Mysterious Creatures vs NoteRunner
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Mysterious Creatures
Engage in a unique seek-and-find experience by sifting through virtual shirasu to discover hidden sea creatures. Collect a variety of miniature marine life, from baby shrimp to tiny squid, and build your personal collection of these elusive finds.
- Sift through virtual shirasu
- Discover hidden sea creatures
- Collect miniature marine life
- Build a personal collection
- Hint system for assistance
- Save game progress
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Find the mysterious sea creatures lurking in the shirasu! What's shirasu, you ask? Shirasu, also known as whitebait in English, are the small young of fish like sardines and anchovies. They are very small and are used as a garnish or topping in many Japanese dishes, most commonly found as a simple topping for rice. Shirasu are caught in large batches and have an opalescent white color and resemble super tiny fish! They are cooked and salted lightly after being caught. Their close culinary cousin are chirimen, which are baby sardines that have been fully dried. Shirasu, on the other hand, are only partially dried, and have a softer consistency. They're a delicious and simple way to spice up a plain bowl of rice and an everyday part of cuisine in Japan. But... there's more to them than meets the eye! Because the small fish are caught in large batches, occasionally another miniature deepsea creature gets mixed into the shirasu. They're harmless, but you can sometimes find a mini squid, baby shrimp, or tiny fish in the mix! Of course, some are more rare than others, but this kind of seek-and-find suspense has caught on big with children and adults alike. Think of it as the deep-sea version of breakfast cereal... This game simulates the experience of sifting through the shirasu to find mysterious little beasts. See if you can collect them all! How to Play - Using your fingers, sift through the shirasu and look for mysterious creatures. Tap one to add it to your collection. - Pressing the pause button at top right will allow you to look through your collection. - Pressing the Twitter button will allow you to tweet the number of samples you've caught of the selected specimen. - Pressing the magnifying glass at top left will display a hint. Hints are replenished after 10 minutes. - The game is saved each time the pause button is pressed. ※The creatures in the game have been stylized for uniformity, so their color and shape may differ from the real thing.
NoteRunner
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NoteRunner is a music education game where you learn to read notes through a fun runner game. As your character keeps running, walls with musical staves appear one after another. Read the note shown on each wall and tap the correct key on the piano keyboard at the bottom of the screen to smash through it! [Main features] - A fresh music game: read notes while you run - Build your ability to read staff notes in real time - Intuitive controls: just tap the piano keyboard - Aim for high scores with combo bonuses [4 difficulty levels] - Easy: start with basic notes - Normal: wider range and faster tempo - Hard: an advanced mode with accidentals - Sadistic: take on the ultimate challenge! [Ranking system] Scores are graded on 5 tiers: S / A / B / C / D. Track your skill and level up. From music beginners to piano students, this app trains your sight-reading while you have fun.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: NoteRunner at every 3 weeks against Mysterious Creatures's every 4 months. Mysterious Creatures's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Mysterious Creatures ships an update every 4 months, NoteRunner every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 11, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mysterious Creatures | NoteRunner |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.4 (5 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Masakazu Yonehara | MIZOU, CO., LTD. |
In-app purchases
Mysterious Creatures
No in-app purchases
NoteRunner
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Mysterious Creatures free?
Is NoteRunner free?
Do Mysterious Creatures or NoteRunner have ads?
Which is updated more often, Mysterious Creatures or NoteRunner?
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