Remember those long nights outside of Kerning City? Or the time when you and your friends would team up to complete the Moon Bunny’s Rice Cake quest just outside of Henesys? Well, you can experience the nostalgia all over again as Nexon’s Maplestory 2 is just around the corner!
Maplestory 2 took elements from the classic game that everyone played in the early 2000s and brought it into the modern era of MMORPGs. Right off the bat, you will notice the change of aesthetics. The game has evolved from a pixel-generated graphical map into a 3D block-like environment, that seems similar to Minecraft but with it's own charm and aesthetic.
The game differs from its predecessor and doesn’t promote heavy grinding to level up your characters. The quests given in the game will naturally progress your character, making for some pretty quick leveling. These quests are pretty much a compulsory playthrough and after a while it does feel a bit draggy as I started skipping cutscenes and dialogs just to finish the quest and collect my rewards.
Talking about cutscenes, there are way too many of them. In the first 10 minutes of my playthrough, half of that time was spent just watching cutscenes. Of course, the option to skip them is there, but as a hardcore fan of the original, I wanted to ensure I didn't miss out on any of the new story bits. As it is right now, it feels like the game tries too hard to immerse me into the new Mapleworld with them, when I really just wanted to start playing the game and see it all for myself.
The core gameplay mechanic of spamming spells and healing pots from the original game have also been removed. Now we get a "Spirit" bar instead of the usual "Mana" bar to perform skills and spells. The bar recharges relatively fast, however we are limited by skill cool downs which are also a new thing. Unlike before where skills and spells could be spammed to our hearts content, now I found myself carefully timing my skill activations, rotating them wisely to fully maximize my character's damage output. (No More Standing In Front Of Mobs & Mindlessly Clicking Two Buttons.)
The skills itself also feel so much better to perform. When you use a spell or ability, your character performs somersaults & spins, making for a fresh and exciting experience when it comes to battling monsters. You feel more committed & invested to the fight overall.
Maplestory 2 has also increased the number of customisations you can make during the character creation process. Now you can change everything from your hair to your shoes with numerous options for every aspect. Fans of the original Maplestory will be happy to know that Nexon has kept most of its original music tracks in familiar areas. So, you can experience that nostalgic feel in full force.
The game currently is in closed beta and will release in a few weeks. Unfortunately, the game does not have a dedicated Southeast Asian server at the moment, but we can only hope that Nexon hears our cries and allow everyone to revisit their childhood memories.
Matthew Chan is a board game enthusiast, food loving writer for IGN SEA with a passion for esports. You can follow him on Twitter @mehphew
