But did the “truth” really fall apart? Chaos is also a form of Truth, is it not? — 37
In recent years, a certain type of game came to the surface and made its booming. A type of game whose distinctive feature is pulling mechanics of (and not limited to) characters, popularly known as a gacha. These gacha games often come as life service games and thus for this reason and being mainly selling their characters for whoever knows when the game would close their service, many if not most people, especially gamers, would look at this type of game with negative glasses.
Despite all of those negative tunes, some people believe that some of these gacha games shouldn’t be seen as an inferior type of game compared to other types of games. They’d argue that some gacha games are actually offering something enjoyable, lovable, and worth to be invested in for ”FREE”. Take Fate/Grand Order for example, despite all of the criticism of the game being shite in numerous aspects, many of its fanbases still stick in so loyally because the story FGO has to offer is really really good. Another example would be Arknights, Never mind its rich and vast world-building, its compelling tower defense gameplay that can be done with various strategies and is not limited to high rarity characters is already keeps its own share of a loyal fanbase.
Among these numbers of great gacha games, I think Reverse: 1999 is one of the hidden gems that people saw just as another typical gachaslob, while in reality, I believe that Reverse: 1999 is arguably one of the most interesting story gacha games sphere has to offer.
Reverse: 1999 is a turn-based gacha game developed by Chinese developer Bluepoch. The game was released globally on October 26, 2023.
Following Vertin, a timekeeper from the St. Pavlov Foundation, embarks on a sorrowful world where a form called Arcanum and a race that wields it, Arcanist which often to be discriminated against, came to exist. As if this social rift between humans and arcanists isn’t enough, a mysterious and disastrous phenomenon befalls upon this world whereas rain would go upwards from the earth towards the sky, the time itself is “reversed” and takes all that’s on earth’s surface back to its previous era which is widely known as “The Storm”.
Amidst this disastrous phenomenon, a group of (mainly) humans and arcanists formed an organization called St. Pavlov Foundation to investigate the mystery behind the storm.
While mankind is facing a dire disaster of the storm, as a result of years of discrimination and oppression, a group of Arcanists called Manus Vindictae rise and take vengeful actions towards mankind by interfering with the storm such as hastening its arrival time and many others while mysteriously this group has their secrets for surviving the storm.
On September 19, 2024, Reverse: 1999 released its 1.9 Version which with its arrival, Reverse: 1999 celebrated its 1st Anniversary as a celebration of its anniversary, Reverse: 1999 released a continuation chapter of its main story which was titled “Vereinsamt”.
This Vereinsamt chapter was rent-free in my mind ever since I read it. It left me speechless and mindless after reading its last word written in its last stage for minutes to digest what a solid chapter I just witnessed.
A knot that goes full circle
Vereinsamt serves as a finale of Reverse: 1999 1.x stories. This chapter concludes all the previous 6 chapters in a solid full and perfect circle. The story received a passed baton from 2 intertwined previous chapters; Chapter 5, Prisoner in the Cave, and Chapter 6, E Lucevan Le Stelle; It ties the whole truth-seeking in the Pythagorean School in an island in the middle of the Aegean sea of chapter 5 and an approaching storm which centered and manifested in the uproar of the rising of art and opera in Vienna of chapter 6.
This chapter focused on 3 happenings in 3 different places at the same time. The island, where is made of Apeiron, a deity believed to be holding the transcendental truth by the people of the island, believers led by an arcanist called 6 who devotes themselves as the truth-seeker seeing the world as a mere distraction of a phenomenal world of Matters. They believe that the ultimate goal of their life is to find the transcendental truth which comes in Forms and Essences that can be expressed in a language that could represent, describe, and explain the universe, the language of mathematics that references the Pythagoreanism, LAPLACE, a research organization consists of many humans and arcanists that came hand to hand to research about the storm, currently led by an arcanist named Lucy, and Vienna, the eye of the storm.
On the island, 37 and Vertin struggle to find the truth in the middle of the chaos that happened to the island. In LAPLACE, Lucy, Adler Hoffmann, and many researchers struggle to decipher the ancient incantation that investigator Marcus comes into in chapter 6. In Vienna, Kakania does her best to share the finding of 37 and Lucy to the people in the last hour before the storm arrives.
Intertwining these places that each of their own has their share of struggles and drama while at the same time, they’re about to face the end of an era that is coming is why this chapter is so intense, devastating, and kinda relieving at the end. Left me sitting alone and feeling empty after reading through it.
Truth, chaos, and the irony
Reading Vereinsamt reminds me of the polar opposite storytelling of Tenten Kakumei. Like the irony between the people of the island and the people of Vienna.
On the island, after many occurrences, it’s been found out that the Form and Essence that the people believe transcends all matters in its beautiful truth, is actually in the form of chaos. This has cracked the belief of people and resulted in the arcanum power circle that shelters the island from the storm for many years becoming unstable unabling any arcanum ability of the residents of the island. This crack led to the island being vulnerable to the storm syndrome that came before the storm was coming. The syndrome affected the soldier who had been eyeing the island for some time and led them into madness resulting in them attacking and bombing the island by their planes. These events destroy the island and their beliefs. Where is Apeiron and its so-called transcendental truth when the island is facing this disaster is the question that echoes in the hearts of many people on the island. In the midst of it, Manus Vindictae offered the people salvation, and any of them took it. Including 37’s, best friend, Sophie. This group chose to delve into the phenomenal world as their salvation and joined Manus Vindictae. While the others, who are disappointed with Apeiron and don’t want to delve into the phenomenal world, see the storm as their salvation. And these groups despite the shelter becoming stable by the time of the storm and being safe from the storm, choose to be washed out by the storm.
On the other hand, after many struggles, 37 found the truth, deciphered it, and shared it with LAPLACE to be tested and shared the finding with Kakania, a psychiatrist living in Vienna. Kakania then shares the finding as the hope to survive the storm with people and together they clinging the sliver thread of hope despite the incomplete, low success rate, and dangerous aftereffects of the finding only to find out that out of all people, Kakania is the only one that’s survived.
Well thought, well delivered
With many casts and dramas all around the place within its in-game 30 stages, Vereinsamt successfully conveys what they want to tell which comes with plentiful emotional moments across the chapter. The cute discussion of the small 37 and her mom, 77, in the past about irrational numbers as a build-up of Sophia’s number that would be revealed later. The Sophie and 37 break up. Lucy’s endless pain of testing the aftereffects of the incantation. 37 deciphering the truth. People of Vienna’s last struggle. Moment of 37 rebirthed to the phenomenal world. And Lucy ‘forced retirement’. They’re devastating, and emotionally draining, but brimming with a sliver of hope in the middle of it. Each moment’s delivery and the lines that come with it hit hard and successfully told how the intensity, despair, and emotional mess many of the casts felt in those moments.
Vereinsamt clashes many factions, beliefs, and thoughts and lets them unfold in its writing. These clashes construct the story and make it really interesting. Like the previously mentioned irony of the people of the island and Vienna, or the difference of thought process between humans and arcanists that is addressed within LAPLACE, or how people of the island proceed to react to the ugly truth that unfolded before them or the difference on how Sophia and 37 perceived the meaning of Sophia’s number. Some clashes crack relationships between people while other bridges between people let them understand each other, some clashes may lead to the deaths of people while others bring hope and salvation to people.
Having many emotional moments mentioned above, the only thing that I feel kinda a bit disappointing is, how the big victory against the main villain of the 1.x chapters, Arcana, the leader of Manus Vindictae, felt less victorious. I don’t know why, maybe because she managed to invite Sophie to Manus Vindictae, but the victory didn’t leave a great feeling like a victory should be.
Maybe it’s just because we lost too much during this chapter that the mere death of the big boss of Manus Vindictae isn’t enough to overcome the despair. Maybe Vereinsamt tried to give a victory a different flavor besides a triumphant feeling, and well, it does perfectly.
All and all, Vereinsamt is great. We have a bit of maths, a yuri couple doomed and broke up, people dying, an Arcanist unjustly fired just because humans need someone to be responsible despite being the most contributed to the research and suffering some dysfunctionality, and people dying. This chapter left me with nothing but a silent satisfaction.
Should you play Reverse 1999?
Short answer, maybe no.
It’s a gacha game. If you already playing many gacha games or have a lifeful life, playing other gacha games that consume your time is simply not worth it.
But, if you’re fine and willing to spare your time to play another gacha title, well, I personally welcome you and wish you to have a great time playing Reverse: 1999. The quality of the story, be it the main story or event story is one of the best gacha market has to offer. You won’t regret it!
Vereinsamt, an intriguing story with many well-researched materials for its writing, serves well as a climax of the first act of r99 and stays true to its theme and nuance. 9.5/10.
that’s all folks!
