Comparison

Hero Emblems vs Mage Mania

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Classical JRPG style adventures
  • Turn-based match-3 combat
  • Large adventure world map
  • Diverse monsters with weaknesses
  • Story-driven quests
  • Choice-based stage progression
Features
Read full description

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?

About

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.

Highlights
  • 8-bit style graphics
  • Tap and clear gameplay
  • 20 unique spells
  • Over 200 equipment items
  • More than 100 monsters to battle
Features
Read full description

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

Hero Emblems4 screens
Mage Mania4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hero Emblems ships an update every 3 months, Mage Mania every 4 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Hero Emblems versus Mage Mania: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHero EmblemsMage Mania
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.5 (405 ratings) — better4.2 (100 ratings)
Positive reviews79.4% of reviews81.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings405 — better100
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better11.0
Further details — not scored
Size148 MB60 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperHeatPot Games Ltd.Jampot Software co., ltd

Customer experience

Hero Emblems

All ratings406 ratings
Positive88.2%
Neutral4.4%
Negative7.4%
Written reviews606 reviews
Positive79.4%
Neutral9.4%
Negative11.2%

Mage Mania

All ratings97 ratings
Positive75.3%
Neutral15.5%
Negative9.3%
Written reviews82 reviews
Positive81.7%
Neutral8.5%
Negative9.8%

User reviews

Hero Emblems

From 405 App Store ratings

What 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 ratings

What 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
Show 1 more
  • 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
Show 1 more
  • More content/updates

In-app purchases

None

Hero Emblems

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

Mage Mania

One-time6
  • 1000 Coins$0.99
  • Double Experience$0.99
  • Double Earning$0.99
Show 3 more
  • 2200 Coins$1.99
  • 5500 Coins$4.99
  • 12000 Coins$9.99

Questions

Is Hero Emblems free?
Hero Emblems costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Mage Mania free?
Mage Mania is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Hero Emblems or Mage Mania?
Hero Emblems is rated higher. Hero Emblems averages 4.5 out of 5 from 405 ratings, while Mage Mania averages 4.2 from 100 ratings.
Do Hero Emblems or Mage Mania have ads?
Mage Mania shows ads; Hero Emblems does not.
Which is updated more often, Hero Emblems or Mage Mania?
Hero Emblems ships an update every 3 months, and Mage Mania every 4 months. Most recently, Hero Emblems was updated on October 24, 2026 and Mage Mania on October 24, 2026.

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