Many consider the Muv-Luv series one of the best visual novel series of all time, and with good reason: the first game starts as an apparently innocuous romantic adventure set in your usual Japanese high school, and then pulls the rug from under your feet with a radical one-eighty, turning into a tragic and epic sci-fi story of growth, perseverance, and courage that will ruthlessly punch you in the heart all the way through.

Yet, not everyone knows that the saga goes much beyond what has been published in the west. The setting expands from Japan to the worldwide stage, telling the stories of many protagonists in many corners of its complex timeline. From the bleak Stasi-controlled cities of East Germany in Schwarsesmarken to the doomed Earth of The Day After, there is much that most western gamers still have to explore, building one of the most interesting and expansive sci-fi worlds ever seen in a visual novel, and in gaming in general.

In order to understand what's in store for the series both in Japan and in the west, I visited the headquarters of publisher ixtl in Akihabara, Tokyo, and interviewed creator Koki Yoshimune, who definitely had a lot to share on several topics. The interview was translated directly by ixtl President Asahi Iwanaga.

To help you fully enjoy the interview, below you can check out a video recording so that you can hear every point from Yoshimune-san himself. Incidentally, please make sure to turn on English subtitles with the CC option.

In case you prefer reading, you can also enjoy a written summary of the interview, which we published a few days ago.  If you want to try out the games, we also have a nifty giveaway thanks to which you can win ten copies of Muv Luv, and ten of Muv Luv Alternative.

If you want to read more about the series, you can read my own review of Muv Luv and Muv Luv Alternative. Both games have recently been re-released on Steam, and they’ll launch on PS Vita this summer.