Mystic Messenger stands out as an intensely engaging mobile game centered around texting interesting characters. The core mechanic of the game involves interpreting and replying to instant messages. While players also receive phone calls and traditional SMS texts, it is the instant messaging (IM) conversations and occasional segments reminiscent of visual novels that truly drive the experience.Your participation in specific chats and the responses you choose dictate the character route you will follow.
One unique aspect of Mystic Messenger is its real-time messaging system. This is not a game you can casually play during your commute; instead, it requires you to respond to notifications as they arrive, mimicking real-life interactions.
However, there’s no pressure to respond to every message. To progress and unlock a particular ending, you only need to engage with around 50% of the messages in the base game. This requirement increases to 75% when diving into the Another Story DLC, so be ready for that shift!
If all this seems overwhelming, rest assured we have a comprehensive guide designed to help you get started with Mystic Messenger.
On this page:
- How to play Mystic Messenger
- Recommended playing order
- Heart colour key
- How to start Mystic Messenger
- Significance of emails
- User Interface Overview
- In-game currencies
- Saving and loading your game
- Beginner tips
How to Play Mystic Messenger
Mystic Messenger is a free-to-play otome dating simulation game that beautifully merges visual novel elements with interactive messaging. Initially launched in 2016 by South Korean developer Cheritz, the game has retained popularity, receiving ongoing support from its creators even after the main plot reached its conclusion in 2018.
A key feature that distinguishes Mystic Messenger from other games in its genre is its real-time narrative. Gamers experience the story over the span of 11 real-world days, exchanging messages with a variety of characters, including seven potential romantic interests.
The initial four days of gameplay remain consistent for all players, but come Day 5, the game provides multiple route options based on your interactions. Each storyline not only leads to different romantic paths but also features distinct endings: myriad Bad Ends, a Normal End, and a Good End.
During your first playthrough, embrace the spontaneity of Mystic Messenger by responding to chats as they come and following your instincts. Make sure to engage with your chosen character! If you do not attract anyone’s interest by Day 5, you risk reaching an early Bad End.
For players looking to optimize their experience from the outset, you can reference our spoiler-free Mystic Messenger chat schedule or our detailed walkthroughs for each romantic character.
- Mystic Messenger email guide
- Mystic Messenger chat schedules (spoiler-free)
- Mystic Messenger Zen route walkthrough
- Mystic Messenger Yoosung route walkthrough
- Mystic Messenger Jaehee route walkthrough
- Mystic Messenger Jumin route walkthrough
- Mystic Messenger 707 route walkthrough
- Mystic Messenger V route walkthrough
- Mystic Messenger Ray route walkthrough
Recommended Playing Order in Mystic Messenger
Mystic Messenger features seven romanceable characters across three main story modes: Casual Story, Deep Story, and Another Story. Casual Story is available immediately upon downloading the game, whereas Deep Story requires 80 HG (Hourglasses) to unlock and Another Story costs 300 HG.
The Casual Story provides three character routes: Zen, Yoosung, and Jaehee. In the Deep Story mode, you can follow Jumin and 707. Finally, Another Story introduces the last two routes: V and Ray.Each character route is exclusive to its specific story mode, preventing cross-access between them.
As is common with visual novels, Mystic Messenger presents a layered narrative revealing deeper exploration only through multiple playthroughs. The simpler routes offer a glimpse, while the complex ones unveil the intricate web of the overall story.
For a complete experience and to discover every ending, play the game in the following order:
- Zen route (Casual Story)
- Yoosung route (Casual Story)
- Jaehee route (Casual Story)
- Jumin route (Deep Story)
- 707 route (Deep Story)
- After Endings (Secret Folders)
- V route (Another Story)
- Ray route (Another Story)
Begin your journey by diving into the Casual Story three times—first with Zen’s route, then Yoosung’s, and finally Jaehee’s. Ensure you aim for every Good End.
After securing these Good Ends, you should have sufficient HG to unlock the Deep Story. Subsequently, proceed through Jumin’s and 707’s routes, which help unravel the core narrative of Mystic Messenger’s main storyline.
Once you’ve completed all Good Ends up to 707, accumulate more HG to access After Endings in the Secret folders.
Lastly, unlock and play Another Story two times, starting with V’s route followed by Ray’s. This mode answers many lingering queries from your prior experiences and can spoil elements from the other modes if played out of order, despite serving as a prequel.
Heart Colour Key in Mystic Messenger
Be mindful of the Hearts you earn while playing; they signify an increase in a character’s affection for you and directly influence the route and ending you are currently pursuing. Responding wisely during chats and optional content will trigger a colour-coded heart icon to appear onscreen following your replies.
Conversely, breaking hearts indicate that your choice has lowered the character’s affection. Fortunately, such choices do not affect your Heart total in terms of currency, but amassing too many broken hearts could lead to a Bad End.
Hearts are distinguished by color to denote each character you are attempting to woo. Here is the key:
- Zen: White/Grey
- Yoosung: Green
- Jaehee: Yellow
- Jumin: Dark Blue/Purple
- 707: Bright Red
- V: Mint Blue/Green
- Ray: Magenta
Essentially, a heart grants you +1 affection from the specified character, while a broken heart represents a -1 affection shift (despite its more colossal and striking appearance).
Your current affection level with each character is not directly visible, but rest assured the game is tracking your progress in the background!
Best Practices for Starting Mystic Messenger
Kick off a new Mystic Messenger playthrough as early in the day as possible. While we refer to the Prologue as “Day 0″for clarity, transitioning into Day 1 content happens immediately after the prologue concludes. Starting around midday allows you to access more of the content, whereas beginning just after midnight helps maximize the number of chats you’ll see.(Notably, you don’t need to reach an extremely high completion stat on Day 1 to achieve a good ending.)
Your choices in the initial Day 0 conversation with Unknown don’t impact the storyline, but you can still trigger bad endings intentionally if desired. Once Unknown connects you to the app, seize the chance to earn Hearts and build affection through initial brief chats with the characters.(Details can be found on each character’s route page.)
As soon as Day 1 arrives, check the chat app for any unactioned messages waiting for your response. The Mystic Messenger chat schedule is a helpful tool; consult the system time displayed at the top left of the app, as it may not always align with your geographic location’s time zone.
The Importance of Emails in Mystic Messenger
Beyond IM chats, emails play a crucial role in Mystic Messenger. To secure a good ending in your playthrough, ensure you receive at least 10 confirmed RSVPs for the party via email.
You can extend invitations to guests only after the topic is introduced during a chat, after which they will send you an email. This process begins on the second day, so always inquire about secondary characters and express your desire for them to attend.
To ensure a guest commits to the party, you’ll need to provide three correct responses to their emails. Correct replies are marked in green, whereas incorrect ones appear in orange. Securing all three answers correctly will yield a confirmation email, marking the thread “completed”in silver. Getting two correct answers results in a red “completed”message, increasing the likelihood of the guest attending.
Guests will not attend unless you open the final confirmation email, allowing you to strategize if you’re aiming to collect every ending without replaying the entire game each time.
Emails require timely responses. As such, engage with the emails you receive to maximize your chances of completing the connection before the game’s conclusion. It’s normal to receive multiple confirmation emails on the day of the party itself, so be patient.
Generally, inviting guests disliked by your romantic interests has minimal negative effects, so feel free to invite everyone you can. Jaehee is the only character who may object, but diligent play should keep you on track.
Understanding Mystic Messenger’s User Interface
While playing Mystic Messenger, available chats (IM) and visual novel segments are highlighted in green.
Chats that you can no longer engage in without payment are indicated by an hourglass and must either be viewed in full or unlocked in order to proceed.
Completed chats and visual novel segments (ones you’ve already accessed) are marked orange.
Locked chats appear greyed out and can’t be accessed until you’ve participated in all preceding chats.
Each chat remains available until the next one appears, typically lasting at least 40 minutes, though they can extend for several hours. If you find yourself unable to participate in a critical chat, you can use hourglasses to unlock the missed chats or even a full day’s conversations at once.
Currencies in Mystic Messenger
Like many free-to-play mobile games, Mystic Messenger features an in-game store where players can spend real money to acquire currencies for purchasing extras. While some aspects of monetization can feel excessive, it’s worth noting that many additional purchases consist of comprehensive story DLC, which is reasonable for a free game. Enthusiastic players will likely find they accumulate enough free currencies to experience the whole story without needing to spend real money.
The premium currency, Hourglasses (HG), can be purchased with real-world currency or acquired through Hearts (discussed below).HG is essential for unlocking Deep Story and Another Story modes, as well as for making unscheduled calls and buying bonus episodes. However, you won’t have to purchase hourglasses for an enjoyable experience; completing the game and collecting all the endings will net you sufficient HG for desired story extras.
Hearts function as a more player-friendly currency within Mystic Messenger. You can exchange Hearts for HG at a 100:1 ratio within the in-game store without impacting your story progress or affection levels. Initially, this may seem a bit stingy as the game encourages real-money spending, but you’ll soon discover that your Hearts accumulate rather nicely over time.
Additionally, Hearts represent more than just a currency, as earning them influences the character routes you pursue and the endings you achieve.
Saving and Loading Your Game in Mystic Messenger
Always manually save your game before exiting the app, as the autosave function can be unreliable.
Reloading a save to undo a choice or recover missed chats costs 5 HG. This charge prevents heart farming and minimizes the chance of save scumming. However, you can resume your game for free via the “original story” option when restarting the app.
If you choose to reload a save, make sure to do so as soon as possible after saving (or wait a full 24 hours).The game will resume based on your system clock, meaning any chats that occurred during your absence will be missed.
For instance, if it’s morning on a Tuesday and you save at 9:00 am, but cannot play until later that evening, loading your save at 11:00 pm means you’ll miss many conversations. However, if you wait until 9:01 on Wednesday to load your save, you’ll continue right where you left off, as if the missed 24 hours didn’t occur.
Modifying your system clock or manipulating saves to cheat can lead to an account ban. Avoid doing this!
Tips for Beginners in Mystic Messenger
- Story branches initiate on Day 4 and are marked with a padlock icon. Successful choices lead to continued gameplay; mistakes can lead to a Bad End. Creating manual backup saves after each story branch ensures you can revisit and explore alternate endings later.
- Calls and text messages do not influence routes or endings. They serve simply as added character depth. While they can earn extra Hearts, these do not affect the overall conclusion.
- After achieving one ending, you can access the Extras menu to replay previously viewed content. Additional playthroughs will enhance this collection.
- If you enjoy Mystic Messenger, resist the temptation to spend your HG on calls or missed chats. Save them for After Endings (epilogues) after experiencing a character’s good ending, which cost 20 HG each. Additionally, you’ll need 80 HG for Deep Story and 300 HG for Another Story modes.
- Enable push notifications. Mute your phone at night.Do not sacrifice sleep for Mystic Messenger!
Are you ready to embark on your journey? Good luck! Whether you’re chasing after Zen, Yoosung, Jaehee, Jumin, 707, V, or all of them, a rich and immersive adventure awaits.
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