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Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars |OT| Drakengard? No, Dragon Card!

Moogle

Moogle

Top Mog
Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,765
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All info from Square Enix, Sony Playstation Blog, Nintendo, and Steam.


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Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Genre: Turn-Based RPG
Platform: PC, Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch
Release Date: October 28, 2021
Price: $29.99 / €29.99 / £24.99
Audio Languages: Japanese, English (Dual Audio)
Subtitles: Japanese, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish

Creative Director: Yoko Taro (Drakengard series, NieR series)
Executive Producer: Yosuke Saito (NieR series)
Music Director: Keiichi Okabe (Drakengard 3, NieR series)
Character Design: Kimihiko Fujisaka (Drakengard series, The Last Story)





​



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The Game Master (voiced in English by Todd Haberkorn, in Japanese by Hiroki Yasumoto) narrates a story set in a world of swords and sorcery. The protagonist and his companions set off on a journey to defeat a recently reawakened Dragon that threatens the land and its people. Throughout their journey, players will face many battles and make many choices, which can change the outcome of their quest.

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Every element of the game - characters, battles, items, skills, etc. - is presented through illustrated cards in the manner of a tabletop RPG. As you move your avatar across the board (with terrain also depicted by cards) you'll come face-to-face with a menagerie of monsters and must take them on in turn-based battle using skills, weapons and the roll of the dice.
Additionally, there is a card-based minigame with multiple rule sets.

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Our main protagonist is a bounty hunter who hopes to secure an immense reward for slaying the Dragon. He's joined on his travels by Mar, a monster very attached to him, and Melanie, a black witch with a grudge against the Dragon. Along the way, they meet an array of unique characters - including a pair of traveling companions, a dragon worshipper, the Dragon itself, as well as the Queen of Castle Advent, who rules over this vast land.

Both characters and enemies have special stories that can be unlocked by fighting and progressing in the game.

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Wynifred of the Ivory Order, her silent soldier Berwyn, and sage and mentor Heddwyn also appear as the main party in the demo version.
The demo acts as a prologue and features events that unfold in the lead up to the full game, as the Ivory Order search for stolen royal treasure.

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​

Minimum PC Requirements:
  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows® 8.1/10 64-bit (ver.1909 and above)
  • Processor: AMD A8-7600 / Intel® Core™ i3-2100
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: AMD Radeon™ R7 260X / NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 650 (VRAM 2GB)
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 5 GB available space
  • Sound Card: DirectX® 11.0 Compatible Sound Card
  • Additional Notes: Maximum resolution: 1920x1080, Monitor capable of 60FPS + required Supports Keyboard, Mouse and XINPUT gamepads

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Pre-order bonus: the 'Golden Dragon' pattern for card backs designed by Kimihiko Fujisaka, and the 'Traditional Avatar' design for the game piece.
Bundle extras: Pixel Art Set DLC changes card illustrations to pixel art. Various NieR-themed DLCs for dice, card pattern, music, and more.
Limited Edition for PS4/Switch (Japan exclusive): includes 48-page art booklet and 3 metal cards.
 
K Samedi

K Samedi

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,989
Looking forward to this. I enjoyed the demo and I think the game will have many surprises with Taro leading the creative side of things.
 
Disclaimer

Disclaimer

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,459
Pretty excited for this. Just hope the main game's gameplay takes it up several notches compared to the demo's.

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also, damn daddy.
 
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Almyn

Almyn

Member
Oct 26, 2017
273
N-Ireland
The demo didn't really grab me and I don't think I'll pick this up at full price. However I will be very interested in reading impressions and seeing if this has any Yoko Taro/Nier type story telling/weirdness going on. I might pick it up earlier if that's the case.
 
Disclaimer

Disclaimer

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,459
Almyn said:
The demo didn't really grab me and I don't think I'll pick this up at full price. However I will be very interested in reading impressions and seeing if this has any Yoko Taro/Nier type story telling/weirdness going on. I might pick it up earlier if that's the case.
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The character backstories in the demo were already going to pretty dark places, so I imagine the main story will eventually as well.
 
Freezasaurus

Freezasaurus

Member
Oct 25, 2017
56,962
Almyn said:
The demo didn't really grab me and I don't think I'll pick this up at full price. However I will be very interested in reading impressions and seeing if this has any Yoko Taro/Nier type story telling/weirdness going on. I might pick it up earlier if that's the case.
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I was in the opposite camp. I was only slightly interested in this game until I played the demo, which really sold me on it. It's an easy buy when it's not a full-price game to begin with. Went all-in for the Nier DLC too.
 
Aero

Aero

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,750
I know it's the same artist, but man everything I see about this game makes me nostalgic for Terra Battle.
 
Olinad

Olinad

Member
Oct 30, 2017
1,517
It's so weird that this game, themed around cards... is actually not a card game, but a classic RPG lol
 
DealWithIt

DealWithIt

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Oct 28, 2017
2,669
Demo controlled sluggishly and did not make a good first impression. Hoping to see very good review was before I would bite.
 
Disclaimer

Disclaimer

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Oct 25, 2017
11,459
Renteka-Bond said:
Have they announced / showcased some sort of speedup feature for this? I was totally digging the vibes, but the forced card animations on everything was tiresome.
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No. Doubt there will be any considering it didn't seem to be a demo intended for feedback, with less than a month between demo and release. But who knows, maybe some option will be in the final release.
 
1upsuper

1upsuper

Member
Jan 30, 2018
5,485
I enjoyed the demo, but yeah, the game could use a speed up feature for sure. I was also pretty surprised that the entire game has this table-top card game aesthetic with a voiced dungeon master but then the actual battle system is very traditional JRPG fare.
 

Zaber

Alt account
Banned
Sep 11, 2019
906
Nice OT.

Got the game pre-loaded on Swith.

I had some issues with the demo, but I still liked it enough to pre-order.

This and Dungeon Encounters are the surprises of the year for me. (In regards to even existing.)
 
Disclaimer

Disclaimer

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,459
Almyn said:
Which one is the little sister?
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I was referring to the little girl with the bow, in the skimpy outfit that contours to her crotch.

Might not be the MC's little sister (especially since I missed her pointy ears); I was just inferring that from the little tidbit on his motivation to find his little sister in the demo. Nauseating design regardless of whether she's the sister or not.
 

Sylvestre

Banned
Mar 20, 2020
763
both male and female skimpy outfits featured in this game dont belong in non-ao games, its 2021 ffs.
 
Almyn

Almyn

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Oct 26, 2017
273
N-Ireland
Disclaimer said:
I was referring to the little girl with the bow, in the skimpy outfit that contours to her crotch.

Might not be the MC's little sister (especially since I missed her pointy ears); I was just inferring that from the little tidbit on his motivation to find his little sister in the demo. Nauseating design regardless of whether she's the sister or not.
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OK...

But how can you be OK with this

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And find the 'Little Sister' objectionable? They're both sexualised, The male character more so in my opinion.

As for myself, I'm Gay. That character is not attractive, I would actually say he pretty gross, Overly muscely for one thing. the girl with the bow is tame in comparison and she doesn't even strike me as 'little' either so I cant even even mention loli nonsense.
 
Chocobo Blade

Chocobo Blade

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Oct 29, 2017
2,847
I was initially skeptical but found the demo pretty endearing. I just hope it's not too long as I feel the concept could get old fast if it starts dragging.
 
Disclaimer

Disclaimer

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,459
Almyn said:
OK...

But how can you be OK with this

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And find the 'Little Sister' objectionable? They're both sexualised, The male character more so in my opinion.

As for myself, I'm Gay. That character is not attractive, I would actually say he pretty gross, Overly muscely and pandering, the girl with the bow is tame in comparison and she doesn't even strike me as 'little' either so I cant even even mention loli nonsense.
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lol. I'm not going to be lured into a "discussion" with someone trying to draw an equivalency between a little girl being sexualized, and a grown man being sexualized, particularly when women's objectification is a major industry issue, while men's objectification is very much not.
 
Almyn

Almyn

Member
Oct 26, 2017
273
N-Ireland
Disclaimer said:
lol. I'm not going to be lured into a "discussion" with someone trying to draw an equivalency between a little girl being sexualized, and a grown man being sexualized, particularly when women's objectification is a major industry issue, while men's objectification is very much not.
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To me. That isn't a little girl (I'd be interested to hear other opinions though) . There's a huge gulf between that design and a little girl/loli design.

You spouting "Damn Daddy" at the overly sexualised man and being cool with it is laughable.
 
deepFlaw

deepFlaw

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Oct 25, 2017
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Almyn said:
To me. That isn't a little girl (I'd be interested to hear other opinions though) . There's a huge gulf between that design and a little girl/loli design.

You spouting "Damn Daddy" at the overly sexualised man and being cool with it is laughable.
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I'm not exactly a fan of her outfit regardless (they're obviously still going for sexualization/fan service, just a different kind), but I would agree that character doesn't have a "little girl" or "little sister" design.
 
Tohsaka

Tohsaka

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Nov 17, 2017
6,791
Nice OT, I really liked the demo so I'm looking forward to the full game releasing in a few days.
 
rodeo_chirb

rodeo_chirb

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Jun 16, 2020
347
Not quite excited enough to preorder, but will assuming reviews look good. Really hope Yoko Taro pulls of some more weird shit.
 
ZeroX

ZeroX

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
21,266
Speed Force
Which is this supposedly little sister character

And yeah I would really want a speed up or skip animation feature to play this game. It had hints of a nice dark story in the character descriptions in the demo, but the "everything's a card!" thing seemed to hurt the game more than help it.

also just releasing this so close to Dungeon Encounters is weird, you'd think there would be a good deal of audience crossover. I haven't not finished DE and I wouldn't start this until I do lol
 
Regiruler

Regiruler

Member
Oct 28, 2017
12,279
United States
I will say that I agree the male objectification is somewhat off putting (by some sense it feels like a bit of boundary testing to see what the common audience will take), but I have not seen the Loli design in question to make any comparative statement. The art design is absolutely fantastic otherwise.

I'm almost sold enough to pre-order in order to get the bonuses for that. I haven't played nier though so the standalone cosmetics mean nothing to me.
 
Schopenhauer

Schopenhauer

Member
Oct 27, 2017
867
Liked everything about the game except for the combat which felt slowed paced and super easy. Would really like to know if this remains the case throughout the game proper before purchasing.

I am also only on the 40th floor of Dungeon Encounters, so I still have a ways to go before finishing that up.
 
adj_noun

adj_noun

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
17,161
Looking forward to this.

Feels a bit like a virtual tabletop game complete with DM and I dig it.
 
Qvoth

Qvoth

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Oct 26, 2017
11,882
the demo was decent but i can't help but wish each playable character had their own voice actor/actress
the narrator literally narrating everything gets boring fast i think
 
Lady Gaia

Lady Gaia

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Oct 27, 2017
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I thought the single narrator makes a nice compromise between fully-voiced games that those that are sparsely voiced. I'm sure this was a whole lot more practical for development during the pandemic, and is doubtless quite cost effective as well as logistically simpler. I'm more than happy to support this approach as a AA title.

The demo was intriguing but very limited. I look forward to hearing more about the full game, but may take a chance even if it lands with a mixed reception.

I only tried the Switch demo. Are the visual transitions any snappier on PS4? That seemed like the one part that could get old.
 
ultramooz

ultramooz

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Oct 27, 2017
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Lady Gaia said:
I only tried the Switch demo. Are the visual transitions any snappier on PS4? That seemed like the one part that could get old.
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It was the same on PS5 - only difference I noticed on switch was the 3d elements had a sort of shimmering in movement, probably due to lower resolution. I played the demo in portable mode.

I ended up buying this on playstation to enjoy the cards beautiful artwork on the big screen, and bought dungeon encounters on switch because the simpler graphics look great on it.
 
froginhotwater

froginhotwater

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Aug 14, 2020
874
Freezasaurus said:
Have you seen the fisherman in the demo?

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I'm laughing so much at these outfits, damn.

Love the OT. I really liked what I played in the demo. My only complaint was everything narrated by one voice; I would have preferred separate voices for each character, but I can live without I suppose. Will be watching out closely for reviews!
 
Oleander

Oleander

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Oct 25, 2017
1,588
Any word on the review embargo? I'm optimistic in it from the demo, and I took to the vibe, but I'm still somewhat unsold.
 
Leafshield

Leafshield

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Nov 22, 2019
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I really want to like this, the premise is fun, but I found it's need to involve cards in everything just slowed down what was pretty tame general JRPG stuff in the demo. Hopefully the full game is a bit faster.
 
Anbec

Anbec

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Oct 26, 2017
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I'm torn between Switch and PC but tried both demos and where a lil' laggy kinda....
How are the odds the PC port could be modded later for performance boost?
 
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