Tree of Mana grows with the energy of will from each and every thing of this world. It grows high above the clouds in the air on top of Mount Illusia. Legend tells that it gives eternal power to the one who touched it. Dark Lord was trying to find the way to the Tree of Mana to get the mighty power to conquer the world. Prologue

The world is threatened by Dark Lord who is on a quest for the power of Mana which will, once obtained, allow him to rule supreme over the land. At his side is a mysterious wizard named Julius. Sumo, a gladiator whose parents were killed by Dark Lord, is imprisoned and forced to fight daily for the Dark Lord's personal entertainment. One day, Sumo escapes and by chance overhears the Dark Lord and Julius in their plans to seize the power of Mana. When they discover his escape, they chase him over a waterfall to what they think it is his death.

Having survived the fall, Sumo saves a mysterious young woman from monsters. She encourages him to help her find the magical objects needed to defeat Dark Lord in his quest for the Tree of Mana. They first journey to the nearby town of Topple to gather information.

One of the last Gemma Knights, Bogard, is now living as a hermit in the mountains. Bogard tells the two to seek out Cibba in Wendel. The pair's journey to Wendel takes them through a swamp and to a mysterious house called Kett. They spend the night there, but Fuji is captured by the master of the house, the vampire Mr. Lee. Sumo must find a mirror inside the Cave of Marsh, with the help of a Red Mage. With the mirror, he defeats the Kett's butler, enters the basement of the house, rescues Fuji and defeats Mr. Lee who turns out to be a vampire.

In Wendel, Cibba shows Fuji that she is descended from the Mana Family, which the Gemma Knights protected. But then Dark Lord's forces attack Wendel. The Red Mage offers to take Fuji to safety, but he reveals himself to be Julius and rides away with her in his airship.

With the help of the dwarves, Sumo makes it through Gaia Pass, meets up with Bogard and boards Glaive's Airship. They try to rescue Fuji, but Julius catches Sumo outside her cell window. He gets Fuji's pendant before Julius knocks him off the ship and down to the ground below.

Sumo lands in Menos, home to another former Dark Lord slave, Amanda. She steals the pendant and takes it to Jadd hoping she can barter it for her imprisoned brother Lester. Instead, Jadd's ruler Davias turns Lester into a parrot and forces Amanda to hunt for his mother, a Medusa whose tears can restore Lester. Sumo helps Amanda hunt down Medusa. They are unable to get any tears after defeating Medusa, but Amanda turns into a Medusa from the battle, forcing him to kill her and take her tears. Once Lester is returned to normal, he helps Sumo avenge Amanda by defeating Davias. With his last breath, Davias says he gave the pendant to Julius' pet bird, Garuda.

Lester's music clears away the poison gas outside Jadd, opening the path back up the mountains and to Dark Lord's castle, where Sumo rescues Fuji and battles Dark Lord for the pendant. After defeating Dark Lord, it is revealed Julius has the real pendant. He admits that he is the last descendant from the Vandole Empire, and he mesmerizes Fuji into chanting the spell that causes the Waterfall to flow upward. Sumo is push off the mountain while Julius and Fuji ride up the waterfall.

Sumo is rescued by a chocobo in the Crystal Desert, which takes him to Ish. Bogard has been here since he fell from the airship. The chocobo's legs broke from carrying him, but the town inventor, Dr. Bowow, replaces them with mechanical legs, allowing it to walk on water. Bogard tells Sumo to find Cibba, who has gone to the mountain city of Lorim. Lorim has been frozen by Kary, freezing all the townspeople and trapping Cibba in his room. He travels to the Cara Mountain Range and defeats Kary which breaks the spell and free everyone.

Cibba says to him that he must find the legendary sword Excalibur. In the floatrocks region to the northeast, Sumo finds a cave that takes him to an island in the southwest, though he first must get past the Kraken. In the island cave, Iflyte has what appears to be the legendary sword, but it is all rusty.

After beating Iflyte and getting the rusty sword. Cibba tells him to raise the Dime Tower in the Crystal Desert. Dr. Bowow directs him to the Cave of Ruins, but first he must defeat Lich for the Nuke spell. The spell helps open a cave in the desert. At the very bottom of this cave, an altar causes the Dime Tower to rise when Sumo holds up the rusty sword.

Inside the tower is a robot named Marcie, who helps him reach the top of the tower. At the very top, they must defeat Garuda, but the tower begins to fall after the battle. Marcie throws him from the tower to safety, going down with the tower. Sumo is now back at Glaive Castle and takes the waterfall up to the Temple of Mana.

At the end of the Temple of Mana is the Mana Shrine, where the spirit of Fuji's mother turns the rusty sword into Excalibur. In the sanctuary is the Tree of Mana, but Julius has succeeded in tapping into the tree's power. Julius first splits himself into three clones and then transforms into two different monsters before Sumo can finally defeat him for good. Defeating Julius causes the Tree of Mana to be destroyed. Fuji sacrifices herself to become the last Tree of Mana and preserve the world. Sumo then becomes her Gemma Knight and guardian.

