Comparison

Magic Research 2 vs ShinyPokes

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

Head to head
About

Magic Research 2

Embark on a magical quest as a rookie wizard to find or create the Philosopher's Stone. Utilize over 120 spells, transmute hundreds of items, and lead a team of wizards in a semi-automated combat system. Explore dozens of areas, uncover secrets, and experience over 60 hours of gameplay.

Highlights
  • Over 120 distinct spells
  • Transmute over 250 items
  • Control a team of wizards
  • Semi-automated combat system
  • Explore dozens of areas
  • Discover secrets and storylines
  • Retirement bonuses for faster progress
Features
Read full description

Experience the long-awaited sequel to Magic Research! In Magic Research 2, you are a rookie wizard with a single ambition: to find or create the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary magical item that is said to be able to cure any illness. As you do so, you will learn more than you ever imagined about Magic and about the world around you. What kinds of adventures await you? * Use your arsenal of more than 120 distinct spells to make progress * Study the Elements! Learn new ways to use Magic in your path to mastery * Transmute (magically craft) over 250 different items to help you on your journey * Control a team of Wizards that will cast Spells for you * Enjoy a deep, semi-automated combat system as you make your way through dozens of areas to explore * Discover tons of secrets - many of which will change the way you play the game! * Encounter over a hundred distinct Storylines with powerful bonuses along your journey * Restart the game and make progress faster each time with retirement bonuses * Over 60 hours of addictive gameplay - with a clear ending! (Or perhaps more than one...?) * Optimized both for phones and tablet devices You do not need to have played Magic Research in order to enjoy Magic Research 2!

About

ShinyPokes

Track your shiny Pokémon hunts, manage your collection, and view in-game locations. Features include encounter counters, timers, and a Shiny Dex. Connect with a community of fellow hunters.

Highlights
  • Shiny hunt counter
  • Encounter timers
  • Shiny Dex and collection management
  • In-game location data
  • Multi-hunt support
  • Community feed and chat
Features
Read full description

ShinyPokes is an unofficial fan made tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or associated with Nintendo, Game Freak or The Pokemon Company. Pokemon and Pokemon character names are their trademarks. The app contains no assets from any Pokemon game. ShinyPokes is a shiny hunting tracker. It counts your encounters, keeps your timers honest, logs every shiny you find and gives you one place to look back on all of them. Free, no ads, made by one person who hunts shinies too. WHAT IT DOES Hunt counter. Pick the Pokemon, the game and the method, and the app checks the combination is actually possible before you start. Count with a tap, watch the timer, and see your odds update as you go. Run up to four hunts at once in multi hunt. Put a hunt on hold and pick it up later. Shiny found. When it happens, log the catch with the ball, the gender, marks and a nickname. The hunt moves to your collection and your Shiny Dex fills in. Collection. Every shiny you have caught, with the game, the encounters and the time it took. Edit them, log past catches you found before the app, import a list, and share a card for each one. Shiny Dex. All 1025 Pokemon, with the ones you own lit up. Dex and Living Dex views. Locations. Where a Pokemon shows up in each game, and where the items are. Gen 1 shiny check. Enter the stats from a Generation 1 catch and see whether it will be shiny when it comes forward. Hunter levels. Encounters give a little XP, shinies give a lot. Your level shows as a border around your avatar. Turn it off if you would rather not. Community. A feed of recent finds, live hunts happening right now, leaderboards, community stats and a chat with channels for hunting, trades and showing off. Community events like the Bank Run, where you fill a bingo card of shinies before the old transfer service closes. Notifications. A mention in chat or a reply to your message reaches your phone. Same account everywhere. Sign in with Apple, Google, Discord or an emailed link. Everything you track in the app is on shinypokes.com too, and the other way round.

Screenshots

Magic Research 24 screens
ShinyPokes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ShinyPokes at Free against Magic Research 2's $4.69. ShinyPokes also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 82%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Magic Research 2's advantage is ratings volume (115 vs 4) and chart position (#15 vs unranked). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases 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

ShinyPokes is free to download; Magic Research 2 costs $4.69 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ShinyPokes holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Magic Research 2 has 115 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of Magic Research 2's written reviews are positive against 100% of ShinyPokes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Magic Research 2 ships an update every 3 days, ShinyPokes every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Magic Research 2 versus ShinyPokes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMagic Research 2ShinyPokes
Price$4.69Free — better
Rating4.8 (115 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews82.1% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings115 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 3 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#15 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size36 MB12 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperMatias Ezequiel ColottoTrevor Buchanan

Customer experience

Magic Research 2

All ratings115 ratings
Positive92.2%
Neutral4.3%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews56 reviews
Positive82.1%
Neutral8.9%
Negative8.9%

ShinyPokes

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Magic Research 2

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • App instantly crashes on open
  • Game crashes on startup
  • App started rapidly pushing buttons on its own
  • Overheating phone
  • Lags and gets choppy in the late game
Show 1 more
  • Compendium doesn't unlock for bosses unless already beat

Requested features

9 requests
  • DLC or sequel news
  • macOS version
  • Better automation and convenience features
  • Tweak familiar search time down
  • Release the next one
Show 4 more
  • More Please
  • Auto fight boss button
  • Compendium unlocks bosses before beating them
  • Less dialogue and descriptions, more functional text

ShinyPokes

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Magic Research 2

No in-app purchases

None

ShinyPokes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Magic Research 2 free?
Magic Research 2 costs $4.69, with no in-app purchases.
Is ShinyPokes free?
ShinyPokes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Magic Research 2 or ShinyPokes?
ShinyPokes is rated higher. Magic Research 2 averages 4.8 out of 5 from 115 ratings, while ShinyPokes averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Magic Research 2 or ShinyPokes have ads?
Neither Magic Research 2 nor ShinyPokes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Magic Research 2 or ShinyPokes?
Magic Research 2 ships an update every 3 days, and ShinyPokes every 2 days. Most recently, Magic Research 2 was updated on October 19, 2026 and ShinyPokes on October 8, 2026.

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