Sword of Mana

This article is about the Game Boy Advance game. For the weapon of the same name, see Sword of Mana (weapon).

Sword of Mana
Developer	Square Enix Brownie Brown
Publisher	Square Enix (Japan) Nintendo (other regions)
Platforms	Game Boy Advance
Release date	August 29, 2003 December 1, 2003 March 18, 2004 2004
Genre	Action-adventure, role-playing game
Rating(s)	ESRB: - Everyone PEGI: - Seven years and older
Mode(s)	Single player
Media	Cartridge

Sword of Mana is a Game Boy Advance game that is an enhanced remake of Final Fantasy Adventure. It was co-developed by Square Enix and Brownie Brown and published by Square Enix in Japan and Nintendo in other regions. Sword of Mana was released in Japan and North America in 2003 and in Europe and Australia in 2004.

Although Sword of Mana is a remake, it received a few major changes. The game's primary difference is that it removes all connections to the Final Fantasy franchise, such as Chocobo, in favor of recurring elements from the Mana series, a lot of which debuted in Secret of Mana. Another big difference is that the player can choose to have either the Hero or Heroine as their primary character, with each one having their own parallel story.

In 2006, when Final Fantasy Adventure was remade for certain Japanese mobile phones, its graphics were on par with that of Sword of Mana's, although the changes introduced in Sword of Mana were not retained. Final Fantasy Adventure's 3D remake, Adventures of Mana, does not retain the changes from Sword of Mana either, except for the Ring Command mechanic.

Story

Title screen

Long, long ago, there was a goddess. She cherished all life and transformed herself into a Mana Tree to watch over the world. Thus the legend began. As time passed, memory of the goddess faded from people's hearts… One day, a man crept into the sanctuary where the Mana Tree slumbered. With the power of Mana, he built a great civilization. But this marked the dawn of a terrible age of darkness… The man forced the world to kneel to his will. His name was Vandole. When souls were trapped in the darkness of despair, a glimmer of hope shone in the hearts of a few brave youths. The fighting was fierce, but they would not give up. One wielded a holy blade that gleamed as brightly as the hopes in their hearts. Powerless before this light, the darkness was vanquished. The power of Mana was reclaimed from human hands and restored to its rightful place. But now… The people have forgotten the goddess once again…

The Granz Empire has recently been relentless in his quest to arrest and subdue the Mana clan members whom the Dark Lord calls heretics. One fateful day, he spearheads the eradication of a whole Mana Village by bringing a whole battalion around town to burn it down. A young girl who was about to depart with a Mana swordsman this day is quickly escorted away by her mother, but are caught up by His Lordship’s advisor Julius. The girl’s mother reveals not to be her real mom and teleport both her and Bogard to a Castle Town. The owner of a mansion recognizes his old friend and agrees to take her in.

Meanwhile, a young boy listens intently at Lord Granz’s song inside the mansion. He bemoans the fact the minstrel cannot sing about his own exploits as a Gemma Knight who defeated the Vandole empire. The boy spots the Dark Lord at his door speaking about the heretics his dad is sheltering. He runs off to altert his father who is speaking with Bogard, but Prince Stroud busts the door open, claiming he’s here to punish Herman for harboring heretics. Bogard tries to defend his friend by is arrested in the process. The boy’s mother runs away with her son as instructed by Hermann and wakes up the girl. Both kids escape in a secret door while the mother holds the imperial guards back. The boy trips while running and get caught by the guards as the same time the girl manages to hide in the wilderness.

The boy was enslaved in Granz Castle and was forced to battle beast daily for the entertainment of the imperial citizens. During a match, the young man escapes from the arena with his friend Willy but are cornered on a bridge by the Dark Lord’s private guards. He draws his sword at the overlord when he learns he’s the one responsible for killing his parents, but is overpowered and plummets down a cliff.

Meanwhile, the girl was brought over to a remote cabin where she grew under Bogard’s care. She reveals having recurrent nightmares about what happen that day she escaped and feels guilty for abandoning the boy. Her mentor advises her to seek out the Mana clan survivors and to visit the nearby village to start off her journey.

The pair reunites when the heroine is spotted by Julius near Topple. He summons a monster to kill her, but the hero comes to her rescue. Initially hesitant to see a knight wielding a bloody sword, the heroine keeps her guard up until she is escorted back to the village. She encounters the knight again in her house and accuses him of siding with Granz Empire, but she’s ultimately mistaken about him and decides to join him in his adventure.

The couple ends up at the gates of Vinquette Hall, where they are greeted by a butler. They ask to speak with the master, but he is unfortunately absent. They decide to stay for the night and makes acquaintances with Isabella who tells the party about Count Lee being a vampire and about a water spirit being held captive in the nearby marshes. Following one of the butlers in the halls the heroes find Count Lee putting Isabella to sleep inside one of his coffins. He reveals he’s made a promise to keep maidens visiting his lair under his safety to someone. After defeating the Vampire, a spirit of Lord Granz reveals he’s the one who asked the Count to keep Mana women safely in coffins. He then tells the heroine there is a reason she musn’t die and entrusts the hero to protect her.

The hero and the heroine acknowledge each other having met in their childhood and make amends, then head to the Marsh Cave as instructed by Count Lee. There, they discover the Moon Mirror deep in the cavern but triggers a fight with the powerful Hydra whom they must defeat to obtain the water spirit. They heal the injured spirit and use its power to uncover a path to the Town of Wendel.

There, they find a young minstrel playing for crowd in the central plaza. A peculiar man congratulates him and offers him to escort him to Granz Castle. They reunite with Bogard in Wendel cathedral and are introduced to the sage Cibba. The hero is shocked to learn that Bogard and Cibba were two of the three Gemma Knights who overthrew the Vandole Empire. The young knight asks the sage about the Sword of Mana, but is rebuked by the fact he must learn to learn to be a true hero. He rushes outside just as the whole town is attacked by imperial forces. Julius confronts the boy and pushes him back with his dark magic which makes the Moon Mirror explodes. Cibba catches a glimpse of Julius’s real face through a broken shard. The heroine surrenders herself to the Dark Lord and is brought to their Airship.

Cibba the Sage tells the hero to get to Westlake by reaching the Gaia Cave while Bogard attempts to climb aboard the imperial airship near Granz Castle. At the same time, the Dark Lord crosses sword with Isabella and invites her to ride his airship. Some time later, the hero learns from local dwarfs he needs some mythril in order to enter Gaia Cave. He ventures into the Abandoned Mine where he meets with Watts the dwarf blacksmith. They join forces and explore the cave all the way into a large mythril deposit. Now in possession of the precious ore, the protagonist manages to get into Gaia and crosses to the other side. There, he meets with Cibba who pairs up to search for the captured heroine inside the enemy’s fleet.

In the meantime, the heroine wakes up inside a room on the airship, a woman next to her. The Dark Lord and Julis pay her a visit, asking the girl to join them in their crusade, but she refuses. As they head back to their headquarters, the heroine learns about Marley’s backstory and her ties with the Granz family. A tremor is felt, revealed to be a reactor malfunction by one of the guards. Dark Lord orders his crew to make an emergency landing a Westlake. Meanwhile, the girl manages to find a secret passage leading to Isabella’s private quarters. She overhears a conversation between Isabella and the Dark Lord, the latter being revealed to be half-mavole, half-human. Their discussion is interrupted by a guard telling them about the heroine’s disappearance. However, the heroine is spotted by His Lordship and taken to his cabin, were Marley is held there by Julius. The advisor reveals his plan to find the key to access the Mana Sanctuary. Julius attacks the girl by hurling dark energy at her, demanding she tells him where the key to the Sanctuary is.

Without him noticing, Cibba casts light magic at Julius from outside the cabin as the heroine tosses her pendant at the hero, revealing it to be the key to the Sanctuary. He loses his balance and falls from great hights. Sage Cibba teleports himself away as a soldier escorts the girl back to her room to heal her wounds. The guard turns out to be Bogard in disguise and they join forces until they find the ship’s reactor in the control room and destroy it. The imperial vessel crashes down near a town called Menos.

During that time, the hero is found in Menos Outskirts by his friend Amanda who escaped Granz’s arena some time after he did. He is nursed back to health in her house in Menos. While he’s recovering, Devius pays Amanda a visit and makes her agree to exchange medicine for his pendant. She feels sorry for her action and runs off while Bogard and the heroine spot her storming off the village. The hero wakes up with both of them at his side, but panics when he discovers the pendent gone. He learns from locals that Amanda went to Jadd and tells Bogard and the heroine to go up ahead while he continues searching the area.

The party arrives in Jadd and visits Devius Manor where the place seems overflowing with magic. The hero gets to the mansion first, and meets Amanda inside along with Lady Medusa. She apologizes for stealing his pendant but did it to save his life. The former slave recognizes the melody a caged bird is singing to be the one her brother sang. They start to suspect the bird is Lester as she pries the cage open. This angers Medusa, who unleashes lightning bolt in her direction, barely missing her. The spell hits a rabite, turning it into a bird, confirming their hypothesis. Lady Medusa leaves for the Altar of Time in hopes to see her departed husband, Lord Granz. The hero releases the bird and both start following it.

One the heroine’s path, the head steward named Genoa about Lady Medusa, her ties to Lord Granz and the curse associated with her name. She reveals the location of her mistress to be the Dune Maze. Outside, they find Lester in bird form and decide to follow it.

The hero and Amanda find Lady Medusa in a meditative state at the Altar of Time. Amanda pleads her to change her brother back, but is bitten by Medusa in the process. She then turns into a monster and the warriors defeat her in battle. Bogard and the heroine rush back at their side, just in time for Lady Meduse to give her husband’s lute to him before dying. The Dark Lord and Devius witness the scene and accuse them of killing their mother. Bogard is teleported to Devius Mansion for defending the hero. After both villains take their leave, Amanda is seen wincing in pain due to the bite, slowly turning into a Medusa. She begs the protagonist to kill her before she completes her transformation. The hero reluctantly agrees and slays her friend, making her bleed. The blood splashes on Lester who reverts into his human form.

The party goes back to the mansion to avenge Amanda and rescue Bogard. The hero manages to defeat Devius, but a mysterious jester enters the scene via a portal and suck up the villain’s soul as he dies. The team regroups after the confrontation to head to Granz Castle for the final confrontation against Dark Lord.

After crossing Miasma Glen and ascending Mt. Illusia, the party is finally at the castle gates as they find Isabella stating she’s defending the fortress. Goremand interrupts her, telling her to let them through. They reunite with Willy who’s still been in captivity for all this time and ascend the highest tower to meet Dark Lord. The hero and heroine engage him in battle, where His Lordship ultimately meets his demise. His death attracts Goremand, who gobbles up his soul as he did his brother’s. Enraged by all this, Isabella transforms into her beast form, triggering an earthquake.

The hero and heroine are seen unconscious in the middle of the Glass Desert. They are rescued by a woman named Selah who take them into her home in Ishe, where everyone is reunited. Cibba explains to the group about Julius getting his hands on the heroine’s pendant, likely using it soon to open the path to the Sanctuary of Mana. The Sage then reveals the existence of the Sword of Mana kept deep within the Subsea Volcano and entrust the two heroes to retrieve it.

While searching for the fabled blade, the heroes visit the snowy Lorimar Castle and meet its monarch. The king explains his realm has succumbed to the curse of Malyris, turning every single of his subjects into ice. However, Marley comes in and accuses him of selling his people to the empire for Mana power. She gives the key to the door leading to the ice demon’s lair to the heroes. With it, they get there and slay the demon, lifting the curse plaguing the northern country. Durac, King Lorimar’s son and heir to the throne, is declared to be the new leader.

The party continues their search and are lead to the Subland River, directly connected to the volcano. They defeat the fiery beast guarding the sword and take the artifact back to Ishe. They now learn that in order to reach the Sanctuary, they will need to find and ascend the Dime Tower, an ancient technological weapon used by the Vandole Empire who sank in the middle of Glass Desert.

The heroes manage to undo the seal on the Ruined Path leading them to the aforementioned tower. Inside, they befriend an ancient warbot named Marshall who help them solve the mysteries of the structure. With their help, they defeat the guardian protecting the place, but inadvertently trigger the tower’s defense system, making it slowy sinking into the ground again. The hero and the heroine successfully attempt to get to safe ground, but Marshall must remain inside the tower, as their system would shut down it they venture outside.

Now at the Sanctuary’s gates, the duo enters the hallowed grounds, defeating the many obstacles on their way. They meet Julius’s Shadow at the end of the labyrinth, claiming his master to have ascended godhood. The shadow proceeds to show each of the hero and heroine’s companions’ dark feelings in an attempt to bring out despair. Each shadow replica start attacking the protagonist with dark magic, but they are helped by prayers from familiar faces all around the world. The figures change back into their real selves and confront the evil magician. Julius’s Shadow calls upon his master to bring him more power and Lord Granz is summoned in the process. Each companion are seen combating a shadow while the hero and the heroine face off against the real Julius. The sorcerer reveals the heroine’s fate to become the new Mana Tree, and the rusty sword from the volcano gets powered up into the Mana Sword. After a difficult battle, Julius is no more and peace has returned. The hero swears to protect the heroine as she transforms into the new goddess.

Gameplay

Controls

Overworld

Action	Function	GameBoy Advance	GameCube
Move	"Use the Control Pad to move your character."	Control Pad	Control Pad/Circle Pad
Attack/Interact	"The A Button is the main action button. Press the button to make your character attack, talk to other characters, or interact with object."	A Button	A Button
Dash	"While you're exploring the world, hold B to make your character walk faster."	B Button	B Button
Jump	"After your character learns how to jump, press L to leap over ledges."	L Button	L Button
Sit	"After he or she learns to sit, hold A and L to stop and replenish your magic points."	A + L Button (Hold)	A + L Button (Hold)
Magic (support)	"Tap the R Button to trigger the selected spirit's healing of protective spell."	R Button	R Button
Magic (attack)	"Hold R for a moment, then release the button to summon the spirit's attack spell."	R Button (Hold)	R Button (Hold)
Switch character	"Press Select (X or Y on the GCN Controller) to switch control between allied characters."	Select Button	X or Y Button

Menus

Action	Function	GameBoy Advance	GameCube
Open/close controlled character ring command	"Press the Start Button to pause the game and bring up the Ring Command menu. Press the button again to resume play."	Start Button	Start Button
Move	"Use the Control Pad [...] to move the cursor in menus and to make the Ring Command menu spin."	Control Pad	Control Pad/Circle Pad
Confirm	Press the A Button to select and confirm an action.	A Button	A Button
Cancel/Return	"While you're exploring menus, press B to return to the previous page."	B Button	B Button
Describe	"While viewing an interface icon, press the button toto make a command explanation pop up."	Select Button	X or Y Button

Characters

• Hero
• Heroine
• Amanda
• Bogard
• Dark Lord
• Julius
• Lester
• Marshall
• Watts

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Sword of Mana.

• 

  Logo

• 

  Hero

• 

  Heroine

• 

  Artwork of the Hero staring at the Mana Tree

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	新約 聖剣伝説 Shin'yaku: Seiken Densetsu	The New Testament: Legend of the Sacred Sword
Spanish	Sword of Mana	Same as English.
French	Sword of Mana	Same as English.
German	Sword of Mana	Same as English.
Italian	Sword of Mana	Same as English.

References

“In the battle between the three Gemmas and Vandole, everyone knew Vandole had the upper hand. But during the battle, a young girl cut in. It was the woman who Vandole and Bogard loved. For a brief moment, Vandole let his guard down, and in that moment, the Gemma pounced... The fighters made a vow to the young girl that day which they keep faithfully. What kind of vow... ? I am sworn to secrecy.”

—Cibba

	Randi --"Whoa! What's a Rabite doing in a place like this?"
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