Nexon breaks off a chunk of MapleStory for iPhone's Cave Crawler

Massively successful in its free-to-play PC MMOG version, Korean publisher Nexon is still experimenting in terms of the best way to bring MapleStory to mobile.

Two versions have been released on iOS to-date.

As their names suggest MapleStory Thief Edition and MapleStory Cygnus Knights Edition are cutdown versions that offer single player games based on specific character classes.

Cave Crawler continues this vein, offering you the Fighter or the Thief classes in a randomised dungeon crawling adventure.

The map graphics are cute/super deformed, sprite-based and isometric, while battles occur in a 2D view that's reminiscent of id's Orcs & Elves. There's also a rhythm element as you have to tap at just the right time to stop the moving line when it's in an enemies' red zone to get a deadly attack. The more advanced the opponent, the smaller the zone of opportunity you've given.

Otherwise, in terms of general gameplay, this is an RPG with the usual focus on levelling up, item collection, and skill customisation.

This feeds into your activity, as you interact with characters in the Town, trading items in the Shop and learning new skills at the Tavern.

MapleStory: Cave Crawlers is available now for iPhone and iPod touch, priced $1.99, €1.59 or £1.49.

You can see how it plays in the following video.

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