Hawkeye (Mana)

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Hawkeye (known as Hawk in the fan translation), titled Noble Thief of the Nevarlan Guild, is one of the six playable protagonists of Trials of Mana, which previously only released in Japan as Seiken Densetsu 3 in 1995 for the Super NES. He is a noble member of the Thieves Guild, which makes its home in the desert fortress of Nevarl, where he lives with his master, Lord Flamekhan, and his friends Eagle and Jessica. He also appears in Million Arthur: Arcana Blood as a Support Knight character.
He is voiced by Yuki Ono in Japanese and Alejandro Saab in English, who was also known for his voice work as Mayor Zao in Freedom Planet.
==Biography==
Hawkeye was raised as an orphaned ward by his master and maternal grandfather Flamekhan together with his own children, Eagle and Jessica, both of whom he made friends with. His prologue in the events of Trials of Mana introduces him as he raids a house in the desert town of Sultan and steals money from a man known to swindle those suffering around him. Upon returning to Nevarl and reporting his success in his raid to Flamekhan, Isabella, Flamekhan's new advisor, informs him that the guild's master has surprisingly and uncharacteristically declared Nevarl to be a kingdom and plans to invade Laurent, Kingdom of Wind. Suspicious, he has a conversation with Jessica about her father's sudden change in behavior and how unhappy he is with this change, only to end up upsetting her as a result. He goes to see her brother Eagle, who, too, has become suspicious of the way his father has been acting and suspects that Isabella may be the root of the problem. Both Hawkeye and Eagle decide to expose Isabella for the evildoer she is.
Their suspicions are confirmed when they catch Isabella talking to a man named Malocchio. It turns out that she is actually a demonic sorceress named Belladonna and that she is working with creatures of Mavolia, one of which Malocchio happens to be, and that both have been manipulating Flamekhan and are working to revive their master, the Dark Majesty, which is hinted at as Belladonna tells Malocchio to pass on her message. Just as both Hawkeye and Eagle corner her, she brainwashes the latter into attacking his own friend, forcing the former to fight back. Belladonna then delivers the killing blow to Eagle, enraging Hawkeye, and frames him for his own friend's murder.
Once he is locked up in prison, she informs him that she's given a cursed present to his friend Jessica that will kill her should he reveal the truth to anyone or kill Belladonna. Just then, another friend of Hawkeye's and a fellow member of the Thieves Guild, Niccolo, blows a hole in the wall to rescue him, and suggests that he go see the Priest of Light in the Holy City Wendel so he can learn of a way to lift the curse placed on Jessica. After escaping from Nevarl, Hawkeye voices his promise to save Jessica and avenge Eagle's death before departing for Jadd Stronghold.
Hawkeye shares many story elements with fellow hero Riesz, who hails from Laurent, which is taken over by Nevarl. If either hero is chosen as the main protagonist, the main villains will be Belladonna and her master, the Dark Majesty, and the final dungeon will be the Dark Castle.
==Other Media==
===Super Smash Bros.===
Hawkeye and Riesz appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as ace support spirit first appearing in the "The Spirits of Mana" event, their ability makes the user easy dodging. Their spirit battle is a timed battle on the Great Bay stage with earthquakes against Sheik and a Mii Swordfighter with Peach's crown and green pirate costume who favors specials moves.
==Personality==
Hawkeye is a noble and humble young man who makes it hard to tell when he's being serious due to coming across as laid-back and charming. He is known to charm the ladies at any opportunity that he gets. At his core, however, he becomes fiercely loyal to those he makes friends with. He is known for having honed senses and a quick wit, which helps him overcome whatever obstacles may come his way.
==Abilities==
Hawkeye's role as a thief grants him the highest agility and luck stats among the six protagonists, giving him an advantage when it comes to evading enemies and opening booby-trapped treasure chests. What makes his standard attacks unique is that he can launch two attacks that can enable him to rack up more damage than other characters that are stronger than him, provided he can land both hits with both of them. Changing classes gives him access to a variety of other useful techniques. His Light classes make good use of traps, modified throwing items, and a wide variety of Dryad and Luna support spells, while his Dark classes give him the capability of using ninja skills that lower attributes, apply status effects, and deal damage provided by the four classical elements.
His starting class is Thief, and he can later change his class to Ranger or Ninja, and later to Nomad (Wanderer), Rogue, Ninja Master, or Nightblade. In the post-game, Hawkeye can later change his class to Wardenkeep or Vigilante.
==Trivia==
*The design of the Orichalcon, the ultimate weapon for Hawkeye's Nomad class, is based on the dagger portion of the kyoketsu shoge, a type of Japanese tool. In addition, the real life tool also serves to hint towards said class, as its name translates to "to run about in the fields and mountains".
*The names of the weapons for his Ninja class are derived from the Japanese names of Buddhist deities. This also references the Japanese Buddhism lore of horiki, which has been said to be a fantastic power derived from devoted practices of Buddhism said to perform amazing feats by drawing power from Buddha himself, and has also been said for ninjas to heavily practice it through their worship of the buddha Fudo Myou, who also personified absolute persistence and patience.
*Hawkeye can be considered a foil to fellow hero Duran; both are mercenaries and good physical attackers and are the archenemies of their respective villains (Belladonna for Hawkeye and the Crimson Wizard for Duran), but Hawkeye is calmer and more humble and charming, whereas Duran is more hotheaded, arrogant, and brutish.
==External Links==
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