Dawn of Mana is a 2006 action-adventure game for the PlayStation 2. It was developed and published by Square Enix. It is the eighth game of the Mana series and the third entry in the World of Mana subseries, following the release of Children of Mana nine months prior and Friends of Mana two months prior. Set in a high fantasy universe, Dawn of Mana follows a young hero, Keldric, as he journeys to close a portal to a land of darkness that has been opened in the base of the Tree of Mana and is corrupting the world.

While it contains some small role-playing elements, Dawn of Mana diverges from the prior two-dimensional action role-playing game titles of the series to focus directly on action-adventure gameplay in a full 3D world. Incorporating the Havok physics engine, the gameplay focuses on the player grabbing and throwing objects and monsters in order to startle enemies before attacking them with a sword and magic. Keldric grows more powerful as the player journeys through an area, only to reset to his base abilities with each new zone unless difficult extra challenges are met. Unlike many of its predecessors, the game does not feature any cooperative multiplayer component.

Dawn of Mana was designed, directed, and produced by series creator Koichi Ishii. The script was written by Ryo Akagi, based on a story created by Masato Kato, and the music was composed by a group led by Kenji Ito. It is the final game in the series to be developed in-house by Square Enix. The game was a moderate commercial success: it sold 229,000 copies in its first ten days of release in Japan, and over 410,000 copies worldwide by the end of 2008. While critics praised the graphics and music as beautiful and lush, they found the leveling system annoying, the combat controls difficult and frustrating, and the story trite.

Unlike previous games in the Mana series, Dawn of Mana takes place in a full three-dimensional world, in which the player characters navigate the terrain and fight off hostile creatures. The player controls the main character, Keldric, and is followed for almost all of the game by a fairy spirit, Faye. Unlike previous games in the series, Dawn is an action-adventure game, rather than an action role-playing game; as such, gameplay is focused on movement and attacking enemies, rather than leveling-up character statistics. Keldric is able to run, roll, and jump through the game world. Keldric has access to a vine-like plant attached to his arm, which can be used at any time as either a sword, a whip, or a slingshot. The sword can be used to hit enemies and objects, the whip can grab and throw enemies and objects, and the slingshot can throw collectible pebbles as projectiles. Faye can cast magic spells, selectable by the player.

The combat system in Dawn of Mana is called the Mono system, based around the Havok physic engine. Almost all objects in the game, including enemies, are moveable, allowing Keldric to throw objects at enemies, or even throw other monsters. Keldric can either throw objects in the direction he is facing, or can target a specific enemy or object to aim at them. When something is thrown near an enemy, they Panic, resulting in a counter over their head that counts down to zero to end the Panic. While panicked, enemies take more damage from attacks and spells. Defeating enemies when they are panicked gives the player two types of medals, which can either boost the player's health and attack damage, or mana and magic damage. Throwing multiple objects can Panic enemies more; when the Panic meter is greater than 99 the player can receive better medals. Defeating enemies also grants experience points, which raise Keldric and Faye's level up to a maximum of four, granting higher health, mana, and damage, and granting new spells and attacks. In addition to being throwable, many objects in the game are also destructible.

The game is divided into eight chapters and a prologue; at the end of each chapter, the player is graded on their performance, and all of their statistics and medals are reset. The only items which carry over between chapters are emblems, which are given to the player for achieving high scores in a chapter or defeating hidden monsters. High scores are achieved by defeating more enemies, and defeating enemies with high Panic meters. In addition to the main game is a challenge arena, accessible through the main menu, where Keldric can fight timed battles against powerful foes. Keldric can fight alongside AI-controlled pets in these challenges, found in eggs throughout the game. The challenge arena also contains a shop, which contains emblems, eggs, and bonuses like extra music or higher game difficulties, which can be bought with money dropped by enemies throughout the game.

Dawn of Mana opens on the fictional island of Illusia, a place where the giant Mana Tree lies dormant. Much of the story takes place on Fa'Diel, a continent composed of the five nations of Jadd, Topple, Ishe, Wendell, and Lorimar. At the start of the game Ritzia, a Maiden in charge of tending to the Tree, and Keldric, her knight and the player-controlled character, have left their village to find Ritzia's missing pet. While they are out, Illusia is attacked by King Stroud of Lorimar. The pair rush to the Tree of Mana, thinking that Stroud intends to attack the legendary beast that lies sleeping underneath its roots. While searching for the beast, Keldric finds a seed of the Tree, which attaches to his arm and can transform into a slingshot, a whip, or a sword. They also find Faye, a spirit child, who can cast magic and joins them. When they reach the center of the labyrinth of roots, Stroud's men catch up to them; they had been searching for Ritzia, not the beast. Stroud intends to open a portal to Mavolia, a land of darkness sealed away for centuries, and believes Ritzia is part of the key as a Maiden had been a part of opening the portal before. Stroud leaves with Ritzia to find the rest of the key, and Keldric and Faye chase after them.

Keldric and Faye, with the help of the great beast, Flammie, force the Lorimarian army to leave the village. They chase after Stroud, catching up to him at the coast. There they free Ritzia, only to be attacked by Stroud, wielding the other part of the key—the Sword of Mana. Keldric is thrown off of Stroud's airship, and the Lorimarians invade Illusia again. Stroud opens the portal, and a wave of dark energy is released, transforming the Tree, turning the people of Illusia into monsters called Grimlies, and releasing dark monsters from Mavolia. Keldric and Faye flee, and head for Fa'Diel.