Comparison

Defender II vs Defender 1

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Shoot arrows
  • Cast spells
  • Lava moat defense
  • Magic Tower support
  • Upgrade city wall
  • Local and Battle modes
  • Equip bows
Features
Read full description

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!

About

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.

Highlights
  • Defend astronauts from aliens
  • Obliterate enemy spaceships
  • Avoid friendly fire
  • Prevent planetary explosion
  • Mutant alien transformations
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

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

Defender II4 screens
Defender 14 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard10 real differences · 1 level
Defender II versus Defender 1: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDefender IIDefender 1
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating4.2 (1.1K ratings) — better3.5 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews71.1% of reviews — better31.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1.1K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 38 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#140 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size75 MB45 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperDROIDHEN LIMITEDAPD Consulting, Inc.

Customer experience

Defender II

All ratings1,093 ratings
Positive78.8%
Neutral5.4%
Negative15.8%
Written reviews1,512 reviews
Positive71.1%
Neutral5.1%
Negative23.8%

Defender 1

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews71 reviews
Positive31.0%
Neutral4.2%
Negative64.8%

User reviews

Defender II

From 1.1K App Store ratings

What 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 ratings

What 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 more
  • 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 more
  • 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

11 purchases

Defender II

One-time11
  • Defender II 8000 Coins$1.99
  • Defender II 25 Crystals$1.99
  • Defender II 8000 Coins (+50%)$1.99
Show 8 more
  • 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
None

Defender 1

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Defender II free?
Defender II is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Defender 1 free?
Defender 1 costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Defender II or Defender 1?
Defender II is rated higher. Defender II averages 4.2 out of 5 from 1.1K ratings, while Defender 1 averages 3.5 from 2 ratings.
Do Defender II or Defender 1 have ads?
Defender II shows ads; Defender 1 does not.
Which is updated more often, Defender II or Defender 1?
Defender II ships an update every 5 weeks, and Defender 1 every 38 months. Most recently, Defender II was updated on October 27, 2026 and Defender 1 on October 26, 2026.

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