Voice of Cards: The Forsaken Maiden Image
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79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews What's this?

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6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 14 Ratings

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  • Summary: Set sail on a voyage to change destiny itself. Voice of Cards: The Forsaken Maiden is set on a remote chain of islands that have been protected by the maidens for generations, but which now face destruction. The hero of the story vows to save the islanders and sets sail for the high seas,Set sail on a voyage to change destiny itself. Voice of Cards: The Forsaken Maiden is set on a remote chain of islands that have been protected by the maidens for generations, but which now face destruction. The hero of the story vows to save the islanders and sets sail for the high seas, together with Laty, a girl who failed to become a maiden.

    The second game in the unique Voice of Cards series, where all elements are presented entirely through the medium of cards, in the tradition of tabletop RPGs and gamebooks.

    A touching tale set in a world of melancholic beauty, brought to you by YOKO TARO (Creative Director), Keiichi Okabe (Music Director) and Kimihiko Fujisaka (Character Designer).

    *This game is not a direct sequel to Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars. Both stories can be enjoyed as standalone game experiences.
    *This product is also included in other bundles sold separately. Please take care not to re-purchase the same content.
    * Please be aware that parts of the game which require an internet connection may cease to be supported at any point.
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 18
  2. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. Aug 29, 2022
    90
    The bittersweet themes of Voice of Cards: The Forsaken Maiden, with brilliantly worked plot twists, a flawless battle system, and a captivating story all make it a near-perfect game. Perhaps the only downside is that it is not an overly long one, but the hope is there will be more instalments to what is proving to be a thrilling RPG series.
  2. 90
    The Forsaken Maiden is not really a sequel or successor to the first Voice of Cards. There's no effort to build on the previous game. Instead, The Forsaken Maiden exists in parallel to the first Voice of Cards, as another module to sit on the virtual bookshelf of adventures. I only hope that Square Enix is being rewarded for these and the plan is to fill many shelves with many more parallel modules like this. I will forever find the time to more Voice of Cards if it's going to keep being like this.
  3. Feb 16, 2022
    80
    Voice of Cards: The Forsaken Maiden provides an engaging tabletop adventure fueled by a fantastical narrative. However, there is little to no challenge to be found in the encounters along the way, which weigh heavily on the epicness this story could otherwise provide. Still, this is an undeniably fun experience and stands out amongst any other title released today.
  4. Feb 16, 2022
    80
    The improved features in this sequel were the perfect balance, but there were some much-needed quality-of-life features that failed to show up.
  5. Mar 16, 2022
    80
    An adult and dark story that although it does not have a high complexity in its RPG section, it makes up for it with a spectacular soundtrack and a unique staging.
  6. Feb 27, 2022
    75
    Drawing lessons from its elder, Voice of Cards: The Forsaken Maiden is a more controlled experience than The Isle Dragon Roars. Touching story, gameplay adjustments, ability to speed up the game... The main criticisms of the original game have been heard. But if we find the charm of this original concept thanks to its minimalist side and its neat artistic part, the title remains logically very similar to its elder by its short development time. The result is certain flaws that are still as present as the random fights that are still as numerous. It now remains to be seen whether Alim and Yoko Taro's teams will continue on this sustained pace of publication after this more successful second attempt.
  7. Feb 16, 2022
    70
    What we have here is a situation where everything true about Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars largely remains true about The Forsaken Maiden. The story is different (and engaging), but the mechanics remain largely the same. Which means what might have been an issue before still is now. I think it did a good job of telling its story and getting people to care about the characters. Its tale builds tension well with foreshadowing and asides. Between its use of cards, its narrator, and aesthetic in general, it’s pretty great at establishing a mood. If you enjoyed the previous installment, odds are you’ll like this one too.

See all 19 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 8
  2. Negative: 2 out of 8
  1. Feb 20, 2023
    10
    A good follow up to a good formula. Focuses more on story by simplifying some parts of party management that people usually ignore anyway.
  2. Feb 23, 2022
    10
    It's a regular turn based jrpg that is elevated with a great artstyle and that Yoko Taro direction, it's a must play for any rpg or Yoko Taro fan
  3. Mar 15, 2022
    9
    What a strange license that Voice of Cards… Releasing a second episode so quickly should have already given us a hint but we have to face theWhat a strange license that Voice of Cards… Releasing a second episode so quickly should have already given us a hint but we have to face the facts, Square Enix now has a UFO in its catalog, and that's great ! Allowing Yoko Taro to express his creative genius, and benefiting from the same talent for narration as the first opus, The Forsaken Maiden is a great success. If you liked the first proposal, you can continue your odyssey in this atypical fairy tale….

    Full review on my french blog and you can follow me on my Twitter @NintendoLegacy1
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  4. Feb 27, 2022
    6
    While I quite like this game, I don't personally feel like I could give it any more than a 6 because I genuinely don't think most people wouldWhile I quite like this game, I don't personally feel like I could give it any more than a 6 because I genuinely don't think most people would have that great of a time with it.

    TL;DR: I think its a pickup for the players who want a short, but emotionally resonant experience, while also having a tremendous amount of patience for watching the same 5 animations slowly play for the whole time.

    For those familiar, it is quite similar to 'Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars' in a lot of ways, and even improving on a few. That said, it has a lot of the same flaws as it predecessor.

    Positives:
    Even at a glance the artwork is beautiful, and deserving of praise in and of itself.

    The narrative is also strong, if not a bit slow. Without spoiling anything, the game does well to make short stories that are effective in making you care about the characters involved, while also serving the larger narrative of the game. Its not insanely complicated by any means, but it is quite strong for a 20-25 hour rpg.

    party members. You get more than the first game, as well as being able to field 4 of them at a time. No spoilers, but i think its a nice improvement over the last game.

    Negatives:

    The card mini game. Stay away. don't 100% this game because you will be forced to play this rng hellhole. Its not improved from the first game. if anything its worse. I wouldn't let this affect the score because I feel its unfair to make optional and minor content drag the rest of a solid experience, but if I did the revised score would be 4/10. I hate this mini game with a passion. nearly 1/4 of my play time came from getting rng screwed in the gambling hall.

    Combat gets extremely repetitive extremely quickly. In almost every fight, you will pick the same cards to play in the same order, with little deviation for healing and canceling debuffs. The number of fights in the game that make you have to think about your moves can be counted on one hand, and many players aren't going to want to stick around to get to them.

    Combat, Animations, Text, exploring, events, and everything in between moves at a snails pace. Many emotionally resonant scenes happen after the fatigue of a dungeon that's filled with mindless-to-fight enemies on a background that is 9/10 some variation on grey flooring. This problem may be alleviated by not grinding the game out in2-3 days like I did, but I cant say for sure. If they were to patch the game to have a 2-3x turbo button the score would be boosted by 1.5 to 2 points.
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  5. Jul 26, 2022
    6
    Es bueno como RPG, pero mecánicamente es tan simple que si has jugado bastante el género se vuelve aburrido en cuestión de horas. La historiaEs bueno como RPG, pero mecánicamente es tan simple que si has jugado bastante el género se vuelve aburrido en cuestión de horas. La historia es interesante y está bien elaborada pero no es una obra maestra en cuanto a narrativa. Expand
  6. Jul 26, 2022
    3
    The first Voice of Cards game was a charming and simple jrpg with a good, humble story with several twists. It knew what it wanted to be andThe first Voice of Cards game was a charming and simple jrpg with a good, humble story with several twists. It knew what it wanted to be and it achieved that in a fun and interesting way. The Forsaken Maiden kind of suffers by comparison by trying to go a little bigger with it's plot and doesn't quite meet the expectations. The story turns out to be a bit too formulaic and relies on too many anime tropes, and the gameplay is padded out with frequent unimportant combat encounters.

    Firstly the narrator: they changed the narrator, and he's not as good. The charm and warmth of the first game's narrator practically made the game, but the new guy just doesn't have it. Nothing specific to say about him, he just doesn't feel right.

    The art for the characters in this game is inconsistent, either being too generic (your character) or too ridiculous (other main characters, townsfolk, etc.). In the first game the character designs were also pretty wacky sometimes, but it was being playful and silly on purpose. This game really lacks the same sense of humor.

    You sail to the north/South/East/West of your home to meet other maidens with supernatural abilities and their attendants, and solve a mystery or local problem. Every new island has one dungeon, one city, one maiden story, etc. You get pretty bored of this formula after the second one, and sometimes the plot twists really don't feel impactful because you always know you're just moving on to the next island after each chapter. The relationships between these maidens and their attendants also lean heavily into anime tropes and I find that boring.

    The combat encounters seem far less engaging than in the first game, with the enemies kind of feeling like they're only there to pad out the game time. The spells and abilities provided to the player don't feel comprehensive enough sometimes to deal with the enemies quickly, and it just becomes a total slog after a little while.

    My expectations were almost subverted one time when it turned out that one of the maidens was actually a boy, and I was thinking this game was actually starting to get interesting, that maybe being a maiden actually has nothing to do with your sex or gender, and whatever implications came along with that. No, it's soon revealed that this boy is actually a girl pretending to be a boy, a very overused trope found in lots of East Asian media. I wouldn't say that nobody could like this game, but there are so many disclaimers that I can't really recommend it. As a jrpg it's pretty mediocre on every front
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  7. Jun 24, 2022
    2
    The game is not what I've expected. It's boring! It was supposed to be fun to play, but there's no fun at all. Can you imagine walking aroundThe game is not what I've expected. It's boring! It was supposed to be fun to play, but there's no fun at all. Can you imagine walking around the map and being attacked by monsters at random? "Wild pokemon appears" type of attack every time you move with a 30% probability. You spend more time fighting same boring type of monsters getting nothing in return. Unbelievable! And the plot... it is just bad. MC has no memory and your companion is mute. These 2 facts can give you an idea of how little interaction there is at all.
    But that NIER DLCs sure are there. And minigames? Don't even get me started. Those are purely random, impossible to win.
    The game is really short and feels cheap. They didn't even hire a voice actor for girls, so every character speeks the same male voice.
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See all 8 User Reviews