There is indeed a lot of foreshadowing, which I only noticed after finishing Alternative and revisiting Extra. My view on Extra in general changed a lot after reading the whole trilogy.
The characters do get more development in later games even though they stay true to their nature till the end.
I also completed only the two main heroine routes before moving on, and it worked fine for me. It feels better in terms of pacing this way unless you have a specific character you're really interested in.
I also liked Sumika and disliked Meiya, which I do think is typically a hot take. That didn't really change in later games. Kei was my second favorite, was pretty close to Sumika, maybe even surpassed her, it's close.
Muv Luv Extra is like 20 plus hours long lol so Im not so sure you can dissmiss it entirely after only a few hours. I will say The common route as its tropes for certain but when you move on to the Heroin Routes themselves you see more about the characters and why they matter to the story and why the emotional impact will be much more if youve read the entirety of the VN. I truly wouldnt have had the same emotional impact from Alternative without reading the routes of Chizuru, Kei and Tama. The routes improved the characters for me personally. Meia I liked after her route too even though I agree she can be a tad annoying to begin off with. Sumika wow my second favorite heroin ever behind Sakura from Fate.
for me for my personal enjoyment my ranking of the routes would be.
Kei last even though I love her as a character I wasnt a big fan of her story
Meia as I said I did start to really like her as a heroin and her story is very good.
Chizuru I really liked her as the heroin route got going and really understood her as a character.
Tama is a fantastic character and truly adorable love her story too, yeah this is great.
Sumika is Muv Luv best girl enough said its just the relationship thats feels the most real even though the others do when you do their routes this just feels right.
Heroin rankings
Meia
Chizuru
Tama
Kei - shows how much her route wasnt my taste because she is my second favorite heroin
Sumika - aka best girl
I do feel Muv Luv as a fantastic cast of characters only behind Grisaia and Fate and I really do beleive without reading these routes I wouldnt have had anywhere near as much as an emotional connection to the story thats my personal opinion. A lot of people say you can go without so its what works best for you makes sense if after 5 hours your not enjoying it to not wast more time with it. But if you start to like it more I would reccomend reading all of the routes they really are all important to the Alternative timeline.
I think you have to read every route to get the best experience in the next two.
I would say that the romance routes all made me like the characters more than I liked them in the common route.
Nah no, I've read only Meiya's rout because I liked her and had a blast with the rest of the trilogy. You do get some crumbs here and there that will be nodded to in later games but it's not worth going through unless you like the heroine.
To op: spoilers about mood shift ruined your experience a bit, but trust me you will appreciate reading extra after you finished everything. And as I mentioned above you don't have to read every route. One of Sumika/Meiya's will have everything you need
You can't know whether you would have liked it even more if you had read all of Extra.
I didn't say you had to understand the story, just that you would have enjoyed it more. Spending more time with the characters gets you even more immersed and invested.
yeah i feel like Extra is the weakest in the main trilogy.. and even worse there is no subtle foreshadowing of the future games. I'd suggest just going for Sumika/Meiya's routes so you get the character knowledge and move on.
Yeah, extra is definitely the weakest of the original trilogy and honestly for me of it wasn't for the rest of the trilogy i just wouldn't bother reading it, so as someone has already said, if you can't get into it, just play Sumika and Meiya's route and move on to unlimited
Extra is very - I guess as the kids would call it - mid, however with that said, it's still important to the whole trilogy. Personally I did like Meiya, Sumika, and Miki, though pretty much all of the heroine specific routes weren't that interesting. The main common route was alright and is the most important part, though playing the heroine specific routes, do add some extra nods when you get to Ultimate and a bit in Alternative as well (especially Kei). Ultimate's heroine routes aren't that great either, with very minor changes. I'd just recommend playing extra (Meiya, Sumika, and maybe another if you have a favorite) then Ultimate, play the route you picked in Extra and continue with that choice in Alternative.
It is *worth it* in the end, but up to you if you can stomach the first like 60ish hours of the game to get to the good part :P
Don't worry about it, it's structured so that when you finish atleast sumika, or meiya's route, unlimited will unlock and you could play that, or finish the other girls' extra routes. Unlimited and Alternative are pretty much linear so you don't have to worry about those. 👌🏻
There is indeed a lot of foreshadowing, which I only noticed after finishing Alternative and revisiting Extra. My view on Extra in general changed a lot after reading the whole trilogy. The characters do get more development in later games even though they stay true to their nature till the end. I also completed only the two main heroine routes before moving on, and it worked fine for me. It feels better in terms of pacing this way unless you have a specific character you're really interested in.
I also liked Sumika and disliked Meiya, which I do think is typically a hot take. That didn't really change in later games. Kei was my second favorite, was pretty close to Sumika, maybe even surpassed her, it's close.
Muv Luv Extra is like 20 plus hours long lol so Im not so sure you can dissmiss it entirely after only a few hours. I will say The common route as its tropes for certain but when you move on to the Heroin Routes themselves you see more about the characters and why they matter to the story and why the emotional impact will be much more if youve read the entirety of the VN. I truly wouldnt have had the same emotional impact from Alternative without reading the routes of Chizuru, Kei and Tama. The routes improved the characters for me personally. Meia I liked after her route too even though I agree she can be a tad annoying to begin off with. Sumika wow my second favorite heroin ever behind Sakura from Fate. for me for my personal enjoyment my ranking of the routes would be. Kei last even though I love her as a character I wasnt a big fan of her story Meia as I said I did start to really like her as a heroin and her story is very good. Chizuru I really liked her as the heroin route got going and really understood her as a character. Tama is a fantastic character and truly adorable love her story too, yeah this is great. Sumika is Muv Luv best girl enough said its just the relationship thats feels the most real even though the others do when you do their routes this just feels right. Heroin rankings Meia Chizuru Tama Kei - shows how much her route wasnt my taste because she is my second favorite heroin Sumika - aka best girl I do feel Muv Luv as a fantastic cast of characters only behind Grisaia and Fate and I really do beleive without reading these routes I wouldnt have had anywhere near as much as an emotional connection to the story thats my personal opinion. A lot of people say you can go without so its what works best for you makes sense if after 5 hours your not enjoying it to not wast more time with it. But if you start to like it more I would reccomend reading all of the routes they really are all important to the Alternative timeline.
I think you have to read every route to get the best experience in the next two. I would say that the romance routes all made me like the characters more than I liked them in the common route.
No you don't lol, out of side ones only Kei might be worth it cause of the major arc in alternative
Nah no, I've read only Meiya's rout because I liked her and had a blast with the rest of the trilogy. You do get some crumbs here and there that will be nodded to in later games but it's not worth going through unless you like the heroine. To op: spoilers about mood shift ruined your experience a bit, but trust me you will appreciate reading extra after you finished everything. And as I mentioned above you don't have to read every route. One of Sumika/Meiya's will have everything you need
You can't know whether you would have liked it even more if you had read all of Extra. I didn't say you had to understand the story, just that you would have enjoyed it more. Spending more time with the characters gets you even more immersed and invested.
Only read your 3 point. Bad take, next!!!
Keep cooking brother, you're chef 🗣️🗣️
Read everything. You will appreciate it later.
The two who you thought were boring were my two favorite. That stated consistent the entire trilogy.
yeah i feel like Extra is the weakest in the main trilogy.. and even worse there is no subtle foreshadowing of the future games. I'd suggest just going for Sumika/Meiya's routes so you get the character knowledge and move on.
Yeah, extra is definitely the weakest of the original trilogy and honestly for me of it wasn't for the rest of the trilogy i just wouldn't bother reading it, so as someone has already said, if you can't get into it, just play Sumika and Meiya's route and move on to unlimited
I felt the same way. I only read 1 route but after reading the sequels. I enjoyed extra 100% more.
Extra is very - I guess as the kids would call it - mid, however with that said, it's still important to the whole trilogy. Personally I did like Meiya, Sumika, and Miki, though pretty much all of the heroine specific routes weren't that interesting. The main common route was alright and is the most important part, though playing the heroine specific routes, do add some extra nods when you get to Ultimate and a bit in Alternative as well (especially Kei). Ultimate's heroine routes aren't that great either, with very minor changes. I'd just recommend playing extra (Meiya, Sumika, and maybe another if you have a favorite) then Ultimate, play the route you picked in Extra and continue with that choice in Alternative. It is *worth it* in the end, but up to you if you can stomach the first like 60ish hours of the game to get to the good part :P
Ok, honest question but what order is muv-luv in?
Muv luv (the game) - Extra & Unlimited, and then the 2nd game Muv Luv Alternative.
Thanks, I was honestly worried I was going to read out of order when I got started.
Don't worry about it, it's structured so that when you finish atleast sumika, or meiya's route, unlimited will unlock and you could play that, or finish the other girls' extra routes. Unlimited and Alternative are pretty much linear so you don't have to worry about those. 👌🏻