv. 

[yelsha57]

I enjoyed Extra and Unlimited. I haven't read Alternative yet. I may get it during the Steam summer sale. I recommend reading both of them before Alternative.