Trials of Mana - Which characters should I choose?

At the beginning of your Trials of Mana adventure, you'll be asked to choose three of the available six main characters. That means that there are 20 different team combinations possible. Each character has it's own fighting style along with different stats. So, you'll want to choose a good range of fighting types to have a well balanced team. Additionally, the origin stories, main villains, and relationships between each of the characters is different depending on who you pick. Two of the characters can even have a romance. So, the story will be affected depending on which characters you choose. That means that there's plenty of replay value in this game. Especially since you might not uncover the full story in your first playthrough.

Here's a breakdown of each of the six main characters from Trials of Mana and the three villains along with recommendations for which characters you should choose for your party.

• Characters and their stats
• Villains
• Which characters should I choose?

Characters and their stats

• Duran
• Angela
• Kevin
• Charlotte
• Hawkeye
• Riesz

Duran

Duran is a soldier from Valsena who serves Loki, the Hero King.

• Weapon: Swords
• Fighting Style: High attack and defense.
• Starting Stats: High Strength and Stamina. Medium Luck. Low Spirit. No Intellect.
• Main Villain: Crimson Wizard
• Class 01: Warrior
• Class 02: Light: Knight, Dark: Gladiator
• Class 03: Light: Liege, Light: Paladin, Dark: Duelist, Dark: Edelfrei
• Class 04: Light: Divine Hero, Dark: Berserker

Angela

Angela is a magic-wielding princess from the Kingdom of Altena.

• Weapon: Wands
• Fighting Style: Ranged magic attacks and mass-targeting spells.
• Starting Stats: High Intellect and Spirit. Medium Luck. No Strength or Stamina.
• Main Villain: Crimson Wizard
• Class 01: Magician
• Class 02: Light: Sorceress, Dark: Mysticist
• Class 03: Light: Archmage, Light: Grand Diviner, Dark: Magus, Dark: Rune Seer
• Class 04: Light: Mystic Queen, Dark: Spellbinder

Kevin

Kevin is a beastman and heir to the thrown of Ferolia.

• Weapon: Fists
• Fighting Style: High attack and nighttime transformation.
• Starting Stats: High Strength and Luck. Medium Spirit. Low Stamina. No Intellect.
• Main Villain: Goremand
• Class 01: Grappler
• Class 02: Light: Monk, Dark: Brawler
• Class 03: Light: Divine Fist, Light: Warrior Monk, Dark: Fatal Fist, Dark: Enlightened
• Class 04: Light: Beast King, Dark: Annihilator

Charlotte

Charlotte is an elf from Wendel who looks much younger than she actually is. She talks like a young child and wields magic.

• Weapon: Flails
• Fighting Style: Healing and support magic.
• Starting Stats: High Spirit. Medium Intellect and Luck. Low Strength and Stamina.
• Main Villain: Goremand
• Class 01: Cleric
• Class 02: Light:Priestess, Dark: Enchantress
• Class 03: Light:High Cleric, Light: Sage, Dark: Necormancer, Dark: Warlock
• Class 04: Light: High Priestess, Dark: Chaosbringer

Hawkeye

Hawkeye is the ward of Flamekhan, the leader of a band of noble theives located in Nevarl.

• Weapon: Daggers
• Fighting Style: Speedy fighter with high liklihood of finding items.
• Starting Stats: High Luck. Medium Intellect and Strength. Low Stamina and Spirit.
• Main Villain: Belladonna
• Class 01: Thief
• Class 02: Light: Ranger, Dark: Ninja
• Class 03: Light:Nomad, Light: Rogue, Dark: Ninja Master, Dark: Nightblade
• Class 04: Light: Wardenkeep, Dark: Vigilante

Riesz

Riesz is an Amazon guard and princess from the kingdom of Laurent.

• Weapon: Spears
• Fighting Style: Ranged attacks with spears. Support magic and summons.
• Starting Stats: High Luck. Medium Stamina, Strength, and Spirit. Low Intellect.
• Main Villain: Belladonna
• Class 01: Amazon
• Class 02: Light: Valkyrie, Dark: Rune Maiden
• Class 03: Light: Vanadis, Light: Starlancer, Dark: Dragon Master, Dark: Fenrir Knight
• Class 04: Light: Meterorite, Dark: Brynhildr

Villains

There are three different villains depending on who you choose as your main character. Here's a brief breakdown of each one of these baddies.

Crimson Wizard

Crimson Wizard is the main adversary for Angela and Duran. He's the right-hand man for the "true Queen" of Altena and seeks to attack Valsena.

His ultimate goal is to gain power over the Mana Stones and release their power for his own wicked purposes. Magic and dark powers are his main form of attack. It's up to Duran and Angela to take down this evil magician and bring peace back to their people.

Goremand

Goremand is a terrifying creature who dresses like a jester and eats human souls. He is the main bad guy for Kevin and Charlotte.

He infiltrates Kevin's home of Ferolia, gains favor with the king, and persuades Kevin's father to invade Wendel where Charlotte is from. It's up to Kevin and Charlotte to put an end to his wickedness and save their people.

Belladonna

Belladonna is the main antagonist for Hawekeye and Riesz. She's a gorgeous woman who bewitches the leader of the Nervarlan theives guild (Hawkeye's guardian).

She gains power over the theives' forces and uses them to attack Laurent. If that wasn't bad enough, she's a faithful servant of His Dark Majesty and seeks to plunge the world into chaos. It's up to Hawkeye and Riesz to put a stop to her evil plans and protect their people from her dasterdly influence.

Which characters should I choose?

The characters you choose will affect your strategy, fighting style, and the story that gets uncovered. You'll choose a Main Character, a Companion 1, and a Companion 2. The main villain and story line will correspond with who you choose as your main character.

It's really up to you to choose who you want to play as. However, some teams will be easier to fight with than others due to their stats. Here are our character recommendations for which characters you should choose depending on what kind of experience you want to have:

• For first-time players
• For those looking for a challenge
• For those who want a good story
• For romantics

For first-time players

Arguably, you'll have the easiest play through if you select Duran as the main character, Angela as Companion 1, and Charlotte as Companion 2. This grouping balances out your team's stats by giving you a powerful heavy hitter as your main character, backs him up with a ranged magic user, and then protects both of them with a healer.

For those looking for a challenge

You'll likely face the most difficult bosses and endgame while playing with Hawkeye as the main character, Riesz as Companion 1, and Kevin as Companion 2. Battles throughout the game are more challenging and you'll have to use a bit more strategy than you would with other teams.

For those who want a good story

If you want to get the most out of the plot, you're going to want to go with one of these pairings as your Main Character and Companion 1. It doesn't matter which is which. These characters share the same villains and overall story:

• Duran and Angela
• Kevin and Charlotte
• Hawkeye and Riesz

For romantics

Spoiler Alert: This section contains spoilers. Click the link below if you don't mind seeing this information.

If you're looking to uncover some romance, you'll definitely want Duran and Angela to be the first two members of your team. We won't reveal too much but, a love story does unfold.

Heroes of Mana

Now you know a little bit more about each of the main characters and villains in Trials of Mana. This game gives you a ton of replay value since you can only choose three of the six heroes at a time. The story will unfold differently depending on who you're playing with and the attack styles of your team will also be different depending on who you've chosen.