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Celebrating All Things Romantic: Muv-Luv photonmelodies

 Celebrating All Things Romantic, Reviews, Video games  No Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Feb 122021
 

Although I played Muv-Luv photonmelodies last year and even reviewed it over at VN Game Den, I waited until now to discuss it as part of our romance celebration.

It’s the second of the two short story collections translated as part of the Muv-Luv localization Kickstarter, and this one includes three stories.

Before I go any further, Muv-Luv photonmelodies is fairly dependent on you being familiar with the Muv-Luv story already, so if you’re a newcomer to the series, I suggest you stop reading this review due to the implied spoilers. (Instead, go take a look at the current contest rules to see how you could win a copy of the first Muv-Luv just by leaving comments on any blog post here!)

All right, now let’s get back to the photonmelodies review.

Unlike Muv-Luv photonflowers, which we discussed in 2019, even the stories set in the Alternative universe are on the lighter end of things (with “Adoration” being almost completely comedy while “Resurrection” has a serious start and climax with a lot of goofiness in between).

Then there is “Altered Fable: A Shimmering Shard of Spacetime,” which is set after the ending of Alternative in the new timeline.

Imagine Muv-Luv Extra, but with everything being even crazier. There’s a fair share of people who dislike Muv-Luv Extra due to it being a romantic comedy, but I found it to be pretty entertaining when I played it (and if you’re reading a “Celebrating All Things Romantic” blog post, I’m guessing you aren’t here for doom and gloom today) and enjoyed this twist on it as well.

It’s filled with silly situations, callbacks to Unlimited and Alternative, a spy story that adds a touch of seriousness to a mostly lighthearted story, and yes, romance routes.

I really enjoyed Muv-Luv photonmelodies, and while the darker parts of the series might be the most famous and beloved, it felt good to see all of these characters back in happy times for an extended story. It’s all good, silly fun, the sort of story that just makes you happy as you read it.

So if you’re wondering if Muv-Luv photonmelodies is worth playing, I’d say that depends on what you’re looking for. If the answer is lighthearted comedy and romance similar to what was in Muv-Luv Extra, then the answer is yes!

Have you played Muv-Luv photonmelodies? Share your thoughts on this lighter short story collection in the comments!

Muv-Luv photonmelodies Releases July 30

 Video games  4 Responses »  Tagged with: , , ,
Jul 032020
 

When the translation of Muv-Luv was successfully crowdfunded, the campaign also met its goals to translate two side story collections.

The first, Muv-Luv photonflowers*, was released last year. Now, the second collection finally has a release date. Muv-Luv photonmelodies will be out on July 30 for $29.99.

This collection contains three stories:

  • Altered Fable: A Shimmering Shard of Spacetime – an epilogue story set after the events of Muv-Luv Alternative
  • Adoration – a story set in Europe, following a Japanese cadet who visits England to join a TSF battalion
  • Resurrection – a story set ahead of Muv-Luv Alternative, following a spy

Although the Steam page isn’t up yet, a short teaser trailer has been released.

Kickstarter backers received photonflowers* ahead of the public release, but I don’t know if the same will happen for photonmelodies. Either way, I’ve heard a lot of praise for this collection, so I’m excited that we don’t have much longer to wait!

That should be the last of the content included in the Kickstarter. There are still some Muv-Luv spin-offs we don’t have available in English (there was a Steam Greenlight page for Schwarzesmarken, but it’s been four years since they said anything about it) and of course the new sequel and spin-offs coming soon. I’ll be looking forward to them as well.

If you’re a Muv-Luv fan, are you looking forward to photonmelodies?

Muv-Luv News Round-Up

 Video games  1 Response »  Tagged with: , , ,
May 062020
 

Muv-Luv developer âge is holding an online web event this week, and that means we’ve had a lot of Muv-Luv news.

First, Muv-Luv Unlimited: The Day After is coming to Steam, with a potential mobile version as well. The Day After is a series of short stories set after the events of Muv-Luv Unlimited, and a fourth chapter is also in development.

No mention was made of an English version, but the developer bringing The Day After to Steam feels like a good step in that direction.

Next, the PC and mobile spin-off Project Mikhail, which will let you pilot a TSF, was shown during the event and revealed TSF customization and other features. It will be out in 2021.

Then there’s the other mobile spin-off, Project Immortal. This one is an action RPG. Interestingly, it will include an offline mode, so that has my attention more than it did at first, since most mobile RPGs end up requiring an Internet connection to play. Project Immortal is also set for 2021 and might see a PC version as well.

Finally, a short teaser was shown of the upcoming Muv-Luv Alternative anime adaptation.

(I don’t think there was an anime adaptation of Extra/Unlimited, though, so jumping straight to Alternative might be confusing unless they cover everything at once.)

Keep in mind, we’re also still awaiting the Muv-Luv Photonmelodies collection from the Kickstarter, the English translation of Schwarzesmarken that went through Steam Greenlight, and the full-fledged sequel Muv-Luv Integrate, so this has really been a busy time for the Muv-Luv series.

While I’m most interested in seeing English version of the visual novels, I’m at least somewhat intrigued by the mobile spin-offs. What do you think of the recent rush of Muv-Luv news, and what do you think will be revealed next?

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