Comparison

Hero Emblems vs Dragons & Diamonds

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

Dragons & Diamonds

Embark on a fantasy adventure to defeat dragons and collect treasure. Rescue bounty hunters to build a powerful team and use strategic match-3 gameplay to overcome challenging foes. Explore a lost world filled with dungeons, beasts, and riches.

Highlights
  • Match-3 diamond puzzles
  • Dragon battles
  • Hunter team building
  • Fantasy world exploration
  • Loot collection and upgrades
  • Strategic combat
Features
Read full description

There’s just one thing keeping you from treasure and riches beyond your wildest dreams: an infestation of deadly dragons. But these aren’t just any old fire breathing dragons, oh no. Each one you encounter is more challenging than the last, wielding fiery, fearsome powers that no-one could tackle alone. Build the best team of hunters: To get your hands on that precious treasure, you’re going to need a helping hand. The dragons have captured a host of brave, adventurous (or just plain greedy) bounty hunters and only you can rescue them. Build your team to rid the world of these terrible dragons, get in and grab the treasure before it’s too late. Use your best strategy to win invaluable chests: A team can only be as good as its battle plan. Your challenge is to find the best match of diamonds to defeat the dragons and the minion beasts who serve them - choose the right hunters for your quest, equip them with powerful items and face the vicious dragons on the battlefield. Discover a lost world: Enter the fantasy world of Dragons & Diamonds to journey on a puzzling adventure. Travel from dusty wastelands, across volcanic passes and frozen peaks while you explore a lost world filled with dangerous dungeons, treasure beyond imagination and vicious beasts waiting around every corner. Play Dragons & Diamonds now: - Enjoy the challenge of this epic, free-to-play fantasy RPG - Defeat dragons by matching chains of diamonds for maximum damage - Match 3 or more diamonds of the same colour to damage enemies or heal your team - Choose the best combination of hunters for each battle - Collect loot to upgrade your party and make it even stronger - Save land after land from the dragon infestation as you explore the world Think you’ve got what it takes to face this deadly challenge? Prove your might and install Dragons & Diamonds today, or the precious treasure will be lost forever!

Screenshots

Hero Emblems4 screens
Dragons & Diamonds4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Dragons & Diamonds at Free against Hero Emblems's $2.99. Hero Emblems's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 12) and ads (none vs shown). On rating, ratings volume, 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

Dragons & Diamonds is free to download; Hero Emblems costs $2.99 up front. Dragons & Diamonds sells 12 one-off in-app purchases. Hero Emblems asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Hero Emblems against 4.5 for Dragons & Diamonds. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 405 and 243 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 79% of Hero Emblems's written reviews are positive against 64% of Dragons & Diamonds's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hero Emblems ships an update every 3 months, Dragons & Diamonds every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Hero Emblems versus Dragons & Diamonds: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHero EmblemsDragons & Diamonds
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.5 (405 ratings)4.5 (243 ratings) — better
Positive reviews79.4% of reviews — better63.6% of reviews
Number of ratings405 — better243
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#119 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size148 MB192 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperHeatPot Games Ltd.Kiloo

Customer experience

Hero Emblems

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

Dragons & Diamonds

All ratings243 ratings
Positive90.5%
Neutral4.5%
Negative4.9%
Written reviews33 reviews
Positive63.6%
Neutral9.1%
Negative27.3%

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)

Dragons & Diamonds

From 243 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Addictive and fun gameplay
  • 💡 Requires strategy and thinking
  • 🎨 Great graphics and art style
  • ✨ Clean interface, not predatory
  • 💯 Challenging objectives

Room to improve

  • 🐌 Slow progress at higher levels
  • 🎲 Heavily luck-based
  • 💰 Pay-to-win elements
  • ⏳ Long grinding required
  • 😩 Difficulty spikes beyond playability

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

Dragons & Diamonds

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Progress blocked by bugs (e.g., 23/24 stars)
  • Rewards not received due to bugs
  • Achievement not registering
  • Cannot go past the first crystal set
  • Game stays on stone connection screen
Show 1 more
  • Bomb kill achievement not registering

Requested features

4 requests
  • More levels
  • More characters
  • Update with more levels and characters
  • PvP soon

In-app purchases

None

Hero Emblems

No in-app purchases

12 purchases

Dragons & Diamonds

One-time12
  • Welcome to the hunt!$1.99
  • Pile of Gems$2.99
  • Special Offer!$2.99
Show 9 more
  • Special Offer$3.99
  • Extra Energy$3.99
  • EXTRA HEART$3.99
  • Enjoy the Starter Pack!$4.99
  • Special Deal$5.99
  • NEW ENERGY PACK$5.99
  • Bundle Offer$7.99
  • Pouch of Gems$9.99
  • Bucket of Gems$19.99

Questions

Is Hero Emblems free?
Hero Emblems costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Dragons & Diamonds free?
Dragons & Diamonds is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Hero Emblems or Dragons & Diamonds?
Dragons & Diamonds is rated higher. Hero Emblems averages 4.5 out of 5 from 405 ratings, while Dragons & Diamonds averages 4.5 from 243 ratings.
Do Hero Emblems or Dragons & Diamonds have ads?
Dragons & Diamonds shows ads; Hero Emblems does not.
Which is updated more often, Hero Emblems or Dragons & Diamonds?
Hero Emblems ships an update every 3 months, and Dragons & Diamonds every 6 weeks. Most recently, Hero Emblems was updated on October 26, 2026 and Dragons & Diamonds on October 21, 2026.

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