Comparison

Merchant RPG vs Magic Research 2

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Merchant RPG

Manage a fantasy shopkeeping empire by sending heroes on quests for materials and using crafters to create gear. Balance crafting, selling, and hero upgrades to build your trade empire and conquer foes. This offline idle RPG blends tycoon mechanics with traditional RPG elements.

Highlights
  • Send heroes on quests
  • Craft weapons and armor
  • Manage shop economy
  • Upgrade heroes and crafters
  • Raid bosses
  • Customize characters
Features
Read full description

Be the Merchant of your very own empire! Quest, Craft, Profit, Upgrade! As the Merchant, you are the commander of your own domain! Blending together traditional RPG systems, tycoon mechanics, and a fantasy overworld, Merchant aims to reimagine the traditional mobile RPG. In Merchant, players take the role of a shopkeeper who must manage a team of Heroes and Crafters. Heroes are sent out on quests in order to fight enemies and gather materials. Crafters then use those materials to create weapons and armor. As the shopkeeper, players must balance their micro-economies between selling items for gold and crafting items to better ensure success for the Heroes. * * * TAKE REIGN OF YOUR MARKET - Send Heroes out on epic adventures! - Pay Crafters to create gear! - Earn gold and dictate the direction of your economy! - Grow your inventory and profit from your trade empire! VICTORY THROUGH CONQUEST - Choose your cast of characters from multiple Hero classes! - Ride out to battle to bring back items and loot! - Customize your champions with weapons and armor! - Band together to raid powerful bosses as a party! - Better performance leads to greater rewards! CRAFT YOUR LEGACY - Utilize the unique Crafters to create items and gear to use and sell! - Train the Crafters to create better items, allowing them to master their trade! - Ensure the victory of your Heroes by outfitting them with superior items! * * *

About

Magic Research 2

Embark on a magical quest as a rookie wizard to find or create the Philosopher's Stone. Utilize over 120 spells, transmute hundreds of items, and lead a team of wizards in a semi-automated combat system. Explore dozens of areas, uncover secrets, and experience over 60 hours of gameplay.

Highlights
  • Over 120 distinct spells
  • Transmute over 250 items
  • Control a team of wizards
  • Semi-automated combat system
  • Explore dozens of areas
  • Discover secrets and storylines
  • Retirement bonuses for faster progress
Features
Read full description

Experience the long-awaited sequel to Magic Research! In Magic Research 2, you are a rookie wizard with a single ambition: to find or create the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary magical item that is said to be able to cure any illness. As you do so, you will learn more than you ever imagined about Magic and about the world around you. What kinds of adventures await you? * Use your arsenal of more than 120 distinct spells to make progress * Study the Elements! Learn new ways to use Magic in your path to mastery * Transmute (magically craft) over 250 different items to help you on your journey * Control a team of Wizards that will cast Spells for you * Enjoy a deep, semi-automated combat system as you make your way through dozens of areas to explore * Discover tons of secrets - many of which will change the way you play the game! * Encounter over a hundred distinct Storylines with powerful bonuses along your journey * Restart the game and make progress faster each time with retirement bonuses * Over 60 hours of addictive gameplay - with a clear ending! (Or perhaps more than one...?) * Optimized both for phones and tablet devices You do not need to have played Magic Research in order to enjoy Magic Research 2!

Screenshots

Merchant RPG4 screens
Magic Research 24 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Merchant RPG at Free against Magic Research 2's $4.69. Merchant RPG also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 13.0). Magic Research 2's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 12) and ads (none vs shown). On rating, ratings volume and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Merchant RPG is free to download; Magic Research 2 costs $4.69 up front. Merchant RPG sells 12 one-off in-app purchases. Magic Research 2 asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Merchant RPG against 4.8 for Magic Research 2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 276 and 118 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 69% of Merchant RPG's written reviews are positive against 82% of Magic Research 2's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Merchant RPG ships an update every 4 months, Magic Research 2 every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Merchant RPG versus Magic Research 2: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMerchant RPGMagic Research 2
PriceFree — better$4.69
Rating4.6 (276 ratings)4.8 (118 ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.9% of reviews82.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings276 — better118
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#11 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size67 MB36 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperRetora Game StudiosMatias Ezequiel Colotto

Customer experience

Merchant RPG

All ratings265 ratings
Positive91.3%
Neutral2.3%
Negative6.4%
Written reviews161 reviews
Positive68.9%
Neutral10.6%
Negative20.5%

Magic Research 2

All ratings115 ratings
Positive92.2%
Neutral4.3%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews56 reviews
Positive82.1%
Neutral8.9%
Negative8.9%

User reviews

Merchant RPG

From 276 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Addictive gameplay
  • 👍 Simple yet deep mechanics
  • 🎨 Lovely pixel art style
  • 💰 Fair monetization model
  • ⏱️ Quick progression

Room to improve

  • 🔇 Cuts off background audio
  • 🤔 Confusing for new players
  • 🤖 Lack of combat animations
  • 🧠 Repetitive gameplay loop

Magic Research 2

From 118 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fantastic sequel, better than the first
  • 👍 Incredible sense of progression
  • 💡 Fun build types, best in genre
  • 👍 Incremental masterclass, gold standard
  • 👍 True semi-idle masterpiece

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Extremely complicated, tedious timers
  • 🐛 UI is absolutely atrocious
  • 🐛 Time pieces cap out at 100k
  • 🐛 UI issues, not easy to navigate
  • 🐛 Sorting doesn't sort exactly as wanted

Bugs and requests

Merchant RPG

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Ads not working properly
  • Inventory management issues
  • Progression-blocking bugs

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add save slots or cloud sync
  • Improve equipment visuals
  • Implement auto-repeat quests
  • Provide more guidance for new players

Magic Research 2

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • App instantly crashes on open
  • Game crashes on startup
  • App started rapidly pushing buttons on its own
  • Overheating phone
  • Lags and gets choppy in the late game
Show 1 more
  • Compendium doesn't unlock for bosses unless already beat

Requested features

9 requests
  • DLC or sequel news
  • macOS version
  • Better automation and convenience features
  • Tweak familiar search time down
  • Release the next one
Show 4 more
  • More Please
  • Auto fight boss button
  • Compendium unlocks bosses before beating them
  • Less dialogue and descriptions, more functional text

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Merchant RPG

One-time12
  • 16 Inventory Slots$0.99
  • 16 Additional Inventory Slots II$0.99
  • 16 Additional Inventory Slots III$0.99
Show 9 more
  • 16 Additional Inventory Slots$0.99
  • Unlock the Jeweler$0.99
  • Hero Slot I$0.99
  • Hero Slot II$0.99
  • Enchanter Unlock$1.99
  • Unlock all Shop Themes$2.99
  • Frozen Tome Expansion$2.99
  • Scribe Expansion$3.99
  • Unlocks Everything$14.99
None

Magic Research 2

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Merchant RPG free?
Merchant RPG is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Magic Research 2 free?
Magic Research 2 costs $4.69, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Merchant RPG or Magic Research 2?
Magic Research 2 is rated higher. Merchant RPG averages 4.6 out of 5 from 276 ratings, while Magic Research 2 averages 4.8 from 118 ratings.
Do Merchant RPG or Magic Research 2 have ads?
Merchant RPG shows ads; Magic Research 2 does not.
Which is updated more often, Merchant RPG or Magic Research 2?
Merchant RPG ships an update every 4 months, and Magic Research 2 every 3 days. Most recently, Merchant RPG was updated on October 24, 2026 and Magic Research 2 on October 25, 2026.

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