While incorporating action role-playing elements from the prior games in the series, such as real-time battles, Legend of Mana has its own distinct style of gameplay.

A remastered version was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Windows on June 24, 2021, for Android and iOS on December 7, 2021, and for Xbox Series X/S on September 26, 2024.

[1] The main character and companions each have their own set of numerical attributes including hit points and strength, which represent the amount of damage the player can take or cause.

Combat takes place in real-time, and in the location the player found the enemy rather than a separate battle screen.

Each weapon, such as a sword or spear, has a set number of special attacks to learn, which can hit single or multiple targets and can be assigned to different buttons on the controller.

Instead, it features a unique "Land Make" system where the player generates the structure of the game world by placing objects, named Artifacts, on empty square plots on a map.

The player can forge or improve weapons and armor using raw materials found throughout the game, or combine equipment with items to change their power or add special effects.

They can grow different types of fruit in the orchard, raise pets to use as adventuring companions, create items, and build golems.

When the war concluded, the burnt Mana Tree slept as it regrew and the many lands of the world were stored in ancient artifacts.

The Lands of Fa'Diel are populated with a large number of different creatures, including humans, faeries, demons, the jewel-hearted Jumi race, plant-like Sproutlings and Flowerlings, miner bears called Dudbears, and shadowy beings of the Underworld known as Shadoles.

Fa'Diel is also the home of a host of anthropomorphic animals and objects, as well as monsters from other Mana titles such as Rabites, Chobin Hoods, and Goblins.

[9] The first main arc is the story of the Jumi, a dying race of people who have external jewel hearts which are considered valuable.

The Jumi have long been a persecuted people, and many magic characters in this game refer to them as "dirt" as a pejorative on their jewel cores.

[10][11] The second arc is the story of Larc and Sierra—brother and sister dragoons who serve different dragon masters and fight on opposite sides of the same war for power.

Sierra, a dragoon for Vadise the White Dragon, wants to stop Drakonis without hurting her brother Larc.

Irwin is a half-demon who is angry that society prevents him from a relationship with the holy leader Matilda, and seeks to destroy the world in retribution.

Regardless of which path(s) the hero decides to take, they begin the game's final story, titled "Legend of Mana".

[12] Legend of Mana was designed as a 2D game, despite the PlayStation's 3D-focus, as the console could not handle the full 3D world Ishii envisioned where one could interact with natural shaped objects.

[20] Shimomura was a newcomer to the series; the previous two Mana games were scored by Hiroki Kikuta, and the first by Kenji Ito.

It was sung by Swedish vocalist Annika Ljungberg, who was chosen by Shimomura because she "wanted to stay away from working with someone popular that everyone already knows".

[25] Upon the game's Japanese release, several promotional items were made available from Square, including stuffed toy dolls of the rabite enemy and mascot of the series, a necklace, and lighters.

[28] Legend of Mana was re-released in Japan late in 2000 as part of the Square Millennium Collection at a budget price along with a special music box and two character figurines.

GamePro, while praising the Land Make system, found that the "focus of Legend of Mana is obscured by the over-abundance of subplots".

[3][49] Next Generation agreed, saying that the Land Make system was an "innovative feature" but that it left the game disjointed without a solid plot to keep everything together.

[37] Gary Steinman of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine said that the lack of a plotline gave the player no incentive to keep playing through what he felt was a poor combat system.

[38] In November 2000, Legend of Mana was ranked number 48 on Weekly Famitsu's list of top 100 PlayStation games of all time.