Many JRPGs are pretty long, so they have to have plenty of things to keep you interested until the end. A gripping story and nice-looking environments help a lot, but so do the optional things. Side quests can bring a game's setting to life, for example. But all those things can still get old if it's not your first time playing through the game.
That's why having different costumes for your party helps even more. Being able to equip them with different outfits makes everything look and feel more special. That's why the more interesting the costumes, the more fun your experience can be.
10 Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse
Being the sequel to Shin Megami Tensei 4, Apocalypse improved upon many things. One of them is the armor selection. You can change the protagonist's shirt, pants, and hair when you equip different armor on him. It's technically not a necessity since the armor doesn't give you defense points, just some extra HP and different elemental strengths, and weaknesses.
Most of the costume sets in SMT 4 were just plain ugly, but thankfully, that's not the case for Apocalypse. You can wear a cute sailor uniform or dress like a colorful punk or edgy biker. You can even wear dresses and have pigtails or cosplay as certain demons. Both the variety and quality are a huge step up from the prequel.
9 Persona Series
After Persona 3, the existence of costumes has become a common thing, and most of them are very well done. If you like the characters' summer or winter outfits, you can watch them run around and fight in them forever. Many of the costumes come in sets, so there's one for everyone. But that doesn't make it monotonous because each character wears their costume differently, and they show off some of their personalities.
There are even exclusive costumes for some characters. For example, you can let the protagonist cosplay as his detective uncle in Persona 4 Golden. You can make Yosuke wear his Junes uniform or Yukiko wear a special kimono. Needless to say, the costumes add a lot of fun and flavor to battles.
8 Xenoblade Chronicles Series
The default outfits in the Xenoblade Chronicles games can be a lot to look at. Luckily, you can equip the characters with different costumes to give your eyes a little break. There's equipment for the torso, arms, legs, head, and feet. They initially give the character different effects, but you can also make it so that the character is just wearing the outfit without its effects.
Separating the equipment from the aesthetic gives you a lot of room for styling the characters without having to worry about making them too weak. The options go from simple, alternate colors for each character to full-on differences like swimsuits and trendy clothing. Add accessories to the mix, and you've got a lot to play with.
7 Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13
The costumes in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13 affect Lightning's stats and abilities, making it extra fun when you try out different fighting styles. One thing that makes the system even cooler is that you can change the costumes' colors. Instead of pre-determined colors, it gives you a whole color wheel to choose from, really giving the costumes that personal touch.
Lightning gets a big selection to choose from. She has everything from school uniforms to elegant dresses, from flashy outfits to suits. She can even dress as characters from other Final Fantasy games, like Yuna and Cloud.
6 Dragon Quest 11
In Dragon Quest 11, you can get costumes by completing quests or crafting them from recipes you find. It's possible to mix and match different pieces of equipment since you get a slot for the head, torso, and feet. In fact, you'll most likely be doing that if you want the best stats for each character since equipment affects them.
However, if you have the right pieces of equipment in your inventory, you'll be able to put them on characters as regular outfits that don't affect their stats. The characters don't share most outfits, so the ones they get are unique to each of them. So, Sylvando gets the most feathers and colors in his outfits, while Veronica gets the cutest ones.
5 Tales Of Series
The Tales of games don't just come with costumes; they have loads of accessories, many of which you'll find in treasure chests. The accessories can go on characters' heads, faces, and backs, while the costumes are separated into clothes and hairstyles. There's usually a theme for costumes, so every character gets their own variation of it, but there are also some character-exclusive costumes.
Regardless of the game's plot or themes, the costumes can be as simple as school uniforms or as whimsical as something out of a fairytale. With the accessories, the potential for customization is huge. Many of the games also have alternate colors of the characters' original outfits that you can unlock.
4 Resonance Of Fate
You may not expect it, but Resonance of Fate has an entire boutique you can buy different clothes from. The costumes are purely cosmetic, so you can buy whatever pieces you want without worry. There are options for the characters' inner and outer layers, pants, shoes, and accessories. You can even change their hair and eye color.
With all these different options, you can totally personalize their fashion and make them look as cool or silly as you want. There are options to give them more casual styles, or they can look cute, edgy, or fancy. Forget the guns; it's all about the fashion here.
3 Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore
In a game featuring idols, alternate costumes are a no-brainer. In Tokyo Mirage Sessions, you can buy most of them from a shop in Harujaku, but you also get some throughout the story and from the Area of Aspiration dungeon. The costumes change the characters' tops, bottoms, and shoes, but some add accessories to their hair or change their hairstyle entirely.
Though there aren't hundreds of costumes in the game, there's a healthy amount that ensures you won't get bored. And in this case, it's a perfect representation of quality over quantity because the characters really know how to dress stylishly. You'll have a hard time resisting the urge to buy all the costumes since most of them look nice. Of course, there are a few over-the-top ones thrown in as well.
2 Trials Of Mana Remake
In the Trials of Mana remake, changing the class of a character also changes their appearance. However, you also have the option to equip the costume as a standalone thing while keeping the stats and abilities you already have. So, thankfully, you won't have to sacrifice style for substance.
The costumes change the characters' tops, bottoms, shoes, and headgear. There are nine costumes for each character, though they all stay true to the character's main class. For example, most of Duran's costumes have armor as a main point, while Charlotte keeps the cleric motif.
1 Code Vein
Code Vein's outfit customization is unique and very fun if you're the type who likes getting into the details. The outfits themselves are limited in number, but you get access to a lot of accessories, colors, and patterns that can totally transform them. Accessories are available for the head, face, neck, arms, and more.
You can already customize your character in the game, so customizing their outfit as well is just icing on the cake. With all the options, it's hard to get bored or accidentally look the same as another player.