Yuuya, Yui and Cryska are parallels of the same type of people, however with different nationalities who need to learn to connect with others despite their differences, whether ethnic, personal or moral. Not just let go of the identities imposed on them and start living as human beings with their own individualities, but understand that it is possible for humans to connect and work together despite everything. Instead of pushing our ideas on others, learn and be considerate of others so that in this conflict of ideas we find a path that leads us to mutual understanding. The purpose of TE is to demonstrate that despite all our differences, human beings can work together despite all obstacles.

After having to deal with the production and writing of TDA after Alternative, I am immensely grateful to see Yoshimune back on the series as a writer and dedicating a lot of time to production, direction, etc. Its amazing. Look, MLA is WAY better than TE, especially cuz it continues to be Yoshimune's life's work, so some may find it strange that I give the same score to both. But I have to follow my heart , this VN is spectacular and even though the level of emotion isn't the same as MLA, it still manages to play with your heart.
In general MLA > TE > TDA = Extra/Unlimited

"The man who abandoned his entire existence, just to give the one woman he loves a reason to exist..."

YUUYA FUCKING BRIDGES

I KNEEL

There are no spoilers for any Muv-Luv content in this.

Total Eclipse is a visual novel hybrid adaptation/replacement/director's cut/alternate retcon timeline of sorts of both the Total Eclipse light novel and LN -> anime adaptation. It features a great deal more content than either of those, and goes along further timeline-wise.

Visually, despite for some reason being the only long Muv-Luv VN to not have chibis (why!?), it is the best-looking and most animated entry. You have more movement than in Alternative or TDA, and for some fights you even have scenes from the anime organically inserted to add more to the mech fights. The soundtrack is great, too, where for a while every major fight gets its own insert track, and it feels like they'll never run out.

There is a prequel story to the main Total Eclipse called Teito Moyu (not released in English, if you can't read Japanese at least watch the first 2 episodes of the TE anime that is like a short version of TM), which features a different protagonist than the main one, and I think it's one of the best stories in the series, on every major level. It adds a lot lore-wise and characterisation-wise. I also like cadet stories like this, Unlimited and some Photon stories.

The main Total Eclipse explores a lot of interesting concepts, some that are parallel or complementary to Alternative, and some are more unique to TE, such as the question of national identity. The main character, Yuuya Bridges, is very compelling, but the supporting cast is also great. The lore in this explores different sides of the political landscape and technology (the depth they go into the tech behind TSFs is crazy in this), as well as different cultures. It takes place on the other side of the globe compared to the original, but still complements it well.

Unfortunately, I did not find it to be as emotional as MLA, or as insanely consistent in quality as TDA, but for many this is their favourite entry, and it's understandable why. The highs are very high.

Overall, I consider this to be a must-read for big fans of the other entries.

Well after roughly 50h (which could be cut down to 45h with the few AFK moments here and there), I finally finished Muv-Luv Alternative Total Eclipse

And what are my thoughts on it ?

It was alright, I enjoyed it for sure but probably not to the same extend as most people

Alright let's develop

Let's get the "technical" aspect out of the way first so we can focus on what truly matters later on (the story), I'd say the actual release itself is an improvement over the terrible state TDA was at launch, now I know that TDA eventually got updated and a lot of that update probably carried over to the TE release on Steam but it's still perfectible on some aspect

First of all, I don't know if it's something wrong with my computer, but I feel the game is slowed down when in Full Screen, this is something I barely noticed at first since I was playing most of the time in Full-Screen but the few times I forgot to put it back into FS, I noticed the game overall animation was way more fluid in windows mode which is weird, I wonder if it's a problem that occurred with other people

Also, for a "remastered" version very little "remastering" was actually done, now I don't have the original release of the game to compare this too but I feel like a lot of the game different assets can be pretty low resolution at times, even if it was the case in the original release of the game, this is no excuse not to re-touch that aspect a little bit like what the Trilogy did with the original Muv-Luv and so forth, some of the anime footage was also kinda blurry at times, I dunno I feel like an effort should've been made on that front especially in a quote on quote "remaster"

I still have issues with the way text is displayed on the screen, the font and textbox is way too big and like with TDA, characters talk way more than in the main trilogy and it can reach ridiculous level of the text covering half of the entire screen which ruins some of the visual presentation of the game like this for exemple

https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/870597085915926538/1006121928387461201/unknown.png?width=2358&height=1326

I think this is something that could easily be fixed by giving the option to either reduce the font or just admitting defeat and go back to the old way of displaying text which was more natural and in-line with the game overall "quasi-anime" aesthetic it's trying to emulate

Also I still fucking hate the stupid popping arrows that pops whenever you get your mouse slightly off the middle of the screen, as someone who mostly uses mouse control for VN's this is annoying as hell even though they disappear more quickly now, this is pointless mobile game UI design non-sense that's completely unnecessary to have on a PC port where all of these menus can be accessed by the simple press of a button on my mouse

But all of these are just minor inconveniences and nitpick compared to the real elephant in the room that is the total unjustified absence of Teito Moyu, the prologue chapter added to the 2014 original PC port of the game and adapting and expanding upon the first 2 episodes of the Total Eclipse Anime.

Now I know that the story was likely designed without Teito Moyu in mind but several parts of the story revolves around knowledge and emotional hook of that part of the story provide and some of the moment in the main story revolving around Yui does suffer a bit from its absence (even though Yui herself has more than enough development within the main game to not be too bothersome), this is an even more unfortunate absence than the one of Last Divers in TDA and again has no real reason being absent from the steam version considering it was always there on PC to begin with...

As for the actual game itself tho, nothing really to complain about, it's the similar quality presentation I came to expect from this franchise and even more, you can feel that almost 10 years separates this game from Alternative and it shows, with fight scenes that are even more dynamic and spectacular (now with added 3D animation courtesy of the anime adaptation but sadly absent from the second part of the game) more effects than ever, some more neat directing ideas and for at least a good chunk of the game, almost no standard scene of sprites on flat background with mostly cg's telling the story especially at the start

There's a few moments tho where the POV switches to faceless NPC's and we just get a background with characters talking over it, now I know that making new assets ain't cheap, but I wouldn't be pointing out if it wasn't so inconsistent, there's a lot of minor characters with maybe 1 line of dialogue who have sprites but some more important figures just don't and I just feel it make some scenes of long expanded political squabbles less pleasant to look at

Now onto the story itself and suffice to say that I enjoyed a good chunk of it, this game is definitely aimed towards a more niche audience than the previous game of the series tho, I feel like Kouki turned off his autism inhibitors because I hope you like techno babbling and political conflicts cause this time it's gonna be hard not to notice them lol

But like with the Trilogy, it's always so enticing to read through this meticulously detailed painting of random sci-fi nonsense and alternate history political conflicts that might not amount to much in terms of raw emotional weight but serves to heightened the sense of immersion and helps articulate conflicts that tie directly with the drama of the game

Although with the context of the game focusing on rag tag team of test pilot, you are going to sit through a lot of technical details and I'm not gonna lie while some of it is genuinely interesting to read about, it's definitely a bit overkill in the long run and definitely hurt the pace of the game (hi Blue Flag arc), you can't take out of your mind that ... yeah this was written with the goal of selling model kits (and I'm all up for it, the mechs in Total Eclipse have killer designs)

I am SO GLAD for the more ethnically diversed cast of characters this time, the story is on a more global scale putting into perspective different world views and doctrines and making the world feel more nuanced that what the Japanese centric main trilogy would lead you to believe and it's definitely a breath of fresh air to get out of the intoxicating air of the Japanese Empire after a while and with the next few games in the franchise, it's a direction I'm happy to see the series taking.

It's also kind of a kick in the butt to all the people still claiming Muv-Luv to be pro nationalism, or pro imperialism or openly fascist when one of the main driving force behind the narrative is for people to put those outdated ideas into questions before they eat us from the inside, and that even the hellscape that is international politics, humanity has much more to gain when staying united and understanding each ones point of views to make necessary compromises

There's not really any right or wrong side to this multifaceted conflict and even the biggest monster of them all are only led to such extreme because of the dire situation humanity is facing and the the complex political situation surrounding it

Sandek is pretty much the most evil cunning bastard imaginable and only comparable to Yuuko in terms of sheer dedication to his goal and the extreme he is willing to go to and he's easily the best antagonist the series has introduced so far despite how monstrous his actions and disregard for the sanctity of human life can be, he's like a fucked up version of Yuuko that strayed out of the righteous path and is playing a double game of being equal part ally and equal part opposing force to the protagonist and I absolutely love almost every second when that son of a bitch was on screen

All of this culminate of course with the Terrorist Attack on Yukon, which is easily amongst the Top 5 best arc in the entire series, it's like the Coup arc but supercharged and with a way more relatable set of antagonist which goals don't seem like complete logistical nonsense and a gateway to bad interpretation (also because Master and Valentine have two times the charisma that Memegiri had lol), constantly ramping up in intensity, constantly doubling down on the spectacles, always putting things into questions, the terrorist may have failed in their attempt but they sure did shed a light to the darker often times more ignored part of the series and I hope I get to see more of Master and Allegiance in the future. The clash of ideals and the different means of reaching them is definitely on top, honestly I could analyze this part in further detail but I want to keep things relatively short

This is perhaps the only time while reading this that I really felt like I was reading so high class Muv-Luv stuff

I went this far into this review and I still haven't mentioned the main cast or protagonist a single time lmao

So for starters, I had a rough time getting to appreciate Yuuya at first, the guy is definitely an experience and a stark contrast to Takeru and Hibiki in terms of both personality and the trajectory of his character arc. Takeru and Hibiki are flawed but Yuuya is a whole mess of problem onto himself, he starts off as a brash, egotistical, assholish, outward mean and (I swear I'm not making this up) OPENLY RACIST person that takes no shit from anyone even his best friend.

Suffice to say that Yuuya is hard to sympathize with especially at the start, tho that "edge" is also what makes him so compelling and what makes his interactions with the rest of the cast so entertaining to begin with especially with Yui the titular second main protagonist of the story, a classic clash of ideals and viewpoint reinforced by Yuuya strong aversion towards Japanese doctrine and Yui's sticker the to rules mentality

Yui is perhaps my favorite character within the story, not only because she's absolutely adorable and the contrast between her stern outlook and the few more vulnerable and dare I'd say feminine aspect makes for the absolutely best gap moe experience within the franchise, I also absolutely love the aesthetic behind her and especially her sick yellow Takemikazuchi that I just wish was seen more during the game because god it is so iconic !

In fact Yui herself is probably the titular Muv-Luv girl much more so than anybody from the main trilogy and it shows, she's a perfect synthesis of some of the best character the franchise has spawned such as Meiya, Marimo or Isumi for that matter and she's a complete badass to booth

Her clash with Yuuya contrasted with the feelings she starts developing for him is amazing to see evolve and it actually does evolve into a pretty interesting direction later on when it is revealed she's actually Yuuya's sister which makes things even more complicated for her

I normally fucking hate Incest in my story but the way it was handled here was brilliantly mature, instead of completely indulging in that fucked up fantasy or being an after thought, there's a genuine arc of Yui being distraught and eventually drawint the line with the man she once loved resulting in their relationship being permanently altered even though in the end Yui wasn't Yuuya's primary choice (more on that later)

The rest of the cast is not too shabby either with a colorful cast of funny individuals, of course, I can't say I like the Argus crew more than say the Trilogy girls or the TDA squad but they bounce off pretty well with one another and it's always a fun time to hang around with them, I can't exactly go heaps and bounds telling you why I like them but they serve as a good foil and complement to Yuuya's boisterous personality

Yuuya eventually comes around and become a better person, in fact I'd say he's the most nuanced main character in the series yet with an inner conflict far different than those of Takeru or Hibiki which are very goal oriented, if anything Yuuya is somebody in a constant state of self-realization, torn apart between two worls, trying to find a purpose despite the hurt he had caused with reckless definite decision making and an arc conclusion I didn't expect from him

Sadly, even though all those things are sound and good, Total Eclipse is pretty ... unfocused ?

It wants to be about so many thing at the same time that it looses itself in contrivance and some narrative choices are probably a result of a difficult development cycle, for exemple there's an arc where Yui is temporarily dead for a while before coming back out of the blue, while the plot finds a way to incorporate that plot into the framework of Yuuya's future relationship with Cryska, I feel like it didn't really amount to anything and I personally felt that it was pretty cheap, Muv-Luv doesn't really do the whole "characters reviving" out of the blue stuff and I think it was handled particularly poorly in this game since it was pretty much pointless, they do the same with another character and I just feel like it doesn't add anything of substance to neither character and actually hinder the arc of one character

I'd say the real black spot of the narrative tho, is the main romance of the game aka Yuuya and Cryska, to be frank, I didn't feel much things toward neither Inia or Cryska and if anything their interactions with Yuuya were a bit too sparce and passive to truly connect the two as any more than just friends, to the point that I felt the sudden jump from okayish friendship to full blown hotter than sun love from Yuuya towards Cryska to be a bit sudden

Cryska really suffers from the lack of screentime and agency she has for most of the plot, that's not to say her character is bad because it actually comes around in the end and offers us some of the most heartfelt, beautiful and profoundly human scene in the series but sadly I feel like the game assume you had grown a deep attachment to both of the scarlet twins for all of this to be effective and sadly I ended up caring about that couple less than I did Takeru and Sumika initially (to whom which I eventually warmed up towards as time went on), I just feel like the ending stretch was a bit too rushed, in general the second half of the story is a bit on the weaker side appart from the last chapter and epilogue which again could've been a really standout moment for me had I care more about the relationship at plays here

The game also add a copious amount of lore to the espers retroactively which raises a few eyebrows when it comes to Kasumi from Alternative which I hope isn't gonna be a mess to untangle for later games

I feel like the game was initially going to follow a romance with Yui and heck the story even started as a Yui and Yuuya story with the prologue that the fact the conclusion barely involves her is quite weird like the Cryska route was somehow fabricated out of thin air to replace the initial plot with Yui that had to be scrapped because of Sou Miyata's Unlimited Art Theft shenanigans and I don't feel the direction of the story was as smooth and natural as I had hoped it would be

I feel like Total Eclipse is a good story but sadly not one that will stay with me like Alternative did, but it certainly did scratch an itch for me when it comes to lore stuff and diversity and in general it's overall pretty solid, even more so than Alternative at certain points (especially the political intrigue) but I can't say I cared about it as much as say TDA (which ages better and better the more I let it sink in my mind

I didn't regret getting through it despite my few issues with it here which didn't stop the ending from hitting right where it needed anyway so all is good in the world and I'm looking forward to what the future holds with the series if it keeps the same quality standard (and don't succumb to weird exploitative crypto marketing...)

Total Eclipse continues to stay at the excellent level of quality that I've come to expect from all Muv-Luv titles following Alternative.

Part of Total Eclipse's goal is to expand upon the world and events of Alternative by centering itself upon a group of ragtag test pilots from different corners of the world coming together to work on the next generation of TSFs that will lead humanity into the next forefront of their battle against the BETA.

The premise of TE allows for it to tell a much different type of story than what we've come to see in the past with ML titles. It's about people creating and testing advanced new weaponry, and less about them fighting heavily on the battlefield like you'd see in Alternative. If Alternative is a Sci-Fi War Epic, then Total Eclipse feels more like an Action Political Thriller.

The story is a lot about multiple nations and people from different origins coming together to create the technology and weaponry that could define whether humanity survives or not, and with this comes conflicts of interests, espionage, secrets, political skirmishes, compromises, etc. If you loved Alternative, but you wish that you got more of an idea of what the world of that story looked like on a global scale, then I think you'll be very pleased with what you get here. Having all this extra knowledge of the different militaries, their philosophies and technology, and what they were doing prior and during the events of Alternative only serves to further enhance and enrich all those epic moments in the original.

In terms of visuals, it's great. About what you should come to expect of Muv-Luv with how it really pushes your expectations of what a VN can look like and do. The first half or so of the VN combines the visuals alongside some awesome animated scenes, from the anime, to make the action all the more awesome to witness. Unfortunately, though, this is only the case for the first half. Once the VN goes beyond what the anime touched, you never see that level of visual prowess again. It was a bit of a disappointment to see some really well done action scenes throughout the beginning and not see that same amount of quality in the latter half where they REALLY could have elevated some moments.

Also, we finally have a brand new OST in a ML title! It's very refreshing to hear some new original compositions here. Definitely some franchise favorites in here for sure. It's hard to compare it to the original OST since it's been in so many titles and I've heard the tracks a hundred times over, but I think this a worthy OST that honors how great the original was.

As for the characters and writing of Total Eclipse, I have to admit that I was just... not as in love with everything here as I wished I would be. Particularly with the cast. Don't get me wrong, I like the characters in TE, but they're probably my least favorite cast as a whole in the series. There's some stand out characters like Yui, Sandek, Yuuya, and a few others that are as equally charming as they are at being written with lots of depth and much to analyze. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the majority. When it comes to Yuuya's squad, I liked them, but my ability to enjoy them as characters is solely that they're likeable and made me smile and not much else beyond that. With Alternative, and especially TDA, I could tell you in detail why I loved damn near each character in that story, what their internal conflict was, and numerous amounts of moments where you see some really finely crafted character writing that feels well-earned and built-up over the course of the story. I just can't confidently say the cast of TE spoke to me on the same level as prior titles.

I think, for me, this felt most apparent with my feelings toward the characters Cryska and Inia. Without spoiling anything, these two characters are insanely important to the plot and Yuuya's development as a protagonist in the story. The thing is that I just didn't connect with these two characters too deeply. I think they're fine characters, but I think there's a lot of stuff here that rides really heavily on how much you love these two. For me, these two characters never hit that deeply and it somewhat took away the level of passion and engagement that I could have found in this story otherwise.

A worthy continuation of the greatness that has filled this franchise since Alternative. I'm only MORE excited now to finally read Schwarzesmarken whenever that eventually gets localized!