Reverse: 1999 begins with this prompt: Imagine if we never made it to the year 2000. No, this wasn’t caused by Y2K but a mysterious phenomenon known as “the Storm” that caused different time ears to rewind and accelerate between the 1990s, causing multiple anomalies in those eras. In one such case, we find ourselves in 1913 on an island in the Aegean Sea amongst a community one would find in 300 BC.
Vertin is a unique timekeeper because she can withstand “the Storm” without any protections. Her colleagues, the Arcanists, cannot and must hunker down at the St. Pavlov Foundation. The Foundation works to solve “the Storm” for humanity’s benefit. However, they have opposition in the form of the Manus Vindicate. They are an extremist group seeking to exterminate humans and Arcanists with human blood by using “the Storm” to corrupt them into beasts.
This mission takes Vertin and her colleagues across time to find a way to end “the Storm” and stop the Manus Vindicate from doing more damage.
Reverse: 1999 Gameplay
Reverse: 1999 is a turn-based RPG. At the beginning of a battle, players draw cards that indicate which abilities their Arcanists can use. Players get moves per turn to either attack, heal, buff, or move their cards around. They can stack duplicate cards to strengthen the attack/heal/buff, but it takes a turn. Players must also keep their team compositions in mind when preparing for battle. Sometimes, the difference between a win and a loss is an Arcanist with the wrong afflatus.
Arcanists are assigned to an afflatus: Star, Plant, Beast, Mineral, Spirit, or Intelligence. Each afflatus is strong against one and weak against another. Here’s a quick chart instead of a wall of text.
| Afflatus | Weak Against | Strong Against |
| Beast | Mineral | Plant |
| Plant | Beast | Star |
| Star | Plant | Mineral |
| Mineral | Star | Beast |
| Spirit | Intelligence | Intelligence |
| Intelligence | Spirit | Spirit |
Gacha Elements
Reverse: 1999 is an oddball when it comes to gacha games. Typically, we see characters fall between 3-star/B-rank to 5-star/SSR-rank characters. Reverse 1999 goes as high as 6-star and as low as 2-star characters. Fun fact: most of the 6-star characters are not limited and can be obtained at any time.
There are only two limited 6-star characters, but no one knows if they will ever be made available again. Luckily, Reverse: 1999 offers rate-up banners on all other 6-star characters. If there’s a character you have your eye on, it’s better to wait until that banner to cash in. If not, the world’s your oyster.
The only time you’d pull out your wallet is to buy a limited skin for a character, but they’re pretty cheap. The most expensive ones cost around 15 USD. Even then, it’d only be for a character you enjoy that much.
Whimsical Characters
The game takes advantage of its setting to build characters as snapshots in time but with a twist.
The 6-star character A Knight is literally a knight based on Roland, a famous knight under Charlemagne’s rule. He has no body, but his chivalric soul is bound to his metal gauntlets and the cape that drapes around his non-existent body. Other characters include vampires, undead war photojournalists, UFOs, and much more.
Events
Every patch is full of events based on different eras. This current patch revolves around an event inspired by Route 66 called Route 77: The Haunted Highway. We’ve also had events based on real-world events like the incident of the stolen Jules Rimet Trophy in March 1966 that was found by Pickles the Dog who is also a 6-star character in the game.
A few patches ago, events were only available to replay whenever the events returned. Recently, the game updated and now allows players to replay three past events, and there are plans to add more in the future. These events revolve around a fresh batch of characters that offer more insight into the greater issues plaguing the multitude of eras.
Oddly Generous
I’ve mentioned it can be a complete time sink in other gacha games to obtain currency for pulls. However, Reverse: 1999 is very generous as there is always a way to earn currency for pulls. Doing one’s dailies and weeklies is an easy way to get pulls quickly. New players can also do a series of beginner missions to earn currency, leveling resources, pulls, and more goodies as a sort of tutorial to the game.
Players are rewarded with 10-20 free pulls every patch if they log in on all days during the promotional events. Each patch also offers additional events that allow players to rack up a treasure trove of pulls and free skins.
Finishing the story content is also a fast way to earn pull currency. If you’ve already beaten the game’s normal mode, you can challenge it in harder difficulties to earn more currency.
Why Play Reverse: 1999?
The story is a riveting tale of the perseverance of humanity and the members of The Foundation as they risk their lives to help those around them. The characters we meet are all a special blend of whimsical designs and eccentric personalities that keep things interesting.
Events and characters are based on historical events and people. I find myself learning something new half the time when I research events and character designs.
The game is super generous, as it’s one of the most free-to-play-friendly games I’ve come across. It keeps me playing, and half the time, I don’t realize I’m sitting on at least 30 pulls until it’s time to pull for a character I want.
Reverse:1999 is available on mobile and PC.
