Muv-Luv Alternative

The gameplay in Muv-Luv requires little player interaction as most time is spent reading the text that appears on the lower portion of the screen, representing either dialogue between characters, narration, or the inner thoughts of the player character. Every so often, the player will arrive at a "decision point", and be required to choose between multiple options. Gameplay pauses and depending upon the player's choice, the plot will develop in a specific direction. There are multiple plot lines that the player can follow, one for each heroine in the story, and there are nineteen possible endings.

To view all plot lines, the player must replay the game multiple times. The game can end in failure if the player makes the wrong decisions. When this occurs, the player can return to a previously saved spot to try again.

The visual novel Muv-Luv is divided into two parts. The first part, titled Muv-Luv Extra, features playable character Takeru Shirogane (voiced by Sōichirō Hoshi, credited as Tsuyoshi Aiba in the Windows version) who wakes up one morning to find a beautiful young woman sleeping in his bed, just as an infuriated Sumika Kagami (voiced by Hiroko Taguchi, credited as Rika Fujiwara in the Windows version), Takeru's neighbor and childhood friend, comes to wake him up that morning. The young woman, Meiya Mitsurugi (voiced by Kazumi Okushima, credited as Aki Okuda in the Windows version), is the heiress to a financially powerful family and is determined to be Takeru's bride. As the story progresses, both girls compete for Takeru's affections while Takeru has recurring dreams about a marriage promise he made to a girl long ago.

At first, he believes the girl was Sumika, but eventually realizes that it was actually Meiya. At the conclusion, Takeru must choose between which of the girls he truly loves. In addition, the player may also make decisions to choose between one of the three girls in the main supporting cast: Chizuru Sakaki (voiced by Masayo Kurata), Miki Tamase (voiced by Hitomi), and Kei Ayamine (voiced by Yūko Nagashima).

Muv-Luv was released on February 28, 2003, on Windows CD-ROM, and re-released on DVD-ROM on April 30, 2004. A fandisc, called Muv-Luv Supplement containing a number of short stories, computer wallpapers, audio clips, and a trailer for the upcoming Muv-Luv Alternative. The limited edition DVD was released on December 17, 2004, and the regular edition was released on December 24.

Muv-Luv Alternative is a sequel to Muv-Luv and taking place after the events of the Unlimited arc in the original game. The DVD version of the game was released on February 24, 2006, and the CD version was released on March 3, 2006. A Muv-Luv Alternative fandisc, Muv-Luv Altered Fable, was released on August 31, 2007, containing an alternate version of the Extra arc from Muv-Luv along with a radio drama, a Senjoki vs. BETA strategy RPG, computer wallpapers, and a Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse short story.

In 2003, Muv-Luv was number one in national PC sales following its release. The sequel, Muv-Luv Alternative, released in 2006, was number three in sales during the first half of 2006.

Muv-Luv has received a median rating of 79 out of 100 on Erogamescape (EGS), while Muv-Luv Alternative has received a median rating of 93 out of 100, making it the third-highest rated visual novel on the website. On the Visual Novel Database (VNDB), Muv-Luv Alternative received an average rating of 9.13 (out of 10), making it the site's #1 visual novel by Bayesian ranking.