[Taking Part in the Nexon PEAK Post Challenge]

https://peak.nexon.com/post/2129

Hello, I’m 에드가.

When someone asks me to choose the one game that has meant the most to me, I find it surprisingly difficult.

I am never quite sure where to begin: with the game I have spent the most time playing lately, the one I have spent the most money on, or the one I was best at.

Even among Nexon games alone, many hold lasting memories for me, including DNF, FC ONLINE, and Mabinogi. But only one brings back the places and people from that time in my life the moment I hear its name.

That game is MapleStory.

I no longer log in every day. Sometimes I take months off; sometimes I return, only to stop playing again. Yet, strangely, I never feel that I have left it behind for good. Whenever a new class arrives or I hear about a major update, the first thing I do is visit the website.

For me, the game that means the most is not necessarily the one I have played the longest, but the one I keep checking in on, even after so much time has passed.

The Smell of the PC Café Comes Back Before the Game Itself

When I first started playing MapleStory, I logged in at a PC café more often than on the computer at home.

After school, my friends and I would pool our coins and play for an hour or two. What mattered was not who had gained more levels, but how far we had explored, and back then, even traveling to another area felt like a small adventure.

I still remember the day I first boarded a ship to leave Victoria Island.

After the ship set off, I was standing quietly on deck when a friend suddenly warned me that it was dangerous to stay outside. I thought it was a joke and stayed where I was, and before long, my character died. It seems funny looking back, but at the time, having to wait for the ship all over again felt terribly unfair.

From that day on, I made a habit of heading inside as soon as I boarded a ship.

Now I read guides before setting out, but back then, I often learned things the hard way. It was less efficient, but those lessons stayed with me much longer.

Watching Other Players Was More Fun Than Getting Stronger

The main reason MapleStory means so much to me is not the way my character grew stronger, but the memories I made with other people.

In those days, I sometimes argued with other players over hunting spots, or formed a party with a stranger and spent hours together on the same map. There were awkward moments when I picked up an item I should not have, but there were also times when a stranger shared potions with me because I was running low.

These seem like small things now, but back then, something that happened in the game could stay on my mind all day.

There were many days when I did no hunting at all in Henesys and simply looked at other players’ equipment. If a high-level character passed by, I would follow them for no particular reason, and if someone carried a weapon I had never seen before, I would sometimes ask what it was called.

Games today are faster and more convenient. The information we need is readily available, and getting around is much easier. Yet sometimes, those hours spent sitting in town without any particular purpose feel more like the essence of playing a game.

What Had Changed Most When I Returned

When I logged in again after a few years away, it honestly felt like a different game.

There were more classes, progression was faster, and there were more systems to keep track of. Relying on my old memories left me unsure where to begin.

On my first day back, I started by claiming all the event rewards. The problem was that I did not know what to do with any of the items. My inventory filled up quickly, and I sometimes saved time-limited items for so long that they expired before I used them.

Since then, whenever I return, I check just three things first.

First, I check when the current events end. Looking at the end dates before the rewards helps me avoid missing out.

Second, I do not choose my main character right away. A class that looks appealing in a video is not necessarily one that feels comfortable to play. I find it better to spend a few days with each of several classes before choosing a character that feels right.

Third, I do not try to understand every system at once. At first, learning the basics of hunting, equipment, and daily content is enough. Studying endgame equipment and advanced progression systems from the outset can wear you out before you have even started playing.

Fourth, I make a separate check of the expiration dates on the items I receive. With returning-player rewards in particular, I have found it more helpful to use them right away on a character that needs them than to save them.

Would I Recommend It to Someone Starting Today?

I cannot promise someone trying MapleStory for the first time that it will be easy.

As a long-running game, it has accumulated a great deal of content, and even terms familiar to longtime players can be unfamiliar to newcomers. Trying to understand all the equipment and progression systems can feel overwhelming from the very beginning.

Still, I have clear reasons for recommending it.

Its characters and regions have a distinct identity, and even with a casual start, it is easy to find goals of your own. You might want to defeat a particular boss or dress up a character you like. Those who prefer to take their time with quests and stories rather than hunt can also enjoy the game in their own way.

Whenever I return, my first priority is not to progress quickly, but to revisit the towns I used to spend time in.

As I listen to the music in Kerning City, descend the Ludibrium Clocktower, and move among the trees of Ellinia, memories of the days when I used to play return naturally. Sometimes it feels as though the graphics have stayed the same, and only the person looking at them has grown older.

A Well-Made Game Is Not Always the One That Means the Most

There are many highly polished games. Some have more satisfying controls, and others are far more visually impressive.

But I do not think scores alone determine which game comes to mean the most to us.

The days spent laughing with friends at a PC café, the moment of reaching a new region for the first time, the memory of buying a piece of equipment with hard-earned in-game currency—it is the accumulation of these experiences that makes a game truly special.

For me, MapleStory is not so much a game I always enjoy as one I eventually find myself thinking about again, even after stepping away because I was no longer enjoying it.

So if someone asked me to recommend just one Nexon game they should try, I would choose MapleStory.

My only hope is that they would not try to keep pace with everyone else from the very beginning. Rather than simply following a guide, I think exploring a town you like, getting a feel for a character yourself, and setting small goals of your own is what makes this a game you will remember for a long time.

Do you have a game that holds that place in your life—one you eventually return to, even after a long time away?

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