Sword of Mana/Characters

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


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

Party Members

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".

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".

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Marshall

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

Primary Antagonists

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.

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.

Supporting Characters

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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