쿠로 게임즈의 오픈월드 액션 RPG, '명조'가 오는 4월 30일 3.3버전 업데이트를 진행합니다. 2024년에 5월 23일 글로벌로 출시한 만큼, 중간에 진행하게 될 2주년을 기념하는 의미까지 담은 중요한 업데이트이기도 하죠.
4년 전 최초 공개 당시부터 특유의 그래픽과 액션으로 서브컬쳐 유저들을 설레게 했던 '명조'는, 출시 후에도 그 기대감을 쭉 끌어안고 나아가는 중입니다. 이제 서브컬쳐 오픈월드를 논할 때 결코 빠질 수 없는 작품으로 굳건히 자리잡은 것은 물론, 앞으로 어떤 이야기와 세계 그리고 캐릭터들을 보여줄지 꾸준히 논의가 되는 등 서브컬쳐적으로도 확고히 한 축을 잡고 있는 상태죠.
특히 그간 국내에 수 차례 오프라인 이벤트를 전개하고 참여하면서 덕심을 충족시키기 위한 활동에도 진심이었던 '명조'였던 만큼, 이번 2주년에는 과연 어떤 놀라움을 전해줄지 미리 정리해보고자 합니다.
산 넘고 바다 건너 설원을 지나 우주로, '명조' 2주년에 걸맞는 3.3의 클라이맥스
금주에서부터 시작된 '명조'의 이야기는 어느덧 리나시타를 건너 세 번째 지역 '라하이 로이'로 오게 되었습니다. 금주성에서 인류를 위협하는 비명과 명식의 위험성과 그에 맞서는 수호신 그리고 공명자의 관계를 풀어낸 이후, 비명과 명식을 연구하고 대처하고자 하는 결사인 '검은해안'을 거쳐 리나시타에 오는 동안 '명조'는 점차 무르익고 있었습니다. 아직도 회자되고 있는 승소산에서 장리의 활약에, 트레일러부터 감수성을 자극한 파수인의 등장까지 이미 완성도 높았던 액션과 그래픽 그리고 오픈월드에 감성이 더해지고 있었거든요.
그 뒤 리나시타는 스토리의 완성도를 한층 끌어올리며 이후에 보여줄 '명조'의 모험을 쭉 기대하게 만들었습니다. 카니발의 도시 라군나부터 시작해 깊은 바다, 그리고 일곱 언덕까지 다양한 모티프의 지역을 훌륭히 구현한 것은 물론이고 매 버전 주요 캐릭터들의 활약을 명곡과 함께 풀어내면서 지금까지도 각인되게 만들었습니다. 카르티시아를 구하는 장면에서 들려오는 'With Glory I Shall Fall', 루파가 명식에 잠식된 미아와 결투하는 순간에 재생된 'Ode to the Nameless Martyr', 그리고 명식 레비아탄을 제압하기 위해 모두가 연계했을 때의 'Chasing Daylight' 등등. 첫 멜로디를 듣는 순간 바로 그 장면이 떠오를 만큼 강렬한 인상을 시각과 청각 모두로 전해주고 있었죠. 여기에 주인공과 대적하던 잔성회도 크리스토포로의 맹활약으로 각종 별명을 얻으며 어떤 분탕(?)으로 스토리에 감칠맛을 더할지 기대를 모으게 했습니다.
이후 소노라에 봉인된 호나미 시를 거쳐서 가게 된 새로운 지역, '라하이 로이'는 사전 빌드업을 차곡차곡 거치면서 또다른 클라이맥스를 예고하고 있습니다. 라하이 로이는 원래 극지대가 아녔지만 명식 알레프-원과 비명 때문에 극점이 되어버린 곳으로, 그 불안정한 상태 때문에 보이드 스톰이라는 재해도 자주 닥쳐오는 곳이기도 합니다. 그래서 지하로 대피한 뒤, 우주와 각종 현상에 대해 연구하는 스페이스트렉 콜렉티브와 원래 그 지역에서 살던 로야족을 중심으로 도시를 세우고 스타토치 아카데미를 설립해 이 현상을 규명하고 대책을 세우고자 하고 있죠.
활공을 대체할 오토바이를 타고 보이드스톰 사이를 가로지르며 활약하는 방랑자의 이야기로 시작한 3버전 대의 스토리는 단순 현상을 넘어서 방랑자의 과거 그리고 더 넓은 우주에 대한 단서까지 던져주고 있습니다. 이를 단순히 압도적인 스케일로 제시하는 것이 아닌, 함께 할 캐릭터와의 교감으로 발맞춰가는 것도 잊지 않고 있죠. 3.0에서 단편 애니메이션급 기승전결을 보여준 모니에의 PV로 우주에 대한 열망을 보여준 뒤, 3.1에서는 호나미 시 라디오 그 이전부터 이어졌던 엑소스트라이더의 적격자 에이메스와의 인연을 거쳐가며 솔라리스 너머 별바다의 존재가 차근차근 제시됐습니다. 그곳에 자리잡고 있는 명식 알레프-원의 위험성은 물론, 방랑자의 과거까지 어느 정도 드러나면서 앞으로 다가올 클라이맥스를 기대하게 했죠.
And in version 3.3, the Wanderer heads to the new area 'Plains of Darkness' to confront Aleph One and rescue Aimes. The place where the power of Myungsik still remains, and where many places were destroyed by the Void Storm, is the area where the 'Strider Gate', which was created when Exostriders and Myungsik Aleph-One descended, is located. Therefore, in this version 3.3, the Drifter is expected to reopen the closed door to prevent Aleph-One from entering, activate the Exostrider, and embark on a difficult road to rescue Aimes.
The action to be shown by the new dealer 'Hiyuki' and the unique concept 'Dania', who have been waiting for over a year
As Ames had already appeared as a pickup in version 3.1, opinions were divided about the character to celebrate the 2nd anniversary. And through the last broadcast and the 3.2 version story, the main characters, 'Hiyuki' and 'Dania', were confirmed.
Hiyuki is a 5-star Condensation Direct Sword Resonator and the only member of the Space Trek Collective Special Task Force. He is a person who came to Lahai Roy from outside for some reason, brought the future forward, and gained the power to fight against Myeongsik.
'Hiyuki', a 5-star condensation attribute resonator who appeared after a long time since Carlotta was introduced in version 2.0, is a character who attacks enemies with swordsmanship in various stances. During normal attacks, he attacks with a dual sword of Sotaedo made of attitude and ice, but when the special attack gauge 'Desire' is full, if you press and hold a normal attack, he shows a change in stance, such as inflicting wide-area condensation damage with archery.
When you use the resonance skill 'Frost Punishment', it levitates enemies in front and then charges them in the air, inflicting additional condensation damage. When activated, wish points are earned, and normal attacks are strengthened to deal greater damage.
Hiyuki's key feature is the Resonance Release activation, where she enters the 'Foresight' state, inflicting area-wide condensation damage to enemies and strengthening all skills for a certain period of time. The enhanced resonance skill 'Frost Punishment', when pressed briefly, pulls nearby enemies in, inflicts condensation damage, and launches them into the air to continue repeated attacks. When in the air, it is activated as 'Falling Flower', which pulls the enemy in and inflicts wide-area condensation damage along with a falling attack.
Hiyuki assumes an Iai stance by pressing and holding the Resonance skill while in Foresight mode, or by briefly pressing Evasion between certain attack skills. At this time, if you briefly press a normal attack, you will use Iaigijutsu, which deals condensation damage while blocking the opponent's attack with a guard.
When entering the state of foresight, a special gauge called 'Frost Power - Iai' is created instead of wish. Each time you use Iai, this gauge is consumed to obtain 'Cold Erosion - Frost Tree'. Then, use the 'Cold Erosion-Frost Tree' points to grow an ice tree near the enemy and make an attack that inflicts area-wide condensation damage. Then, if you additionally activate Resonance Release, the state of foresight will be lifted and you will deal powerful condensation damage to nearby enemies based on the points accumulated so far. Hiyuki's key seems to be to use the points exchanged every time her stance changes, and to continuously attack the enemy with extreme swordsmanship.
The next pickup, 'Denia', is a 5-star melted amplifier resonator. Dania, who has appeared several times in the Lahai Roy story, is a character who, unlike her cute appearance, has a slightly prickly personality and shows a dual side by being involved with the Afterlife, raising questions about what her true identity is.
The combat method is also characterized by a focus on such duality. Normally, he swings his staff and summons bubbles to attack enemies, but when the resonance is released, he transforms into a 'disillusionment form' and uses the devil's hand to actively drive away enemies.
Although not much information has been released yet, Denia is a character that is bound to draw even more attention. There are many elements that seem to be connected to the sea of stars or void space, such as collecting and popping bubbles in the starry sky when using a resonance skill, or collecting special energy after releasing resonance and then developing a special area with enhanced resonance release. In particular, since it showed a meaningful background and direction during the liberation of Gongmyeong, I am looking forward to what kind of key card it will play in this version 3.3.
The 3rd version of 'Myeongjo', a serious bike enthusiast, has improved optimization with technology
As it is the 2nd anniversary, improvements to not only the in-game story and characters but also open world exploration are essential points. If the 2nd version's Rinasita added comfort with 'gliding', the 3rd version's bike is taking its place. It was a bit disappointing at the time of the first update to 3.0, but with the addition of various modes and the control patch, it has now become an element that brings a different flavor to the exploration of Lahai Roy.
And in this version 3.3, a 'hanging state' mode is also created after completing the assistant mission. It seems that the 2% disappointing part will be alleviated by being able to glide over a certain distance by utilizing hover energy. In addition, a new ‘gliding strategy’ module is scheduled to increase driving efficiency. By adding an energy recovery module that quickly recovers the charge jump cooldown and a 'high efficiency thruster' that reduces the amount of energy consumed during the hover dash, it seems that ingenious riding that has never been thought of before will be possible by combining charge jump, hover, and dash.
Wrapping, which is essential when talking about bikes, is also being introduced in various ways to celebrate the 2nd anniversary. In particular, this time, they are showing two large-scale collaborations in succession. In Isekai Link 1, there is a collaboration wrapping between Monster No. 8, Angry Birds, and Resident Evil, and in Isekai Link 2, there is Pragmata, Riders Republic, and Haikyuu!! Collaboration wrapping is waiting for you. In addition, Hiyuki Wrapping and Monnier's special edition costume 'Cozy Dream', and SNS Waveline's new theme decoration 'Golden Seal of Sweet Coffee' with the motif of Chisawa Namiphone's cafe, show an attempt to meet the needs of the bike as well as its appearance.
In addition, new exploration gimmicks such as 'Light Casting Machine', a new puzzle gimmick using shadows, 'Void Matter Puzzle' applying a Tetris-style block game, and 'Light Engraving', which purifies void matter using the spirit energy of the sun, are also one of the highlights of version 3.3. We plan to further unravel new region-related content through two types of dangerous missions, including 'Perfect Flight Day', where we explore ancient ruins with the Sun Spirit and Sigrica, and 'Heart of the Shattered Plains of Darkness', where we respond to Voidmatter's contamination with Monnier.
In addition to adding new areas and new elements, many other improvements are being made to celebrate the 2nd anniversary. First of all, with regard to the exploration bike, bunny hop and lighting effects have been improved to make it more comfortable to operate, and more diverse camera work can be used in movie mode. Additionally, starting from version 3.3, animations will be added when drawing exclusive weapons, and animations for exclusive weapons of other existing characters will also be gradually added in the future.
The UI was also expected to be reorganized. First of all, in version 3.3, the resonator list and party screen are improved, and character resonance mode display and switching functions are added. Additionally, we plan to increase the sense of unity through visual improvements on each page. In addition, for more comfortable play, our own frame interpolation technology is applied on mobile, and on PC, not only DLSS but also DLAA options are applied to improve screen clarity. In other words, you can enjoy Myeongjo at native resolution on devices that meet the conditions. In addition, field interaction graphic details have been improved, and more diverse feedback is expected to be experienced.
Meanwhile, to alleviate concerns about increasing capacity, we are further improving resource selection download and resource cleanup features for mobile clients. Previously, you could only organize past story resources that had already been completed, but after version 3.3, you will be able to select and organize map field resources. The minimum download resources required to start the game have also been reduced to about 28GB on Android, so I think it is time for mobile users to take note of this and access Myeongjo comfortably.
2nd anniversary in-game event full of various rewards
And as it is the 2nd anniversary, events and their rewards will probably be key. In version 3.3, we plan to welcome users with various events in addition to the events that were introduced when launching new regions, such as the Plains of Darkness tracking event and commemorative photo collection event.
First of all, ‘Mysterious Land Challenge – Ephemeral Dream’ returns for a limited time. In this mysterious challenge set in Honami City, Namiphone also appears, and the available resonators, abilities, and eco settings have become more diverse. And with the introduction of a difficulty adjustment mode, you can now challenge yourself by adjusting the difficulty level to suit you. Here's another battle event 'Challenge! You can obtain various rewards such as the sound of stars through the 'Combat Degree Test', and in Hologram Strategy-Synchronization, Sigillum is added and can be challenged.
'Saealsim', which has appeared since its first anniversary and has become an indispensable part of the Myeongjo, is holding the championship again using a new mechanism. In addition, we plan to add a unique attempt with pinball-themed 'star bouncing'. In commemoration of the 2nd anniversary, various rewards are waiting for users, including a login event called ‘Mumu Express Must Complete the Mission!’ where limited missions are released every week and various rewards are given each time they are completed, and 10 additional golden wave patterns are awarded when logging in on the 2nd anniversary day.
In addition, in celebration of the 3.3 version update and 2nd anniversary, the double moonlight engraving first charge bonus will be reset, and at the same time, the 'Seabird's Return' point exchange event will be held. Upon completing various tuning missions and activity missions, you can obtain 'Foam in the Flowing Melody' and exchange it for various rewards, including the golden wave pattern, which is a limited draw ticket, Hiyuki accessory 'Mindlessness', and Denia accessory 'Dania's Doll'. In addition, since some of the limited rewards from last time can also be exchanged, it is an opportunity to re-acquire things that were unfortunately not obtained last time.
9 offline events, the past footsteps of Myeongjo, who was sincere in Korea, and the 2nd anniversary
Another thing that cannot be left out when discussing 'Myeongjo' is offline events. In particular, 'Myeongjo' is a game that actively held offline events in Korea after its release and met with users. Starting with 'Myeongjo in Hongdae' held on the 27th immediately after its release, 'Myeongjo Market in Sinchon', 'Myeongjo Park in Yongsan', 'Myeongjo World in AGF' participated as AGF's main sponsor, 'Myeongjo Carnival in Yongsan', and the 1st anniversary 'Myeongjo Festival', I came to Korea for every major update.
After the first anniversary, the domestic event period was slightly longer due to Kuro Fest, which marked the 11th anniversary of the establishment of Kuro Games. However, after the conclusion of the Rinashita story, we are starting again by holding 'Myeongjo Campus Week' with the concept of Star Torch Academy at the 'Myeongjo Cafe' with the theme of death in January of this year. And to celebrate its second anniversary, KINTEX will be holding the ‘Myeongjo Festival: Shining Moment, With You’. Kuro Games' sincerity toward Korea was confirmed by the fact that it was selected as the venue for the 2nd anniversary festival along with China, where Kuro Games' headquarters is located, and Japan, the birthplace of subculture.
In particular, this Myeongjo Festival is expected to be a special event as the second creative sale that fans have been hoping for will also be held. Since Myeongjo has received a lot of love and attention, especially in Korea, many memes that have spread abroad have originated domestically. It looks like it will be a place where not only the official version but also the various charms of secondary creation can be shared, including Bbangtteok Geumhee, Geumuen, and Cameltal, which the developers will shout out.
Here, news of various collaborations and goods is also an essential point. First of all, through collaboration with Razer, various denier-themed gaming gear will be introduced in the near future. In addition to the collaborations with food and beverage and convenience stores such as Mom's Touch, Dalkom Coffee, GS25, Banollim Pizza, and Compose Coffee in Korea, the collaboration with Musinsa will also begin on May 19th. Additionally, in collaboration with S.H. Figuarts, you will be able to see the Ames Mecha Stout action figure in real life. In addition, mini pouches themed on Myeongjo’s various resonance characters will also be released in collaboration with Funism. And for the 2nd anniversary, we are preparing a variety of official goods, including the PS5 Collector's Edition of Myeongjo: Worthering Wave.
And the performance that fans have been waiting for has been announced as a 'world tour'. In this concert, which starts from Shanghai and covers Taipei, Tokyo, LA, Seoul, and Singapore, it is expected that users will be able to hear a variety of new songs that have moved users so far. Although the program details and schedule have not been released yet, I am looking forward to what kind of repertoire the music that has been built up step by step over the past two years will be released.
In this way, 'Myeongjo' has been working hard to provide users with a variety of experiences, not only in-game but also outside of the game. Of course, not all of those moves were perfect. The localization issues that were constantly mentioned at the beginning of the launch eventually led to a meeting, and since then, we have continued to make corrections through several rounds of feedback. We talked about famous songs earlier, but many pointed out that there weren't many memorable songs at the beginning of the release.
Myeongjo, who has blossomed into his potential in 'Rinacita' by steadily correcting those weaknesses and making repeated reinvestments, is now anticipating another leap forward with Lahai Roy and the 2nd anniversary. Simply unpacking it is enough, and another number called the Cyberpunk Edge Runner collaboration has not yet been revealed. As such, I think it will be worth watching with anticipation for this 2nd anniversary of ‘Myeongjo’ and its future activities. After this 2nd anniversary, Myeongjo will rush to impress users with not only the best collaboration ever, but also other build-ups and updates. If you haven't felt that sincerity yet, I think this 2nd anniversary is an opportunity to experience it.
Comments (0)