Reverse: 1999 Review

The gacha player base has remained active for quite some time now after the advent of some games that have truly popularized the genre, like Genshin Impact, Honkai Star Rail, Blue Archive, and many more. Amongst all these, a Chinese developer, Bluepoch, has entered the crowded Gacha market with an ambitious project called Reverse: 1999. It's a really fresh take on the genre where the game blends turn-based mechanics with some really intricate story and striking visuals.

The setting of Reverse: 1999 is in the year 1999, but it's in an alternate version of our world where humans coexist with magical creatures known as arcanists. As the name suggests, they can wield powerful spells and alchemy. Following the narrative, you'll soon be introduced to a supernatural event known as "The Storm," which causes the rain to move upwards and time to move backward.

Veron, the protagonist of Reverse: 1999, who also goes by the name of "The Timekeeper," quite mysteriously has the ability to survive the storm and traverse back through time. He is a part of the St. Pavlo Foundation, a group dedicated to finding the solution to the storm and eventually preventing the destruction of humanity. On the other hand, you'll also be introduced to the main adversary known as Manus Vindica, a faction seeking to take control of the storm and use it to create a new world ruled by arcanists.

Most of the story in Reverse: 1999 is presented in decent visual novel artwork, with a focus on character interaction, dialogue, and world-building. The more you progress, the more you'll become familiar with the history of arcanists, their factions, and the conflict between those who wish to save humanity and those who wish to dominate it.

As mentioned previously, Reverse: 1999, at its core, stands as a turn-based game with a card system. You are able to form a team of three and keep a backline reserve member. Characters here consist of two types of cards and an ultimate ability. You'll find a decent array of cards that range from attack, buffs, de-buffs, healing, and counters.

Each turn played is accompanied by a certain number of action points, which are generally used to draw the cards. If you're merging two similar cards, you'll end up with a higher-tier card with amplified effects. The combination of action points and merging techniques is a really subtle way to encourage players to think strategically before placing their cards.

If you've covered this much, you'll not doubt the strategic depth in Reverse: 1999. It's an extra layer of tactics when you have to decide which cards you want to use, which ones you have to merge, and how you're going to utilize your action points. As you continue to perform actions, you build up "Moxy points," which allow you to use your ultimate ability.

Something to be excited about here is how Reverse: 1999 makes use of elemental abilities with six different types of magic that interact in a kind of rock paper scissor fashion. The presence of tuning spells also provides additional flexibility, allowing you to shuffle your cards or merge them for free. Boss fights are also something to commend here, as it's your classic 4v1 situation, adding even more layers of complexity.

Reverse: 1999's combat and puzzle mechanics get more intricate the more you progress into the game. You should give a lot of importance to balanced card management, team composition, and elemental advantages if you know what is good for you. Puzzle elements in Reverse: 1999 are really not that frequent, but they provide a refreshing break from combat whenever they appear.

You'll come across stages featuring doors or objects that require specific inputs based on some details from the lore and story. This is a unique take, as many gacha games fail to provide such a level of immersion and attention to detail.

However, the combat system in Reverse: 1999 is not without its flaws. Yes, the card merging mechanic is really innovative, but the problem lies when you don't really get the cards you need, creating some really frustrating moments. To the people out there looking for fast-paced mechanics that you normally find in other RPGs, you might be disappointed as it lacks in that sector.

It's an RPG, so you should expect some level of grinding. Reverse: 1999 introduces auto-play features and allows you to replay previously completed stages. This makes your daily grind for materials and farming for resources more manageable and less exhausting.

Reverse: 1999, however, does not really have a unique sense of progression system. Your characters will be divided into rarities, which range from 2-stars to 6-stars. As you keep leveling up characters, you'll further unlock new abilities and stats through a system known as "Insight". Insight ends up resetting your character level, but it does provide significant boosts to their power.

You'll also be relieved to know that progression in Reverse: 1999 will not pressure you in any way to spend money. As already mentioned, grinding is not that difficult, and some level of casual grinding is made possible by the auto-play system. Although you'll find some higher-level material being gated out behind the gacha system, there's nothing to be worried about if you're going in free-to-play.

Graphically, Reverse: 1999 does a really good job of standing out. It's amazing how the 2D artwork and animations of the game manage to bring the characters to life. You'll encounter a heart-fulfilling number of waifus, gothic figures, sentient radios, knights, and many more. Similarly, the settings of the game are also really skillfully created, combining loads of fantastical and historical components, giving the game its original look.

The storytelling, in its own way, is also likewise remarkable. You'll be surrounded by a theatrical and erratic, followed by good quality lighting, color-palletizing, and background, which will create the whole immersion and the finished impression of the game.

Another high point about Reverse: 1999 is its sound design. You might not even realize it, but the time of day affects the music, producing a really ambient experience. Being accessible to a broad range of players, Revers: 1999 has several voiceovers in English, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. Characters in the English rendition talk in accents that seem very fitting for their cultural background.

The auditory cues for combat, card merges, and character interactions will give you a really pleasant experience, and the sound effects are equally professional. Together with the evocative soundtrack, the sound design really enhances how immersive the game feels.

With turn-based gameplay, complex narrative, and breathtaking visuals in Reverse: 1999, you'll find yourself in a new dimension to gacha RPGs. The story-driven experience, when paired with unique characters and deep sound design, sets it apart in a really crowded marketplace.

Card systems might be annoying sometimes, but don't let that ruin your experience in the presence of its other immersive and ambient qualities. Overall, the gameplay is entertaining, and advancement is accessible to both casual and free-to-play players, making it an excellent alternative for anyone looking for a diverse and engaging gacha game.