Let’s find out together, in this preview derived from the tried and tested Demo, if and how promising Voice of Cards is: The Isle Dragon Roars, the new Square Enix title born from the mind of Yoko Taro
Although the latest Nintendo Direct aired at a time that was not strictly comfortable (damn you, at midnight!), many were the innovations shown by the great N on the software front. Starting with a Bayonetta 3 which, despite a Kamiya still in splendid shape as regards the teasing, really exists and arrives in 2022, passing through Kirby and arriving at Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars, a new title by Square Enix which sees as developers characters such as Yoko Taro (creative director), Keiichi Okabe (music director) and Kimihiko Fujisaka (designer), authors and creators of the Nier or Drakengard series games.
In conclusion, a very respectable cast that stands behind this new turn-based JRPG, which shares many mechanics with card games and bases its aesthetics on them. Voice of Cards will arrive next October 28 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and PC exclusively in digital format, and pending the full release Square Enix has released a demo, from which we have taken the preview that you are about to read. The awakening of the dragon is near, are you ready to embark on a new, epic adventure?
But do the names still fit in 2021?
We assume that the characters we used in the demo will not be the same ones that will accompany us in the final version of Voice of Cards. and that, inevitably, your progress will not be carried over. Candia, Blan and Avor are the three members of the White Congregation that we accompanied for about an hour to rehearse the demo. In fact, we specify that the names have been changed by the Italian adaptation, as will those of the final version of the game. We still can’t understand why, at the 2022 threshold, the adaptations take certain liberties, also considering the fact that the audio dubbing uses the original names, but so be it.
The game world of Voice of Cards has been shocked by the return of a Dragon, a mythological creature that was believed to be dormant but is still alive and well. The free trial version, however, is a prequel to the events narrated by the title and shows the three adventurers mentioned above find themselves having to fulfill a mission for the Queen of Castello Primo. A strange thief, of whom we know absolutely nothing, has in fact taken possession of the Royal Treasure, a small bottle containing a mysterious liquid, and the ruler has asked for our help to recover it: the safety of the kingdom is at stake.
A JRPG… made of paper – Preview Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars
From these premises begins the adventure of the demo, which we do not know if it will serve as a prologue to the final version of the game or if, simply, Square Enix has used the three protagonists as a pretext for introduce the game mechanics and its particular aesthetic style. A choice that we particularly appreciated, as it leaves ample room for the imagination for what will be, on balance, the main adventure of Voice of Cards.
So let’s leave aside the narrative quirks, and let’s get down to business: what is Voice of Cards? In practice it is a simple turn-based JRPG, in which we are called to control three characters in an open game world (obviously not in this test version) to be explored in every corner. The peculiarity of the new title of Square Enix is that whatever is present on the screen, with the exception of our pawn that will act as a cursor, consists of cards. Both NPCs, map tiles, monsters to defeat, chests and items: anything has been accurately represented on a card.
Oh, un tesoro! – Anteprima Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars
Moving then in the game map, we will discover the various cards that make it up to see what is hidden underneath. In most cases these are elements of scenery, which vary from the classic plains, to deserts, to impassable (for now) mountains, to waterways. Sometimes, however, we may run into some treasure hidden in a chest or in random events, which can be solved by rolling a dice, a factor that gives that extra bit of randomness. The encounters with enemies are also random, and they will constantly ambush us in the most classic sense of the term.
We will also be able to move quickly within the already uncovered boxes, moving the view with the right analog stick, but with a limit: that of visibility. If, for example, in the first map that can be explored more deeply we had no problem jumping from one side to the other, in the cave immediately following the darkness greatly limited the possibility of seeing the distant squares, which makes jumping over large distances impossible. It will be interesting to see if, in the final version of the game, they exist weather conditions or a day-night cycle which will affect this mechanic.
Mazzate e dadi – Anteprima Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars
Moving instead towards the combat system, Voice of Cards is, as we said a little further on, a classic turn-based JRPG that however inserts some random mechanics thanks to the use of the dice. In the demo we were able to use three characters, of which Candia represented the White Wizard, Blan the Warrior and Avor the Black Wizard, with all that that entails. Once you have met an enemy, we virtually move to a game table where our character cards and those of the enemies are arranged, each characterized by different numbers. The most important are obviously those related to Life Points, that of the Attack and Defense value.
Each action of our characters generates a Gem, a raw material that can then be used to unleash more powerful abilities that consume a variable number. Therefore, there are no Magic Points or the like and, to heal allies or unleash powerful spells, you simply have to do the math and keep the necessary Gems aside. Some attacks will then use the die roll to power up before activation: the higher the number that comes out, the more obviously the boost will be. Then there is a system of weaknesses and resistances of the enemies, based on classical elemental attributes. Obviously there are also healing and offensive items, which can be purchased respectively in Pharmacies and Emporiums, as well as the Armories for the purchase of equipment, three for each character.
Too Easy, But Also Too Good – Voice of Cards Preview: The Isle Dragon Roars
All in all, the combat system of Voice of Cards seemed to us, from this first demo version, to be the classic addictive and captivating gameplay of turn-based RPGs. There are many mechanics that we want to see in-depth when the game officially releases, but we were particularly impressed and in love because of its immediacy and simplicity. The only real doubt is related to difficulty level, which at least as far as the demo is concerned is serious set down. We will see if it is only a factor related to the nature of “prologue” of this version or if, simply, Voice of Cards does not want to be more than this.
We tried, for this preview of Voice of Cards, the demo released on Nintendo Switch. We did not have any kind of technical problems and the visual rendering, both with the console in Dock and in Portable mode, was extremely satisfactory. The details of the various cards and those of the various settings are exceptional and, aesthetically speaking, Voice of Cards is literally a joy to behold in its simplicity. To accompany him one flawless soundtrack born from the hands of a Keiichi Okabe in excellent shape: we could not ask for better. And if you want to spend more hours inside the Demo, know that you will practically unlock the card minigame immediately. Please.
Let’s wait!
To conclude this preview of Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars, we can candidly admit that we were faced with a incredible surprise and such a title with immense potential. Yoko Taro’s hand is there and you can see it and we are really curious to see what he managed to create in a particular world like that of this new Square Enix adventure. The only doubt, at the time of writing this article, is related to the level of difficulty that seems to be inexorably set down. We look forward to October 28 to find out how much, indeed, Voice of Cards will be able to remain etched in our hearts.
We remind you that Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars will be available starting October 28 on PC, PS4 and Nintendo Switch. Waiting for the official release we ask you: have you already tried the demo? What do you think about it? Write it to us below in the comments, we will continue to keep you updated with all the news, guides and reviews on videogame and tech! And if you are interested in game keys at advantageous prices, we recommend that you take a look at the InstantGaming catalog!