MapleStory DS

Gameplay

The player starts out as a Warrior or Thief. Upon completion of the game, the remaining job classes (Magician and Bowman) are unlocked. Skills are obtained via skill books collected throughout the game. AI partners who fight alongside the player are gained as the game progresses. Characters also learn skills which can be used to deal immense amounts of damage.

Plot

The player starts with a prologue which is the same for all characters. They go through a tutorial-like area, fight a boss, get some map turned into a dead map and getting out will involve the portal disappearing. In CHAPTER 1, Warrior and Hatch explore the area outside Perion while Thief and Magician try to catch a criminal and Archer goes to Ludibrium where she falls off the Eos Tower and ends up in Omega Sector at level 1. In CHAPTER 2, Magician attempts to go to Ludibrium but falls off the airship from a toy attack. He then ends up in Omega Sector, meets Sergeant Charlie, finds the red portal and leaves. Meanwhile, Warrior and Thief go to the Excavation Site at different times and end up meeting each other and end up going on a mission for Riness. Warrior and Thief defeat the Iron Boar. Then, Warrior leaves the group of two which ends Warrior's chapter 2. Then, Thief finds a secret passage through the East of Perion and gets through Sleepywood. The Warrior goes through this in Chapter 3. Meanwhile, Archer goes through Omega Sector before the magician, ending up getting shocked by a cute little panda and getting kidnapped by a UFO. In CHAPTER 3, Magician and Archer cross paths in Maple Island and leave through a red portal. Thief explores a temple in Sleepywood with his friend Rina and finds some secrets about his past. In, CHAPTER 4, Archer and Magician get separated in different warped out places. Archer gets trapped on an island with an Old Fisherman and a guy who sells stuff and a Fairy. Her only clue to escape is a magical seed that leads to warped places. Magician gets trapped in a strange place with floors as those of Sleepywood, the Ant Tunnel, and Henesys but a background of the Ludibrium clock tower. A red portal there leads to a girl's house who sells stuff. Warrior goes into the temple (but not the dungeon) and fights Hatch. Then he goes to the entrance of the dungeon and fights Riness. Thief finds Warrior and Hatch outside unconscious and takes them to the Sleepywood Inn. Then, Thief leaves and explores the Golem's Temple where he fights three elemental golems, a mixture of the three, and a surprise.. which is Warrior and Hatch!

Development and release

The game was announced at E3 2006. On January 9, 2007, Nexon and the newly established Nintendo of Korea showcased MapleStory DS for the first time, releasing a trailer for the game. The game was first projected to be released in September 2007, but had since been subjected to numerous delays before its eventual Korean premiere on April 15, 2010.

It was confirmed that MapleStory DS will not be an MMORPG. In an interview with the manager of international business development at Nexon, Stephen Lee, Lee explained that the upcoming game is simply a single-player game with limited multiplayer features. In addition, it was announced that MapleStory DS will not support Wi-Fi. However, there is a coupon book in the options tab in which you could use codes to get special NX items in the real MapleStory (Korean version only).