Voice of Cards: The Forsaken Maiden

Genre: Top-Down Dungeon Crawler / Turn-Based JRPG

Players: 1, 1-4 Competitive Minigame (Local Alternating, Local Wireless Alternating)

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Review:

(Note: This game is included in Voice of Cards Trilogy along with Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars and Voice of Cards: The Beasts of Burden.)

Voice of Cards: The Forsaken Maiden, like its predecessor The Isle Dragon Roars, is a Top-Down Dungeon Crawler and Turn-Based JRPG, with this sequel released on PC, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch in 2022. As with the prior release in this series, this game takes a somewhat minimal approach to the genre, with everything in the game represented by cards, dice rolls, and voiced narration, with this game’s story (apparently unrelated to the first game) depicting a fairly typical medieval fantasy story about a young man encountering a woman with amnesia who appears to be the missing figure capable of averting the island’s catastrophe. However, to restore her power, the duo (and a friendly spirit) must venture to other islands in the local archipelago to seek the help of other maidens.

Before going on, I’ll say that this game is extremely similar to the first game, and as such I will be copying the text of my review of that game, changing it where it seems pertinent.

I didn’t think very highly of the first game’s plot, and I’m not especially fond of this game’s plot, either. And unfortunately, this time the game’s charm is somewhat lost on me, thanks to a change in narrator from the first game’s Todd Haberkorn to this game’s Mark Atherlay, who replaces the somewhat aged charm of the prior game to a younger, more bright-eyed voice that just doesn’t seem to work quite as well with this franchise’s more quaint and tactile-seeming presentation.

This is because once again the voiced narration is joined by visuals that are… well, cards and dice, but with everything featuring lovely artwork and good lighting, as well as attacks and magic having actual effects fitting to what’s going on. Nothing special, but appealing nonetheless. Add to this a wonderful soundtrack with great instrumental and vocal themes like Maiden Training, Caves, Mid Boss, and Heartworld. Of all of the elements of the presentation, I think the soundtrack may be the one where this game may very well top its predecessor.

The gameplay here is once again pretty bog standard for the respective genres, with a few decent elements like a shared magic system to keep combat interesting, but nothing too out of the ordinary. There are nice little quality-of-life touches here and there, like being able to automatically move your characters to any spot on the map you’ve already uncovered (with this ability constrained a bit in dungeons). I should also note that this game makes very good use of the Nintendo Switch’s touchscreen in handheld mode, although the traditional gamepad controls also work fine. And there’s even an actual card game that players can play against the AI or even other players, although this is more of a minigame than a major part of the game.

If there’s one element that separates this game from the previous one, it’s that this game early on establishes its greater emphasis on seafaring, as you’ll be exploring the ocean on your ship as you not only search for the other islands to seek out the help of their maidens, but uncover shipwrecks with treasure, and other seafaring encounters. It’s more of a thematic change than a gameplay change, but it’s a nice change of pace all the same.

However, mostly Voice of Cards: The Forsaken Maiden is still just a solid Dungeon Crawler and JRPG, and one that is very, very similar to the one released the prior year. If you’re looking for spectacle, you won’t find it here. Nor will you find any particularly clever game mechanics that set this game apart. What does set this game apart is its charming presentation, though again I feel like the change in narrator makes this somewhat less charming the second time around. If you’re a fan of the genres this game represents and if this game’s presentation appeals to you, you’ll probably enjoy this, though I recommend playing The Isle Dragon Roars first, and if you do this game will give you a strong feeling of deja vu.

tl;dr – Voice of Cards: The Forsaken Maiden is a Top-Down Dungeon Crawler and Turn-Based JRPG with a gimmick that everything in the game is represented by cards, dice rolls, and narration. This game is extremely similar to the first one, and in some ways not quite as charming, though overall this is still a solid entry in its respective genres and well worth playing.

Grade: B-

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