Defender II vs Defender 1
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Defender II
Defend your castle from relentless waves of monsters using a variety of magical spells and defensive structures. Upgrade your city wall, manage mana, and equip powerful bows to repel invaders and defeat bosses. Compete globally in battle mode.
- Shoot arrows
- Cast spells
- Lava moat defense
- Magic Tower support
- Upgrade city wall
- Local and Battle modes
- Equip bows
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Download the @FreeAppADay.com Store App and wish for more top rated paid apps like Defender II to become FREE for a day! "It's rare for a mobile game to make players feel so powerful, but Droidhen does the job well with fun magic spells and smart scaling of enemy waves. And the bigger the waves get, the more satisfying it is to burn them down." -- Games.com Defender II, the HIT castle defense game is coming to App Store now! Waves of monsters are attacking your castle. They move fast, strike hard, and never give up. However, Defender is more powerful than ever before! What's more, Lava moat, Magic Towers will fight together with Defender! How to play? # Touch screen to shoot arrows. # Drag and drop spell icon to cast a spell. # Lava Moat: Burns enemies when they drop into lava moat. # Magic Tower: Provide MANA for spells. Also attacks enemie magically. # City Wall: Upgrade city wall to increase health point. # Mana: Mana is required to cast a spell. # Strength: Increase the damange of a arrow. # Agility: Increase shooting frequency. # Weapon: Select and equip proper bow to defend. # Power shot: Repel monsters. # Fatal Blow: Double damange with certain possibility. Game mode # Local mode: Defeat waves of monsters. # Battle mode: Challenge defenders from all over the world! Watch out, intruders will be stronger and stronger. New BOSSES will come out as stage goes. Be the hero, and win the HONORS! Any suggestion/feedback is welcome!
Defender 1
Relive a classic arcade experience by defending astronauts from alien abduction and destroying enemy ships. Be careful not to harm the astronauts, as their safety is crucial to preventing planetary destruction and mutant alien transformations.
- Defend astronauts from aliens
- Obliterate enemy spaceships
- Avoid friendly fire
- Prevent planetary explosion
- Mutant alien transformations
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DEFENDER 1 brings the excitement of classic 1980s arcade action to your mobile device! Take control of your spacecraft and defend the planet from relentless waves of alien invaders. Your mission is simple—but surviving it won't be. Protect the astronauts on the planet's surface as alien Landers attempt to abduct them. Destroy the enemy ships, rescue the astronauts, and watch your fire—an astronaut caught in the crossfire is one less person you can save. Fail to protect the astronauts and the consequences are catastrophic: the planet will be destroyed and the surviving aliens will transform into deadly Mutants! Battle a variety of enemies, master fast-paced arcade combat, and push your skills to the limit as the action becomes increasingly intense. Features include: Classic arcade-inspired space combat Fast-paced alien battles Astronaut rescue missions Multiple enemy types with different behaviors Touch controls and game controller support Customizable gamepad controls High-score tracking Retro-inspired graphics and gameplay Defend the astronauts. Destroy the invaders. Save the planet. How long can you survive in DEFENDER 1?
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Defender II at Free against Defender 1's $2.99. Defender II also leads on rating (4.2 vs 3.5) and review sentiment (71% vs 31%). Defender 1's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 11) and ads (none vs shown). On 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
Defender II is free to download; Defender 1 costs $2.99 up front. Defender II sells 11 one-off in-app purchases. Defender 1 asks for nothing beyond the download.
Defender II holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Defender II has 1.1K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Defender II's written reviews are positive against 31% of Defender 1's.
Defender II ships an update every 5 weeks, Defender 1 every 38 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Defender II | Defender 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 4.2 (1.1K ratings) — better | 3.5 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 71.1% of reviews — better | 31.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.1K — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks — better | Every 38 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #140 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 75 MB | 45 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | DROIDHEN LIMITED | APD Consulting, Inc. |
Customer experience
Defender II
Defender 1
User reviews
Defender II
From 1.1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎮 Nostalgic and fun gameplay
- ⏱️ Time-killing and addictive
- 👍 Great for passing time
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 💰 In-app purchases not working as expected
- 🔌 Game drains battery quickly
Defender 1
From 2 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Faithful recreation of original game
- 🤩 Nostalgic experience
- 💰 Good value for price
- ✨ Good graphics
- 🕹️ Joystick option available
Room to improve
- 👎 Awful, unresponsive controls
- 🐌 Very slow gameplay
- 💥 Frequent crashes
- 🔇 No sound or intermittent sound
- 🕹️ Poorly spaced controls
Bugs and requests
Defender II
Reported bugs
3 issues- In-app purchases not delivering items
- Game freezing or getting stuck on loading screens
- Progress not saving across devices
Requested features
3 requests- Add Chinese mode
- Implement account sync across devices
- Develop Defender 4 or remaster the series
Defender 1
Reported bugs
7 issues- No sound on iPad
- No sound on iPhone
- Intermittent sound
- App crashes often
- Enemies don't move
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Ship doesn't continue moving after thrusters stop
- Lasers don't react properly when changing direction
Requested features
10 requests- Update to fix sound issues
- Update to fix crashing
- Enable game controller support
- Improve control responsiveness
- Adjust control spacing
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Add vertical-only joystick option
- Add tilt control for travel motion
- Add separate button for direction change
- Add more stages
- Improve graphics (less pixelated)
In-app purchases
Defender II
- Defender II 8000 Coins$1.99
- Defender II 25 Crystals$1.99
- Defender II 8000 Coins (+50%)$1.99
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Defender II 25000 Coins$4.99
- Defender II 75 Crystals$4.99
- Defender II 25000 Coins (+50%)$4.99
- Defender II 75 Crystals (+50%)$4.99
- Gift Pack$4.99
- Defender II 120000 Coins$19.99
- Defender II 360 Crystals$19.99
- Defender II 360 Crystals (+50%)$19.99
Defender 1
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Defender II free?
Is Defender 1 free?
Which has better reviews, Defender II or Defender 1?
Do Defender II or Defender 1 have ads?
Which is updated more often, Defender II or Defender 1?
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