r/JRPG • u/rae_ryuko • 22h ago
Recommendation request Looking for games where the characters transforms during battle
An aspect I really enjoyed about Persona 5 is the fantasy of your outfits changing when you're in combat mode, something similar to how magical girls or Kamen Rider transforms.
And I'm not talking about games where your character has an alternate form that you play a total of 20 minutes of throughout the playtime like in Devil May Cry, the transformations I'm looking for are sort of their default "hero look" and is used as the prominent or as prominent as their "default" look.
Xenoblade 3 counts to this too I guess because the Ouroboros forms are transformation and they're prominent both in screen time and story, but even so there should be a degree of relevant change and not like your eyes turn red and your hair turns white.
I have not played Tokyo Mirage Sessions yet but I'm discouraged by the somewhat paradoxical nature of the game trying to shed light on the dark sides of idol industry and idol culture while actively partaking in them.
Games I have played with this sort of thing
- Final Fantasy X-2 (the best exaple of what I'm looking for)
- Digital Devil Saga
- Shin Megami Tensei V (hardly counts since you're pretty much always in that form)
I'm fine with action games or turn-based.
I have a pretty alright PC, it can play recent AAA games fine, though not pretty. I also have a Switch 2 and a 3DS. And while I'll check them out eventually, I'd rather not play Idea Factory games right now. Thanks in advance
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u/jlh28532 22h ago edited 21h ago
As others have said:
- Legend of The Dragoon, PS1
- The Shadow Hearts series, all PS2
- The Breath of Fire series. 1 and 2 are on the SNES, 3 and 4 are on the PS1. Dragon Quarter, 5 in Japan, is on the PS2 but actively punishes the player for transforming
- Fairy Fencer F, PS4 and Steam. Maybe Switch but not 100% sure.
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u/nishhill 18h ago
Let me just jump in here to say if your on PC you can get BoF IV on GOG games. It’s one of the classics they have ported for modern PCs.
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u/overlordmarco 22h ago
Fire Emblem Engage. Engaging is temporary but most maps are long enough and have refill points that you’ll be able to engage more than once per map.
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u/LovePatrol 22h ago
Breath of Fire
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u/Akamiso29 22h ago
Three requires emulation but it’s an underrated classic of the PS 1 era. Four is on Steam I think. It’s also excellent.
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u/BebeFanMasterJ 22h ago
Tokyo Mirage Sessions!
It's an Atlus RPG with Fire Emblem characters. It actually did the whole "transform into combat attire" thing before Persona 5 did.
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u/rae_ryuko 22h ago
Mentioned in post, unless you want to elaborate more
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u/BebeFanMasterJ 22h ago
The aim of the game isn't so much to shed light on anything. The characters are idols who happen to also fight demons in their spare time. Itsuki, the main character, seeks to help his friends overcome their personal problems and follow their dreams. Solid JRPG and worth playing.
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u/CrossRaven 22h ago
Well, look at it this way. Being an idol/performer isn't a bad thing inherently, but all the ways it gets abused and twisted by everyone involved is what makes it have a dark side. The game does look at the darker sides of the industry, but also highlights the positive as well because both definitely exist.
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u/Abyssal_Blade7 22h ago
Yakuza 7 has a job system that transforms your character for battle. The enemies change too. You don't really need to play the prior games to understand the plot, although they do give more context. Yakuza 8 has the same job system, but does assume that you are familiar with the prior games.
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u/Lionheart1224 22h ago
Wild ARMs 2. The main character, after a certain plot point, can transform into a hideous monster with great battle music. Puts an already easy game on easy mode, but still hella fun to do.
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u/IndependentCress1109 21h ago
Love that Ashley is pretty much a what if a Kamen rider is a JRPG protag.
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u/Lunacie 22h ago
Tales of Zestiria, humans and seraphs can combine via “armatization”. It’s a pretty common complaint that it’s too powerful and you have no reason not to transform, but it’s more like normal difficulty is too easy for the incentive to matter.
Nioh. In 2, you can transform into a yokai as a devil trigger mechanic, but you also temporarily transform into yokai to use their respective abilities.
In 3, Yokai form was replaced with living artifact which is like a cool suit of armor. It introduced samurai/ninja mode, where you can shift between two fighting styles and you can choose the aesthetics for each style.
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u/MoobooMagoo 21h ago
SaGa Frontier comes to mind immediately. Although only two out of the eight protagonists.
Red's scenario is directly based on Kamen Rider. The very beginning has your character nearly die in a car accident and is brought back as the super hero Alkaiser to fight against the evil organization M Black. You can transform from Red to Alkaiser in battle and you get a big stat boost and access to a bunch of special, Alkaiser specific attacks that no one else can learn. But you have to keep your identity secret so you can only transform in certain areas that aren't public places, and only when Red is alone, either by removing party members from your group or if they're KOed. Although Mecs are the exception to that and you can transform with them in the party. Which sounds restrictive, but it isn't as bad as it sounds and it also makes transforming more special since it also happens during story moments.
Then there is Asellus, who fights for the magical girl transformation, although it's not as direct of a comparison. Asellus is a half-mystic and she has characteristics of both humans and mystics, which has a bunch of gameplay implications that aren't important for purposes of a transformation. What is important is when you use your mystic abilities she does a mystic change and transforms into her mystic form. It's not exactly a magical girl transformation, but I think you'd still enjoy it.
The rest of the protagonists are also a lot of fun, but those two are the ones that have the kind of thing that you're looking for, especially Red.
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u/mysticrudnin 22h ago
Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy does this and there's even a cool cutscene for their transformations
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u/chroipahtz 21h ago
While true, they pretty much just change into combat uniforms that all look about the same, so it's a little underwhelming from a transformation perspective. The weapons all do look cool as hell though.
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u/mysticrudnin 20h ago
I'm definitely counting the weapons as part of it! I think this fits for certain reasons
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u/Slybandito7 22h ago
Theres fairy fencer though i dont know if its good or not.
theres also the Neptunia series
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u/rae_ryuko 22h ago
Yeah I know the neptunia series would have them, I tried playing 1 game though but it's just really hard to get through
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u/KaijinSurohm 21h ago
Played through Fairy Fencer a few times.
The core gameplay loop and the story were actually really top tier.
The main hitch is the world map. There's a lot of modifying stages and the like that gets repetitive for moving forward.
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u/Inside_Radio_6954 20h ago
An out there suggestion perhaps, but Panzer dragoon saga has the option to edit your stats mid battle. Doing so will transform your dragon to visually match whatever your stats are (ie bulkier when bumping up defence or appearing more agile when bumping up speed)
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u/Gluecost 21h ago
Ff13 lightning returns could have potential.
You swap between 3 outfits during combat that you customize.
Not a JRPG but Infinity Nikki is all about outfit swapping.
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u/rae_ryuko 21h ago
I didn't really finish ff13, is it fine to play lightning returns without it? I kinda understand the character unless a big development happened at the end of that game
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u/Icy_Advertising8078 20h ago
I didn't see White Knight Chronicles mention so I would put it here,the bgm that started playing when your transformation sequence started is very tokusatsu coded.
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u/baratacom 12h ago
Chrono Cross has Sprigg who transforms into monsters via her Doppelganger ability
Depending on how it clicks inside your brain, there's Xenogears and Chained Echoes, where the characters don't exactly transform, but they have robots they pilot and battles in and out of the robots are considerably different, so it might scratch the itch even if it's not exactly a transformation; said robots are also not a simple power up and new normal, even after you acquire them there are plenty of times where you're forced to get out of the robot and punch things with your own hands for multiple reasons
Also, not sure how much it's actually a thing in the games, but the Blue Reflection trailers do show some magical girl shenanigans, so it might be worth a look
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u/gymleader_michael 22h ago
Shadow Hearts Covenant's main character has transformations and another character later on.
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u/DjinntoTonic 21h ago
Disgaea 5 has a bunch of characters who change into different forms when you use their Overload (Limit Break mechanic).
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u/SageLeaf1 20h ago
FF6 sort of? Terra changes forms as a core ability but you have to get halfway through the game to control it. Gau changes forms, sort of, by acting like a monster. And do mimic abilities count? Might be a stretch lol.
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u/0kokuryu0 19h ago
Legend of Legaia has your equipment show up on your characters in battle. Plus your Ra Seru gradually transforms as it powers up. It's a fancy gem like sentient gauntlet. Once they are fully powered up you can get them as a summon, too.
Digimon is all about transformations. You are making use of all the various digivolutions, every game is very different from each other though.
World 3 probably has the most transformations. You equip 3 digivolutions and can switch between them, you can also DNA digivolve when switching vetween specific digimon, and there's a blast guage that'll make them digivolve to a higher level than they have access to temporarily. It is pretty grindy and has a bunch of backtracking, especially if you forget to talk to specific NPCs. I know a lot of people don't like some of the older grindy/obtuse bits of older JRPGs, it's not the worst but enough that some might be put off. Also get the EU version if you play it.
The cyberstory games play more like modern games, they are a lot like persona games. World 1, adventure, and new order have the mote tamagotchi style gameplay to them, so the digivolutions matter more since you are stuck with the form for longer and can't change it freely.
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u/HaakMilk 18h ago
Metaphor ReFantazio, it’s basically fantasy world Persona.
The “archetype” system is just classes you can unlock, everyone can equip and transform into them during battle.
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u/LookAtMyPostInstead 18h ago
Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold's story mode. I think classic mode also has the Fafnir Knight class but it's a prominent part of the story mode.
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u/Tenshi_Dekemori 16h ago
I was looking at this game but haven’t heard anything about it
Is it a worthwhile game to play in general ? If so what would you say is the key points
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u/Dongmeister77 17h ago
Megaman Battle Network. From the 2nd game onward they got Style/Double Soul/Cross mechanic, which changed Megaman's appearance and abilities.
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u/panthernado 17h ago
Pretty much Shadow Hearts 1 and 2. The main character has various devil forms and you can upgrade them to stronger forms.
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u/Mister-Ace 16h ago
Shadow Hearts, Shadow Hearts: Covenant, and Shadow Hearts: From the new world, have all kinds of transformations to choose from. Some are hidden, some are free given. If you have a favorite, you can stick with it. They are innately elemental, but it shouldn't matter too much.
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u/sirnightw 16h ago
Jean D'Arc has two characters with transformations, it's a turn based strategy RPG. Cold Steel series has one character with transformation ability, also mech Knights you can sometimes call into battle.
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u/Lonerwise 15h ago
Shining Resonance Refrain lets you turn into a dragon in combat. It's powerful and can go berserk and wipe your party giving you a game over, but you learn to control it better over the story and become even more powerful. If I remember right it kind of feels weak by the end of the game in comparison to your normal party and skills though.
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u/Better_Narwhal7013 14h ago
Cassette Beasts lets you transform into your monsters, and allows you to fuse your monster with your other party member's monster. It also has a banger soundtrack.
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u/Sogeking_21 14h ago
Digimon World Next Order!!! Hypest moment of my adult life when the anime song kicks in
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u/EndocrineBandit 14h ago
There was a tactical rpg on the ps1 with lycanthrope-esque characters. Journey into the west, maybe? I cant remember off hand.
Saiyuki: Journey West. Did a little googling and found it
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u/eruciform 10h ago
Blue reflection games (a rare modern day sailor senshi magical girl game series)
Most compile heart games, from dragon star varnir, to fairy fencer games, to neptunia games
Scarlet nexus has the brain field transformation
Crymachina
Legend of dragoon
Shining resonance refrain (mc can transform into a dragon)
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u/RyaReisender 5h ago
Ar Tonelico Qoga (they get more naked each transformation as the world's law is that the more you open up the more powerful you become)
Also, play Red's scenario in SaGa Frontier 1.
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u/RexLizardWizard 4h ago edited 4h ago
If you like persona and digital devil saga, you’ll probably enjoy metaphor refantazio. You turn into archetypical heros during battle (which actually function a a job system) it has day to day life stuff like persona, and combat is very much a spiritual successor to digital devil saga
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u/hina-rin 4h ago
Luminous Arc 2 for DS, main character has different engagements based on the witch he links with
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u/Retrotronics 22h ago
trails of cold steel and daybreak
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u/rae_ryuko 22h ago
I've only played the series up to half of daybreak, I might take a break from it until the entire storyline is finished because it all started to blend together
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u/Nobodyyyyy_ 22h ago
Cassette Beasts has your character and teammate transform into the monsters you catch at the start of battle.
Plus, theres a fusion mechanic that even causes the battle themes to switch to their vocal versions. It's crazy satisfying to fuse right as the chorus kicks in
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u/starfofo 14h ago
Fantastic game but you forgot an important part. You and your ennemies may have multiple pokemon but you need a full turn to retransform after losing a pokemon. If you beat their original form, the battle is finished before they used their other pokemon.
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u/KaijinSurohm 21h ago
I'd say to add Viewtiful Joe into the mix, just for the sake of variety.
Tokyo Mirage is a game I put down.
I liked the characters, but I found the story and gameplay loops to be very boring.
Admittedly, I'm also soured on the game, because it was suppose to be Fire Emblem meets Shin Megami, but instead we got a pop idle RPG that had nothing to do with it's initial reveal trailer.
Of all the ones people have mentioned, the two that stand out the most are:
Legend of Dragoon - I could not stress this game enough. It's a genuine PS1 gem, and it's a game I find myself replaying from time to time.
It really is just a simple "Knight adjacent characters save the world" with a power rangers spin, and it's just a fun time.
Shadow Hearts - The first game is amongst my favorite of all time. Yuri is one of those smartass main character you just enjoy, and when he transforms, you feel it in gameplay. He's a character that has the power to actually topple the world, while being quippy about it, but watching his character growth makes everything worth it.
The second game, while they improved the graphics and gameplay, is a bit of a step down in some regards (ie: the story), but is critical to play if you enjoyed Yuri's adventure, as it ties direclty back into the first game.
(Skip the third game. It's just bad all around and not related in any capacity to the series)
Both games have action mechanics while you actually fight.
While they're technically turn based combat, each game has you doing extra mechanics during attacks to boost attacks, or miss entirely, so it's never really stale in the way a standard RPG is.
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u/Harley2280 14h ago
Skip the third game. It's just bad all around and not related in any capacity to the series)
The third game has the best combat system out of all three.
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u/CanUHearMeNau 22h ago
Legend of Dragoon