Maplestory: History of Korea’s Smash-hit 2D MMORPG
MapleStory’s Humble Start
Nexon, a Korea-based game developer founded by Kim Jung-Ju and Jake Song, launched MapleStory in 2005. It was the first 2D, anime-style MMORPG. Many sources claim MapleStory to be a Japanese game, but it is a Korean gaming masterpiece through-and-through! The game contains tons of Korean cultural references and many Korean celebrities have appeared in the game! At first, the game featured Victoria Island, a game zone with many unique areas to explore. In addition to beautiful vistas, Victoria is filled with massive hordes of MapleStory’s cute and terrifying monster mobs.
Game World Updates 2010-2020
Starting in 2010 Nexon expanded the lore of the game with new level caps, worlds, story-driven dungeons, and boss raids. Major updates include Unleashed, Dawn Veil, Red, Black Heaven, 10th Anniversary, Reboot, Kinesis, Heroes of Maple, Strange Stories, MapleStory V, Override, Nova, Ark, and Black Mage. All these updates and expansions completed a 13-year story arc leading to the Ultimate Showdown with the main antagonist: The Black Mage. Players battled to level 250, and finally took on the dark wizard himself in 2018’s “Black Mage” update.
Since 2018, several more updates have expanded Maple World. Pathfinder, Glory, Mechanical Utopia, Fabled Melody, and Rise lead up to 2019, keeping content fresh. In November 2020 AWAKE added a highly anticipated 5th tier of player skills, the level cap increased to 275, and new high-level gear drops from Bosses, Dungeons, Events, and Quests. 5th tier skills added devastating super abilities to each of the 32 character classes. MapleStory boasts the most available classes in any MMO.
MapleStory 2021 and Beyond!
Finally, In December 2020, the Neo update raised the level cap to 300, added new dungeons, and added a new character class. Chaser of Darkness, Cain comes with a compelling backstory and some flashy new powers to match the ferocious challenges in Neo’s expanded zones. The event was released in 3 parts on December 17, 2020, January 7, 2021. After that, the final update came this week on January 28th, 2021. This additional update marks the expansion of a new story arc with a new main villain: Darmoor. Furthermore, players will tackle a new set of quests, fight terrifying new monsters, and explore new areas. They must discover Darmoor’s treacherous plans before the fallen prince can unleash his vengeance upon all of the Maple Worlds!
MapleStory is free to play and is available for PC and mobile at www.Nexon.net!
To learn more on MapleStory, watch the video below!
