Muv-Luv Visual Novel Kickstarter Breaking Records

I try to stay up to date on visual novels, but there are a good number that still have eluded my gaze. And apparently one of the biggest names in the genre is one of them. Muv-Luv is a series of Japanese visual novels that have come out a little over a decade ago and is a fan favorite. Which comes as to no surprise then that people have been begging for an English localization for almost as long. And based on the opening cinematics I don’t blame them. Well, Koki Yoshimune, creator of the series, has graciously taken them up on the request and has decided to run a Kickstarter to get it ported over here in the States.

So, what exactly is Muv-Luv? According to the pitch the first game, Extra, is your typical slice of life story. Shirogane Takeru is just your normal high school student when fate literally drops a girl on his lap. This infuriates his childhood friend who wants him. Obviously. Thus starts a comedy dating sim, starting off the trilogy of titles. Which is quite a marked contrast from the next two entries in the series.

In Muv-Luv Unlimited Shirogane finds himself in a parallel world on the brink of destruction by some alien race bent on subjugating the human race. Or something. He quickly finds himself being drafted into the war and finds that his friends from school are part of the resistance. And Muv-Luv Alternative is a direct sequel to this as our protagonist wakes up believing that everything that happened before was a dream. And quickly finds himself back into the war torn world back at the beginning.

Muv-Luv is a runaway hit and it easily got funded in just a few hours. And it’s still going quite strong, quickly getting close to the first stretch goal. As far as I know this is the most that a visual novel has ever gotten on Kickstarter and I honestly don’t really see this one slowing down much in the days to come. It’s just that popular. I guess being a localization of a beloved Japanese series helps a lot too. The fact that the original writer is on board for the task as well probably enters into it steamrolling past the base funding.

I’m a fan of visual novels, both Japanese and Western, so finding out about Muv-Luv now makes me feel like I missed out on something special. At least now we’ll get it translated into English so that I can finally see what all the fuss is about. I love the idea of traveling to a parallel world to fight off an invasion, so even if I don’t back this one I’ll most definitely keep an eye on it. They are asking for a decent amount of change to get all three games ($60) but based on what I’ve seen it might be worth it. Either way, I’ll be picking this up when it releases.

Track the progress of the Muv-Luv Kickstarter in our Campaign Calendar.