S.T.G. vs DANMAKU
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
S.T.G.
Pilot a spaceship, destroy enemies, and collect power-ups to survive increasingly difficult stages. The objective is to defeat the boss at the end of each level to progress. The game ends if all lives and credits are depleted.
- Control a spaceship
- Shoot enemies
- Collect power-ups
- Defeat stage bosses
- Stage-based progression
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Control a ship and shoot enemies while avoiding enemy fire. Power-up items appear when some enemies are destroyed. There are 3 items: Power-up (red), missile (green), bomber (blue). Defeat the target enemy at end of the stage to clear the stage. When all stages are cleared or all lives and credits reach zero the game is over.
DANMAKU
Engage in intense bullet-hell combat across 8 stages with 16 unique bosses. Choose from 8 different ships, each with distinct flight patterns and abilities. Strategically select weapons, armors, and companions to overcome escalating challenges and improve your pilot level with every run.
- 8 stages with 3 difficulty levels
- 16 unique bosses and mid-bosses
- 5 distinct weapon types
- 4 armor types with trade-offs
- 3 companion options
- Pilot level progression
- Graze and bomb mechanics
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DANMAKU Shooting - STELLAR FORCE 8 stages, 16 bosses. Every run you fly a different ship. ◆ 8 Stages, 3 Difficulties Route → mid-boss → route → boss. About 13 minutes a run. Clear NORMAL to open HARD, clear HARD to open LUNATIC. Higher difficulties give bosses more bullet patterns — and pay more coins. ◆ 16 Bosses One boss and one mid-boss per stage. You never fight the same one twice. ◆ 5 Weapons — not better and worse, but good at different things Vulcan / Spread / Laser / Homing / Reflect. Laser struggles on the route; Spread struggles on bosses. "Next run I'll take this one" is the reason to go again. ◆ 4 Armors — every one costs you something Heavy gives +3 HP and slows you down. Phase takes 2 HP away and pays you more the closer you fly to bullets. ◆ 3 Companions Gunner, shield, medic. Buy them, take up to two along. ◆ Pilot Level It always goes up when you play. A run you lose is not a run wasted. ◆ Graze and Bombs Skim a bullet and the coins climb. When there's no way through, bomb it. ◆ 8 Ships A small hitbox, more firepower, an extra bomb. They differ in how they fly, not just how they look.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: DANMAKU at 5.0 against S.T.G.'s 4.0. DANMAKU also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 months). S.T.G.'s advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On price 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. DANMAKU sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. S.T.G. asks for nothing beyond the download.
DANMAKU holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: S.T.G. has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
S.T.G. ships an update every 5 months, DANMAKU every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | S.T.G. | DANMAKU |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (6 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | 6 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 93 MB | 80 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | keiichi tago | MIZOU, CO., LTD. |
Customer experience
S.T.G.
DANMAKU
In-app purchases
S.T.G.
No in-app purchases
DANMAKU
- Supporter Pack$4.99
