First Time For Everything
Reverse: 1999 is Bluepoch Company’s first gacha RPG and their first mobile game ever. Making first games must be as daunting as it sounds. I could hardly find the company’s website, and minimal background information can be found about them. No next game is planned, so Reverse: 1999 is their primary focus. And for a company with little to no roots, they crafted a game with fantastic art and an engaging story with some flaws. Bluepoch Company has much to learn with Reverse: 1999. However, as developers, they should be proud because this game has plenty of potential.
Back To The Future
The story is simple but not one I have never heard before. The game has the players follow the main protagonist, Vertin the Timekeeper. Reverse: 1999 begins on the year 1999 New Year’s Eve when Vertin is looking for an Arcanist, Regulus, who can see and survive the time storms. Time storms are causing time to go in reverse. Vertin has no idea what is causing this, and after recruiting Regulus, the new team gets transported to 1929. It is up to the player to recruit more Arcanists, find out why time is reversing, and stop whoever is responsible.
The story hooked me from the start. Traveling different time periods and figuring out who is causing time to reverse and why. It has potential but does feel shallow at times. There are moments when we are much closer to some essential narrative answers. Gacha games benefit from dragging out the story as long as possible, and Reverse: 1999 needs to keep the mystery of who, why and how going as much as possible. One fantastic thing about this game is that the story and characters are English voice acted. Some things do not translate well, but the fact that there is even English voice acting should be praised. Most gacha games would not even bother with that idea.
Time Reverses For No One
Reverse: 1999 gameplay is turn-based, using cards with magical abilities to attack, buff, and debuff enemies. Your team has a slot limit to how many cards can be used, and once used, you will draw a new set of cards. The trick to the game is fusing the same cards to get more potent abilities. This can be done by dragging a card to the fuse, but you will use up one of your turn slots.
Card fusion can also happen naturally because the deck will drop the next card once you pick one. If they are the same card, they will automatically fuse. Once the player chains multiple attacks with a specific character, they will get the card with that character’s ultimate ability. Ultimate abilities vary in what they do, but it is usually just for a devastating attack. The gameplay is simple and strategic in that card placement is the key to success in battle.
Graphically, Reverse: 1999 has this dark tone that gave me a steampunk and fantasy feel. I initially wanted to try the game since the character art and setting grabbed my attention. It did not disappoint, especially since this has some of the most unique gacha characters I have ever seen. Characters like an invisible knight, a dog, Sputnik (yes, the satellite), a girl made of televisions and more. Most even reference the different time periods they are from. The game has so much charm, which is why I will return.
Time Is Money
One thing this game needs to improve is gameplay content. All it has going for itself is the story, different difficulties and the side quest that expands the lore or shows players how to play. There is the wilderness where you can customize your little island, but that is it. The game needs various modes other than the story and multiplayer to keep the community engaged. Events are coming, but more is needed to keep players invested. The gacha mechanics are the same as most gacha games, and this one is generous since I got some of the best characters in the game.
Bluepoch Company has a diamond in the rough on its hands. Reverse: 1999 has a great story with easy-to-pick-up gameplay and unique visuals bound to catch some eyes. However, the need for more content is very apparent. Once you beat the story, the game has almost nothing to do. Since the game is brand new, it deserves the benefit of the doubt and the hope more content is coming soon. At the end of the day, I enjoyed my time with Reverse: 1999, which is well worth the try.
Is it Hardcore?
Yes!
Reverse: 1999’s story, voice acting and art will have players wanting to try it, but its lack of content prevents it from being perfect.
