Sword of Mana/Characters

The cast of Sword of Mana. WIP. Contains unmarked spoilers.

The Heroine
A survivor of the Mana Tribe. At the time of Dark Lord's coup, she was about to leave her village on a journey with the knight Sir Bogard, but when Dark Lord and Julius attacked the two of them had to flee for their lives. She was sheltered for a short time at the hero's house, but the two of them wound up separated when Dark Lord's soldiers found out about her. Now living outside of Topple with Bogard, she is about to embark on a journey to search for other Mana survivors when she bumps into the hero, and the two of them join forces. Along the way, she begins to discover the secrets of her true heritage and the motivations of her enemies.

Her default weapon is the staff, and her default spirit companion is Wisp, though as the protagonist she has a much greater arsenal at her disposal.

She has no default name: the English strategy guide and promotional comic refer to her as "Rose"; whereas the Japanese manga anthology, novelization, and strategy guide call her "Elena". Her counterpart in Final Fantasy Adventure was referred to in side materials as "Fuji".


 * Action Girl
 * Adaptation Expansion: While the hero's storyline is more or less lifted from Final Fantasy Adventure, the heroine's route was freshly written for this game. One of the consequences of this is that she is privy to a lot more of the other characters' backstories and the secrets of the world than he is. This arguably makes her the central protagonist of the game, whereas in Final Fantasy Adventure the heroine was a much more traditional Damsel in Distress.
 * Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence
 * Black Magician Girl: Is much more proficient at magic than other characters, due to the staff's auto-targeted spells.
 * The Chosen One
 * Generation Xerox
 * Hello, Insert Name Here
 * Heroic Lineage
 * The Messiah / Messiah Creep
 * Purple Eyes
 * Quirky Curls
 * Rapunzel Hair
 * The Resenter: Reveals in the hero's route that when she was hiding at his house, she was jealous of his happy family.
 * Save the Villain: She tries very hard, at least.
 * Ship Tease: With Devius and the hero.
 * Simple Staff
 * There Is Another: Believes herself to be the Sole Survivor of the Mana village until she meets up with Willy.
 * You Killed My Father: Initially holds a strong grudge against Dark Lord and Julius, but mellows out a bit as she learns more about their circumstances.

The Hero
Originally the child of a noble family, his parents were killed in Dark Lord's coup for the crime of sheltering the fugitive heroine. The hero himself was captured, but trained as a gladiator instead of being executed. At the beginning of the game, he attempts to escape from the arena; when caught by Dark Lord himself, he winds up knocked into the river, and washes up near the village of Topple in time to meet up with the heroine and join her on her journey. Both out of his desire for revenge and from his friendship with the heroine, he winds up dragged into the quest to protect the Mana Tree and save the world.

His default weapon is the sword, and his default magical spirit is Salamander. If he is the protagonist, he has a broader array of weapons and magic to choose from.

Like the heroine, he has no default name: the English strategy guide and promotional comic refer to him as "Matt"; whereas the Japanese manga anthology, novelization, and strategy guide call him "Duke". His counterpart in Final Fantasy Adventure was referred to in side materials as "Sumo".


 * Best Served Cold
 * Blue Eyes
 * Cool Sword
 * Hair of Gold
 * Hello, Insert Name Here
 * Idiot Hero
 * Jumped At the Call
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: All day, every day.
 * The Resenter: Reveals at the end of the heroine's route that there was a time that he blamed his family's deaths on her.
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Blames Devius for Amanda's death and charges off to fight him, which ends badly.
 * Ship Tease: With both Amanda and the heroine in his route.
 * Spanner in the Works: Unlike the heroine, he has no real connection to the previous Vandole war--he just happened to get dragged into things after meeting her. He nevertheless winds up one of the heroes of the new generation.
 * You Killed My Father

Sir Bogard
The heroine's guardian, also one of the Gemma Knights who defeated Vandole in the past. He seems to know a lot more about what's going on than he's willing to tell, and winds up dragged into the fight to save the world when the heroine is captured. He serves as an adviser to both of the protagonists, and is eventually revealed to be the heroine's true father.

Only joins the party in the heroine's route. Wields a sword and uses earth magic.


 * Badass Beard
 * Cool Sword
 * Dude in Distress: Winds up kidnapped by Devius at one point.
 * My Greatest Failure: Being unable to save his wife Mana from sacrificing herself to save the Mana Tree.
 * Parental Substitute: Ironic, seeing as...
 * Luke, I Am Your Father: ...he was the heroine's dad all along.

Amanda
One of the hero's fellow gladiators, originally an inhabitant of Menos Village. After the hero fails spectacularly in his attempt to save the heroine, she is revealed to have been freed, and takes care of him. When she winds up having to trade away the heroine's Orphan's Plot Trinket for medicine to save his life, she winds up involved in the lives of Devius and Medusa--and while investigating the disappearance of her brother Lester, she is poisoned by Medusa's bite and dies.

Only joins the party in the hero's route. Wields a lance and uses wind magic.


 * Blade on a Stick
 * Hair Decorations
 * Hair of Gold
 * Green Eyes
 * Pink Means Feminine
 * Shoot the Dog
 * Swiss Army Tears: Her blood acts as the antidote to cure Lester and the other minstrels that Medusa turned into birds.
 * Unlucky Childhood Friend
 * The Virus: Medusa's venom causes her to start attacking the protagonists.

Lester
Amanda's younger brother, a minstrel who admires Granz. His skills attract the attention of Devius, who adopts him and brings him back to Jadd--where Medusa winds up turning him into a bird, like all the other minstrels her son has brought home. Once returned to his true form by his sister's sacrifice, he accompanies the protagonists on their quest to stop Dark Lord's party from getting their hands on the power of mana.

Joins the party in both routes. He wields a bow and uses wood magic.


 * The Archer
 * Baleful Polymorph
 * Blue Eyes
 * Magic Music
 * My Beloved Smother: Found his sister's overprotectiveness irritating, which he regrets deeply after her death.
 * Rapunzel Hair
 * Sidekick: Is the hero's default partner in the later stages of the game.

Willy
The heroine's childhood friend, as well as one of the hero's fellow gladiators. Known amongst his friends for his wisecracking and endless wacky escape plans. When the protagonists storm Dark Lord's fortress, he is rescued, and winds up accompanying them on their quest to stop Julius.

Joins the party in the heroine's route. He wields the knucks and uses water magic.


 * Big Eater
 * Dirty Coward: Still blames himself for running away in terror during the attack on the Mana Village.
 * Survivor Guilt
 * Plucky Comic Relief
 * Sidekick: Is the heroine's default partner in the later stages of the game.
 * Spared by the Adaptation: Was the first character to die in Final Fantasy Adventure, whereas here he is one of the few survivors.
 * There Is Another: Believes himself to be the Sole Survivor of the Mana village until the hero brings up the heroine in conversation.

Sage Cibba
An ancient sage who lives in Wendel. He aided the fight against the original Vandole, who was once his apprentice. Now, he gives the protagonists advice and helps to support them in their quest.

Joins the party briefly in the hero's route, where he wields a staff and uses light magic.


 * Cool Old Guy
 * Light'Em Up / Healing Hands
 * Miniature Senior Citizens
 * Mismatched Eyes

Watts
A dwarf and legendary craftsman, who helps the protagonists forge weapons, gives the heroine her sickle, and briefly accompanies the hero in a search for mithril. Very similar to every other Watts in the series.

Joins the party once in the hero's route, where he uses an axe.


 * An Axe to Grind
 * Legacy Character
 * Our Dwarves Are All the Same
 * Ultimate Blacksmith

Marshall
A very lonely Vandole-era robot who joins the party when the heroes trek through Dime Tower. Joins the party in both routes.


 * Heroic Sacrifice: Saves the heroine when the tower begins to break down, and knowing that it can't function outside the tower anymore, doesn't even try to jump the gap itself.
 * I Am Not a Gun
 * I Just Want to Have Friends
 * Robot Buddy

Dark Lord
One of the sons of Lord Granz. His given name is "Stroud", but he generally prefers not to be called that. He took over his father's land in a coup d'etat, and has since oppressed the Mana tribe and believers in the goddess out of bitterness that none of them were willing to help his mother. He is trying to create a country that does not rely on magic or religion to get by, but at the same time seeks the power of the Mana Tree in hopes of saving Medusa and Julius.

Wears a golden Domino Mask to conceal his resemblance to his brother Devius, apparently solely out of bitterness over his father's decision to split up their family. Is half-Mavole, but seems not to have inherited any specific Mavole powers. Wields a sword.


 * Anti-Villain
 * Adaptation Expansion: His backstory (not coincidentally exclusive to the heroine's route) was reworked heavily for this game; the Final Fantasy Adventure version of his character was a flat villain.
 * Barehanded Blade Block
 * Cool Sword
 * Disc One Final Boss
 * Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas
 * Half-Human Hybrid
 * Pet the Dog: Still very protective of Marley.
 * Morality Chain: Literally the only person who can get Julius to behave.
 * Genre Savvy: Fully aware that Julius is going to need stopping when he's no longer there to hold his friend's coat, and instructs the protagonists to go do it while he's dying.
 * Rapunzel Hair
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge
 * Ship Tease: With Isabella and Julius.
 * Heroes Want Redheads
 * Sword and Sorcerer: With Julius.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist / Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Discussed by Lee if you visit him after Dark Lord's death.

Julius Vandole
Dark Lord's eccentric and flamboyant sidekick, and the Sole Survivor of the Vandole regime. He was raised alongside Dark Lord, and helped him overthrow Granz; now, he aids Dark Lord in his search for the heroine. Whereas he plays a largely supportive role in Dark Lord's plans, he seems to know a lot more about mana and about the heroine than Dark Lord does. Once Dark Lord has died, Julius continues to seek the Mana Tree alone, now planning to follow in the first Vandole's footsteps.

Is apparently a skilled swordsman, but primarily fights using magic. Like the original Vandole, he is no longer considered to be human.


 * As Long as There Is Evil
 * Camp Gay
 * Deadpan Snarker: Prior to Dark Lord's death.
 * Dragon Their Feet: Like all of Dark Lord's other allies when it comes time for you to fight.
 * This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself
 * Evil Sorcerer
 * The Gadfly: Particularly early in the hero's route.
 * Generation Xerox
 * Green Eyed Red Head
 * Evil Redhead
 * Hijacked by Ganon: After Dark Lord's death, he assumes Vandole's (drastically more serious) personality and goals. The Gemma Knights and their allies start referring to him as the real Vandole at this point. It's left ambiguous as to whether the original Vandole has literally hijacked his body or whether his "Julius" persona was a facade to start with.
 * Manipulative Bastard
 * Mysterious Past: Might be Emperor Vandole's reincarnation; might be his son. Might even be the heroine's half-brother, given the rumors of a Beast and Beauty romance between Vandole and Mana during the Vandole war. Nobody really seems to know what Julius' deal is aside from Dark Lord, who never really explains.
 * Mystical Waif
 * Rapunzel Hair
 * Shadow Archetype: To the heroine.
 * Ship Tease: With Dark Lord.
 * Sword and Sorcerer: With Dark Lord.
 * The Trickster / Troll: Prior to Dark Lord's death.
 * Yandere: His violent side peeks out during the sequence where he interrogates the heroine, as well as when he goads Devius into dying. Like his trolling and general sassy nature, any trace of dere goes straight out the window after Dark Lord dies.

Lord Granz
One of the three Gemma Knights, a minstrel who settled down to rule his country after the war. He was a beloved leader until Dark Lord's coup; at that point, he went missing and is now presumed dead.

His sons don't think much of some of his parenting decisions.


 * An Astral Projection Not a Ghost: Although he's mistaken for one until The Reveal.
 * Intergenerational Friendship: With the hero, in the hero's prologue.
 * Interspecies Romance: With Medusa, which didn't end well at all.
 * Magic Music

Count Lee
A Mavole who lives in a mansion between Topple and Wendel. He is the subject of many ill rumors, but is actually quite polite, and was a friend of the Gemma Knights. He is apparently mourning some lost love, much to the frustration of his old friend Isabella (who flirts with him) and his butlers (who want to get him married off).


 * Friendly Neighborhood Vampire
 * Mismatched Eyes
 * Not What It Looks Like: Very much so. That Girl in a Box-filled basement? Those are sleeping Mana women he's sheltering from Dark Lord at the behest of Granz. The butlers who remark about how the heroine and Isabella are "the perfect woman" and try to present them to Lee like a stereotypical vampire B-movie? They're a little overly enthusiastic about bride-shopping for their master, and are doing it against his will. Isabella is floating motionless in the air when the hero bursts in? She was harassing Lee, so he put her to sleep. It takes Granz's intervening to get things sorted out in the end.
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy

Isabella
An old friend of Lee's who is visiting him at the time that the protagonists drop by his mansion. After discovering that Lee has more or less settled down in the human world, she seeks out Dark Lord on her journey to find adventure and romance. She is part of the Bigieu clan of Mavoles, and even though she's ostensibly a part of Dark Lord's party, she is never overtly malevolent towards the protagonists and is never actually fought.

She has more appearances in the heroine's route, and is implied to have feelings for Dark Lord. Her Mavole form is that of an anthropomorphic white cat.


 * Bare Your Midriff
 * Cat Stereotype: Fits the general white cat archetype.
 * Dragon Their Feet: Is actually present during the battle with Dark Lord, but doesn't do anything to help him.
 * This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself
 * Eyes of Gold
 * Fiery Redhead
 * Legacy Character: Shares more than a passing resemblance to the Bigieu of Seiken Densetsu 3, but their personalities are quite different.
 * Nice Hat
 * Odd Friendship: With the heroine.

Devius
Dark Lord's brother, caretaker of their ill mother and ruler of the desert town Jadd. May also be the prince of Mavolia. Devius is generally more calm and well-mannered than his brother, but shares his dislike for being addressed by his given name (Gurnda). After his mother's death at the hero's hands, he winds up in a confrontation with the protagonists.

His demeanor is very different based on route, which may have to do with the fact that like Dark Lord, his character was heavily rewritten for this game. His Mavole form is that of a Mindflayer.


 * Anti-Villain
 * Benevolent Boss
 * Berserk Button: Very kind and reasonable unless his mother is harmed, in which case watch out.
 * Beware the Nice Ones
 * The Caretaker: To Medusa.
 * Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Invoked by Julius, possibly out of jealousy, which results in Devius' death.
 * Friend to All Living Things: Gives off this impression with his birds; though it's later discovered that some of them weren't always birds.
 * Half-Human Hybrid
 * Hundred-Percent Adoration Rating: The people of Jadd love him, and so do the Luna spirits, with which he's affiliated.
 * Chekhov's Gun: Early on, the heroine explains that spirits don't appear before inherently evil beings, and so this goes to reinforce Devius' character.
 * Ship Tease: With the heroine.
 * The Stoic
 * Not So Stoic: After Medusa's death.
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy

Marley
Dark Lord's attendant, who has taken care of him for most of his life. She and the heroine meet during the heroine's stay on Dark Lord's airship. Marley is privy to the Granz family's history. While she has a number of appearances in the heroine's route, in the hero's she only appears in the short arc that explains her origins.


 * I Was Quite a Looker
 * Intergenerational Friendship: With the heroine.
 * Morality Pet: To Dark Lord.
 * Parental Substitute: To Dark Lord.
 * That Man Is Dead
 * Secret Keeper

Medusa
Dark Lord and Devius' mother, a Mavole noblewoman. Due to the powerful geas meant to prevent Mavoles from intermarrying with humans, she has been steadily losing her memories of her husband and children, and will eventually die. Granz chose to separate from her in hopes of slowing her illness down, which also forced their sons apart. She now lives with Devius in Jadd, where he continually brings minstrels to perform for her because they help her remember her husband. If only she would stop turning them into birds.

Her Mavole form is pretty much Exactly What It Says on the Tin.


 * Absurdly Youthful Mother: Justified as Mavoles and humans don't age at the same rate.
 * Adult Fear: Her illness and its effects are very much reminiscent of Alzheimer's.
 * Morality Pet: To Devius in particular, although both her sons care for her very much.
 * The Ophelia
 * Rapunzel Hair
 * The Virus: Her venom has a corrupting influence on humans.

Goremand
A Mavole who follows Dark Lord and Julius around for kicks. Has a sadistic personality, prioritizes himself, and eats souls. Due to his flippant disregard for who will eventually triumph, he actually winds up helping the protagonists now and again.


 * Chaotic Evil: Discussed In-Universe.
 * Dragon Their Feet: As with Julius and Isabella. Unlike them, in Goremand's case it's explicitly out of opportunism.
 * For the Evulz
 * It's All About Me
 * Karma Houdini
 * Legacy Character: Takes after Deathjester, and may or may not be the same character.
 * Monster Clown
 * Punny Name
 * Sinister Scythe
 * The Unfought

Selah
The third and final Gemma Knight, who lives in the town of Ishe. Her house serves as the party's home base during the journey to recover the Mana Sword.


 * Cool Old Lady
 * Hair of Gold
 * Retired Badass

Niccolo Nikita
Representative of a race of anthropomorphic cat-bunny merchants. Rescues the hero early into the story ("Grandpappy always said that being a Good Samaritan is good for business!") and from then on shows up in random places to sell the protagonists items both story-relevant and ordinary.


 * Legacy Character

Li'l Cactus
The protagonists' pet, who immortalizes your plot and sidequest progress in verse form if you talk to him at certain points of the game.


 * Legacy Character
 * Shipper on Deck: Lampshades the Slap Slap Kiss dynamic of the hero and heroine at the beginning, and sagely remarks that Dark Lord "shoulda married Isabella".
 * Terse Talker: Except in his diary.