Sword of Mana, released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003, is actually a remake of Final Fantasy Adventure.  The remake serves to replace many elements from FFA that originated from Final Fantasy with traditional Mana series’ ones.  Released after Legend of Mana, Sword of Mana draws heavily from systems used in Mana series games.  The night and day system from SD3 is featured as is the forging and planting systems from Legend of Mana, and the ring menu system from Secret of Mana.  Other new additions to Sword of Mana include replacing Hero’s partner Chocobo with the canon travel system, and the introduction of the 8 elemental spirits.

Sword of Mana begins by letting you name and pick between controlling the boy or the girl.  Their accepted names are Sumo and Fuji, as these were the names used back in the Final Fantasy Adventure English instruction manual.  With the option of letting you pick between the two characters this introduces two separate but intertwined storylines to give the player a more robust story in Sword of Mana.

Sword of Mana has also made changes to the leveling system.  Upon leveling up you can still choose between which stat growth option you want, but in addition now there are classes the Hero/Heroine can level up to.  There are five different starting classes; Warrior, Monk, Mage, Sage, Thief, and Random.  From the beginning classes you can level up your class two different ways if you meet the stat requirements.  From the middle class you can once again level up two different ways after meeting the required stats.

Sword of Mana serves to retell the story of the original Seiken Densetsu to provide a greater cohesiveness between all the rest of the games in the series.  While playing through I will cover plot and theme changes however big or small.

The only guide and maps you’ll need on Hero’s quest to protect the Tree of Mana

Walkthrough: ATadeo’s FAQ/Walkthrough @ GameFAQs.com

Maps: StarFighters76′s Dungeon Maps @ GameFAQs.com

Overworld Map: fantasyanime.com’s FFA Overworld Map @ fantasyanime.com

Though titled Final Fantasy Adventure, FFA was actually creator Koichi Ishii’s first title of The Mana Series.  Perhaps originally anticipated by Square to just be a Final Fantasy spin-off FFA was titled Holy Sword Legend: Final Fantasy Gaiden in Japan.  Not surprisingly the start of The Mana Series borrows quite a bit from the Final Fantasy series.

Many of the weapons and armors are taken from the Final Fantasy series, most noticeably Excalibur becoming the Legendary Sword.  Later in the series the Mana Sword is named the Legendary Sword.  The most noticeable cross-over from the Final Fantasy series into the start of the Mana series though are its bosses.  Three of the elemental fiends from the first Final Fantasy make an appearance; Kraken, Lich, and Kary.  Other FF boss appearances include Dragon, Red Dragon, Zombie Dragon, as well as Iflyte (Ifrit) and Garuda from the NES Final Fantasy III.  All of the bosses had been bosses or enemies in the original NES Final Fantasy trilogy which had been released prior to Final Fantasy Adventure.

Other Final Fantasy cross-overs include Chocobos and Moogles, although only used as a status effect.

Now that we’ve gone through what isn’t part of the Mana series, let’s find out what Mana series themes began in the original Seiken Densetsu.

Final Fantasy Adventure sets up the base theme for the entire Mana series, that of Tree of Mana and the Legendary Sword.  The backstory to Final Fantasy Adventure is that of Empire Vandole had obtained the power of the Tree of Mana and used it for evil.  They were stopped by the Gemma Knights though, including Bogard and a mysterious girl.  The Tree of Mana then died and the mysterious girl, a Gemma of the Mana Clan, became the next Tree of Mana.

Gemmas are members of the Mana Clan and sprouts of the Tree of Mana.  The Gemma Knights are the protectors of the Tree of Mana,  Mana Clan, and basically the whole world.  Only Gemma Knights can wield the Legendary Sword.

Now years later FFA begins with the story of the Tree of Mana sitting high atop Mt. Illusia and the evil Dark Lord of Empire Glaive is now after its power.  Dark Lord is assisted by an equally evil sorcerer Julius who has been tasked with finding the path to the Tree of Mana.  The player a fighter-slave gladiator in Empire Glaive soon finds himself thrown in the middle of their quest for power once he meets a girl who wears a special pendant given to her by her mother.

A humorous series staple is started in FFA when Dark Lord knocks Hero over a cliff and down a waterfall.  Throughout the course of the game Hero ends up taking three other big falls as well.  We’ll find this is a reoccurring mechanic of the series.

During Hero’s adventure the girl is kidnapped by Julius and the Hero spends most of his quest trying to rescue her.  Along the way he is helped by many NPCs which become another tradition in the series.  Through his quest there are many plot twists and sacrifices which have also become synonymous to the series as well.  Eventually the Hero, travelling through the overworld and the cities of Wendel, Lorim, Menos, Topple, Jadd, Ish, and many dungeons makes his way atop Mt. Illusia and to the Tree of Mana.  Along the way he finds his destiny is to become a Gemma Knight himself and receives the Legendary Sword Excalibur to save the Tree of Mana.  Unfortunately it is too late and the girl he has been trying to save, the last of the Mana Clan, must become the next Tree of Mana.

Other Series Staples

Just about every regular overworld enemy you face in FFA is a reoccurring enemy in the Mana series, most famously the rabites.  Many of the reoccurring bosses of the series got their start right here in the original Seiken Densetsu including; the vampiric Mr. Lee, the Metal Crab, and the Mantis Ant.

Many other staples happen in Final Fantasy Adventure.  Watts makes his first appearance and hasn’t changed since, and the dancing shopkeeper also began in FFA.  Another tradition that began here is the use of multiple weapons and the charging of attacks.  The flail/whip is used to grab poles and cross gaps, the axe to cut down trees, and each weapon has a special attack once the willpower gauge is fully charged.

It’s easy to see how Final Fantasy Adventure is both a Final Fantasy “side-story” and also the birth of a new series.  Seiken Densetsu began as an original series with parts of Final Fantasy peppered in so Square could use the Final Fantasy namesake to push units.  Final Fantasy Adventure was well received, held by many as the best action-adventure RPG on the GameBoy and tied with Link’s Awakening which came out two years after Adventure.  It seems the warm reception to Seiken Densetsu was enough for Square to green-light it to become a series of its own.

This is it, the final challenge for Hero.  He knows the Tree of Mana lies at the top of the temple, and he knows he will find Julius and Girl there.  It won’t be easy, but this is Hero’s fate as a Gemma Knight.

Inside the temple Hero finds new powerful enemies such as Ninjas, Devil Heads, and Elephants. These three foes also have a chance of dropping the most powerful armor for Hero; Samurai Armor, Samurai Helm, and the Aegis Shield.  An easy trick is to have your item inventory full so there chest cannot drop the normal loot and only give you the equipment loot.

Hero is put to many tests as he travels through the Temple of Mana.  There are three ferocious dragons which attempt to impede his progress.  The Dragon and Red Dragon look exactly the same and only vulnerable at their head which is most easily reached with the Flame Flail or Thunder Spear.  The Zombie Dragon looks like an undead Hydra and is only vulnerable at its two heads as well.

After defeating the Zombie Dragon Hero heads up and winds up in the garden of Mana.  The only enemies left to be found here are giant elephants.  Shortly into the garden Mother appears before Hero and grants him the Excalibur to defeat Juilus.  He is now the true Gemma Knight.

After winding through the garden Hero finds a long set of stairs leading up to the Tree of Mana.  This is where he finds Julius and Girl.  Julius proclaims that he cannot be stopped and he will create the Empire of Neo-Vandole.  He transports Hero to a different location where Julius splits himself into three and attacks.  However the weak wizard is no match for the fully charged spin-slashes of the Excalibur, and Hero quickly cuts through all 3 of Julius.

That was merely a test though.  Now Julius shows his true form that has been granted by the power of Mana.  Julius now is a giant demon capable of using charging attacks and shooting lightning bolts.  Still he is incapable of stopping the mighty Hero.  Wielding Excalibur Hero keeps executing fully charged spin slashes while stay on top of Julius and curing when needed.  Once again Julius falls quickly.

Now Hero arrives back at the Tree of Mana where Girl is.  The two reunite, but before they can celebrate besting Julius he appears one more time in his third and final form.  This time Hero must fight him at the Tree of Mana, but at least he has the help of Girl who can provide a powerful HP regen.  Julius is now more evil than ever is able to teleport freely around the tree and shoot off powerful force balls.  Both being hit by Julius and his force balls cause major damage to Hero and he must stay on top of healing as well as using Girl’s healing as well to defeat Julius this time.  Luckily the impenetrable Aegis Shield can block the force balls which then allow Hero to unleash his fully charged Excalibur attacks.  Using this tactic along with much healing Hero is able to put an end to Julius once and for all.

Unfortunately after the battle the Tree of Mana is no longer there.  Julius drained the power of Mana and killed the tree.  Mother appears saying her time as the Tree of Mana is up now.  Girl is the last of the Mana Clan and a Gemma herself, if she chooses she will be the next Tree of Mana, and the last.

Girl makes the decision to become the seed for the next Tree of Mana and asks Hero to be her Gemma Knight and guard her from evil.  A bittersweet ending to a long and arduous adventure, Girl now becomes the next sprout to become the Tree of Mana and Hero heads back down to the overworld to visit with old companions as the credits play out.

Hero knows he must head to the Cave of Ruins next which is in the crystal desert.  Cibba tells him to seek Dr. Bowow as he can tell him where to find the cave.  Rusty Sword in hand Hero sets off back to Ish in the crystal desert.  Back in Ish upon speaking with Dr. Bowow he proclaims you must have the most powerful magic, Nuke, which is protected by Lich.  He doesn’t exactly explain why (probably a translation issue), but it is so you can reveal the path to the Cave of Ruins.  Dr. Bowow directs you to the Cave of Palmy Desert to the north.

Hero rides Chocobot across the sea once again and comes to the shore of the Palmy Desert, of which the only attraction around is its lone cave.  The cave proves to be short and trivial, but the fight against the demonic Lich is anything but that.  Lich floats around the screen in an S-pattern much like Megapede did, but Lich also throws skulls.  Both his skulls and getting hit by Lich causes BIG damage to Hero.  He must use his Flame Flail to stay far back enough to be safe, but even so this is a battle which will require much healing.  With much use of the Cure spell Hero is able to outlast and defeat the evil Lich and obtain the Book of Nuke.

With the most powerful spell Nuke now learned Hero heads back to Dr. Bowow.  Bowow informs him to use it on the giant crystal formations in the desert to reveal the path to the Cave of Ruins.  Hero and Chocobot scour the desert and to the north by the shore find a crystal formation and reveal the path once destroyed by Nuke.

The Cave of Ruins is not a long dungeon either but the spoils are great.  Inside the cave Hero can obtain both the Dragon Shield and Dragon Sword.  At the end of the cave Hero encounters the giant Mantis Ant.  He is protected by a lightning barrier that Hero must cross to attack.  After healing up from the great damage of the lightning barrier Hero can quickly dispatch the Mantis Ant with his Flame Flail as the Mantis Ant barely uses his charge attack and most stays against the northern wall.  With Mantis Ant defeated Hero crosses into the final chamber of the Cave of Ruins which has one single floor panel switch.  Equipping the Rusty Sword and stepping on to this switch will activate the Dime Tower to rise from the crystal desert and teleport Hero outside.

Hero knows this will be his final chance to stock up on supplies for the long trek through Dime Tower.  He heads back to Ish and stocks up on Keys and other supplies and head back into the desert for a final trip with Chocobot.  Heading westward into the desert the Dime Tower suddenly explodes out from beneath the sands and shoots up towering five stories tall.

Hero dismounts from Chocobot and heads inside to find a new companion, Marcie.  Marcie is a 50 year old robot left behind by Dr. Bowow.  Marcie also has the power to restore all of Hero’s MP when asked.  Using the brute strength of Marcie and his powerful magic he ascends up the tower finding Dragon Armor along the way.  While ascending Hero finds many tablets telling the history of Mana.  Such as Mana power becomes evil when an evil person wields it, and a Gemma Knight will be tested with a Rusty Sword, but only a true Gemma Knight will receive Excalibur.  Hero is also able to find a bit of Vandole history describing how the King took control of Mana and how the Vandole would soon fall leaving only one child of hope.

Eventually Hero makes his way to the top of Dime Tower where none other than the famed Garuda awaits him.  Garuda fires off feathers and charges at Hero, but once again with his Flame Flail and Marcie’s beam he quickly clips the wings of this flying beast.  Upon Garuda’s death however the tower begins to lose balance and come crumbling down.  Hero and Marcie run west and find a small gap to land.  Marcie tells Hero that she can throw him then jump herself.  With a quick heave she launches Hero, but she is actually incapable of jumping.  Marcie sacrificed herself to aid Hero because she knows he is the one who can defend Mana.

Now three friends have been lost along the way; Willy, Amanda, and now Marcie.  Hero begins to have his doubts, but he knows that he must push them aside to avenge the deaths of his fallen friends and defeat Julius to save Mana.

Back in front of Castle Glaive now Hero heads back to the waterfall which has reversed its current and now carries Hero all the way to the top.  Now in front of the Temple of Mana Hero knows the final confrontation is close.  He must rescue Girl, put a stop to Julius’ evil, and save the Tree of Mana.

After taking his fourth spill of the game Hero awakens, saved by Chocobo, in the town of Ish.  Much to his surprise Bogard is laid up in a bed next to him.  When he ventures outside Hero can find a weapon and armor shop that sells the Flame Flail and Sarah is standing, blocking his path.  Speaking with Sarah reveals that Bogard broke his back trying to find Hero, spouting off that there was a boy named Hero that could save everyone.  Sarah didn’t believe him at first, but once a Chocobo believed it too she had to believe.  She sends you off to Dr. Bowow to visit Chocobo.  At Dr. Bowow’s you’ll find he has recovered Chocobo’s leg and even upgraded them so Chocobo can walk on water now!  Dr. Bowow officially renames Chocobo to Chocobot, and suggests you visit with Bogard next.

Back in Sarah’s house Bogard tells you that you are the new Gemma Knight and it is your destiny to obtain the Legendary Sword Excalibur which is “somewhere” in this world, thanks Bogard.  Thankfully he gives you some direction and sends you to find Cibba who will know more.  Using Chocobot to traverse the ocean and rivers now Hero quickly heads over to Wendel only to discover Cibba is not there, he has gone off to Lorim, which is also now accessible with Chocobot.

On the icy isle that Lorim rests on we find out that one of Julius’ monsters Kary has attacked Lorim and frozen all of its inhabitants, including Cibba.  The only non-frozen individual is the King who tells you where to find Kary.  Hero must trek through the freezing cold snowfields on the north side of the island, a place so cold not even Chocobot dares to venture.

Before heading off Hero using Chocobot to explore around the island to find the eastern shores house an equipment store he can reach by using his flail.  His big payoff his find Ice Armor and the Ice Shield for sale in this shop.  Now equipped for the deathly cold, he plows back into the snowfields and into the cave Kary dwells in.

In the Cave of Snowfields Hero must solve a few puzzles involving the sliding ice blocks and snowmen.  Nothing too hard and at the end he confronts Kary.  She is an evil icicle-throwing Lamia, and her tail packs a strong punch.  Using his newly obtained Flame Flail Hero is able to stay at a safe distance while damaging Kary, and eventually taking her down.  His reward, besides unfreezing Lorim’s townspeople, is the Ice Sword.

Back in Lorim Cibba reveals that the Legendary Sword is held by a guardian through the Cave of Floatrocks around the Amonites in the south of Lorim.  He gives Hero the Bone Key which will allow him to access the cave.

Using Chocobot to find the pier he used prior for the Ice Armor vendor he now proceeds south along the coast.  Eventually Hero comes upon giant floatrocks which can be broken use the Morningstar.  A little further in and Hero spots a cave which is blocked by a locked door, this must be the Cave of Floatrocks.

The cave isn’t very long or hard.  Hero quickly finds a long bridge which looks to lead to a way out, but before he can make it across the mighty Kraken surfaces from below.  The Kraken is an extremely powerful foe and a few quick tentacle swipes can easily fell Hero.  Using the Thunder Spear Hero reach and defeat the Kraken while avoiding his deadly reach.

On the other side of the passage Kraken protect Hero finds himself on a small island that has a volcano with a cave leading into it.

The Underground Volcano houses new and stronger foes, but not strong enough to deter Hero from seeking out the Legendary Sword.  Hero finds himself nearly stopped by rivers of lava, they deal extreme amounts of damage and Hero must constantly stay cured while crossing them.  After enduring immense pain Hero finally reaches the cave’s end.  There he finds the fiery Iflyte (Ifrit) awaiting him.  His main attack consists of rolling into a ball and rolling in a zigzag pattern, but Iflyte can still be harmed while in a ball form.  The Thunder Spear once again makes quick work of this flaming foe.  The reward however is less than legendary, Hero only finds a Rusty Sword.  He must now head back to Cibba and tell of his spoils.

Back in Lorim Hero tells Cibba of his findings.  Cibba informs Hero that the only thing left to do is to reveal Dime Tower which only the Legendary Sword can do, but first Hero must activate it at the Cave of Ruins.

With the desert city of Jadd now peaceful again Hero sets off to the north through Mt. Rocks in pursuit of the pendant which Garuda took to Castle Glaive.  Unfortunately the trail back to Castle Glaive is filled with a gauntlet of bosses Hero must battle through.

In the first passage through Mt. Rocks Hero is confronted by a Metal Crab!  The crab is powerful, dealing major damage to Hero when he rams him with his zigzag pattern.  However Hero with his Wind Spear is able to make quick work out of the Metal Crab as he can dodge the crab’s dashes.

Outside the first passage Hero begins to make his ascent up Mt. Rocks.  On the way up there is an Equipment Store selling Opal Armor, Opal Helm, and Opal Shield with him to gear up with for the upcoming battles.  Hero must battle through a few new and nasty enemies on the way up Mt. Rocks, a spring-type enemy of which can turn Hero into a moogle reducing his defense to zero.

Atop Mt. Rocks there is another passage for Hero to explore.  This passage gives him many choices but only one way is the correct way to follow.  After figuring out the right order of passages to take he is led outside and up some stairs to a mighty Cyclops who wields a Morningstar.

The Cyclops is an easy foe to defeat, but his Morningstar packs quite a punch.  Using his trusty Chain Flail Hero is able to quickly dispatch of the Cyclops and claim the Morningstar for himself.  This is an extremely powerful weapon as it has the same effect of a Mattock when used on break walls and pots.

New Morningstar in hand Hero heads back to the entrance and through the locked door to the north where a giant Golem awaits, attempting to stop Hero from getting back to Castle Glaive.  The Golem is only vulnerable to Morningstar attacks which Hero now wields.  Once again we are able to make quick work of him as well.

Following the new unblocked passage after the Golem, Hero crosses a bridge which collapses right as Hero crosses over.  There is no turning back for Hero now.  Emerging from behind the waterfall near Castle Glaive, Hero knows this is it; it’s time to battle the Dark Lord and rescue Girl.

With the main gate to Castle Glaive closed and locked Hero finds a way inside using a side door.  Not soon after getting inside the castle Hero is confronted by a Chimera, the last boss between him and the Dark Lord.  Another simple boss whose only attacks are a zigzag charge and fireballs, Hero can quickly dispatch the Chimera with excessive Morningstar use.

After defeating the Chimera, Hero proceeds to the next chamber to find Girl.  Now with Girl being rescued they must defeat Dark Lord and reclaim the pendant.

Following the straightforward path of the castle Hero quickly ascends up towards the rooftops, looting a Blood Sword along the way.  At the rooftop it is time for the final encounter with the Dark Lord.  Hero tells Girl to get to safety and begins to pummel away at Dark Lord.  Surprisingly easy, Dark Lord quickly falls to Hero’s onslaught of Morningstar attacks.  The Dark Lord drops a pendant, but to Hero’s surprise and dismay it is actually a fake.

He heads back to find Girl, only to find she is not there.  Hero exclaims that she must have gone to the waterfalls; it’s the only reasonable deduction!  He heads back to where he originally overheard Dark Lord and Julius’ conversation, to find Girl seems to be under some sort of mind control.  At the falls Julius appears and says he is controlling Girl and uses her Mana magic to reverse the flow of the waterfall and create a path to the Tree of Mana.

Julius and Girl begin to ascend up the waterfall, and just as Hero tells Julius “NO!” Julius replies back with a blast of magic that sends Hero tumbling down the waterfalls again, his fourth fall of the game.  We fade in to find out Hero is not where he was before as he looks stranded in a new area.  Then out of seemingly nowhere, Chocobo appears to save Hero and whisk him away.

After talking to the townspeople of Menos it seems Amanda has left the town to rescue her brother Lester in Jadd.  There is also one lone tale of a chocobo egg in the northern forest.  Hero picks up a Wind Spear from the equipment shop and sets out.

Wandering into the northern forest area leads to a giant egg.  While examining the giant egg, lo and behold it actually hatches a Chocobo right in front of Hero.  This now confused Chocobo now believes that Hero is its mother.  Hero can use this Chocobo to ride free from the danger of monsters.  With his new partner in tow Hero now heads westward into the desert towards the city of Jadd.

Upon his arrival in the desert city of Jadd it is easy for Hero to notice something fishy is going on, there’s no music at all.  A quick investigation of the townspeople leads to all sorts of useful info.  Apparently Davias, son of Medusa, now rules over Jadd with an iron fist.  He is the reason there is no more music, and rumor also has it that he can cast a spell to turn people into animals as many people have been seen going into his mansion but not coming out.  There is also a valley to the north of Jadd but it is filled with a poisonous mist which will only go away if there is music, are you starting to piece this together?  Two other townspeople offer up helpful hints, one lady inside a house says Medusa’s Tear can break any curse, and a boy walking around will tell you a secret to find the Oasis Cave for a bag of fangs.  His big secret is “Palm trees… and 8.”

Following his clues Hero heads off to find the Medusa’s Cave where Amanda has been rumored to have gone.  Outside of the cave are two lone palm trees.  Piecing together the boy’s clues the only reasonable explanation would be to walk a figure-8 around the two palms.  Walking this pattern magically makes the entrance to Medusa’s Cave appear!

Hero heads inside to find Amanda at the entrance as well.  She says that she must slay Medusa and use her tears to uncurse her brother and free him from Davias.  Exploring the dangerous cave Hero eventually finds a treasure chest with the Book of Ice inside.  This handy spell turns enemies into snowmen.  Useful for killing enemies only vulnerable to magic as they are physically weak in snowman form, and you can push around their snowman bodies which is extremely help in weighing down switches so Hero can proceed through doors.

Using this new handy tactic Hero and Amanda are able to make their way to the bottom of the cave where Medusa dwells.  Medusa tries to take their lives, but Hero uses his Gold Shield to deflect her snake attacks and together with Amanda they are able to strike enough head blows to defeat her.

Side note:  Upon Medusa’s defeat when the screen goes black and Medusa speaks, her name is displayed as Madusa.

Medusa ends up having the last laugh though as she has shed no tears, and has also bitten Amanda which will turn her into a Medusa.  Amanda knows what must be done!  Emotionally she tells Hero to kill her and use her tears to free her brother.  Hero struggles with this order, but as she begins to turn he knows what must be done.  He swiftly ends her life and takes her tears, then returns back to Jadd to free Lester.

In Jadd Hero marches into Davias’ mansion only to find that he no longer is sitting on his throne.  Using Amanda’s tears on the nearby bird in the throne room reveal that the bird is actually Lester.  Hero breaks the bad news to Lester that his sister sacrificed herself to save him.  An angered Lester tells Hero that they must avenge Amanda’s death and defeat Davias and get Hero’s pendant back.

Inside Davias’ Mansion the pair battles their way to the rooftop.  Solving a few puzzles along with way with his newfound Ice spell Hero is able to find a new weapon as well, the Were Axe.  On the rooftop Davias awaits for the two adventurers.  He is a powerful mage who utilizes a fireball barrier and throws fireballs at Hero as well.  This is easily Hero’s toughest fight yet.  Hero finds he can slice through Davias’ fireballs and using the Chain Flail’s impressive reach he can hit Davias.  Eventually, after much healing, Hero and Lester persevere and take down Davias, but it’s too late.  Davias has already handed off the pendant to Garuda who is over Mt. Rocks through the northern valley already and own his way to Glaive.

Lester is grateful and returns to Jadd to play his harp and a new requiem for his fallen sister Amanda.  Lester’s harp playing clears up the poison gas in the valley to the north valley granting Hero access to Mt. Rocks.  Before Hero can take off Lester also offers him the Book of Mute.  Hero must now venture through the valley and into Mt. Rocks to chase down the pendant before the evil Dark Lord gets his hands on it.

Finally Hero has arrived in the sacred city of Wendel.  Around Wendel you can find a weapon and armor store with a new suit of Iron Armor to pick up and while taking in the sights you may stumble across the Mysterious Man once again.

Inside the temple of Wendel the priest Cibba can be found, he recognizes Girl’s pendant and brings her to the center of the temple.  Then the image of her mother appears.  She tells Girl that she is part of the Mana Family.  She is a Gemma, a sprout of the Mana Tree, which makes you a Gemma Knight.

After this astounding plot revelation the temple comes under attack and the Mysterious Man shows up just in time to save Girl.  Hero battles his way outside only to find out the Mysterious Man is actually Julius!  Now with Girl in his possession and her true identity known Julius has the power to get to the Tree of Mana.  Julius quickly bats Hero away knocking him unconscious only to awaken back inside the temple.  Cibba informs him that Julius took Girl in an airship to the west.  Asking around Wendel results in more tales of a westward airship, and also finding out that the Dwarf Cave is close.

Hero can easily find the Dwarf Cave outside Wendel.  All the dwarfs speak of a Watts who has gone to the Silver Cave in search of well… Silver!  Others tell that only an adventurer who dons silver equipment can pass through the mouth of Gaia.  One of the dwarfs gives you some advice about bringing some oil to the Silver Cave so Hero can access the trolley.  There is a lone item shop south that keeps oil in stock luckily.  Oil in hand, Hero sets off to find Watts in the Silver Cave in hopes he could craft him silver equipment so that he may travel westward in search of Julius’ airship.

Inside the Silver Cave Hero puts the oil to good use and hops in the trolley.  Hitting switches with his Chain Flail he can alter the course of the rails which eventually lead to an abrupt halt tossing him downward into the cave.

At the bottom Watts finds our adventurer, surprised that he survived the fall.  Little does he know this is falling thing is becoming quite routine for Hero, first the waterfall now this.  Watts teams up with Hero in hopes of finding Silver.  Traversing through the perilous cave our duo winds up being confronted by the Megapede!  He is only vulnerable on his head and moves in an S-pattern.  Upon his defeat our team finds the Silver they were looking for.  Watts quickly informs Hero that he can be found in the Dwarf Cave where he will turn this Silver into equipment and weapons.

Hero quickly heads back to the Dwarf Cave to find Watts and can now purchase the Silver Sword, Silver Armor, and Silver Shield.  With these new powerful items now equipped Hero can now pass through the mouth of Gaia and head towards the airship to the west.

On the other side of Gaia Hero is met by Bogard who recently received word from Cibba on the events at Wendel.  Bogard offers up his help to Hero in his search for the airship to rescue Girl.  Shortly after that Hero is able to find a standalone Inn and Equipment Shop, the shop sells the Silver Helm for him as well.  Using his trusty Chain Flail to whip around the lake where the airship is parked Hero makes his way to Julius’ airborne base.

On Glaive Airship Hero and Bogard must take down many foes in their search for Girl.  She is found on the third basement of the ship, but her door is locked.  Hero must head up to the deck and find his way down to her room window, while Bogard stays behind to protect her.  Unfortunately for Hero, when rescue seems close at hand outside Girl’s window none other than Julius shows up and knocks Hero out of the sky, but not before Hero can get the pendant from Girl.

Hero, now in his third free-fall of the game he comes crashing down through a roof in a small town of Menos.  Luckily, or not, for Hero he landed in his old gladiator friend Amanda’s house.  The bad part is she seems to have taken off with his pendant.

Adventure begins with the story of the Tree of Mana and lays out Dark Lord’s plot for world domination.  You are then given the liberty to name the Boy and the Girl.  Next you find the Hero in the midst of a gladiator fight against a Jackal.  After the fight we enter the gladiators’ chambers to find that Hero’s friend Willy has been mortally wounded after his most recent bout.  Before passing he tells Hero that the power of Mana is in danger and he must find the Gemma Knight Bogard and warn him.

This is the first mention of the Gemma Knights, the ancient protectors of the Mana Tree who wield the Mana Sword (Excalibur in Final Fantasy Adventure).

You can speak to Amanda on your way out who will tell you she wants to get out and see her little brother again, don’t worry you’ll see both of them later in the game.  Our Hero heads out to his next fight against yet another Jackal and after the fight escapes Castle Glaive.  Once outside the Hero oversees a conversation between none other than Dark Lord himself and the evil wizard Julius.  Dark Lord then chases our Hero over a cliff and he survives this long fall down a waterfall.

In the fields below Hero then runs into the Heroine and her traveling partner Hasim who also has been mortally wounded, but tasks you with finding Bogard for our Heroine.  Coincidently we are already trying to find Bogard so we take the Girl along with us.  In this same area the first village can also be found, Topple, which has the Iron Helm our Hero can upgrade to as well as an item store with potions and keys.

Atop some cliffs there is a lone house where Bogard resides.  At first he is unwilling to divulge his identity but after bugging him a few times he becomes annoyed and gives up.  He notices the girl’s pendant.  This is the same pendant the girl who fought alongside him against Vandole wore.

Bogard, years ago, was helped by a certain girl and together the two of them put an end to the evil emperor Vandole using the power of Mana.

He offers you the Mattock (Pick Axe) in the back which will allow you access through the cave in the east and tells you to seek Cibba in the city of Wendel.

A small shop on the other side of the cave offers our Hero his first new weapon of the game, the Battle Axe.  This begins the tradition of different equipable weapon types for the Mana series.

Soon after the cave the Hero finds himself at Kett’s Mansion and something fishy seems to be going on.  There is a bodyguard blocking a room where “Mr. Lee” resides, the other room is occupied and there is only one room left for our adventurers.  While lying awake at night the Heroine teaches the Hero the spell of Cure before she is kidnapped during the night.

This event leads our Hero to the Marsh Cave in the east.  Suspiciously there is a Mysterious Man waiting inside offering his help to you, he can cast the spell of fire so you figure why not.  Inside the Marsh Cave are a few treasures for our brave adventurer including the Sickle and Iron Shield.  At the end of the Marsh Cave lies the exit to the vicious, fire-breathing Hydra.  Luckily the Iron Shield is strong enough to block the fireballs.  After beheading the two heads of the Hydra our Mysterious Man takes off and the Book of Fire and Magic Mirror are to be found from the beast.

Back at Kett’s Mansion we find things are not what they seem when the Magic Mirror shows the bodyguards true appearance to be a werewolf.  Behind is door is a dungeon, but the spoil for completing it is the Chain Flail which allows our Hero to cross small gaps if there is a post to grab hold of.  At the bottom of this dungeon Hero rescues the girl from inside a casket.  Once you head back out to the foyer the vampiric Mr. Lee shows himself.  The first of many vampire bat bosses in the series, he is easily slayed by the long reach of the Chain Flail.

After rescuing the Girl we can now use the Sickle to cut a path through the south and use the Chain Flail to rappel over a small cliff.  Shortly on the other side our Hero and Heroine finally reach the (Holy) City of Wendel.