Belladonna, first introduced as Isabella is a major villainess in the RPG video game Trials of Mana. She is an extremely powerful Demon Lady from the Demon World of Mavolia, the second-in-command of his Dark Majesty's faction and the archenemy of the ninja thief Hawkeye and the amazon princess Riesz, two of the six playable characters.
Another character named Isabella, identical albeit far less evil, appears in the game Sword of Mana.
Characteristics[]
Belladonna is a demonic being who can turn into a cat monster, likely her true form. Her exact nature remains unknown. Whether she is a beast demon using a human shape, or was once human and gained demonic power is unexplained. But the former is hinted by her claw-like nails and cat-like eyes in human shape, and the jewels she retains as a beast in the remake.
Her Sword of Mana counterpart is explicitly described as a demon from Mavolia.
She is the only truly evil of the second-to-last bosses, the others being corrupted. Yet, her unrequited love for his Dark Majesty does make her somehow sympathetic. When he is not around, she shows a softer side and returns hostages unharmed. She also gets along fine with Malocchio. Though nothing matters more to her than her liege.
While suave, regal, cruel, ruthless, taunting and revelling in the suffering she dishes out, she is genuinely courteous, has some grudging respect for foes, and dearly loves her liege, striving to "open his shuttered closed heart a little".
She has incredible powers, displaying flight, teleporting, shape-shifting and mind control; in addition to great mastery of magic and a wide array of spells, mostly Moon-based. But contrary to the other two seconds-in-command she favours physical fighting and status-altering magic over attack spells.
Under her true form, she displays tremendous speed, spryness, agility, and strength, performing impressive acrobatics. (In addition to powerful energy blasts in the remake.) She can also turn into a small cat when using magic.
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Original artwork of "Isabella".
She has enormous influence in Mavolia, commands demons and monsters and has access to legendary relics. Helped by the Vampire Lord Malocchio, she took possession of the Dark Castle, ready to bring back her liege.
Prior to the Game[]
Posing as the human witch Isabella, Belladonna saved the life of Flamekhan, the lord of the local Thieves' Guild when he was stranded in the Nevarl Desert (probably due to her machinations). Flamekhan's ninja thieves used to steal from the undeserving rich to give to the poor, in a Robin Hood-like fashion.
Alas, she brainwashed him and used his military might for her own purpose. She made him hoard the stolen goods to build a kingdom of his own, before using the Guild's forces to attack the Wind Kingdom of Laurent.
One fated night, Flamekhan's son Eagle and foster son Hawkeye eavesdropped on "Isabella" and Malocchio, learning their duplicity. They confronted her, but she brainwashed Eagle into killing his best friend. Hawkeye simply knocked him out, but Belladonna finished him off with a Fireball spell (a dark surge in the remake).
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Belladonna's artwork in the remake.
She framed Hawkeye and threw him in jail, scheduling his execution. Worse, she forced Jessica, Eagle's little sister and Hawkeye's possible love interest, to wear a cursed necklace called the Choker of Death, which would strangle her should he tell anyone or should "Isabella" die. Niccolo, Hawkeye's cat-man friend broke him out of his jail and helped him flee Nevarl, and he vowed to avenge Eagle and save his guild from "Isabella".
Belladonna brainwashed the twin ninjas Bill and Ben, sending them infiltrate the royal castle of Laurent. They "befriended" the child prince Elliot and tricked him into disabling the magic winds protecting the kingdom, spreading sleeping spores over the castle to neutralize the Amazon Guard and invade it.
There, she killed King Joster and had the ninjas slaughter the guards and kidnap Elliot before setting fire to the castle. Malocchio later brings Elliot to the Dark Castle, to serve as his Dark Majesty's new vessel. Distraught, Riesz (Lise) the Amazon Princess of Laurent sets out to save her brother.
Trials of Mana[]
"Isabella" in the original game.
Belladonna drops her alias, has monsters kill all ninjas who resist her control, and sets out to unseal the Mana Stones. But this is also the goal of the other Great Evils of the world of Fa'Diel (the Dragon Lord and the Masked Mage).
The heroes confront her in the throne room when they retake Laurent, but she teleports away, reminding Hawkeye what he risks by opposing her. She later frees Jessica from the Choker, that kept her from sacrificing her to unseal the Mana Stone of Fire. She threatens to drop her in a volcano when the heroes enter the fray, but Niccolo saves her. (Hawkeye himself saves her if he is not in the party.) As such, she sacrifices Bill and Ben instead.
The heroes free the city-port of Palo from the Nevarl ninjas, and gain access to the Mana Sanctuary where lays the Mana Tree, earthly avatar of the Mana Goddess. All three Great Evil's factions rush to the Sanctuary, but one of them invariably destroys the other two.
If his Dark Majesty is not the final boss, his remains are destroyed, preventing his resurrection for all of eternity. Driven to despair, Belladonna kills Malocchio and releases Elliot, before explaining what happened to the heroes and killing herself out of despair.
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"Isabella" in the remake.
Belladonna goes to the Mana Sanctuary, where the heroes just got the legendary Sword of Mana. She abducts their Faerie guide and demands the Sword for her freedom. The heroes can only comply and Malocchio frees the Benevodons, but gets harmed by the Sword's Holy Power. Belladonna heals her accomplice and bends the Sword to her will. They then teleport away and unleash their armies of monsters all over Fa'Diel.
The heroes destroy the Benevodons before they can gather. Later, they enter the Dark Cave and kill Malocchio, before storming the Dark Castle and reaching Belladonna, who fights under her true cat-like form but ends up defeated.
Before dying, Belladonna tells the heroes of his Dark Majesty's past and her desire to open his heart, revealing her love for him, though he callously dismisses her death as an afterthought.
Boss Battle[]
Beast Belladonna
The battle against Belladonna is considerably long and difficult. She is at level 51, even higher than the final bosses, and has 40878 life-points, far surpassing her fellow right-hands. She is very powerful, fast, agile and dangerous, so the highest caution is advised.
She fights with claw swipes and jumping blows, and can strike all heroes at once with her deadliest attack Rose Slash, but she also uses the very powerful divine summon Hexas and Moon spells. Lunatic and Half Eclipse reduce the heroes' maximum life points, Change Form shrinks them and must be cured, Energy Ball boosts her attack and Moon Sabre heals her when she lands a physical blow. Fortunately, she seldom uses Hexas and Moon Sabre.
The Hexas summon.
She is vulnerable to Water/Ice, so the heroes need corresponding spells and items, and to infuse weapons with this element. They must beware, for she violently counterattacks high-level techniques. They must decrease her stats and increase their own with all they can.
They must be careful and keep their distance. When she turns into a kitten, she must be harassed without end as she mostly uses magic. If she casts Moon Sabre, it must be dispelled at once.
Belladonna is at level 64 in the remake, but her attacks can now be dodged and are telegraphed by red zones in their area of effect. She is as fast and swift as ever, she uses jumps, kicks, dives, ground pounds, energy-infused claw swipes, and waves of purple energy.
Belladonna's true form in the remake.
Rose Slash sends two devastating energy surges along the ground and she spams it at low health. She uses Headbutt, a zig-zagging supersonic charge, and the powerful Shockwave.
She can boost herself, she gathers energy instead of turning to a kitten to summon Hexas or cast Moon Magic, and must be attacked without stop; If so, she gets knocked out and vulnerable, if not her attacks are deadly.
Rise of Mana[]
Belladonna, the Crimson Wizard and Goremand are featured in this mobile game. They serve both as bosses and as party members, even against themselves. They can be fought individually or at once. All heroes are from warring races of the Spirit Realm, the angels of Lusteria and the devils of Obscura, sent to the Earthly Plane sharing a body and forced to cooperate. In the end, it was a successful plot of the Time Goddess Folon to bring peace between the two species.
Goremand, Belladonna and the Crimson Wizard in Rise of Mana.
Belladonna is fought as "Isabella" with by two mighty ninja monsters. She floats, fires cat-shaped purple energy blasts or small green and orange clouds in all directions, and sends a rain of green and blue energy balls. The ninjas attack with swords, jump to strike, and hurl bouncing fireballs. She is very powerful and resilient, so the heroes must harass her as much as can be while minding her servants.
When fighting along the other two, they form a very dangerous team unleashing long-range and close-range combos. The heroes must be careful and dodge and counterattack, rather than rush blindly.
Sword of Mana[]
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Isabella
An identical cat-like Demon Lady appears in this expanded remake of the first game Final Fantasy Adventures, much less evil and named Isabella for real. It takes place in a distinct continuity, making her Belladonna’s counterpart.
Contrasting her counterpart, Isabella bears no ill-will towards humanity and is friendly with the heroes. (Demons being neutral in this game.) She knows the Demon Queen Medusa (Anise's benevolent counterpart) and her human lover Lord Granz. She is friends with the Vampire Lord Count Lee (possible nod to Belladonna and Malocchio), but dislikes the fact that he settled in Fa'Diel.
Isabella meets the heroes in an inn, and later in Vinquette Hall, Count Lee's palace. Count Lee tries to place the heroin Fuji in suspended animation, which Isabella disaproves of, advising the hero Sumo to gain the Moon Mirror that show the true form of things and people. Yet, Count Lee was only trying to protect members of the Mana Clan from evil, as he swore to Lord Granz.
She later falls in love with the Dark Lord Stroud, becoming one of his vassals. (Contrasting Belladonna's unrequited love, here the Dark Lord returns her feelings.) She later steals the Mana Pendant from Fuji to give to her lover. Upon meeting the heroes again, she threatens to attack them wielding twin daggers if they enter the Dark Lord's castle, but they never fight, and despite her objections she obeys his order to let him face the heroes alone.
Isabella attacks Goremand.
After the Dark Lord is killed by the reluctant heroes, Goremand's counterpart devour his soul and steals the Mana pendant. Enraged and grieving, Isabella attacks him under her cat-like true form, but he escapes... albeit not forever.
In the end, Isabella and Count Lee send power to help the heroes face Julius.
Circle of Mana[]
Both Belladonna and her Sword of Mana counterpart Isabella are playable in this card-based role-playing game, under their human disguise and their cat-like true forms. Each character is played as cards to save the Mana Tree from monsters, and can gain power, equipment and Class Changes. Several cards featuring her are available, each evolving following a distinct path.
Echoes of Mana[]
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"Isabella" in Echoes of Mana.
Belladonna is playable in this mobile medley game, as a bonus party member with no incidence over the plot, under her "Isabella" identity.
As Isabella (The Belladonna), she wields a chain-whip and deals physical damages. She is fast, whirls around to get behind foes, lashing and spinning her whip. Enchanter Whisper infuses her whip with purple energy to seize a foe, Wicked Thorn strikes to conjure a huge array of purple energy thorns from the ground, dazing foes.
Her mightiest move, Ruinous Rose, fires a tremendous homing wave of purple energy from the ground with a whiplash.
Lord of Vermilion III[]
Belladonna, the Crimson Wizard and Goremand make cameos in the crossover arcade strategy game featuring collectible cards and battles in open space while controlling units, consisting in characters from many Square Enix games. They serve as powerful units who fight with their spells from the game.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Belladonna is named after a beautiful but dangerous poisonous plant, referring to the beauty of her human aspect which she uses to hide her deadly nature and intentions.
- For many years, she was known as Bigieu in the unofficial fan-translation, a possible misspelling of "Biju" (Japanese for "beautiful beast", referencing her true form) or "bijou" (French for "jewel").
- She is likely based on the Nekomata, a demon from Japanese folklore that is formed when a cat grows too old and powerful (or has too long a tail), resulting in it devouring its mistress and becoming a malevolent schemer and predator towards humans.
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 Villains
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Final Fantasy Adventure / Sword of Mana Secret of Mana Trials of Mana Legend of Mana Dawn of Mana Heroes of Mana Echoes of Mana | ||