Comparison

Hero Emblems vs Kenshō

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

Kenshō

Embark on an adventure through a surreal world where nature, time, and space converge. Solve block-matching puzzles in breathtaking landscapes, uncovering a narrative with rich visual effects and an original soundtrack. Explore diverse environments from lush jungles to stormy seas.

Highlights
  • Block matching puzzles
  • Surreal world exploration
  • Rich visual effects
  • Original soundtrack
  • Narrative unfolding
  • Diverse landscapes
Features
Read full description

Begin your journey through a surreal world where nature, time and space intertwine. Mysterious things happen in a ruined room. Doors inside that room lead to different worlds and beautiful landscapes. Match blocks and overcome challenges in this addictive puzzle with rich visual effects that unfolds a narrative through breathtaking places including lush jungles and stormy seas. 11 original songs accompany you on this adventure, replete with violin, piano, harmonica, accordion and more. "A block sliding puzzle matching game with a great design" — AppAdvice "It’s a calming game with an absolutely gorgeous art style that may well be the most beautiful puzzle game I’ve ever seen" — Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Screenshots

Hero Emblems4 screens
Kenshō4 screens

Verdict

The call

Hero Emblems and Kenshō both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 79% of Hero Emblems's written reviews are positive against 66% of Kenshō's. Hero Emblems also leads on price ($2.99 vs $3.99) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 13.0). Kenshō's advantage is ratings volume (2.7K vs 406). On rating, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Hero Emblems costs $2.99 and Kenshō $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Kenshō holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Kenshō has 2.7K ratings behind it against 406, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 79% of Hero Emblems's written reviews are positive against 66% of Kenshō'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, Kenshō every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Hero Emblems versus Kenshō: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHero EmblemsKenshō
Price$2.99 — better$3.99
Rating4.5 (406 ratings)4.7 (2.7K ratings) — better
Positive reviews79.4% of reviews — better66.3% of reviews
Number of ratings4062.7K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS8.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size148 MB183 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperHeatPot Games Ltd.FIFTYTWO

Customer experience

Hero Emblems

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

Kenshō

All ratings2,725 ratings
Positive93.1%
Neutral3.7%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews169 reviews
Positive66.3%
Neutral14.2%
Negative19.5%

User reviews

Hero Emblems

From 406 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)

Kenshō

From 2.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Beautiful graphics and visuals
  • 🎶 Soothing and immersive soundtrack
  • 🧠 Challenging yet not overly difficult puzzles
  • 👍 Relaxing and therapeutic gameplay
  • 💡 Unique and creative puzzle mechanics

Room to improve

  • 🔋 Significant battery drain and device heating
  • 🕰️ Short playtime for the price
  • 🤔 Unclear or lacking instructions
  • 🔍 Repetitive gameplay with limited variety

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

Kenshō

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Freezing or crashing issues
  • Inconsistent or unresponsive controls

Requested features

3 requests
  • More levels and worlds to explore
  • Difficulty settings or customization options
  • Improved performance and optimization

In-app purchases

None

Hero Emblems

No in-app purchases

None

Kenshō

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hero Emblems free?
Hero Emblems costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Kenshō free?
Kenshō costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Hero Emblems or Kenshō?
Kenshō is rated higher. Hero Emblems averages 4.5 out of 5 from 406 ratings, while Kenshō averages 4.7 from 2.7K ratings.
Do Hero Emblems or Kenshō have ads?
Neither Hero Emblems nor Kenshō shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hero Emblems or Kenshō?
Hero Emblems ships an update every 3 months, and Kenshō every 2 months. Most recently, Hero Emblems was updated on October 20, 2026 and Kenshō on October 19, 2026.

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