Today publisher aNCHOR announced that the Nintendo Switch port of the beloved visual novels Muv-Luv and Muv-Luv Alternative will get a stand-alone release.
For now the release has been confirmed only for Japan during a livestream, which you can watch below.
It includes the bundle with both Muv-Luv and Muv-Luv Alternative in both digital and physical forms, while fans will be also able to buy them separately, but only in digital form. Release date and pricing have not been announced but should come soon.
Fans have been wondering if the games would be sold separately, as before today, only the collectible 20th-Anniversary Box had been announced. While it includes a lot of goodies, it's also fairly expensive at 32,780 yen including taxes (approximately $216 at the current exchange rate).
Incidentally, the big box is releasing in two days, on March 28.
An announcement of a release of the Switch version for the West has not been made just yet, but I would be surprised if it did not come in some form, considering that both Muv-Luv and Muv-Luv Alternative have been localized in English for their release on Steam.
Below you can watch the recording of the livestream, including an unboxing of the 20th-anniversary Box.
If you're unfamiliar with Muv-Luv and Muv-Luv Alternative, they actually are a trilogy of visual novels originally released by âge between 2003 and 2006. The former includes two games, Muv-Luv Extra and Muv-Luv Unlimited.
They're the first release of a franchise that has become one of the most believed in the visual novel genre, mixing romance, mecha sci-fi, and absolutely heart-shattering tragedy. They say playing through the original trilogy gives you PTSD, and while there may be an element of hyperbole there, it certainly left a mark in the hearts of many fans.
In related news, a few months ago, aNCHOR successfully crowdfunded a Steam release of âge's beloved visual novel Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien, which is set in the same world as Muv-Luv and has some relevant characters in common. You can read our interview about the project to learn more.
