So I decided to see if I could get ahold of a Nexon Korea account, as they're the current publisher for Elsword (a side-scrolling Cel-Shaded MMOG). Luck has it, a friend of mine passed one over so I could try this game out. If you've been following my reviews or articles, you'll notice that I've also taken a hankering for another game (with the same type of genre classification) called "Grand Chase". Incidentally, they share the same parent (developer). Kog has been developing both Elsword and Grand Chase for some time now; except Elsword is newer and is currently undergoing Closed-Beta Testing. For whatever reason, Elsword seems like a near-exact clone of Grand Chase - except heavy improvements have been made to further the community and the player's personal experience while gaming.

You may find me comparing Elsword and Grand Chase a fair bit in this 'preview', as they are remarkably alike. Except, they're not alike at all. I say this not to confuse you, but because there's really nothing better out there to explain how I see Elsword. No, to all of the now-avid Grand Chasers, Elsword is not the sequel to Grand Chase. In fact, there are no characters that share the same name and the storyline is remarkably different as well. Therefore, before you start mentioning how it's the sequel - think twice before making a comment to this preview! It seems to me that, like many developers, Kog realised that their game (Grand Chase) had so much more potential than what they originally started with. The result of their brainstorming and 'wishful thoughts' came the creation of Elsword, no doubt.

Personal Shops?! Wow, nice style too!

There were so many other useful things that people have been suggesting for Grand Chase on the MMOsite forums that seem to have been part of how Kog decided to lace Elsword with. As you can see to the lovely picture to the right, there's something much like Grand Chase's "Park" feature. Except now, you also see something besides people talking...personal shops.

As personal shops tend to favour the community as long as players are willing to work on their 'merchant ethics', it was only reasonable that Kog decided to toy around with this type of interface; considering they were doing a complete overhaul from their original design of an already-existant and popular game (Grand Chase). I skimmed through the different shops to make sure there was nothing too dramatic, even though I had only been playing (around this time) for thirty minutes. I couldn't particularly find anything that I wouldn't see possible for an average player to obtain (ie: no hacker-types).

The graphics engine looks very little like Grand Chase, as many people may have noticed by now if they took the time to analyze it properly. Yes, they are cel-shaded and that's practically the only similarity they have in the graphical department. The rich-cartoony environments make you feel like you're 'playing' a comic book. And based on the other graphics, that was exactly the feel that Kog was going for with this game. The first thing you'll notice about the graphics is the fact that the backgrounds and platforms are more in the 'third-dimension'. The character designs are also in the third-dimension; much like Brave Fencer Musashi (the first one for Playstation).

A..skill tree? Holy moly sweet mother of side-scrollers!

   The special attacks are completely different as well. Not only do you start out with one special attack - you also find yourself starting out with one "unique attack". I know, it sounds a bit complicated; but, in Elsword, you actually have a skill tree that you can follow. You obviously see all of the requirements for your class (in the screenshot supplied, you'll notice that I'm a "Swordman" - thus, these are the skills I can have). There are a number of things that I upgraded while playing; everything from "passive defense" to a special technique that set me on fire, making my attack speed fly through the roof for a certain period of time - only having to sacrifice some of my damage.

  There are elements in Elsword as well, which I haven't had the chance to get too accustomed to. Heck, at this stage, I'm not even sure if it's implemented yet. However, on the interface, you can see where it may mean that you have particular resistance (or more damage) towards specific elements. There are many different things that focus around the development of your character specifically. Compared to Grand Chase, Kog obviously has been thinking about what they could do to make the franchise that they hold the most unique (and interesting, in my opinion) that much more 'interesting' to those who want a full-fledge MMORPG Side-Scroller (sans the MapleStory clones out there) with an Action-Adventure foundation.

Final Overview

Elsword's "NPC"-like Shop Interface..cool?

With all of the new excitement of NtreevUSA's Open Beta of Grand Chase, I couldn't help but find myself trying out something else that Kog has done. There was some speculation on the forums about this being the 'sequel' because of some of the names mentioned in what seems to have been a very early beta/alpha version of Elsword (prior to the official naming of characters, besides Elsword). Some people find Grand Chase exceptionally "repetitive" because you do the same stuff over and over.

This may drive the whole lot of you mad, especially you Grand Chase fangirls/boys out there, but Elsword has shown that Kog has learnt a lot from their previous attempt as an MMOG. There have been massive improvements in the graphic sense to appeal to those who enjoy storylines and the mindless attacking of the same monsters to obtain the items you want. There's a unique grading system at the end of each level, dictating how much experience and money you're going to get. It isn't luck, thankfully. Instead, it's the opposite; you have to have the skill to pull off large combos and be defensive at the same time. I do find myself wondering where the levels are going to get 'difficult' - but, once again, Elsword is in Closed Beta. This means anything could happen between now and whenever (if at all) this title comes to the North America/Global regions.

The "Dungeon" Map.. there's a "hometown" too!

At the end of the day, it does feel like the same game that I've grown quite fond of that comes to my computer in the name of "Grand Chase". But what else is with this world that makes me feel like if I knew just a little bit more korean that I would most likely be fixated on Elsword? It's probably how different it is, even though the controls basically remain the same. The community is so much more welcoming and you can practically buy all of your beginning equipment (upgraded too!) for a fraction of the costs because the community cares about each other.

Am I telling all of the players to give up Grand Chase and move along to Elsword? Heavens no! In fact, I would recommend we try building up the community on Grand Chase because it's a nice game by itself. Just because there's a new game that you can play right now and understand what exactly is going on. That's the thing about games like these, by the time they reach our native language - we already recieved a replacement that doesn't quite leave a bitter enough taste in our mouth to leave or quit. Elsword is a fine piece of 'arcade' gaming - but there are a few other problems that people will have when playing Elsword. For instance, you can only have two characters right now (no, it's not like Grand Chase where you have all characters - I mean you have two character slots). This was one of the most appealing aspects for me in the Grand Chase department.

I want to congratulate Kog on creating the game that they felt like they never had created to begin with. I know how it feels to be slightly disappointed in a creation because you knew there was so much more you could do; yet, you were powerless to do so when things first begun. Keep an eye on my "Photo Albums", there were a few images that I didn't use in this article (however, they may be used in the future - it's uncertain as of yet) if you're that interested in Elsword. I do know that I'm going to try to give this game a chance off and on in my "uber spare time" (which will be very scarce soon). I recommend you all do the same, whenever it comes out in your native language.

Happy Gaming, Good Luck on Drops, and Have a pleastant venture on MMOsite!

Note: I would appreciate any criticism about my 'new design' for Previews and Reviews. As I get comfortable using the WYSIWYG rich-text editor that MMOsite Blogs use, I'll eventually start doing videos for the games I review/preview. For now, you're stuck with just images. Either way, tell me what you think!