The ability of each Bloody Roar fighters to transform themselves into an hybrid form between their human form and an animal is the center of the series' gameplay and make the originality of this fighting games since their first installment.
Gameplay[]
This transformation, also called Beastorizing, comes with the use of the 'beast' button 
. In each game, and during a match, you can see, as one of the display, the beast gauge (often under the life gauge). You can fill up the beast gaugue by taking or giving hits (even if they are blocked). When sufficiently filled up, a warning will be shown and pressing the beast button would transform the played character into their powerful and more agile animal form.
In Bloody Roar 4, the Beast transformation systems change. Unlike previous installments, the Beast Gauge can now be charged up, with the Charge Power,at the expense of health as the Beast and Life gauges are now intertwined. In addition, characters can Beastorize without the Beast Gauge being filled up completely. When a fighter see his Life gauge empty, the Beast and Life gauges will changes their place and forced the fighter to, automatically, enter into his Beast Form.
New Advantages and Abilities[]
Once the character transformed, the beast button could be used as a part of the attack arsenal, opening a new moveset to the player but also the use of cancel techniques. The damages as well as the mobility of the fighter are, most of time, increased and they gains in weight making them less vulnerable to throw attacks.
Since Bloody Roar 3, the Beast Form allows the fighter to execute an Air Cancel meaning that once the opponent is launched in the air the fighter can quickly jump and attack him without having to recover from their last move.
As a beast, the fighters will see his life gauge automatically and slowly recovering. This recoverable amount depend on a part of the damages previously taken, nearly 30%, by the fighter (representing in the life gauge by a blue bar).
Taking damage from the opponent, in the beast form, will deduct from the beast gauge (as well as the life gauge), when the beast gauge is completely depleted the beast form will end if the opponent use a guard breaking attack on the fighter.
Advanced Forms[]
Rave[]
- See more: Rave
In the first Bloody Roar, whenever a player is in Beast Form, he can enter into the Beast Rave Form, or Rave, by pressing the Rave button. In Rave, the fighter sees a general speedup and most of his attacks recovery will be greatly reduced giving him the opportunity to link more easily his attack and strings.
The Rave is limited in time, as, once the Rave activated, the Beast meter will slowly decreased. When the beast gauge is empty the Rave is cancelled and the fighter come back to his human form.
Hyper Beast Form[]
- See more: Hyper Beast Form
Depending on the game there are different ways to enter into the Hyper Beast Form. In Bloody Roar 3 , the player can change into Hyper Beast when his Beast Gauge is fully filled up (double amount than for the Beast Form). In Bloody Roar: Extreme , the player can change into Hyper Beast whenever he can but if his Beast Gauge is not filled up, he will lost a certain amount of health depending of his Beast meter.
Once in Hyper Beast Form, the player has unlimited Beast Drives, using a Beast Drives won't make him go back to his human form when finished, and faster recovery like in the Rave form in the first installment.
As the Rave, the Hyper Beast Form is limited in time. The Beast meter will slowly decreased until hit the zero and make the fighter go back to his human form.
Some fighters have an alternative form in Hyper Beast as Cronos who turn himself into a Pheonix instead of his normal Beast Form, the penguin, or Busuzima who turns invisible.
In Bloody Roar 4, the Hyper Beast system is changed as it can be attained by expending the character's remaining health completely with the Charge Power .
Beast Drives[]
- See more: Beast Drives
Beast Drives are special moves, only available in Beast or Hyper Beast Form, since Bloody Roar 2, that entails a cutscene and inflicts substantial damage. Each fighters had their own Beast Drives.
Ether it works or not, a character will automatically revert to human form upon the completion of the Beast Drive.
Starting from Bloody Roar 3, a second Beast Drives for each character was available with even secret third Beast Drives for some fighters as Shenlong, Uranus or Cronos.
Most Beast Drives are autonomous (not requiring further player input) with the exception of some such as Uriko 's Beast Drive.
In Bloody Roar 4, with the new gameplay, the Beast Drives gain the ability to do damage to the opponent's life meter and beast meter simultaneously but at the cost of subtract the fighter's own beast meter.