About Muv-Luv Alternative (no spoilers please)

[Sieg]

I'm pretty sure this was already covered several times around this forum, and I tried using the search engine, I really did.

Anyways, Can I play Muv-Luv Alternative as-is or should I play Muv-Luv first? And even if I can, does playing the prequel adds much to the experience of Alternative? Is it worth it?

Help plz

[Albedo]

You have to play Muv Luv Unlimited first (second half of Muv Luv.) If you don't, you won't understand what's going on, at all. Muv Luv Extra (first half of muv luv), imo, is optional: sure, some things are foreshadowed and its purpose is to get a grasp of the characters' basic personalities, but you'll get that in Unlimited anyway (and through flashbacks). In any case, if you can stomach romcoms then no harm in playing it, I guess.

[Kaguya]

You should play Extra/Unlimited to get a grip on the personality of the characters and understand what's going on. That said, you can read muv luv alter before if you really want to, since they do explain what's going on there. I actually read a bit of Extra and dropped it before going to Alter, then I went back to Extra/Unlimited after I finished alter. I could understand everything in alter without problems or misconceptions before reading unlimited, but it would have been more enjoyable if I followed the right order.

 

Depends on what you feel like doing. Playing the first muv luv is a huge pain, but it will pay off.

[Sieg]

I see. It's just that Alternative is so highly regarded I wanted to play it as soon as possible. But I prefer to think on the long run, so I'll play the first one. I can stomach romcom fairly well. Thanks for the advice guys.

[Sieg]

PS.: Does this one (https://fuwanovel.net/novels/muv-luv) cover both Extra and Unlimited? Or should I get it elsewhere?
EDIT: Never mind, it has all explained on the torrent =P

[Silvachief]

I see. It's just that Alternative is so highly regarded I wanted to play it as soon as possible. But I prefer to think on the long run, so I'll play the first one. I can stomach romcom fairly well. Thanks for the advice guys.

 

I highly recommend playing Extra and Unlimited first. If you can only stomach actually reading only one of the routes then go for Sumika's, as she is important to the Alternative story. Here's some helpful info (not actually spoilers; it's just a large image):

 

 

[garejei]

What I posted on reddit:

 

"You should read the whole thing. Some might tell you to skip Extra or even Unlimited and go straight to Alternative, but I strongly recommend reading all of them from the start (in Extra you can just focus on the two main heroine routes and similarly, only do one route in Unlimited). It's gonna be worth it, and by the end you'll understand why the three stories form a complete whole and should be experienced that way."

 

Extra is not optional IMO if you want to experience Takeru's character development in full.

[Sieg]

Yeah I decided to play the whole thing, thanks for the info. It's as I imagined, you can't just gloss over the first games just because the second is more awesome because that would kill the character development, and you'd give 0 fucks to what they do, no matter who dies or how amazing their actions are. It's like saying "skip all other Little Busters! routes and go read Refrain". I just asked because sometimes the franchise doesn't aways require to read all games, like White Album and W.A 2.

[ValenKnight]

I'm pretty sure this was already covered several times around this forum, and I tried using the search engine, I really did.

Anyways, Can I play Muv-Luv Alternative as-is or should I play Muv-Luv first? And even if I can, does playing the prequel adds much to the experience of Alternative? Is it worth it?

Help plz

From my personal expirience it's not a necessity, as you will learn about what happened in the first game as the game progresses. But it is recommended to play the first.

[Vokoca]

I've read through Extra/Unlimited before going for Alternative, and I'm glad I did. It probably would be possible to understand it even without doing so, but I feel like it would lose a lot of depth, especially when it comes to the characters. That, and the shift in tone from Extra to Alternative is, at least for me, one of the best parts about the trilogy, so it'd be a great shame to miss out on that experience.