Dragon Lord (Mana)

The Dragon Emperor is a primary antagonist and one the three available final bosses of the game Seiken Densetsu 3. He is an incredibly powerful evil dragon, and one of the three Great Evils of the World of Mana, who wants to overthrow the Mana Goddess and become the world's new god. He already threatened the world before the beginning of the game and was defeated but he survived and he planned his revenge.

If the player choses the swordsman Duran or the witch Angela as the first of his three characters, he will serves as the game's final boss. If not he and his servants will be slain by the final boss of the chosen storyline. It's worth nothing to note that he is overall the most evil among the three final bosses, as he lacks the tragic past of the other two and as his two major servant are enslaved human souls. He is also the only one of the three whose name doesn't change when he shows his true form.

Background
Around fifteen years before the events of the game, the Dragon Emperor led his own tribe of dragons into a war against several nations of Mana, intending to take over the entire world. Apparently the Mana Goddess deemed him enough of a threat to send one of her fairies assist the human nations against him. Richard, the prince (and future king) of the grassland kingdom of Valsena, (Forcena in the unofficial translation) alongside his best friend and right-hand-man Loki, the country's best Knight of Gold, led the war against the Dragon Emperor. Loki eventually fought against the evil dragon and both fell to their death in a bottomless pit. However, if Loki died, the Dragon Emperor's spirit survived, along all his incredible magical powers. He then went into hidding, planning to recreate his body and raise another army, this one composed of monsters from the Underworld. (the Mana conterpart of Hell)

The Dragon Emperor did not lost time after his defeat. Having experienced Loki's considerable fighting skills, he captured his dead soul and enslaved it, trapping it in a dark armor and making his former enemy into one of his most dangerous and most devoted followers, the Darkshine Knight. Some time later, he met with Koren, a young denizen of the magical kingdom of Altena, who was shunned for not being able to use magic and ran away from home. The Dragon Emperor, who perhaps sensed an immense power laying dormant in Koren, stroke a bargain with the distraught wizard wanabe and granted him incredible magical abilities in exchange for a part of his soul. By doing so, he gained a mighty and blindly devoted right-hand-man, and his plan began to take form.

The Dragon Emperor and the other two Great Evils: the Dark Prince and the Masked Mage, formed a plan to seize the eight Mana Stone and unseal them to release the mighty God Beasts, and use them to overthrow the Mana Goddess and become the world's new God. They were in an open conflict against and they all tried to fulfill this sinister scheme first and to get rid of their rivals when the occasion wold present itself.

Seiken Densetsu 3
"Fools! Go ahead, run to your deaths, not unlike the last that challenged me. Prince Richard and the Knight of Gold. I believe they had a faerie with them as well. That Knight dealt me painful, crippling injuries, but I have recovered, and grown stronger." - the Dragon Emperor



In the game, Koren manipulates the country of Altena on the Dragon Emperor's behalf, and wages war against the country of Valsena, (Forcena in the unofficial translation) while the Darkshine Knight remains by his lord's side. Koren himself leads several attacks on the castle of Valsena and plans to sacrifice Angelan the Altenian princess to unseal the Mana Stone of Water. Meanwhile, the Dragon Emperor remains in his lair the Dragon Hole, located in the Glass Desert, probably feeding on the depleting power of Mana to regain his physical body.

When the game's protagonists reach the Mana Holyland, where the Mana Tree (the earthly avatar of the Mana Goddess) is located, the Dragon Emperor and his servants attack and kill the other villains. Then, the Dragon Emperor sends Koren and the Darkshine Knight to the Holyland, where they abduct the protagonists' Fairy guide, coercing them to relinquish the legendary Sword of Mana, which the protagonists just gained from the Mana Goddess. Koren uses the sword to release the God Beasts and the Dragon Emperor's armies of monsters begin to swarm the world.

The protagonists track down and defeats the eight God Beasts and go to the Glass Desert, where they fight and defeat the Darkshine Knight after a difficult battle, freeing Loki's soul in the Process. They later enter the Dragon Hole and overcome all the obstacles, before confronting Koren and his evil lord on a terrace. The Dragon Emperor, who has regained a physical body, is very pleased to have witnesses for "the moment he is reborn." He explains to the protagonists that the God Beasts' evil power now rests in the Sword of Mana, which he absorbs before their very eyes, gaining enough power to surpass the Goddess herself. Hopefuly, the exhausted deity manages to restrain this increase in power. Irked, the evil dragon teleports to the Mana Holyland to destroy the Mana Tree while Koren stays back to get rid of the protagonists once and for all.

The protagonists manage to defeat the fearsome wizard of the Crimson Lotus, who is freed from the Dragon Emperor's corruption and who commits suicide out of shame. They then head to the Holyland but they are too late, the Mana Tree is destroyed, the Goddess herself his dead the Dragon Emperor is now free to becom the new god of Mana, turning it into a world of chaos and destruction. The villain kills the Fairy and reverts to his true form. (A dragon so big that his body doesn't entirely fit onscreen.) After a long and grueling battle, the Dragon Emperor is destroyed physically and psychically, and the Fairy's spirit merges with the remnants of the Mana Tree to become the new Goddess. However, the power of Mana and the magic it provides will need 1000 years to bloom again, leading to a new and completely different era.

Boss Battle
"HOPE? I'LL SHOW YOU JUST HOW POWERLESS YOUR HOPE REALLY IS!" - the Dragon Emperor (angry)

Dragon Emperor (Level 50 . Life-Points 55551)

The Dragon Emperor is the medium hardest of the three final bosses. He is very powerful and resistant to magic, so be prepared for a tough battle. The stronger your characters are, and the more healing items you have, the better it will be.

The Dragon Emperor physically attacks with a vicious bite, but he more importantly masters the spells level 2 and 3 and the special attacks of the Wind/Thunder, Fire, Water/Ice, and Moon elements; the level 2 and special attack of the Light element; the Level 2 and 3 spells of the Earth element; and the dreadful Ancient. (the most devastating spell available) He can cast the spells on every target (which increase their strenght) and the special attacks deal high damage on the whole party so be careful. Worse these attacks can alter your character's status, by turning them into stone, snowmen, shrinked sized or harmless moogles, (which need to be cured) and can reduce your charancter's defenses and maximum life-points.

The element he uses, and subsequently his weakness, is determined by his body color. When he is reddish orange he uses Fire and he is weak to Water; when he is blue he uses Water and he is weak to Fire; when he is light gold he uses Light and he is weak to Shadow; when he is green he uses Earth and he is weak to Wind; when he is light green he uses Moon and he is weak to Wood; and so on and so forth. Use the corresponding spells and infuse your weapons with the corresponding magic. Don't attack him with his current element or else, you'll heal him. But beware, he also uses the spells Power Up and Protect Up on himself so don't hesitate to decrease his stats.

When the battle reaches its half, he begins to fly around and changes his position, use it to heal or resurect your characters. Be very careful for he will start to use bothersome physical attacks, and above all to use Flare: his most devastating attack which deals crippling damage to the whole party. Make sure that your life points are high when he appears on one side of the screen. Don't hesitate to power your characters up as much as you can and to unleash your strongest spells and techniques. If you're enough prepared, you should be able to defeat him without big problems.