[Participating in the NEXON PEAK Post Challenge]

So far, I have written 35 posts for the PEAK Challenge.

More than 80% of them are about Elsword. It is not the only game I play, of course, but Elsword is my favorite.

Back in 2008, what kind of game was Elsword to draw me—딸기전사, still in elementary school—to NEXON?

“Elsword,” with all the charm of a little board game

My earliest memories of Elsword are filled with this board-game feel.

Back then, we played through dungeons on Normal, Hard, and Very Hard difficulties.

There are so many dungeons here that I miss, all of them gone now.

My favorite was “엘의 나무 동쪽.” Unlike its western counterpart, it had a red twilight glow that I loved.

Here is Monkey King, one of the dungeon bosses I remember fondly.

I liked monkeys, but I remember being a little afraid of Monkey King.

Among the Elder dungeons, another part of the game's early roots, “Underground Waterway” left a particularly strong impression on me.

That was because Banthus, determined to take revenge on Elsword and his friends,

turned himself into a Nasod… It shocked me, and I think it

reshaped my tastes, too.

It is a little frightening to think how much Raven (who is also half-Nasod) and Banthus influenced me, 딸기전사, back in elementary school.

Dim twilight…, revenge… With tastes like these, I, 딸기전사, found myself drawn to darker themes in literature, too. I suppose that shows how much I had matured ^^

Elsword had so many charming little (???) dungeons, each with its own appeal. What is it like now?

A faster-paced, livelier “Elsword”

This is what Ruben looks like in Elsword today.

You can see at a glance how many fewer dungeons there are, right?!

If the Elsword of old was about offering a wealth of experiences,

then I think Elsword today offers the joy of growing stronger quickly through faster progression.

The towns have also become field areas where you can walk freely from place to place, making them feel more alive as you explore.

The presentation used to feel a little more like a comic, but now it seems to have more life to it.

The Fun Continues

Elsword is still receiving plenty of updates.

Elsword has changed a great deal, but this long-running game is still finding ways to keep up with the times!

I truly hope plenty of people will enjoy it, so it can stay with us for a long time to come.