Merchant RPG vs Magic Research 2
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Send heroes on quests
- Craft weapons and armor
- Manage shop economy
- Upgrade heroes and crafters
- Raid bosses
- Customize characters
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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! * * *
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
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.
| Parameter | Merchant RPG | Magic Research 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $4.69 |
| Rating | 4.6 (276 ratings) | 4.8 (118 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 68.9% of reviews | 82.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 276 — better | 118 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #11 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 67 MB | 36 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Retora Game Studios | Matias Ezequiel Colotto |
Customer experience
Merchant RPG
Magic Research 2
User reviews
Merchant RPG
From 276 App Store ratingsWhat 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 ratingsWhat 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 moreShow fewer
- 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 moreShow fewer
- More Please
- Auto fight boss button
- Compendium unlocks bosses before beating them
- Less dialogue and descriptions, more functional text
In-app purchases
Merchant RPG
- 16 Inventory Slots$0.99
- 16 Additional Inventory Slots II$0.99
- 16 Additional Inventory Slots III$0.99
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- 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
Magic Research 2
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Merchant RPG free?
Is Magic Research 2 free?
Which has better reviews, Merchant RPG or Magic Research 2?
Do Merchant RPG or Magic Research 2 have ads?
Which is updated more often, Merchant RPG or Magic Research 2?
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