It was released for the Game Boy in Japan on June 8, 1991, in North America on November 1 of the same year, and in Europe in 1993 under the name Mystic Quest. The core story was the same but it included many references to the Final Fantasy series, such as chocobos. Having faced bankruptcy before the release of Final Fantasy on the NES, Square decided to play up this side of the game for its North American release by putting it in the main title rather than the subtitle. It was also remade as Sword of Mana for the Game Boy Advance.