Gladiator Rising vs Straw Hat Samurai
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Gladiator Rising
Engage in strategic turn-based combat against procedurally generated opponents across five chapters. Equip and utilize a variety of items to hone your warrior skills and achieve ultimate victory in this challenging roguelike RPG.
- Procedurally generated gladiators
- Five chapters of progression
- Item buying and equipping
- Turn-based RPG combat
- Strategic gameplay
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Fight through five Chapters of constantly changing, randomly generated gladiators. Buy, equip and use items as you compete to become the ultimate warrior. Strategy is key to success in this mix of rogue-like and turn-based RPG mix.
Straw Hat Samurai
Master sword arts in this skill-based arcade game set in ancient Japan. Defend your lands from invaders with fast strikes and unlock new samurai abilities. Experience an addicting adventure with beautiful graphics and a captivating soundtrack.
- Skill-based gameplay
- Fast-paced sword combat
- Hundreds of unique levels
- Unlockable samurai abilities
- Cartoon-style graphics
- Addictive arcade action
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This skill-based indie game will challenge you as true samurai! Destroy your opponents and become the greatest master of sword arts! Time to defend what belongs to you! Feel like a real samurai and enjoy the atmosphere of ancient Japan in this addicting action game! Hundreds of invaders have invaded your lands - take your sword and drive them away! Use your fast strikes to hit opponents faster than the wind. An amazing adventure with several paths of passing levels awaits you. Game features: - Many unique levels of varying difficulty - Addictive fast gameplay - Many enemies - Nice soundtrack - Beautiful graphics in a cartoon style - Full version of the game Test your reaction and calculus in this hardcore arcade game! Unlock new abilities of your samurai and go through the fields and forests in order to exterminate all the enemy army! Questions? Contact our tech support at icestonesup@gmail.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Gladiator Rising at 4.6 against Straw Hat Samurai's 3.4. Gladiator Rising also leads on review sentiment (65% vs 33%) and ratings volume (2.6K vs 5). Straw Hat Samurai's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 14.0). On price, update cadence, ads 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
Both are free to download. Gladiator Rising sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Straw Hat Samurai asks for nothing beyond the download.
Gladiator Rising holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Gladiator Rising has 2.6K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Gladiator Rising's written reviews are positive against 33% of Straw Hat Samurai's.
Gladiator Rising ships an update every 4 months, Straw Hat Samurai every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Gladiator Rising | Straw Hat Samurai |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (2.6K ratings) — better | 3.4 (5 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 65.0% of reviews — better | 33.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2.6K — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Ad-supported — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 99 MB | 18 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Happii Gamer Studios Inc. | Absolutist Ltd |
Customer experience
Gladiator Rising
Straw Hat Samurai
Bugs and requests
Gladiator Rising
Reported bugs
4 issues- Game crashes when opening ad chests
- Unable to progress past 3rd or 4th fight
- Character instantly dying when sleeping
- Inventory and skill issues on reloading
Requested features
4 requests- More character classes and abilities
- Improved save/load system
- Better in-app purchase options
- Expanded post-game content
Straw Hat Samurai
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Gladiator Rising
- Small Donation$0.99
- Remove Ads$1.99
- Medium Donation$2.99
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- Large Donation$8.99
Straw Hat Samurai
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Gladiator Rising free?
Is Straw Hat Samurai free?
Which has better reviews, Gladiator Rising or Straw Hat Samurai?
Do Gladiator Rising or Straw Hat Samurai have ads?
Which is updated more often, Gladiator Rising or Straw Hat Samurai?
Other comparisons
