Don't waste a year of your precious lifetime as I have. Stay away from this horrible game.
Gameplay - All the gameplay is is level-grinding the whole time. Honestly, it's so darn boring, especially because of the fact that after you hit 20, gaining experience becomes a horrible chore. The game also consists of doing quests, which really suck. They normally require you to collect a certain amount of one thing or another or killing a certain monster that's too strong for you. The rewards suck 95.6648% of the time, too. Graphics - Since I'm a fan of anime, I gave graphics a 3. Some Cash Shop clothes look rather nice, too. Other than that, I don't see how the other graphics get praise from people above 12 years old.
Sound - Ew, ew, and ew. You may as well turn off the sound and listen to iTunes or something else.
Community - 90% of the community is absolutely repulsive. That 90% is full of hackers, scammers, nasty swearers, and other kids bent on making your life a living hell. Even though they never really bothered me, since I'm used to this kind of stuff, you still have to wonder why people like this should even communicate, since the way they talk is absolutely disgusting. You'll hear the "F" word almost all the time, there's a high chance you'll be scammed at least once or twice, and you'll see a bunch of show-offs who don't do anything to pleasure themselves except by making people feel bad about themselves or betray someone's friendship. As for the other 10%, they're decent. They're nice and willing not to succumb to the other 90%'s ways. The 10% of the population is nice to EVERYONE and will not treat you harshly. If you're intent on playing this game, try befriending these kinds of people.
The first 1-2 months aren't really a waste of time, as long as you also do something else. If you do nothing but play Maple Story, you'll be sorely disappointed. I can see how this game can appeal to the younger crowd, but I suggest even they not play. Maple Story teaches you horrible values because of the 90% community that's bad. I somewhat understand teens falling for this game...but people who are 20+ years old? At that point, you should have a job, an education, and better ways to spend time than Maple Story. Overall...stay away. You don't want to play this game.