So I'm trying to get into Muv-Luv but....

[CharlesAznable]

Muv-Luv Extra is fucking torture. Like I think i'm about 2 hours in and idk how much more of this I can stomach. Like I heard about how amazing the series get's down the line and that'll it'll all be worth it in the end, but I really cannot tolerate much more of this. Like is Extra really necessary to enjoy the later parts and are the later parts really that amazing to justify suffering through this??? At the very least is there like some super entertaining let's player I can watch instead whose played through this?

 

[Theswweet]

Takeru is a piece of shit for like half of Extra, and part of what makes Unlimited and Alternative better is seeing him *realize* that he's an asshole and growing from it. You see him mellow out the further into Extra that you get.

 

[Chopchop]

You can kind of skim Extra if it's stopping you that much. It's *intentionally* bland and cliche. I've had a friend fall off at Extra too, so I won't suggest reading it too closely if it'll keep you from getting to the good stuff.

Extra's purpose is to establish the main personality traits/tropes of the cast, and Takeru's relationships with them. As long as you skim it well enough to understand those things, you're fine. The "good" part of the series then plays on what was established in Extra.

Don't bother reading Extra with too much detail if it hurts too much. It's not required.

 

[Theswweet]

You can kind of skim Extra if it's stopping you that much. It's *intentionally* bland and cliche. I've had a friend fall off at Extra too, so I won't suggest reading it too closely if it'll keep you from getting to the good stuff.

Extra's purpose is to establish the main personality traits/tropes of the cast, and Takeru's relationships with them. As long as you skim it well enough to understand those things, you're fine. The "good" part of the series then plays on what was established in Extra.

Don't bother reading Extra with too much detail if it hurts too much. It's not required.

Click to shrink...

I won't tell you that you're wrong, but I disagree. I feel like it's intentional that the story goes full circle;

Spoiler

By the time you're done with Alternative, seeing the cast - everyone - in the Final Extra world is cathartic. At least for me, I don't think I would've had the same reaction if I hadn't absorbed Extra first.

 

[celigio]

Just play/watch Sumika/Meiya route and that's all you need for Unlimited

 

[Chopchop]

I won't tell you that you're wrong, but I disagree. I feel like it's intentional that the story goes full circle;

Spoiler

By the time you're done with Alternative, seeing the cast - everyone - in the Final Extra world is cathartic. At least for me, I don't think I would've had the same reaction if I hadn't absorbed Extra first.

Click to shrink...

Spoiler

I understand your point, and I do agree that the shift in atmosphere between the Extra world and the Alternative world is one of the big mindblow parts of the series.

But if someone is about to drop the entire game because Extra sucks too much to read (which is completely understandable, because Extra is really bad), then I'd rather tell them to skim it rather than have them miss the chance at experiencing the rest of the series. That way they might get a reduced impact when the series turns everything on its head as it goes into Unlimited because they weren't as absorbed into the world of Extra, but at least they get there.

 

[Strings]

I'm about 10 hours into Unlimited right now. To be honest, I was surprised at how bearable I found Extra? There's the occasional annoying sex-pest scene, but otherwise it was decently funny and much less of a slog than I was expecting (though it was still too long).

 

[Theswweet]

Spoiler

I understand your point, and I do agree that the shift in atmosphere between the Extra world and the Alternative world is one of the big mindblow parts of the series.

But if someone is about to drop the entire game because Extra sucks too much to read (which is completely understandable, because Extra is really bad), then I'd rather tell them to skim it rather than have them miss the chance at experiencing the rest of the series. That way they might get a reduced impact when the series turns everything on its head as it goes into Unlimited because they weren't as absorbed into the world of Extra, but at least they get there.

Click to shrink...

Spoiler

Yeah, that's fair, but I do genuinely believe that Extra gets better halfway through. I wasn't a huge fan of Extra at the beginning either.

 

[Shining Star]

Turn 360 degrees and just walk away now OP. It's super long and not worth it in the end.

 

[AllenShrz]

Extra is needed but what I would recommend is to fast read, just pay a little more attention whenever Meiya, Sumika and Yuuko are on the screen.

The insane ride is worth it.

 

[CharlesAznable]

I'm about 10 hours into Unlimited right now. To be honest, I was surprised at how bearable I found Extra? There's the occasional annoying sex-pest scene, but otherwise it was decently funny and much less of a slog than I was expecting (though it was still too long).

Click to shrink...

Yeah it's not as bad as I thought it'd be but then again my expectations going in were extremely low. My main issue, is that I don't like SoL at all. I can't even stomach SoL anime much less a visual novel where the pacing will naturally be a lot slower. Like I'm barley 2 hours in and i'm already super bored. Idk if I can take another 10+ hours of it.

Turn 360 degrees and just walk away now OP. It's super long and not worth it in the end.

Click to shrink...

 

[CharlesAznable]

Extra is needed but what I would recommend is to fast read, just pay a little more attention whenever Meiya, Sumika and Yuuko are on the screen.

The insane ride is worth it.

Click to shrink...

So far atleast one of them have been on screen atleast 99% of the time tho T__T lol

 

[Whistler]

The lacrosse arc is one of the worst parts of a VN I have ever played and I've played a lot of VNs.

But you need the context.

 

[KrillinLikeAVillan]

I too am interested in a good let's play, i tried getting into the game but just couldn't cope, so this feels like a perfect game to watch.

 

[Chopchop]

The lacrosse arc is one of the worst parts of a VN I have ever played and I've played a lot of VNs.

But you need the context.

Click to shrink...

Lol the lacrosse thing is easily the worst part of Extra. It's just like, they really fucking tried to make that part as anime as possible, in a bad way. And they succeeded.

 

[NazoNazoXLR]

I started with Alternative. I liked it a lot. It's the only "pure" VN of full length that I've ever paid for or finished.

Well, that's not entirely true, I think I "watched" a LP of Unlimited that I started skipping around on whenever I got bored

Didn't even bother with Extra. My time is too valuable for these long bait and switch setups that so many post Higurashi VNs like to do, especially when the characters are so archetypical. Summarize it with 20 words or less.

 

[GhostTrick]

Keep going. Skipping on Extra is skipping on a lot of important things: character developpement, foreshadowing but also momentum building. What the story is telling requires you first to get into Extra and get used to it. Otherwise you're missing the point.

 

[CharlesAznable]

Alright I've done. Beaten both Sumika and Meiya's routes. I think what helped the most was to stop viewing it as a blocker for getting to the "good stuff". And to just accept it for what it was and to try to enjoy it that way. Once I did that it became much easier to get through. It wasn't as bad as I made it out to be, but still definitely not my cup of tea. Excited to get into Unlimited now though.