As he said, Mabinogi is a much deeper experience with storylines. The combat is frustrating as even a .5 second lag can kill you. If you don't pay up for a mount life will be very difficult for you and advanced services make the game way way easier.
It has -great- music and a nice artstyle. There's a real sense of adventure here but imo the dungeon system kind of kills that mood.
The world is pretty barren, especially on the new continent.
On Maplestory you pretty much just kill mobs and do killing or collection quests. There's nothing awful in the cashshop. You can even get 2exp from the family system now. The only thing to look forward to is 4th job. After that you just...kill more mobs and hang out with your guild/friends/etc.
It's easier to get into.
