Malocchio, the Earl of the Evil Eye, is a demonic Vampire Lord, serving as a major villain in the video game Trials of Mana. He is the third-in-command of his Dark Majesty and an enemy to Hawkeye and Riesz (Lise), two of the six heroes.
Characteristics
Malocchio is never referred to as a vampire, but as a demonic being from the Underworld of Mavolia (the Mana counterpart of Hell). Still, his deathly pallor, red eyes, fangs, cape, mannerism, preying on blood and undead status clearly establish him as such. He worships his Dark Majesty as a god and leads his armies of monsters.
He is cruel, devious, haughty and falsely polite, yet refined and regal, never losing composure. The remake gives him a theatrical flair, being quick to gloat at apparent successes and seemingly enjoying to fight foes and drink their blood. He resents the monsters’ confinement in Mavolia and regards mortals as having stolen the world of Fa'Diel. He also hints to covet control of the surface, under his liege's rule or in his name.
Malocchio is immensely powerful, fast and strong. He is immune to sunlight, masters Shadow Magic and controls monsters and demonic forces. He can teleport, flicker like a ghost, fly or glide over the ground, perform telekinesis, summon and revive bats or monsters, and drain life-force.
He follows the orders of Belladonna, with whom he seems to get along quite well, but he acts separately to maintain her cover. He mostly watches over the Dark Castle and his Dark Majesty’s remains, needed for his resurrection.
In the Game
Malocchio is the mysterious stranger with whom Belladonna was speaking when Hawkeye discovered her treachery. He later buys Prince Elliot, Riesz's little brother who was sold as a slave by his kidnappers, the ninjas from Nevarl, mostly to cover Belladonna's tracks. He imprisons the child in the Dark Castle, wanting him to be his Dark Majesty's next vessel.
Malocchio as seen in the game.
Malocchio partakes in the war opposing the Great Evils of Fa'Diel (his Dark Majesty, the Dragon Lord and the Masked Mage), to release the eight Benevodons. He traps the party on a volcanic island to kill them in the imminent eruption, but the turtle Vuscav, Ruler of the Seas, saves them.
He later brings back his lord and assists him and Belladonna in destroying the other villains' lairs and slaying them all. If his Dark Majesty is not the final boss however, the villain will destroy his remains to trap him in Mavolia for eternity, and Belladonna will kill Malocchio before committing suicide, having lost the will to live while he still wants to accomplish his Dark Majesty's goal on his behalf.
Belladonna and Malocchio later take the heroes' Faerie guide as a hostage to get the legendary Sword of Mana, given to the heroes by the Mana Goddess. Malocchio uses the sword to unleash the Benevodons. He gets harmed by the Sword's Holy Power but succeeds in bending it to his will, and depart to unleash their armies of monsters.
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Malocchio in the remake.
After slaying the Benevodons, the heroes head to the Night Cavern, where the Vampire Lord is waiting for them. He explains his liege's goal to fuse Mavolia with Fa'Diel for the demons to rule before attacking the heroes aided by a werewolf and a female vampire. He is eventually killed, leading to the deaths of Belladonna and his Dark Majesty.
Boss Battle
This battle is long and difficult so it is important to be well-prepared. His bodyguards must be killed first to deal with him, but they are of the same level as he is. The Gris Wolf uses powerful techniques of the beast-man Kevin (one of the heroes), and the Queen Succube decreases maximum life points with her Beguiling Bait move.
Malocchio is at level 44 and has 15947 life-points. He flickers away from attacks, he can hit the heroes or bite one repeatedly, but mostly uses Shadow Magic. He favours a quick combo of the level 2 spell Dark Force, the powerful Ghost Leader and his special attack Psychic Blast, to which he can add the dangerous Dark Rain.
Malocchio’s spells strikes all heroes at once, save from Annihilate, a fearsome one-hit-kill for lower-levelled targets. He is weak to the Fire element, so weapons should be infused with Fire magic and Fire-based attack should be unleashed. The heroes must not hesitate to pummel him with weapons and special techniques and heal often. Caution though, he reacts to powerful techniques with a very dangerous counter-attack.
Annihilate is harmless if the heroes are at level 44 or higher. If Charlotte is in the party and masters the priest spell Undead Away, it deals 999 damage and must be spammed. Shadow magic must be avoided for it heals him.
In the remake, Malocchio is at level 60 and his bodyguards are at level 64. Their attacks can be dodged and even telegraphed by red zones signalling their area of effect. He teleports, creates a shielding sphere that must be taken down and fights more with claw swipes, big, double or combos.
He also uses new techniques like Batmo Drain: a supersonic dash surrounded with bats to catch and drain foes (hitting him releases them), Resurrection to revive his bodyguards, albeit weaker, and Ghoster to summon ghosts that must be destroyed. Doing so knocks him out and makes him vulnerable, but if not he drains their essence to regain whatever health they have left.
Circle of Mana
Malocchio is playable in the role-playing game Circle of Mana, in which the characters are played as cards to save the Mana Tree from monsters. Several cards featuring him are available, each evolving following a distinct path.
Gallery
Trivia
- In the original Japanese version, the Vampire Lord is only known as his title. His English name is Italian for "Evil Eye".
- For many years, he was known as Jagan ("Evil Eye" in Japanese) in the unofficial fan-translation.
- Malocchio's nobility title and haircut are possible references to Dracula in Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film.
 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 | ||