Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars Reviews
The Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars is not what I expected and ultimately not what I wanted. I was hoping for a card game but a card game it is not. It's a classic RPG, simply presented solely in the medium of cards. But even taken for what it is, it falls too short of the running time of a good RPG, fails to deliver the challenge or strategy to make itself stand out in that genre, and tarnishes and excellent story with characters that struggle to redeem their faults.
Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars features a striking and quirky tabletop style with delightful gameplay that doesn’t overcomplicate things. While the storyline won’t necessarily grip you, it’s told in a fun and interactive way and this is an easygoing pick up and play title that you can enjoy at your own pace. You won’t be challenged when going card-to-card against your enemies, but you can still find the thrill of a frustrating hand if you delve into the minigame.
Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars is an entertaining and creative diversion while it lasts. It certainly sets itself apart with relative ease but it does suffer a bit from diminishing returns.
Strip away the framing and this is a throwaway JRPG that never finds its bite.
In concept, Voice of Cards is exciting: a small game from a major designer (Yoko Taro is the game's creative director), released with little fanfare. It offers a lean framework for other RPGs and narrative games to come. Ultimately, though, it's far less effective at its core goals than the games it draws from. Voice of Cards positions itself as a more intelligent, if leaner, classic JRPG. In practice, it is a hollow echo of what came before.
Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars is highly enjoyable because of its classic JRPG roots paired with a fantastic audio-visual onslaught that results in a short but sweet adventure. While I wanted more out of the experience, I very much liked what I got plus it tickled my appetite for more NieR. The adventure was easy to get into and the collectibles kept me around until the eventual end.
Overall, the game is unique and fun. It’s pretty, it’s short, and its sound design is amazing. The cards are gorgeous, the characters are well-drawn with fun costumes. Players will have fun for all 15 hours of this JRPG. That being said, the game was a bit of a letdown in the price department. Had the game been $10 USD cheaper, I would have hailed it as a great achievement and a fabulous JRPG for anyone who loves them. However, it just doesn’t feel like a $30 game to me. I would recommend this game to anyone who loves old-school RPGs with beautiful graphics and loves to replay games to complete all the content.
Voice Of Cards isn't so much a card game as it is a JRPG in card game clothing, but its simple, repetitive battle system fails to make much of an impression. Far from being a winning hand, this is sadly one for the discard pile.
There’s the basis for a really solid storytelling platform here — it just remains to be seen if that is part of the long-term plan for the game, or if it was always intended to be completely self-contained. Still, in the meantime we have a satisfying, enjoyable, beautifully presented, enormously atmospheric and delightfully unconventional RPG to enjoy — so if you like the idea of virtual tabletop fun, Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars should absolutely be part of your collection.