Request Looking for some retro RPGs with "rebirth" mechanics where grinding can lead to an advantage

[D3RPkitten]

Some form of "you hit this threshold, now you can reset for extra stats" or various other things like different vocations that give stat and skill boosts between different jobs/classes permanently. Skill trees are welcome too! As long as I can emulate it and it's in English, things are fair game.

Example: In Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity you can reset your level to get points that you invest in specific stats to become stronger permanently, multiple times over. Also in that game are small dungeons made for actually grinding various resources including experience

What are your favorite games that have such mechanics?

 

[Megazao]

I'm not particularly fond of this mechanic, but the series that comes to mind is Disgaea. Any of them really, since even from the first entry you could (and should eventually) reincarnate to get stronger.

 

[RustySK]

I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I believe the Etrian Odyssey games (or at least some of them) had a mechanic like this? I could be misremembering this, but it might be worth looking into.

It's a series of notoriously challenging minimalist first-person Dungeon Crawlers for the DS and 3DS where you build a party of various customizable character classes and make your own maps as you explore the games' various dungeons. The formula is definitely addicting as hell, I highly recommend checking them out!

 

[MasterEn]

disgaea and probably anything else made by that company. dragon quest monsters kind of does this a bit as well.

 

[Clippy]

Maybe the Conception series? You don't reset your own character but the better your stats are the better your children will be in combat and at some point you have to make new kids to be able to make progress. Despite what it may sound like it's not an eroge.

 

[MasterEn]

oh! oreshikia: tainted bloodlines is another game with a similar mechanic.

 

[Cu-Neo]

In Dragon quest (specially in 3 remake) some characters starts in a specific class, you can change their class and they revert back to level 1 but they maintain their stats and learn new abilities.
Another one that I think does something similar to resetting you to level 1 while maintaining some things is ZHP in PSP.

 

[Clippy]

If we're including jobs/classes then Final Fantasy 3,5 and Tactics would count I think? Bravely Default too.

 

[MasterEn]

If we're including jobs/classes then Final Fantasy 3,5 and Tactics would count I think? Bravely Default too.

i can't comment on bravely default and fft, but i have played ff3 and 5.
it sort of counts for ff3. your stats drop for a few battles but go back to normal after a set amount of battles. about half or more of the classes don't get anything from increasing job levels besides increased damage and magic potency. not bad, but only a handful of classes would benefit from max levels.
ff5 has a hidden mechanic for the freelancer and mimic warrior class. every class that a character masters boosts these two jobs, several add permanent passive buffs like dual-wielding from the ninja class. no real resetting in that game. the closest comes to the 5th party member, who just gets to inherit the stats from your recently departed party member.

 

[Bakuma1997]

I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I believe the Etrian Odyssey games (or at least some of them) had a mechanic like this? I could be misremembering this, but it might be worth looking into.

It's a series of notoriously challenging minimalist first-person Dungeon Crawlers for the DS and 3DS where you build a party of various customizable character classes and make your own maps as you explore the games' various dungeons. The formula is definitely addicting as hell, I highly recommend checking them out!

Confirm, while 1's Retire is basically a "Shoot yourself in the foot" button, from 2 onwards if you retire at a certain tenth of levens you get some extra Customization Points, i do it at the Max to get a juicy 10+

 

[bjork]

You can kinda do this in Fallout New Vegas, sorta kinda? There's a trait you can take that gives you +5 points in every skill, and in one of the DLCs you can unlock a doctor that will let you reset your traits, but just taking that trait again gives you +5 a second time, so it's a total of +10 overall. But you can only do it once, so I'm not sure if it counts with what OP is asking.

 

[D3RPkitten]

You can kinda do this in Fallout New Vegas, sorta kinda? There's a trait you can take that gives you +5 points in every skill, and in one of the DLCs you can unlock a doctor that will let you reset your traits, but just taking that trait again gives you +5 a second time, so it's a total of +10 overall. But you can only do it once, so I'm not sure if it counts with what OP is asking.

Yea, that's not exactly what I'm asking, but still a great choice of game, thank you!

 

[Stookymalarkey]

I know there's a mechanic like that in the Disgaea games.

 

[McDoob]

While I'm not the originator of this thread, I'd like to thank the people who mentioned Disgaea. I've been on a bit of a tactical RPG kick (Final Fantasy Tactics, for instance) lately, and this game fits well with that theme. On top of that, I'd never heard of it before. I think I just found my new time-waster for the next couple weeks!

-McD

 

[MasterEn]

While I'm not the originator of this thread, I'd like to thank the people who mentioned Disgaea. I've been on a bit of a tactical RPG kick (Final Fantasy Tactics, for instance) lately, and this game fits well with that theme. On top of that, I'd never heard of it before. I think I just found my new time-waster for the next couple weeks!

-McD

you're welcome. disgaea 6 can take up to months to complete, due to the insane stats you can get. i had to take a break because my switch might have hit its limit running for almost 4 months straight.
the other installments are slightly less time consuming though. the newer ports usually have all of the previous content released along with some new stuff as well.

 

[McDoob]

you're welcome. disgaea 6 can take up to months to complete, due to the insane stats you can get. i had to take a break because my switch might have hit its limit running for almost 4 months straight.
the other installments are slightly less time consuming though. the newer ports usually have all of the previous content released along with some new stuff as well.

Unfortunately I am sort of, but not exactly, hardware limited to the PSP titles. My only entertainment device, besides my phone, is a Raspberry Pi 4, and it cannot play PS2 (or higher) games acceptably, and I don't know of any PS Vita emulators. Nonetheless, that still offers me the first two titles and a couple of spin-offs, certainly enough to keep me busy for a while.

Having just played the first few minutes in Afternoon of Darkness, I think I'm going to enjoy this. Lots of silliness, rather than the stark seriousness of other games I've been playing.
-McD

EDIT: I hadn't realized, but I've been playing another title from Nippon Ichi Software: Cladun. Also a fun game, but not at all related to this thread.

 

[Tonberry]

In Digimon Cyber Sleuth and Hacker's Memory you can de-digivolve your Digimons if you want to put them on another evolution path, and I'm pretty sure they retain certain stats/moves when you do.
It's got areas specifically designed for grinding your parties too.

 

[MasterEn]

Unfortunately I am sort of, but not exactly, hardware limited to the PSP titles. My only entertainment device, besides my phone, is a Raspberry Pi 4, and it cannot play PS2 (or higher) games acceptably, and I don't know of any PS Vita emulators. Nonetheless, that still offers me the first two titles and a couple of spin-offs, certainly enough to keep me busy for a while.

Having just played the first few minutes in Afternoon of Darkness, I think I'm going to enjoy this. Lots of silliness, rather than the stark seriousness of other games I've been playing.
-McD

yeah, the first 2 are regarded as having the best story and characters. gameplay is a bit rough but solid all over. and there's the 2 platformer prinny games and a visual novel game as well for the psp.

 

[McDoob]

Thanks again for the Disgaea suggestion! I'm having a blast playing it!
-McD