Maple Story Facts & References

Thank you for the correction.
Did some study on the term and realized I make mistake between naming Greek and Rome.
Will make an amend on it.

 

Saw you were doing some research, got any clue as to what this text says on the wall of the Kerning City Defense Store? It seems to be in English but assets seem to be blocking the full image.

 

MapleStory Archeologists, here you go!

 

I didn't bother that since it's blocked and I though it was a random doodle with uncomplete sentence.
Now I learned new thing again


Also speaking about wall text, there's another one on Dr. Naora Hospital. But it's totally unreadable so I have no idea what's the original sentence.


BTW, after the update 65. There's a Royals exculsive only easter egg in the hospital.

 

Hm, my first assumption was that it might read
DANGEROUS
OFF LIMIT
but the more I look at it the more it looks like nonsense.
Rotated+greyscale+brightness/contrast hiked up a bit
Maybe it's
DAN.FROW
OF YNUP

 

A thoroughly enjoyable read! I've never noticed some of these little details, especially that each town had a specific culture referenced.

Great work, I'd really love to see more!

 

I think it says ninja weapon

 

Part 6: Mu Lung, Shanghai & Lushan

Spoiler

Mu Lung

Mu Lung is based on Chinese garden.


The dojo UI is based on typical fighting video game.


Probably a coincidence, but the dojo angle looks like a scene from movie "The Matrix."


One of the Mu Gong's attack skills is based on Street Fighter's skill "Hadouken."


The transportation bird between Orbis and Mu Lung is called "Stork." This is a reference to European folklore that believes storks are responsible for bringing babies to new parents.

Shanghai


Shanghai Wai Tan is based on the same location in real life.
"冒险岛" is the official name of China Maple Story. However, it literally means "Adventure Island."


There's a "NEXON" building in the background.
天空之城 = Orbis (literally means "Sky Castle")
金银岛 = Victoria Island (literally means "Gold Silver Island")
盛大密宝，盛大网络 = Grand Treasure and Internet


药水 = Potion
我爱冒险岛 = I love Adventure Island
冒险饮料 = Adventure drinks
欢迎进入冒险岛 = Welcome to Adventure Island
东方名柱 = Oriental Pearl Tower (literally means "Oriental Famous Pillar" in the same pronunciation)
好吃好喝 = Great food and drinks


中华第一装备店 = China Number One Equip Shop
绝对冒险剑 = Absolute Adventure Sword
冒险十八式 = Adventure in Eighteen Style
天下无双 = Unparalleled in the World
The right vertical text listed the weapon types in Maple Story.


The weapon seller NPC and Owner Jang seem refer to "包租婆 & 包租公 (Landlady & Landlord)" from Stephen Chow's movie "功夫 (Kung Fu Hustle)."

Lushan

Lushan town is based on the same location "Mount Song (嵩山)" in China.


嵩山 = Mount Song
美肤 = Beauty Skin
药师堂 = Pharmacist
自由市场 = Free Market


金刚韦駄 = Skanda (a guardian of Buddhist monasteries)

无我 = Non-self
It means that there is no unchanging, permanent self, soul, or essence in phenomena.

我相 = My image
It means everything that can prove our self-existence will be my image.

佛 = Buddha
禅 = Zen


The Shaolin Temple shares the real life reference.
少林寺 = Shaolin Temple
藏经阁 = Buddhist Sutras Library


大雄宝殿 = Mahavira Hall.
It's the main hall of a Buddhist temple.

普賢身相猶如虛空 = Buddhist itself is a void.
如來境界無有邊際 = There is no boundary in Buddhist
It means Buddhism has unlimited power.


This is a phrase of Buddhism. However, these are only the first two sentences, and I'll add the other two for better translation and complete meaning.

菩提本无树 = There is no wisdom tree
明镜亦非台 = nor a stand of a mirror bright
本来无一物 = Since all is void
何处惹尘埃 = where can the dust alight
It mean while everything is emptiness (śūnya), and even emptiness is emptiness.


The NPC Master Haifeng is training "铁砂掌 (Iron Palm)." It's a Kung Fu that trains your palm hardness by chopping iron sand. It was believed when this skill is mastered, you're able to break hard steel with a bare palm.


Temple Block Monster is based on Wooden Fish. A wooden percussion instrument and often used by monks during Buddhist rituals.


The "Monk" monsters are based on "十八羅漢 (Eighteen Arhats)" of Buddhism. They are followers of the Buddha and charged to protect Buddhist faith. However, they are usually adapted into monks with gold/bronze painted bodies in modern art nowadays.
Photo taken from Stephen Chow's movie "食神 (The God of Cookery)."


Dharma is the actual historic figure. He is the founder of Shaolin Temple and Zen Buddhism. The circle in the scroll is a Zen symbol.


Yaoseng boss is using a level 60 Holy Spear. What a noob

Thanks @lolo123 for the correction on Buddhism phrase

 

Great work Rinn

 

I like your interpretation of Buddhism part. But I want to point that "明镜台" ("mirror table") is a noun, which indicates "佛性”(Buddha-dhātu) or “真如”(bhūta-tathatā) . It is a very special noun in Buddhism as “菩提树”(podhi tree). So the meaning of “菩提本无树，明镜亦非台” is to illustrate a point in "大乘佛教"(mahāyāna): "空" (śūnya), while everything is śūnya and even śūnya is śūnya (万物缘起性空，空亦是空).

 

Thanks for the correction. These Buddhism things are hard for me.

Yes I can roughly understand the phrases, but I just have no idea how to translate it. While keeping it simple but also not losing the original meaning.

Do you have any idea for better translation? Or this current explanation is good to quote in?

 

I found a satisfying translation online. I think it is better to also add the translation of the last two sentences: 本来无一物，何处惹尘埃。
"There is no wisdom tree; nor a stand of a mirror bright, Since all is void, where can the dust alight?"

 

Sounds better
I will add this and credit you. Thanks!

 

Awesome awesome thread! A couple of other things about Kerning City:

1. To further clarify on Dr. Naora: The word "naora" (나오라) is a command form conjugation used in a traditional dialect of the verb "naoda" (나오다), which means to come out or to appear. Why this word is used I'm not sure, but it may have something to do with its similarity to the word "na-ara" (나아라)--a command form conjugation of the verb "nada" (나다) which is an extremely versatile word. One use of this word is in references to illnesses; for example, to say "my cold is healed" you could say "gamgiga natda" (감기가 났다). All of that said, this is most likely just be a random word used as a name.

2. The word "kerning" itself is a well-known term in typography used to describe the allocation of space between letters in a particular font. Given the aesthetic of diverse signs and billboards throughout the town, the name Kerning City could likely be a direct reference to this art form.

3. I'm not fluent in Greek but based on my understanding of the alphabet SIXTOPIA should in fact be βIXTOPIA in order to properly read "VICTORIA." Is it a typo? Is the proper letter hidden underneath the vines? Who knows?

 

Part 7: Skills

Spoiler

Dragon Blood



The animation of Dragon Blood is based on "Ouroboros." It was an ancient Greek symbol that shows a circular snake or dragon that is eating its own tail. Represent "infinity" and "the cycle of birth and death."

This skill revolves around Greek letters. Upon translation and examination, these letters are random without specific meaning except looking cool.

Beholder

Beholder is based on the same creature in the tabletop game "Dungeons & Dragons."

Combo Attack



The animation of Combo Attack is based on "Solomon Seal." The similar animation also applied to combo-related skills such as Panic, Coma, and Enrage.

Haste

速 = Speed

Flash Jump

飛 = Fly

Savage Blow

天 = Sky
流 = Flow
血 = Blood
斬 = Cut
殺 = Kill
For a full sentence, it means "Cut the sky until it bleeds."

Avenger & Band of Thieves

忍 = Short form of "ninja," or literally "endure."

Chakra



Chakra is based on "Dharma Chakra," with the meaning "maintain." It was the symbol of Buddhism.


Moreover, all the thief skills above (except Haste and Avenger) have some unknown symbol in the animation.


It doesn't match properly. But they look alike to Sanskrit text. An ancient language that is commonly used in Buddhist scripting. Which is reasonable when ninjas are related to Buddhism in origin.

Seal

☥ = Ancient Egypt Ankh
It represents life.

ɤ = Close-mid back unrounded vowel
It's a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages.


Literally "sealing your voice and life."
When your voices are sealed, you can't chant to cast a spell. Your life is sealed as well by being unable to do anything.
The monster will show the "silent" symbol after being sealed because they can't "speak" to chant skills!

Mystic Door

Mystic Door uses the "Torii" symbol as a skill animation. It's very hard to notice in gameplay because the animation is too quick.

Torii is a traditional Japanese gate commonly found at the entrance of Shinto shrines.
It represents the entrance to sacred space. It was a great fitting reference here, with the door functioning as a way to transfer party members into different spaces.

Ifrit & Bahamut

Both Ifrit & Bahamut are based on the same named monster in Islamic mythology.

Ifrit is a spirit of the dead and is often associated with the underworld.
Bahamut is a giant fish that lies deep below that holds up the earth.


However, their appearance has changed a lot in popular culture nowadays.
Photos referenced from the video game "Final Fantasy VIII."

Piercing Arrow & Sharp Eye



Both skills's animations have the symbol of the Tree of Life (Kabbalah). It represents the evolution stages of life.


Moreover, there's also a symbol of "Illuminati" in Sharp Eye.
Illuminati confirmed! Now you know why everyone asking for SE.

Skill reference from coppersan
Thanks @Lilika and @Gert for assisting with research on the Greek translation of Dragon Blood. At least we can concluded they're random letters.

 

Definitely looking forward to more cool stuffs

 

Things like this makes me love this game...with their little things...is obvious how is made with actual love at the start.....thanks for your asesome job again...

 

So glad I stumbled upon this thread!
Really enjoyed reading all this, can’t wait for next update.
Keep it up