Riesz (Trials Of Mana)
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is a character in the 1995
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
''
Trials of Mana ''Trials of Mana'', also known by its Japanese title is a 1995 action role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Super Famicom. It is the sequel to the 1993 game ''Secret of Mana'', and is the third installm ...
''. She is one of its six protagonists, able to be selected as either the main character or a supporting character to one of the others. She is the princess of the kingdom of Laurent who seeks to rescue her brother Elliot and the kingdom from those who invaded it. She is connected to the character Hawkeye, who was intended by the design team to have more romantic elements featured, but were excluded due to a lack of room in the game. Her design was created by
Nobuteru Yūki is a Japanese manga artist, illustrator, animator and doujinshi artist. He has designed characters for manga, anime and video games, and has frequently collaborated with director Kazuki Akane, including on his most famous work, '' The Vision of ...
and
Koichi Ishii , sometimes credited as Kouichi Ishii, is a video game designer best known for creating the ''Mana'' series (known as ''Seiken Densetsu'' in Japan). He joined Square (now Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational hol ...
, featuring long blonde hair and a green dress, with her different designs inspired by
Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...
. She is voiced by
Mikako Komatsu is a Japanese voice actress and singer. Career Komatsu passed an audition held at the first corner of Nippon Broadcasting System "Takashi Fujii's All Night Nippon R". A member of "Younger Sister", she left the group in September 2007. She worke ...
in the
remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...
. She has been generally well-received, remaining a popular character 25 years after the game's original release. She was considered a
waifu The following is a glossary of terms that are specific to anime and manga. Anime includes animated series, films and videos, while manga includes graphic novels, drawings and related artwork. ''Note: Japanese words that are used in general ...
by some male players, with her personality being a significant factor in this according to critics. Her design was also praised, with ''Inside Games'' writer Shingema suggesting that her color scheme contributed to her popularity, comparing it to the color scheme of Link from ''
The Legend of Zelda is a media franchise, video game series created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo; some portable installments and re-releases have been outsourced to Flags ...
''.


Concept and creation

Riesz was created for ''
Trials of Mana ''Trials of Mana'', also known by its Japanese title is a 1995 action role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Super Famicom. It is the sequel to the 1993 game ''Secret of Mana'', and is the third installm ...
'', her design finalized by manga and anime artist
Nobuteru Yūki is a Japanese manga artist, illustrator, animator and doujinshi artist. He has designed characters for manga, anime and video games, and has frequently collaborated with director Kazuki Akane, including on his most famous work, '' The Vision of ...
based on concept art by
Koichi Ishii , sometimes credited as Kouichi Ishii, is a video game designer best known for creating the ''Mana'' series (known as ''Seiken Densetsu'' in Japan). He joined Square (now Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational hol ...
. She has long blonde hair tied into a pony tail, her default outfit having a green dress and wearing a wreath on her head. Ishii commented that Riesz was originally envisioned to be an Amazonian warrior, noting that he imagined her as being a masculine character. She was also intended to be depicted as a "healthy, chubby girl" to contrast the sexy and slim Angela. However, when game designer
Hiromichi Tanaka is a Japanese video game developer, game producer, game director and game designer. He was Senior Vice President of Software Development at Square Enix (formerly Square) and the head of the company's Product Development Division-3. Biography I ...
saw her design, which he described as slender with long legs, he elected to give her a manner of speech he felt fit a princess character. When discussing the different classes she can choose, ''Mana'' series producer Masaru Oyamada noted that her classes are based on
Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...
, including her classes Vanadis, Fenrir Knight, and Valkyrie, the latter given to her because they wanted to give her a "mighty and powerful Valkyrie design."Oyamada noted how Riesz was given dark purple armor for her Valkyrie design in the original ''Trials of Mana'', the
remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...
had the purple limited to the design's shadows, which he felt capture her "prim and proper nature." Her design in the remake was created by the artist HACCAN. Riesz was described by Tanaka as having a brother complex due to the loss of her mother. Initially, she was intended to have a "subtle romantic" attraction between Riesz and the character Hawkeye, which ultimately had to be left out due to a lack of space. She is voiced in Japanese by
Mikako Komatsu is a Japanese voice actress and singer. Career Komatsu passed an audition held at the first corner of Nippon Broadcasting System "Takashi Fujii's All Night Nippon R". A member of "Younger Sister", she left the group in September 2007. She worke ...
in the remake.


Appearances

Riesz appears in the video game ''
Trials of Mana ''Trials of Mana'', also known by its Japanese title is a 1995 action role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Super Famicom. It is the sequel to the 1993 game ''Secret of Mana'', and is the third installm ...
'' for the Super Famicom as one of its six protagonists, appearing alongside characters Hawkeye, Charlotte, Duran,
Kevin Kevin is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; ; ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicised from , an Irish diminutive form.''A Dictiona ...
, and Angela. Players are able to choose from one of these six characters as their main character; if Riesz is not chosen as the main character, she can instead be selected as one of the player's other two party members that can be encountered later on. If not selected as one of these three characters, she is not involved in the main story. Riesz is the princess of the Laurent kingdom, her mother having died, which put her in the role of taking care of her younger brother, Elliot. Elliot is tricked into lowering Laurent's defense by two ninjas from the Nevarl Fortress who proceed to kidnap him and take over the castle. They then kill Riesz's father, the king, causing Riesz to make her escape, with her goal being to reclaim her kingdom and rescue her brother. She has a connection to the character Hawkeye, who hails from Nevarl Fortress, who escaped from Nevarl prior to the invasion. Riesz has appeared in other video games in playable and non-playable roles. She is a playable character in '' Circle of Mana'' and '' Million Arthur Arcana Blood'', whereas she made cameos in ''
Final Fantasy Brave Exvius ''Final Fantasy Brave Exvius'' is a free-to-play role-playing game developed by Alim and published by Square Enix for iOS, Android and Amazon Fire devices. A spin-off of the ''Final Fantasy'' series, the game is the first collaborative effort be ...
'' and ''
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' is a 2018 crossover fighting game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth installment in the '' Super Smash Bros.'' series, succeeding ' ...
''.


Reception

Riesz has been a popular character in ''Trials of Mana'', with her popularity being maintained over 25 years since its release. In a poll by
Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...
, participants voted Riesz as the most popular of the ''Trial of Mana'' protagonists. ''The Gamer'' writer Scott Baird felt that
fanservice , fanservice or Example: A frame (numbered "25") from the English opening sequence of '' New Cutie Honey'', in which character Danbei Hayami fires a Rocket Punch as main character Honey Kisaragi lies topless and prone in the background, i ...
costumes in ''Trials of Mana'' influenced her popularity, while multiple other critics have noted how players view her as their
waifu The following is a glossary of terms that are specific to anime and manga. Anime includes animated series, films and videos, while manga includes graphic novels, drawings and related artwork. ''Note: Japanese words that are used in general ...
. ''Inside Games'' staff felt that people view her in this way because, despite her being a strong warrior, she had a fragile, naive, and clumsy side that made people want to protect her. Designer Hiromichi Tanaka believed that her popularity derived from men being attracted to "frail, modest girls." ''Inside Games'' staff noted that, since the release of the original version, ''Trials of Mana'' seemed to focus on female characters like Riesz and Angela. They also commented that, after opening a poll ranking female ''Trials of Mana'' characters, they received multiple comments from people who were familiar with Riesz but not ''Trials of Mana''. In the final results of this poll, Riesz and Angela received approximately the same number of votes, with both of them popular with men and women alike. Riesz's reveal in the ''Trials of Mana'' remake caused ''Automaton Media'' writer Yoshinori Sato to be particularly interested in her. He commented on how her popularity was similar to that of Tifa Lockhart from ''
Final Fantasy VII is a 1997 role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation. The seventh main installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series, it was released in Japan by Square and internationally by Sony Computer Entertainment, becoming the first ...
'', suggesting that
fanart Fan art or fanart is artwork created by fans of a work of fiction or celebrity depicting events, character, or other aspect of the work. As fan labor, fan art refers to artworks that are not created, commissioned, nor endorsed by the creator ...
of Riesz helped give her a bigger public image. ''FunglrGames'' staff considered her the best of ''Trials of Mana''s female cast, praising various aspects of her personality, such as fighting despite being a princess as well as her spunky attitude and innocence. They discussed the relationship between Riesz and Hawkeye, noting how despite not bothering them as a child, the fact that they didn't further explore it bothered them. ''Inside Games'' writer Shingema discussed what made Riesz such a popular character, including to him. He discussed Riesz's color scheme of a green outfit and blonde hair, suggesting it helped contribute to her popularity and comparing it to Link from ''
The Legend of Zelda is a media franchise, video game series created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo; some portable installments and re-releases have been outsourced to Flags ...
'', who has the same color scheme. He noted her different atmospheres when changing classes, suggesting her design was goddess-like for one of her classes and sexual and dark with another, adding that the blonde and green color helps retain her charm in any class change. He also suggested that the wreath she wears suggests nobility while still conveying an understated grace and purity. Going beyond appearance, Shingema suggested the way her relationship with Hawkeye developed was both a fascinating and bittersweet thing. The affection and care she shows for her younger brother, Elliot, was also an influencing factor for Shingema's interest in her character.


References

{{Mana series Female characters in video games Mana (series) Orphan characters in video games Role-playing video game characters Video game characters introduced in 1995 Princess characters in video games Teenage characters in video games Square Enix characters