Both of my 20 year old brothers and I remember 1 game is specific; they used to play and I watched them through the entire game. It's pretty blurry, but I can remember a few specific details that are CERTAIN in the game:
-You had a deck of cards that could turn into monsters, possibly 4 were available at all times in a 2x2 grid in the bottom right of the screen
-There were giant sand worms in the desert
Some details that I'm not 100% certain on but are possible
-Cards could be found in chests, and the deck could be managed
-In the beginning of the game, you start in a castle and then leave on a journy
-you are a female character
-it was a side scroller
My brothers say:
-it was either for xbox or gamecube (it could even be playstation, but we were never much of a playstation family, so it's not that probable)
I've been thinking about this game for so long, I would have a Nostalgasm if I could find that game.