Hero Emblems vs Mage Mania
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Hero Emblems
Embark on a fantasy adventure blending classic JRPG storytelling with engaging match-3 puzzle combat. Explore a vast world, battle diverse monsters with unique weaknesses, and make choices that shape your destiny. Experience a deep, story-driven quest with no in-app purchases or ads.
- Classical JRPG style adventures
- Turn-based match-3 combat
- Large adventure world map
- Diverse monsters with weaknesses
- Story-driven quests
- Choice-based stage progression
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Match Tiles, Beat' em Up, Adventure – Brand New Experience of Classical JRPG "Hero Emblems is proof that there’s still room in the market for a great match-3 adventure" - TouchArcade.com (4.5/5 Stars) "Hero Emblems is a challenging new match-three RPG that you won't be able to put down" - AppAdvice.com (4.5/5 Starts) "The game is cute, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy." - PocketTactics.com (4/5 Stars) "Hero Emblems is an old school game packaged for the new school, and it’s awesome" - GamesInAsia.com (8.5/10) Hero Emblems is a JRPG that mixes “Side-Scrolling beat' em up” and “Match-3” features. Set in the middle-ages fantasy world of sword-fighting and wizardry, it is an adventure of 4 brave warriors who wield different emblem powers and their attempts to stop the re-awakening of the God of Evil. ==Game Features== ►Classical JRPG style adventures Complete presentation the traditional JRPG world which let you enjoy the fun of the console JRPG experience. ► Unique turn-based battle to offer the beat' em up experience Launch combo attacks, defense, healing and skills by matching rule. ►Big adventure world map Bravely traverse into dungeons, wilderness, caves, and cross the ocean to visit the new continents in the fantasy world. In the journey, you will meet different personalities NPC, and visit a variety of village to purchase the new equipments and skills. ►A variety of monsters with different kinds of weakness attributes and attack debuffs Different Monsters have its own strong/weakness. Some of them would attack with debuffs, such as poisoning, sealing, freezing, petrifying. You have to determine the strategy to attack the weakness of monsters with specific skills and remove the debuffs by matching rules. ►Story-driven quests. Seamless transitions between the battle scene and cutscene let you deeply immerse in the story. CAUTION! NO WARNING ALERT WHEN BOSS ARISES! ►Choose the cross roads of stages!? Choose the fate!? What will the ending be like? ►No IAP! No Ads! ==Background Story== Three thousand years ago, the ancient God of Evil captured the Shayara Kingdom. In those desperate times, four heroes rose to defeat the God of Evil with all their might. The heroic tales of these 4 heroes have been passed down for generations. Now, the ancient God of Evil is re-awakening...New generation of heroes, are you ready?
Mage Mania
Embark on a dungeon-crawling adventure where you collect elements to cast spells and battle monsters. Explore a world filled with dragons, collect powerful equipment, and utilize over 20 unique spells in this 8-bit styled game.
- 8-bit style graphics
- Tap and clear gameplay
- 20 unique spells
- Over 200 equipment items
- More than 100 monsters to battle
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Dragons ruled the world once. Now they are sleeping in the dungeon with endless wealth and waiting for the adventurer's challenge. Grab your staff and dive into the dungeon. And use your spells to fight the monsters and dragons. The rule is simple. Collect elements by tapping and casting spells for attack. An interesting adventure is waiting for you. FEATURES • 8-bit style • Tap and clear, simple and straight. • 20 spells. • More than 200 equipment. • More than 100 monsters.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Mage Mania at Free against Hero Emblems's $2.99. Hero Emblems's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and ads (none vs shown). On review sentiment, update cadence 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
Mage Mania is free to download; Hero Emblems costs $2.99 up front. Mage Mania sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Hero Emblems asks for nothing beyond the download.
Hero Emblems holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 405 and 100 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 79% of Hero Emblems's written reviews are positive against 82% of Mage Mania's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Hero Emblems ships an update every 3 months, Mage Mania every 4 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Hero Emblems | Mage Mania |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.5 (405 ratings) — better | 4.2 (100 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 79.4% of reviews | 81.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 405 — better | 100 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 11.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 148 MB | 60 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | HeatPot Games Ltd. | Jampot Software co., ltd |
Customer experience
Hero Emblems
Mage Mania
User reviews
Hero Emblems
From 405 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎨 Gorgeous graphics
- 🕹️ Addictive match-3 gameplay
- 💰 No in-app purchases
- 🕰️ Lengthy campaign with lots of content
- 🎵 Excellent soundtrack
Room to improve
- 🤯 Overly difficult progression and boss battles
- 💰 Slow gold/XP gain requires excessive grinding
- 🤖 Poor enemy AI and balancing
- 📝 Subpar localization and dialogue writing
- 🤷♀️ Confusing UI elements (e.g. delete save button)
Mage Mania
From 100 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Fun and enjoyable gameplay
- ✨ Retro and nostalgic feel
- 🎮 Easy to pick up and play
- 💡 Interesting game concept
- 😊 Good for passing time
Room to improve
- 🐛 Unbalanced gameplay
- 🐛 Buggy experience
- 🐛 Grind-heavy progression
- 🐛 Ads not rewarding
- 🐛 App stops music/podcasts
Bugs and requests
Hero Emblems
Reported bugs
4 issues- Crashes after completing final boss battle
- Save file deletion issues
- Background music playback problems
- Language settings reverting unexpectedly
Requested features
5 requests- Difficulty settings or easy mode
- Mid-level checkpoints to avoid repeating content
- Ability to change equipment during battles
- Improved iCloud/cross-device save syncing
- Option to disable random encounters
Mage Mania
Reported bugs
6 issues- Translations are funny/need fixing
- App stops podcast/music playback
- Ads never give reward
- Tutorial starts without equipping spells
- Thrown weapons listed for zero gold in shop
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- Game not playable offline
Requested features
6 requests- Fix translations
- Allow offline play
- More characters to use
- Build chains diagonally
- Choose number of pieces in a chain
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- More content/updates
In-app purchases
Hero Emblems
No in-app purchases
Mage Mania
- 1000 Coins$0.99
- Double Experience$0.99
- Double Earning$0.99
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- 2200 Coins$1.99
- 5500 Coins$4.99
- 12000 Coins$9.99
Questions
Is Hero Emblems free?
Is Mage Mania free?
Which has better reviews, Hero Emblems or Mage Mania?
Do Hero Emblems or Mage Mania have ads?
Which is updated more often, Hero Emblems or Mage Mania?
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