MapleStory

THE GOOD:
-Fun, quirky, unique.
-Graphics and music are amazing
-The game is massive, nearly no end to it
-Constantly updated
-Tonnes of different job strings to choose from

THE BAD:
-After level 50 leveling up becomes tedious
-The global version of MapleStory is overpowered (Other versions such as the south-east Asia version and the European version have adopted this as well)
-Cash shop items are expensive and expire 90 days after purchase (45 days on MapleSEA but clothing items on the original Korean version don't expire)
-Community on most versions sucks

SUMMARY:
Note: Classes/Locations etc. are wrote in the name order: Original name from KMS/Global MapleStory name

Ok, so how to start this review... started playing MapleStory around a year ago, got to level 7 then pressed the quit game button and didn't go on it for another month, anyway, I started playing again and found much potential from this game.

~Summary~
Basically you start at the beginner location depending on what class you want to be, an Adventurer/Explorer (Warrior, Magician, Bowman, Thief or Pirate), a Knight of Cygnus/Cygnus Knights (Soul Master/Dawn Warrior, Wind Breaker/Archer, Flame/Blaze Wizard, Night Walker and Striker/Thunder Breaker) or the OP (overpowered) Aran. You go through that place, do some quests, bash some cute little monsters, get to level 10 (8 for Magicians), Knights of Cygnus and Aran then job advance, and then leave for Victoria Island were the Adventurers will eventually job advance.

After you get 1st job your instructor gives you some quests in which to kill a certain monsters a few times over, they reward you with some EXP and pots then you level up to get the next quest from him/her.

Then at level 30 after bashing some more monsters you go back to your job instructor and get the "2nd job advancement" after collecting 30 items from special monsters, Adventurers get to pick what job they advance into (going off into 3 different job chains.

Then after bashing even more monsters and getting level 70 you get to job advance again by getting a special crystal and killing a boss which has around 200,000 health points.

Then after killing a crap load more monsters you get to job advance again at level 120 (Knights of Cygnus not included, their max level is 120 and not 200). You do some quest that involves killing some bosses and travelling around the Maple World and you've got the final job of the game.

Also every time you level up you gain 5 "Ability Points" (AP) which you assign to either Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence or Luck and 3 "Skill Points" which you assign to skills that can either attack monsters, summon a familiar or buff the player with either an increase in attack speed or a guard that puts defence up or attack power, each time you job advance you get a set of new skills.

Ok now that I've finished explaining that I'd like to officially start this review.

1). Gameplay: 8.5/10
A rather quirky 2D side scrolling game which is very unusual for a MMORPG. When it comes down to it this game you need quite a bit of free time. MapleStory, at the beginning is a fun and easy to level game (Especially on the global version in which they lowered the amount of EXP needed to level up), the more you level up the harder it becomes, after level 70 you'll need at least 4-6 hours non-stop grinding to get a single level. Also it can take new players to a month to even get level 30, although experienced players (such as myself) know how to get this in a single day. Quests and Party Quests are other ways of leveling but they have level requirements and once your level is too high you can't do them anymore.

2). Storyline: 5/10
Most old reviews say MapleStory has no storyline but recent updates have implanted one to make the game more interesting.
--All
At level 30-38 you're called upon to work around the Mushroom Castle, can't really say much about this because the only time I've been to this area was while playing the Korean version.
--Adventurers: 2/10
You're a free willed seeker after truth, not much of a storyline on them unless a Pirate, basically they're going along their own storyline, a few references of the Knights of Cygnus' and Aran's here and there but apart from that, nothing worth mentioning, if on the Korean version though because of the new tutorial I would give the adventurers a considerate 4/10.
--Knights of Cygnus: 4/10
The Empress Cygnus is calling on an elite group of knights to defend against the Black Magician who is threatening the serenity of the Maple World. At level 120 you are told to save all of the knight commanders of the Knights of Cygnus. not very detailed for this though, I believe Nexon and Wizet could of added more of a plot to it.
--Aran: 9/10
The only class which has a real storyline and backstory also it is showed as your Aran being the only one in existence but this is purely for storyline significance. Hundreds of years ago you, the lone warrior "Aran" was fighting against the Black Magician in order to save the Maple World, the Black Magician then cursed you into ice and banished you for hundreds of years. Scared and confused with no memories of your past, you find yourself in an icy landscape greeted by a girl called Lillin. During the time your Aran is frozen they have lost all their power and skills, so you set off on a journey to rediscover who you are and regain your powers to protect the Maple World. The Aran have a ton of quests to go through and bits of the storyline are revealed a long the way, in my opinion the storyline for Aran is very detailed and I love it to be quite honest.

I am sorry to have to rate the storyline this low because I think the storyline for Aran is just wonderful but due to the lack of storyline on Adventurers and Knights of Cygnus I am going to have to give this section a rather low rating.

3). Community: 6.5/10
The one thing most MMORPGs lack.
--Global and south-east Asian: 3/10
Horrible, just plain horrible from what I know.
--European: 8/10
People on the European version of MapleStory tend to be a lot nicer and friendly because the community is a lot smaller. Not perfect but for MapleStory, EMS definitely has the best.
--Korean: 5/10
I usually see Koreans arguing on this version a lot, also they tend to stalk foreigners around or steal their training spots, I guess it's because they believe that we're invading their version but for the most of it the community is probably better than GMS or MapleSEA.
--English Korean MapleStory Community: 10/10
EllinForest and Century are the main English community on KMS, everyone in this community seems to get along and is friendly, this section is a review of probably about 100-200 people on the worlds Culverin, Galicia, Medere and Fleta (merged worlds). EllinForest does seem to have a rival English community called Nautilus Port but apart from that the English community on KMS is great.
--Other Versions
I can't give a rating for any other versions of MapleStory simply because I only play the Korean version and European (sometimes).

4). Graphics and Music: 9/10
I damn love the graphics on MapleStory, they're beautifully designed.
The music is also lovely, each town or area has it's own BGM (background music) that fits perfectly, the sound effects get annoying after a while but the graphics and music are enough to give this section a nice high score.

5). Freedom of content: 8/10
Although this game is completely free to access all areas and maps etc. players do have the option to purchase "Nexon Cash" with real-life money that allows you to buy cosmetics, hair coupons, EXP increases, cover up clothes, teleportation rocks, facial expressions, pets and other items that increase the fun of gameplay.

Most people would buy Nexon Cash to change what their character looks like but in the end it's just a rip off, a top item that costs $3 and lasts for 90 days? Not worth it if you ask me. Although I wouldn't say nexon cash is a rip off on KMS, the items are a lot cheaper and if it's the case of clothing or facial expressions then they don't expire.

Nexon Cash is not essential and to be honest I would only get it if you're playing the Korean version since all the other versions are just inviting you to their not-so-apparent rip-off.

6). Overall: 8/10
Overall I rate this game 8/10, yes I do play it and I am addicted to it but it seems the only downside is how boring grinding can get and the community, apart from that I recommend you try this game out! It really depends on what kinds of game you want.