Hello.

This post focuses on Valentine's Day and how Nexon games have made use of the occasion.

Although it is not an official holiday, Valentine's Day offers plenty of material for in-game events, and MapleStory used to mark the occasion regularly. When I noticed there was no event this year either, it struck me that several years had already passed since the last one. These events now belonged firmly in the realm of nostalgia. With that in mind, I went back through them for this post.

The Original Chocolate-Making Event

These are the NPCs I vaguely remember when I think of Valentine's Day in MapleStory. I could not recall exactly how the event worked, but I still remembered what these items looked like—a pleasant surprise when I looked them up.

The event involved collecting chocolate and wrapping materials to make chocolates, then delivering them to other NPCs. Apparently, it ran every year without fail for quite a long time.

2012: Sweet Valentine's Day

After the original event ended, the format and content began to change from year to year. In 2012, there were 3 events in total.

The first let you collect 100 chocolates and exchange them for 1 coin.

Another let you exchange an event item for a buff item after holding on to it for 30 minutes.

Finally, there was a random box event. This seems to have been an attempt to move away from the established format and offer something fresh. In that respect, I think it was a fairly good approach.

2013: Operation Heart-Pounding Valentine!

The 2013 event, <Operation Heart-Pounding Valentine!>, took a rather unfamiliar approach.

It featured an affection system, something rarely seen in MapleStory. I understand that other games use these systems from time to time, but I could not recall MapleStory having one in either its regular content or its events, so this was an interesting discovery.

It also appears that the title you received depended on how much affection you had accumulated. This focus on being single continued right through to the last Valentine's Day event—a level of consistency I found quite striking.

2014: Charge! Singles Brigade!

I could not find a Valentine's Day event for 2014. Looking into it further, it seems a White Day event took its place, titled <Charge! Singles Brigade!>.

It appears to have parodied a movie that was popular at the time, with players working toward building a Singles Brigade statue as they progressed through the event.

Looking at the rewards from back then really brings home how much the game has changed—and just how much time has passed.

2015: 2015 Prince of Valentine

The 2015 <Prince of Valentine> event did not feature an affection system, but it seems to have carried over some elements from an earlier event.

You collected chocolates by hunting monsters within your level range, then chose whether to give them to the two NPCs or eat them yourself. The rewards varied according to your choice.

2016: A Happy Maple Valentine for Everyone!

The 2016 <Maple Valentine!> event had no tasks to complete; you simply logged in to receive your rewards.

2017: Cassandra's Valentine

The 2017 Valentine's Day event was <Cassandra's Valentine>, hosted by Cassandra. Seeing her continue to host major events today, I find it impressive that she remains such a presence in the game.

The BEYOND update appears to have been underway at the time. Turning in chocolates earned you coins to spend in its coin shop.

A Valentine's Day-themed package also went on sale. Apparently, purchases came with a bonus face accessory that I had never seen before.

This particular item was an unexpected find. It is not something that would ever be offered in an event like this today, which made it all the more interesting to see here.

2018: A Chocolate-Filled Valentine

The 2018 <A Chocolate-Filled Valentine> event gave out rewards just for logging in, much like the event 2 years earlier.

With the <ARK> event running at the time, the rewards included its coins alongside chocolate-themed cosmetic items.

2019: Cash Package Sale

There was no separate event in 2019; only these Cash items went on sale.

2020: Sweet VS Bitter Valentine's Day

The 2020 <Sweet VS Bitter Valentine's Day> event was the last official Valentine's Day event. There have been no further events dedicated to the occasion since then.

The main NPCs had each appeared in previous events. 솔로임니다스, whom we saw earlier in this post, had appeared a full 6 years before this event.

Meanwhile, 멜리사 came from the RISE event that was running at the time.

You could choose between two rewards. As you can see, the Couple Breaker item's effect was quite striking. I remember some players saying they would rather take that one precisely because they could use it to create a horrifying look. Given how rarely I have seen it since, I wonder whether the effect was too much even for that purpose.

Looking back, it seems these regular Valentine's Day events gradually exhausted most of the ideas that suited the game, then faded away naturally. In a way, I think they came to a close at an appropriate time.

Thank you for reading.