Good Arueshalae, Evil Arueshalae
The visual design of a character represents that character's aspects such as their personality and role. In Role Playing Games and Visual Novels, a character's visual design is often depicted through a Character Portrait.
This trope occurs when a character portrait visually evolves over the course of a game. Maybe the latest in-game arc takes place after a Time Skip, and each character received a new portrait that marks the passage of time. Maybe the Ice Queen learned to get along with other people, and that's reflected by way of Expository Hairstyle Change. Maybe a character had just been turned thanks to The Virus, and their portrait now depicts them with Supernatural Gold Eyes. The use of a new character portrait in this case visually reflects a change in that character's condition.
For new character portraits that are used temporarily, see Event-Based Character Portrait.
Compare Expressive Health Bar, Significant Wardrobe Shift, Video Game Setpiece. Can overlap with Event Flag.
Note: When adding tropes to this example, make sure the character portrait is the focus of the change, rather than the design change overall. If the story can achieve the same narrative effect by changing the design and not the character portrait, this trope does not count.
Examples
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Action
- Middle-earth: Shadow of War: For most of the game, Talion has a healthy complexion in the gear selection screen. After Celebrimbor abandons Talion and Talion takes Isildur's Ring of Power (condemning himself to become a Nazgûl), he appears gaunt, with pale skin, Tainted Veins, and Supernatural Gold Eyes. Eltariel has an alternate skin that gives her her own corrupted appearance in the Blade of Galadriel DLC.
Adventure
- Dispatch: Depending on the player's choice, Flambae will either lose one of his teeth or burn off his eyebrows in Episode 1, which is reflected in his in-game portrait in the Dispatch sections. It's not until Episode 7 that he "recovers" and starts to use his default portrait.
- Ghost Trick: Whenever a character first dies, their portrait in the Ghost World appears as a Hitodama Light until they remember who they are and take on their true appearance. Towards the end of the game, Sissel realizes that the form he's taken on throughout the game isn't his true appearance and his portrait reverts to a hitodama light, and only at the very end of the game does his portrait change once more to show who he really is: a cat.
Card Battle Games
- Fate/Grand Order: Servants often acquire new card portraits and battle models as they rise through their Ascension stages. Some also have alternate clothing options which are reflected on both their game models and card portraits.
- Hearthstone: After beating the final Knights of the Frozen Throne mission, your character portrait transforms into a Death Knight version as they become the new Lich King.
Grand Strategy Games
- The Fire Rises:
- Some post-American warlords who unite the country have their portraits ditch their wartime outfits in favor of dress uniforms or suits.
- In Germany, if the military clique launches the Day X coup, the Rädelsführer is shown wearing a full military uniform and gas mask, but switches to a standard military uniform after his power is secure. Meanwhile, Frank Franz goes from wearing a simple suit to full-on Nazi regalia if he manages to seize power.
- Much like in real life, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stops wearing a suit and wears military fatigues full-time during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. If Ukraine wins the war, he goes back to wearing a suit plus Cool Shades to boot.
- If Xi Jinping manages to win the Taiwan War and successfully build a cult of personality that rivals Mao Zedong's, his portrait changes from him wearing a Western-style suit to a Mao suit.
- In Donald Trump's stratocracy path, his portrait changes to one based on his 2023 mugshot photo.
- In Joe Biden's "American Caligula" path, where he grows paranoid and dictatorial in his senility, his portrait changes to show him with a Slasher Smile.
- As Vladimir Putin gets sick with COVID, his portrait changes to him looking sweaty and flushed.
- Hearts of Iron IV: In most DLCs, some national leaders have dynamic portraits that change after accomplishing a significant national goal (or alternately an Easter Egg path):
- Spurning Japanese rule and re-empowering Puyi while playing Manchuria causes his portrait to depict him in traditional Qing Dynasty imperial garb, and his in-game title changes to the Xuantong Emperor (his regnal name before 1911).
- If the player manages to reunite the Roman Empire as fascist Italy, Benito Mussolini's portrait changes to depict him wearing a golden laurel crown.
- If Josef Stalin is overthrown in a second Russian Civil War, he can become the leader of communist-led Georgia, where he has shaved his signature mustache.
- If he's defeated in the German Civil War path, Adolf Hitler can appear in Easter Egg roles around the map in various Paper-Thin Disguises, including being clean-shaven and in a Conspicuous Trenchcoat as "Señor Hilter" in Argentina.
- The New Order: Last Days of Europe: While most leaders have their portraits change in the 1970s to simply show the passage of time, some also change to signify key events:
- Hermann Göring originally had a mechanic where the more of the world he conquered, the more his leader portrait would be decorated with medals and military regalia.
- Albert Speer's portrait at the end of the game varies depending on how successful he was at centralizing his power and undermining the Gang of Four. If his primacy as Führer is secured, he wears a brown Nazi Party uniform. If he ends up outmaneuvered and unable to stop Germany's democratization, he wears a civilian suit and has a sullen expression.
- Several leaders who are diagnosed with terminal cancer have their portraits change accordingly toward the end of the game: Martin Bormann is pale and some spots of coughed-up blood on his lapel, Mikhail Matkovsky goes bald from chemotherapy, and Philip Hart looks visibly gaunt and more haggard.
- The cut Russian warlord "Antikhrist" would have more of his uniform removed the more battles he loses, eventually revealing him to be the real-life serial killer Andrei Chikatilo.
- Before Atlantropa was cut from the mod, Portuguese admiral Fernando de Quintanilha could seize the Gibraltar Dam during the Iberian Civil War and auction it off to the highest-bidding nation. His portrait would reflect his newfound wealth by depicting him in a gaudy all-gold general's uniform.
- Curtis LeMay's standard portrait shows him in his Air Force General's uniform, but if George Wallace is impeached and LeMay becomes President, his new portrait shows him in a civilian suit.
- When Sergey Taboritsky unites West Russia and reveals his true ideological leanings as an esoteric Nazi, his portrait changes to show him wearing a Nazi-esque greatcoat. After his Villainous Breakdown and death, his portrait changes to a looping animation
overlaid with TV static and Ominous Visual Glitches as the apparatuses of state start to break down and his ministers try in vain to pretend he's still alive.
Metroidvania
- Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow: Late in the game, when protagonist Soma Cruz starts to awaken to his heritage as the reincarnation of Dracula, he gains a new dialogue portrait showing him with wilder hair, a more intimidating expression, and piercing red eyes.
MMORPG
- Star Wars: The Old Republic: Your character's model and portrait will shift to be paler, veiny, and bloodshot as you accrue more Dark Side points on the Karma Meter, though you can optionally turn this off in the character customization settings.
Political Strategy Games
- Divided States of America:
- If Trump ends up being convicted in the classified documents trial, his portrait is replaced with a courtroom sketch of him from the trial.
- In the Grok Trump path, Trump's portrait is replaced by an AI-generated photo of him and Elon Musk is shown in the running mate's slot as part of the Switching P.O.V. to Elon programming the AI.
- Things That Never Were: If Bobby Kennedy manages to goad Howard Hughes into unveiling himself and leaving his hotel room, Hughes' portrait in the "Opposition" tab changes from a painting of his handsome younger self to a photograph of him as an old, decrepit shut-in. The portrait description changes to simply "Jesus Christ."
Real-Time Strategy
- StarCraft I: In the Terran campaign, Sarah Kerrigan has a human portrait: red hair in a ponytail, green eyes, and full lips; all in all, a pretty Action Girl for the Hero Unit version of the Ghost unit. In the Zerg campaign after she's been Infested, she has sunken cheeks, dislocated jaws, hair like vertebrae, snake-like eyes, and is unnaturally pale; in every way corrupted and all the more hideous for the vestigial resemblance to the woman she used to be.
- StarCraft II continues this: She retains her Zerg appearance throughout Wings of Liberty, is de-infested at the end, returning her to a human but retaining the tendril hair she had while infested; becomes Primal Zerg during Heart of the Swarm, which is similar to her infested form but with her natural skin tone and Volcanic Veins; before finally becoming Xel'naga in the epilogue of Legacy of the Void, turning her into a humanoid Energy Being with glowing golden skin, fire for hair, and a pair of fiery wings.
- Warcraft III: Prince Arthas starts out as a blond-haired young man for the whole Human campaign. When the Undead campaign starts after he claims the cursed sword Frostmourne, his hair turns white and his skin turns grey to represent him changing from a Paladin to a Death Knight.
Role-Playing Game
- Deltarune:
- When Ralsei initially joins the party, his character portrait is portrayed with his hat casting a shadow over his face. It's not until the end of Chapter 1 that Ralsei takes off his hat, giving Kris and Susie (and the player) a Wham Shot: His face is revealed to look identical to Kris's adoptive family, the Dreemurrs.
- After Susie Takes a Level in Kindness and joins the player's party for real, her character portraits no longer depict her eyes obscured by her bangs.
- Disco Elysium: The player character's portrait starts obfuscated until you actually look at yourself in the mirror and can change further depending on various decisions made in the game.
- Dragon Age: Inquisition: Player Party members are represented by lookalike Tarot-like cards in the party selection screen. As the plot advances, almost everyone's starting card design gets replaced by one of two alternatives, depending on whether (and how) you complete their personal Loyalty Mission and/or Romance Sidequest.
- Final Fantasy IX: Garnet/Dagger's menu portrait starts off with her looking off to the side with a serious expression on her face, as well as her long hair. After her Important Haircut roughly 2/3s of the way through the game which signifies the end of her Heroic BSoD, she now sports her shorter hair as well as a smile on her face in her menu portrait.
- The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy-:
- Kurara Oosuzuki starts the story wearing an Expressive Mask before taking it off, getting a new set of sprites without it.
- In the Route 0 finale, the traitor gains a new battle model after absorbing the cryptoglobin of the baby and going One-Winged Angel.
- In routes where the zombie outbreak happens, all infected cast members get new zombified character portraits.
- In a Comedy route, characters get new sprites with fish for their heads.
- In Stars and Time: Over the course of the game, Siffrin's character portraits grow more and more dour and haggard-looking as Time Loop Fatigue and Sanity Slippage set in. Notably, his portraits when KO'd or frozen in time go from being shocked, to resigned, to pleased as the story progresses.
- Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous:
- Your succubus party member Arueshalae starts as an aspiring Ascended Demon, clad in a blue-and-white outfit that covers her body fully, and humanlike brown eyes (reflected on both her character portrait and her game model). An evil Player Character has the option to make her fall back to demonhood, whereupon she switches to a red-and-black outfit that shows a lot more skin and regains Red Eyes, Take Warning.
- PCs that pursue the Lich Mythic Path can raise several NPCs as their own personal Night of the Living Mooks. Those that had portraits beforehand (Staunton Vhane and Queen Galfrey) switch to a suitably zombified portrait and character model.
- Persona:
- In Persona 4, the Investigation Team has portraits with glasses while inside the TV world.
- In Persona 5, the Phantom Thieves have portraits with their Phantom costumes on while inside the Palaces and Mementos (as well as Jails in Persona 5 Strikers), with the biggest difference being Morgana's design, who goes from being a realistic cat in the real world to more of a typical anime Series Mascot-looking cat in the Metaverse.
- For most of Persona 5 Royal, Sumire Yoshizawa has portraits wearing her hair in a ponytail. It's not until she finally embraces being herself and stops disguising as her deceased sister in the third semester that she has her hair loose and goes back to wearing glasses.
- In the same game, Morgana has sprites in his brand new human form while inside Maruki's ideal world.
- Star Wars Legends:
- Knights of the Old Republic: Player Characters who fall to The Dark Side have a series of portraits and concurrent changes to their character models, corresponding to how far down the Karma Meter they've gone: their skin typically becomes deathly pale and they gain Supernatural Gold Eyes.
- Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords: Player Characters who fall to The Dark Side again have a range of portraits and character models to indicate their place on the Karma Meter. Unlike the first game, the Karma Meter now draws your party members to light or dark as well depending on your Relationship Values with them, and several members also have alternate portraits and models of their own: Bao-dur, for example, goes from looking vaguely Caucasian◊ to deathly pale with much more prominent facial tattoos◊.
- Tales of the Abyss: After making a promise to become a better person following the fall of Akzeriuth, Luke cuts his long hair short, which is reflected in all of his artwork including his menu and skit images and his Mystic Arte cut-in.
- TechnoMage: Return of Eternity: Melvin has four portraits in the dialogue boxes, swapping them at different points of the story. During the first two worlds, he has a somewhat surprised expression, befitting how he's being thrust into the adventure and still not used to everything yet. Upon entering the third world, he has a more worried expression, as the dangerous nature of his journey sets in. Once entering the fifth world, he changes to a more confident expression, with brighter lighting to befit how he's moved past his Darkest Hour, and his five o'clock shadow is shown, highlighting how he's maturing over his quest. When in the final world, he shows a more determined expression, as he sets out to finish things up and save Gothos once and for all.
Stealth-Based Game
- Metal Gear Solid: Master Miller provides Snake with tips on the CODEC during the first part of the game, where he is presented with blonde hair, a beret, and sunglasses. During The Reveal, Colonel Cambell reveals that Miller has been dead for 3 weeks. At this point, Master Miller removes his glasses and beret, and slicks his hair back with his fingers before revealing himself as Liquid Snake. At certain points later, Liquid will call Snake on Miller's frequency just to taunt him.
Third-Person Shooter
- Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls:
- Komaru Naegi has character sprites both with and without her wristband, depending on whether or not she's in the middle of being the unwilling participant of the Warriors of Hope's Demon Hunting game.
- All of the returning characters get new character portraits to show a specific change about them:
- Toko Fukawa/Genocide Jack now has long unkempt hair instead of her earlier braids to both show the passage of time since her debut game and the fact that she doesn't take care of herself. She also spots an ahoge, symbolizing her role as the Deuteragonist of the game.
- Both Byakuya Togami and Makoto Naegi are now wearing suits after becoming members of the Future Foundation.
- Nagito Komaeda is now shown in his outfit as an Ultimate Despair.
Turn-Based Strategy
- Battle for Wesnoth:
- After you retrieve the Scepter of Fire in the seventeenth scenario of "Heir to the Throne", whoever you retrieved it with (Konrad or Li'sar) has their portrait replaced with one also depicting the Scepter.
- After "Secrets of the Ancients", protagonist Ardonna achieves her objective of eternal life by the way of becoming a lich, her portrait changes from a white-haired woman in black robes to that of a skeleton in brown robes.
- Civilization III has leader portraits tied with the era that specific civ is currently in, regardless of their historical context. So expect to see Cleopatra in a Victorian bonnet in the industrial era, Abe Lincoln wearing Pelts of the Barbarian during the ancient era and Pachacuti in a business suit in modern times. The background might also change, either era-by-era or drastically (like Shaka having a savannah for the first three eras, but then suddenly skyscrapers in modern times). Naturally, each leader has a "default" portrait that is tied to a specific era, but it only displays when checking their in-game encyclopedia entry.
- Dark Deity: When Irving gets caught in Empyrean's spell in chapter 11, his red hair permanently changes color to black with red tips, which is reflected in all his new portraits from them onwards. Even his DLC outfit portrait has two variants with other minor changes between the two hairstyles.
- Fire Emblem:
- Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade: For most of the game Big Bad Nergal's turban obscures one of his eyes. In the endgame the turban comes off, revealing the scar Athos had inflicted upon him during their falling out.
- Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance:
- When Ike promotes to Lord, he receives a new portrait reflecting the appearance of his new class. After defeating Ashnard and liberating Crimea, he returns to wearing his original uniform.
- Similarly, Elincia dons armor near the end of the game to show her resolve to reclaim her homeland from Daein. She also returns to wearing her dress after the war is over.
- Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn: Ike, Micaiah, and Sothe receive new portraits upon promoting into a new class through story events.
- Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia: Alm and Celica have the same portraits right up until they promote to hero and Princess, respectively, at which point they change to reflect their new classes and stay that way until the end of the game.
- Fire Emblem: Three Houses: In the five-year timeskip, the students stop wearing their academy uniforms and begin wearing new wardrobes to reflect the complete change in the status quo. Byleth's hair and eye color change from teal to mint green following their fusion with Sothis in Chapter 10. The only playable characters who don't get new portraits are Seteth, Flayn, the Knights of Seiros, and the other Officers Academy professors (Hanneman and Manuela).
- Heroes of Might and Magic III:
- Gem, Yog, and Sandro all use special portraits for their introductory campaigns in The Shadow of Death. Gem appears as she does in Heroes of Might and Magic II, having recently sailed to Antagarich and becoming enamoured with the druids of AvLee, eventually joining their order and gaining a new portrait to reflect it. Yog's starting portrait shows him in his wizard outfit, but by the end of the campaign he's wearing Pelts of the Barbarian after being accepted into the Krewlod clan. Finally, Sandro wears the human guise he used to trick Gem and Crag Hack for the first part of the campaign, before dropping the illusion and revealing his true appearance as a lich.
- After Mutare drinks the Vial of Dragon Blood, her portrait switches to a dragon to represent the change. Despite supposedly getting a power boost, the portrait is the only difference between them.
Visual Novel
- Danganronpa
- Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc:
- Kiyotaka Ishimaru has a new set of sprites as Kiyondo Ishida, a "fusion" between him and the "spirit" of his recently deceased best friend, Mondo Owada, sporting an Expository Hairstyle Change and a more radiant aura.
- Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair:
- Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu has a whole separate set of character portraits with his new eyepatch that he began to wear following the injury he's received during Peko Pekoyama's execution. This extends to his character profile page.
- Nekomaru Nidai has a whole separate set of character portraits for his new appearance as Mechamaru after he comes back from hospitalization following him jumping in to save Akane from execution by Monokuma's bazooka. This extends to his character profile page.
- Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
- Shuichi Saihara has new versions of his character portraits after the execution of Decoy Protagonist Kaede Akamatsu, where he's removed his cap to reveal his Idiot Hair, a trademark for the series' protagonists.
- Tsumugi Shirogane has a new set of character portraits after it's revealed that she's the mastermind, where she gains Glowing Eyes of Doom and a Battle Aura made up of cosplays of the cast of the first two games.
- Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc:
- Misericorde: At the end of the first volume, Flora's leg is smashed in a heavy door. She subsequently receives a new set of character portraits where she's making the same expressions as before, but in a wheelbarrow with a splint on her leg.
- Yet Another Killing Game:
- Cecilia gains a couple of unique portraits in the Karma Ending, sporting discoloured, bleeding eyes as she dies from rat poison.
- The protagonist gains one in the Darkness Ending, sporting Blood from the Mouth as she's stabbed in the back.
