Need help identifying an old GBA (I think) RPG with monster taming.

[Hisshiss]

Okay so this has been buggin the hell out of me today. When I was like 14 I played some RPG of a friends that I'm trying to track down now. The memories are vague, but the few details I do remember feel important.

Im fairly certain it was first person dragon quest style, party frames in the top or bottom of the screen listing HP and MP/SP etc. 3-4 member party sizes, with no party member sprites and enemy models displayed in a row, this could all potentially be wrong though.

Now the major feature I definitely remember was that you could capture/tame enemy monsters as you played. It was a traditional RPG with human characters you controlled, but the monsters you caught could be leveled and equipped to the humans, like each party member had one monster with them that fought with AI, making a party size of either 6 or 8.

I know its super vague but that's literally the best I can recall, if I saw a picture of a battle screen I'm sure I could remember it, so I would appreciate if people could shoot me names or pictures to see if anything sticks.

 

[NPC009]

You mean DemiKids? Those are a little newer than Persona, but it is Shin Megami Tensei, so... that might be it? Though I don't recall those games having parties that big.

Could it be Lufia: The Ruins of Lore? I remember that game having large parties and trainable monsters.

 

[sextus the crazy]

Probably Demi Kids. Can't really think of anything else that fits the bill.

 

[Foolery]

I'd say Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart, but that only came out in Japan. The first two GBC titles did come out in NA.

 

[Meximagician]

I've always found Moby Games to be great for these kinds of searches. Even with the limited info you have, [link http://www.mobygames.com/browse/games/gameboy-advance/role-playing-rpg/1st-person-perspective/]here[/link] are the only twelve games that fit the description you gave (just click on them and scroll down for screenshots, apart from Mother 3 Deluxe Box, but that has a link with screenshots in it's description).

 

[Arkliem]

Sounds like Dragon Warrior Monsters or something in its vein.
http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/gbc/a/drawarmonst-2.gif
http://images.nintendolife.com/screenshots/16829/large.jpg

Otherwise I'd check into the Persona suggestion above, or just the general Shin Megami Tensei franchise and look for Gameboy games.

 

[Drathnoxis]

This probably should have been posted in the Old Games you remember playing but can't remember the name of [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.166417-Old-Games-you-remember-playing-but-cant-remember-the-name-of?page=555] sticky.

 

[NPC009]

Sounds like Dragon Warrior Monsters or something in its vein.
http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/gbc/a/drawarmonst-2.gif
http://images.nintendolife.com/screenshots/16829/large.jpg

Otherwise I'd check into the Persona suggestion above, or just the general Shin Megami Tensei franchise and look for Gameboy games.

I can tell you right now there's no Persona game available for Nintendo handhelds other than the very recent Persona Q. If the topic starter played an older Persona game, it would have been Persona or Persona 2 on the PlayStation. And while those games have been ported to the PSP the ports are fairly recent.

It may have been another Shin Megami Tensei-game though. DemiKids has been mentioned, but there's also Revelations: The Demon Slayer for the GBC. However, the demons in this game do not level up like normal MegaTen demons, so... yeah. Interface does match up, though.