[Participating in the Nexon PEAK Post Challenge]

Countless new games appear and disappear in the market, but some titles continue to be loved for years.

 

Among the games I’ve personally played, the long-running titles I’d recommend are MapleStory and League of Legends (LoL). They belong to completely different genres and offer very different playstyles, but they share one major strength: both have been loved by players for a long time and are still actively played today.

 

Today, I want to share why I think these two games have stayed popular for so long, based on my own experience playing them!

 

MapleStory

MapleStory is a growth-focused MMORPG published by Nexon, known for its cute, charming characters and signature pixel graphics. It launched in 2003 and has been loved nationwide for an impressive 20+ years.

 

1. User-friendly updates

MapleStory does a great job with convenience-focused, player-friendly updates. For example, when it comes to endgame bosses, instead of only releasing extremely powerful bosses aimed at high-spec players, it also adds mid-tier bosses that let a wider range of players participate.

The update I remember most is when they removed the Town Return Scroll. You used to need that item to get back to town from hunting grounds, but they deleted the scroll and added a town movement feature instead. It became so much more convenient because I no longer had to keep buying scrolls just to return to town.. It also cut down on the hassle. MapleStory makes these kinds of player-friendly updates quite often!

 

2. Communication with players

MapleStory is very quick to respond to the inconveniences and suggestions players bring up during live communication broadcasts. Back when Reboot World existed, it was a world that didn’t require cash spending. Some Reboot World players would provoke and mock others (비틱), which led many regular world players to quit and created conflict between players. Because of that, there was a time when the director decided to remove Reboot World. I don’t really use world chat much and usually play on my own, so I didn’t have strong feelings about it personally, but I really respected how quickly the director made that decision. Also, there was a time when I accidentally threw away a valuable item while playing. I completely panicked, but a friend who had already been playing MapleStory told me that if I submitted a customer support inquiry through the website, they would review the situation and restore the item. So I sent an inquiry, and I actually got it restored! (Apparently, MapleStory’s restoration service is limited to twice per year per account holder.)

This was the first game company I’d seen that really communicated both ways and handled player requests so quickly and accurately.

 

3. Excellent incident response

When in-game problems come up or unexpected issues happen, MapleStory has been the fastest and most impressive game I’ve seen when it comes to handling them. When the server crashes or the game becomes unstable because too many players are crowding in, they give out more than enough compensation. I remember getting rewards that made me think, “They’re really giving this much?” Usually, other games don’t offer compensation that feels sufficient, but MapleStory gives rewards satisfying enough that it almost feels like magic that keeps you playing.. A friend of mine who has played MapleStory for a long time even says they wait for bugs to happen.

Another example that comes to mind is the hunting grounds. In MapleStory, hunting used to follow a one person per server, per map rule, but there were times when so many people crowded in that there were no spots available. No matter how much I changed servers, I still couldn’t find a place to hunt, and this kept happening over and over. But they responded in just one day. They changed the system so that up to three people could hunt on one server, on one map.

Personally, I’ve never played another game that handled incidents this well.

 

 

4. Even taking care of new players!

On top of that, MapleStory runs a “Burning Event” every vacation season that lets you grow your character much faster. Because of that, you can build up your character quickly and get into boss hunting, one of the game’s main contents, much sooner. In an RPG where the fun comes from progression, I think events like this are a great way to bring back returning players and attract new ones. It feels like a game that takes good care of its existing players while also thinking about new players!

 

5. MapleStory’s uniquely beautiful pixel-art charm!

The first thing that comes to mind when you think of MapleStory is its pixel graphics. Unlike so many modern games overflowing with flashy, realistic visuals, that pixel-art charm feels unique to MapleStory. It may look simple, but that simplicity actually makes the characters feel even cuter. In Korea, even people who don’t play Maple can look at the characters and immediately think, “That’s Maple.” It has that kind of widely recognizable charm. Since it has a unique style you simply can’t get from other games, I think that’s another reason MapleStory has lasted so long.

League of Legends (LoL)

League of Legends (LoL) is an online game in the MOBA genre published by Riot Games. Each player selects one champion to start the match, and two teams of five face off in a strategic battle. Loved around the world, LoL was released in Korea in late 2011 and has been hugely popular for over 15 years.

 

1. Consistent balance maintenance

LoL is a game where players choose one champion and compete through strategy, and it consistently rolls out weekly balance patches for its roughly 170 champions to keep up with the meta.

There was a time when a champion originally designed for the mid role, “Neeko,” became a hot topic because one player used her in top and ADC roles. She performed too well in those positions, so Riot changed her skill structure and patched her within just three days so that she could only function in the mid role.

In this way, if a champion becomes too overpowered or starts being used outside the role it was designed for, the game applies hotfix patches to maintain balance. Rather than allowing only a few specific champions to stay strong, I think LoL is managed in a way that keeps all champions usable, which helps prevent dissatisfaction among players.

 

2. Large-scale yearly patches – seasonal system

LoL carries out large-scale patches every year, introducing new items, systems, and champions so the game never feels stagnant and keeps offering something fresh. Originally, the game’s two 대표 major objectives were Dragon and Baron. But in the Season 25 update, a new large objective called Atakhan was introduced! After Atakhan was added, more teamfights started happening during matches, and players had to rethink their winning strategies. (After the Season 26 patch, Atakhan was removed.) By pushing out these major yearly updates, the game keeps things fresh for players and never gives them much time to get bored.

 

 

3. A new game, a new strategy!

When you actually play, even if you pick the same champion, every match unfolds differently. Team compositions change, and the flow of the game keeps shifting depending on how your teammates play. Some games are easy wins, but when you come back from a losing position by working together with your team, the sense of accomplishment feels even greater.

Another major part of LoL’s appeal is practicing plays you weren’t good at at first and gradually improving over time. You find champions you can perform well with, start understanding strategies you didn’t know before, and little by little, you can really feel yourself getting better. All of that makes the game hard to get bored of.

4. A highly developed esports culture

LoL has a very well-developed esports scene, with leagues like the LCK and the World Championship. One big reason is simple: pro matches are genuinely exciting to watch. Because of that, each pro team in LoL has built up a strong fandom, and plenty of people even go watch matches live.

I’ve gone to watch an LCK match myself. A close friend of mine likes a player named kerria on Team T1, so they asked me to go watch live together, and I tagged along. At the time, I had absolutely no interest in LoL and knew nothing about it, but once I started watching, I got completely immersed. Even if you don’t know much, the commentators explain things well, and after each game, the analysis desk breaks everything down in a way that’s easy to understand, so it was really enjoyable to watch. I could immediately understand why so many people are passionate about LoL esports. After going to that live match, I became interested in LoL and eventually started playing with my friend.

Differences Between the Two Games

The biggest difference I felt when directly comparing the two games was how progression works.

MapleStory is structured so that the time you spend playing leads directly to your character’s growth. You level up, enhance your gear, and gradually make your character itself stronger.

LoL, on the other hand, resets the growth you gained in that particular match once the game ends. Instead, what builds up is the player’s own experience and skill. Situations that felt difficult at first become easier to judge later, and your overall game sense broadens as well. So to me, MapleStory offers more fun through watching your character grow, while LoL offers more fun through improving your own skill as a player.

 

The reason you keep playing long-term is different too. In MapleStory, you keep playing because new goals continue to appear. Once you level up and improve your gear, you start aiming for even higher specs, and when you challenge new bosses, new goals naturally follow. It’s a structure where achieving one goal naturally leads you to the next.

LoL is a little different. Once one game ends, you start a completely new one from scratch. Even if you lost and felt disappointed this time, you think you might do better in the next match, and if you won, you want to feel that same satisfaction again, so you queue up for one more game. Because of this difference, I think MapleStory offers the fun of steadily pursuing long-term goals, while LoL offers the fun of enjoying a brand-new competition every time.

 

The kind of fun you feel when playing with friends is different too. Both games become more enjoyable when you play with friends, but the way that fun works is different.

In MapleStory, there’s fun in hunting together or challenging bosses together while watching each other grow. Raising your characters separately and then later taking on difficult content together is also a big part of the appeal.

In contrast, LoL has the advantage of letting you immediately form a team with friends and aim for victory together. Because you divide roles, cover each other’s weak points, and play as one team, the satisfaction of winning feels even greater.

To wrap things up, if you enjoy growing a character step by step and building up your specs, MapleStory may be the better fit for you. If you enjoy competing with others and improving your own skill, LoL may suit you better.

 

What I realized after directly comparing these two games is that not every long-running game stays loved for the same reason. MapleStory wins players over through growth and goals, while LoL does it through competition and skill improvement. If you enjoy the feeling of growing together, I recommend MapleStory, and if you enjoy competing and winning together, I recommend LoL! Have a great day!