DOS Games Discussion

so it has been bugging me all day. I played this game on an emulator my brother installed for me like 20 years ago. here is what I remember. you pick 3 characters from a list of like 12 or so. there was a little girl, an amazon, a ninja, a beast man, don't remember the rest. but the first one you pick sets where you start the game. at some point you get a hammer? that when used shrinks the party so they can enter a fairy village. the game was top down fighting and would pause when you accessed menus to cast spells or use items. I remember. collecting spirits? one was of the moon and it helps move a flower wall late in the game and takes one because it smells nice. you had to buy armor and weapons for each character and I think there was a day night cycle. the best man would transform at night into a white wolf. also the first spirit you collect is off of a giant crab? there is a non zero chance I am mixing up 2 games. I was like 10 at the time of playing this/these. game was some where between 16-64. the game was probably old in 2000

Sounds like it could be one of a gazillion of jRPGs. Since you haven't specified what console was emulated, I can only suggest looking in this big list:
https://www.mobygames.com/genre/sheet/jrpg/

found it, it is Trials of Mana, also known by its Japanese title Seiken Densetsu 3

Thanks for the update; this is the Mobygames link for the 1995 SNES version: Seiken Densetsu 3

(It seems to have been remade into a 3D version in 2020 for more modern platforms: Trials of Mana)