Dawn of Mana
A village in the land of Illusia is attacked by the Lomarian king Stroud. Some residents of the village, named Keldy and Ritzia, try to go for help, but they are captured before they can get far. Stroud is looking for the key to Mavolia, a land of darkness sealed away for centuries. Keldy and Ritzia are able to escape to go for help; soon after, they meet Faye, a spirit child, who joins them for the remainder of the game. Unfortunately, Ritzia is soon recaptured by Stroud.
Before Keldy and Faye can rescue her, Stroud uses her to unlock the door to Mavolia, which is hidden in a tree. The energy from Mavolia causes anyone around the door to turn into an evil monster. To escape this fate, Keldy and Faye flee Illusia. They soon learn that if the door to Mavolia is not closed, the whole world will be consumed by the darkness spreading from Mavolia. They return to Illusia to stop this from happening.
They confront Stroud, who has been mutated by the energy of Mavolia. After he is defeated, Keldy and Faye learn that the only way to seal the door is to kill Ritzia, who has also been mutated. After an epic battle with Ritzia, she is killed, the door is sealed, and Illusia is restored. Although it could be interpreted that rather than Ritzia dying, she in fact became the Great Tree and lives on in that way.