Legend of Mana is an action RPG that Square developed and published for the PlayStation. It came out in Japan on 15 July 1999 and in North America on 6 June 2000. Koichi Ishii directed it, Akitoshi Kawazu produced it, and Yoko Shimomura wrote the music; its opening theme, Song of Mana, sung by Annika Ljungberg, was the first vocal track in a Mana game.
Ishii chose 2D because the PlayStation could not handle the full 3D world he had in mind, and many character sprites and item mechanics were cut so everything would fit on one CD-ROM. The game sold over 400,000 units in its first week in Japan and over 700,000 copies there by the end of 1999.
In 2021 M2 produced an HD remaster, released worldwide on 24 June for Switch, PlayStation 4 and Windows, with mobile versions following in December 2021 and an Xbox Series X/S release in 2024. An anime, Legend of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal, aired from October to December 2022.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Legend of ManaMoved up from a planned July/August 2000 launch; TCRF gives 7 June 2000. | PlayStation | Jun 6, 2000 | Square Electronic Arts | 1 |
| NA | Legend of ManaPSone Classics release on PlayStation Network; the source does not name the region. | PlayStation 3 | Mar 22, 2011 | Square Enix | 1 |
| JP | 聖剣伝説 LEGEND OF MANASeiken Densetsu: Legend of ManaEnglish and Japanese Wikipedia agree on 15 July 1999; TCRF gives 15 September 1999. | PlayStation | Jul 15, 1999 | Square | 2 |
| JP | 聖剣伝説 LEGEND OF MANASquare Millennium Collection budget edition with a music box and two figurines. | PlayStation | Sep 28, 2000 | Square | 2 |
| JP | 聖剣伝説 LEGEND OF MANAPSone Books budget line. | PlayStation | Feb 21, 2002 | Square | 2 |
| JP | 聖剣伝説 LEGEND OF MANAUltimate Hits budget line. | PlayStation | Jul 20, 2006 | Square Enix | 2 |
| JP | 聖剣伝説 LEGEND OF MANAGame Archives digital re-release on PlayStation Network. | PlayStation 3 | Jul 28, 2010 | Square Enix | 2 |
| WW | Legend of ManaHD remaster by M2; same day on PlayStation 4 and Windows (Steam). | Switch | Jun 24, 2021 | Square Enix | 1 |
| WW | Legend of ManaHD remaster; also on Android. | iOS | Dec 7, 2021 | Square Enix | 1 |
| WW | Legend of ManaHD remaster for Xbox Series X/S. | Xbox Series X|S | Sep 26, 2024 | Square Enix | 1 |
Also known as: 聖剣伝説 LEGEND OF MANA JP2Seiken Densetsu: Legend of Mana JP1LOM JP2聖剣伝説LOM JP2
Box art by region
NA Legend of Mana
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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GameplayPlayStation (JP)
Only the Japanese PlayStation release works with the PocketStation, which unlocks the Ring Ring Land mini-game; the North American release lacks it.3
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ContentHD remaster
The 2021 HD remaster builds the PocketStation mini-game into the game, so no extra device is needed.2
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ContentPlayStation (JP)
The Japanese release came with demos of Vagrant Story, Chrono Cross, Front Mission 3 and Threads of Fate.1
Translations
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English Official
Square Electronic Arts2000PlayStation · Japanese versionReleased · complete
The official English version came out in North America in June 2000.1
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German Official
Square Enix2021Windows · HD remasterReleased · complete
German text is available in the 2021 HD remaster.4
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Spanish Official
Square Enix2021Windows · HD remasterReleased · complete
The 2021 HD remaster offers Spanish (Spain) text, along with French, German, Korean and Chinese.4
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French Official
Square Enix2021Windows · HD remasterReleased · complete
French text is available in the 2021 HD remaster.4
Where to play legally today
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Steam Purchase
Reception
The PlayStation original holds 73% on GameRankings, and Famitsu gave it 31/40. Critics loved the hand-drawn graphics and Yoko Shimomura's soundtrack but found the lack of a clear main story disjointed. It won the best graphics award at the 4th Japan Game Awards. The remaster scored 71–72 on Metacritic.1
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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