When I first saw the trailer for Voice of Cards The Isle Dragon Roars I was a bit skeptical. There is a narrator that describes what goes on and the characters and world map are a bunch of cards. Thankfully I decided to give it a try! Otherwise, I would have missed out on this unique turn-based RPG. In this post, check out our Voice of Cards The Isle Dragon Roars review!
Is The Voice of Cards The Isle Dragon Roars Plot Good?
The plot of Voice of Cards The Isle Dragon Roars follows somewhat of a typical RPG format but there are some unique characters and twists and turns as well. The general plot of the game follows a group of would-be heroes led by Ash and his monster sidekick Mar as they go on a quest to defeat a dragon that has been terrorizing the land.
Ash’s main motivation is to gather the reward from slaying the dragon but as he and Mar go on their quest, they’ll meet new friends that tag along. The plot is also narrated by a single game master and this is a unique twist on the traditional story.
The story plays out more like you are being read a book. There are various environment cards and character cards acting as a backdrop. This is a fun twist on a typical RPG story. The story also ends up being pretty humorous as you play.
Your team of players isn’t necessarily anti-heroes, but they also aren’t the most put-together bunch and this makes for some funny scenes throughout the game. I won’t get into spoiler territory, but there are some interesting twists that happen later in the game that you probably won’t see coming that make the story more engaging.
You are often given multiple ways of how to respond as the story unfolds. This changes the story ever so slightly and in your new game plus or other playthroughs you can choose different options than your first time for a bit of a different experience.
Voice of Cards Features Strategic Turn-Based RPG Gameplay
Voice of Cards The Ilse Dragon Roars features a unique turn-based RPG battle system. Each character and enemy has a set amount of health, attack, defense, and speed, as well as a variety of skill cards. You’ll also have access to items that each character could also use on their turn in battle.
Over time characters can also learn passive abilities that each character has. For example, some abilities recover HP after battle, grant paralysis immunity, and others may reduce types of elemental damage.
The battles can get pretty strategic because each character can only equip 4 skill cards at a time, but they will eventually have much more than 4 skills. Players and enemies also have a low HP in general under 100 in most cases. This makes every move count in battle vs spamming attacks for each character.
Also after each turn, you’ll gain a gem that some skills require for use. For example, some weaker skills don’t require a gem to use, while others may require two, three, or even more gems to activate.
Your character’s speed level also determines the combat order so choosing the best team of 3 characters to fit your strategy is important as well. Battles typically only last a minute or two at most, so they end quickly while still needing a solid strategy to win.
Voice of Cards has a great balance of having a simple battle system while also giving you many strategic options and I really enjoyed it.
Voice of Cards Controls And Exploration
Since Voice of Cards is an RPG, you would expect an element of exploration, and it doesn’t disappoint. Exploring the maps, dungeons, and towns was one of my favorite parts of the game.
In Voice of Cards, the entire world is made out of cards. So as you enter a new area of the map, a dungeon, or town you’ll see a lot of face-down cards and with each step, new cards will be revealed. In towns, you’ll see people silhouettes and as you place your marker on them you reveal them and have a conversation with those people.
The controls of Voice of Cards are pretty simple you can either take a single step into an unrevealed space or you can fast travel by using the joystick. The only part I didn’t like was that you couldn’t really take a diagonal step unless you were using the joystick. Depending on if you were used to using the d-pad or joystick you might have to switch back and forth a bunch.
Outside of that, the controls are pretty simple as the game is a turn-based RPG and the exploration is a lot of fun! It’s addicting to reveal new areas on the map and to uncover what’s there.
Also, as you explore the overworld map you’ll occasionally have events that occur. This could be a traveling merchant, a hidden treasure, overhearing thieves discussing a hidden stash, and much more. These events keep exploring the map interesting as you never know if you’ll find an event, monster encounter, treasure, or new location on the map. This makes each step a unique experience.
How Are The Graphics of Voice of Cards?
The overall style of Voice of Cards is as if you combined a turn based RPG with a broad game. The characters, mosters and board are all made out of cards. It is definitely a unique art style but it works really well.
The artwork and for the cards is more of a cartoon anime style. Each character, monster, townsperson, and even weapons, items, and armor, really stand out. Most of the cards are static so there isn’t much animation of the actual artwork. However, the cards themselves will move and be animated to reflect what is happening in the story.
For example a fire ball may come out from a card when a fire spell is cast. When monsters attack claws might scratch across your character’s card. It doesn’t seem like much, but with the story being narrated like a book, it keeps you engaged. It becomes almost like a visual novel with a bit of action vs full fledged graphics.
Another thing that is cool is during the battles you play on something like a game table. The gameplay is also similar to games like Dungeons & Dragons. In certain cases you’ll be rolling dice to determine effects. For example, with some poison attacks, if you roll a 4 or higher you will poison the enemy.
The dice are 3D and are rolled on the table so this is another cool aspects of the game. You also move a pawn around the map to indicate your party like a board game. As you move it from card to card the new cards are flipped over revealing new map spaces. It’s a nice touch and actually was one of my favorite parts of the game.
How is the Replay Value?
Most turn based RPGs don’t always have the highest replay value. In most cases you tend to replay the same story repeatedly. However, with Voice of Cards The Isle Dragon Roars works a little differently. As you play through the game you have many choices of how you react to events. Depending on what you pick, what characters say and how they react can change.
Also, the game features a new game plus, so you can carry over your play data from past playthroughs. There are some events for example where you are supposed to be defeated by an enemy. However, in your second playthrough you are powerful enough to defeat them. This creates a different event and you’ll see a new version of the story for that event.
After you beat the game for the first time you also unlock a secret dungeon and boss. This extra challenge further adds to the replay value of the game. Another thing that improves replay value of the game is that there are multiple endings to the game.
There are hidden cards and certain choices you make that can result in a different ending. You’ll need to play the game multiple times to get each ending. The game itself isn’t too long, it took me about 18 hours to beat the first time. Since the game isn’t extremely long, doing multiple playthroughs to get each ending is actually reasonable.
Conclusion
Overall Voice of Cards The Isle Dragon Roars was surprisingly much better than I thought it was going to be. Many RPGs these days seem to follow the same pattern and all have similar storylines.
Voice of Cards tried to do something new and it really worked. As a big RPG and boardgame fan this game really combined a lot of the best elements from each. Plus having the story narrated made the game even more unique and engaging.
Also, Voice of Cards retails for about $30, so you won’t pay as much as a traditional new game. So if you get the game at full price or at a discount, it is definitely worth playing.
Have you played Voice of Cards yet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments if you think this is an RPG worth playing. Would your Voice of Cards The Isle Dragon Roars review be different?
Pick up a copy of Voice of Cards The Isle Dragon Roars on Amazon here!
Also, if you liked this post you’ll probably like this post on 5 More of the Best Switch RPGs.
