Trials of Mana is the third installment of the Mana series, developed by Square under the direction of series creator Koichi Ishii. The game takes place in a new world where, once again, the Mana Tree is under threat from an ancient evil thought sealed away. Players choose three from among six heroes as the chosen wielder of the Mana Sword and their two companions on the journey to claim the holy blade and preserve what remains of the Mana power.

The story takes place in a fictional world where Mana represents an ethereal, but finite, energy source. Some time in the past, the Mana Goddess created the game's world by forging the powerful Sword of Mana and defeating eight monsters of destruction, the Benevodons —"God Beasts" in earlier translations— with it, sealing them within eight Mana Stones, before turning herself into the Mana Tree and falling asleep. The game is set at a time when Mana starts to fade and peace has ended, as several people plot to unleash the Benevodons from the stones so as to gain ultimate power.