Comparison

DANMAKU vs Project Neon

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

Head to head
About

DANMAKU

Engage in intense bullet-hell combat across 8 stages with 16 unique bosses. Choose from 8 distinct ships, each with unique abilities and flight patterns, and customize your loadout with 5 weapon types and 4 armor options. Every run offers a new challenge and the opportunity to level up your pilot.

Highlights
  • 8 stages with 3 difficulty levels
  • 16 unique bosses and mid-bosses
  • 5 distinct weapon types
  • 4 armor types with trade-offs
  • 8 customizable ships
  • Pilot leveling system
  • Graze and bomb mechanics
Features
Read full description

DANMAKU Shooting - STELLAR FORCE 8 stages, 16 bosses. Every run you fly a different ship. ◆ 8 Stages, 3 Difficulties Route → mid-boss → route → boss. About 13 minutes a run. Clear NORMAL to open HARD, clear HARD to open LUNATIC. Higher difficulties give bosses more bullet patterns — and pay more coins. ◆ 16 Bosses One boss and one mid-boss per stage. You never fight the same one twice. ◆ 5 Weapons — not better and worse, but good at different things Vulcan / Spread / Laser / Homing / Reflect. Laser struggles on the route; Spread struggles on bosses. "Next run I'll take this one" is the reason to go again. ◆ 4 Armors — every one costs you something Heavy gives +3 HP and slows you down. Phase takes 2 HP away and pays you more the closer you fly to bullets. ◆ 3 Companions Gunner, shield, medic. Buy them, take up to two along. ◆ Pilot Level It always goes up when you play. A run you lose is not a run wasted. ◆ Graze and Bombs Skim a bullet and the coins climb. When there's no way through, bomb it. ◆ 8 Ships A small hitbox, more firepower, an extra bomb. They differ in how they fly, not just how they look.

About

Project Neon

Embark on a top-secret mission in this 16-bit shoot 'em up adventure. Navigate the cosmos to retrieve a recluse from Mars and dismantle his interplanetary defenses to save Earth from ecological collapse.

Highlights
  • Interplanetary defense dismantling
  • Boss battles
  • Intense 16-bit arcade action
  • Cosmic navigation
  • Shoot 'em up gameplay
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

PROJECT NEON is a retro arcade space shooter, built as a brand new game for the Neo Geo. It runs on original MVS and AES arcade hardware, on a cartridge we build ourselves, and players around the world play it on real cabinets today. This is that same game, now on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV. BUY IT ONCE, OWN IT One price, the complete game. No ads, no in-app purchases, no timers, no account. Everything is in the box, just like an arcade cartridge. One purchase covers every Apple device you own. A REAL ARCADE SHMUP • Hand-drawn 16-bit pixel art, made inside the limits of the original hardware • A soundtrack composed for the Neo Geo sound chip • Fierce bosses guarding four planets on the way to Mars • Built for high-score chasing • Touch controls, game controller support and haptics Ready to fly to Mars and save Earth?

Screenshots

DANMAKU4 screens
Project Neon3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: DANMAKU at Free against Project Neon's $1.99. DANMAKU also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 weeks). Project Neon's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On rating 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

DANMAKU is free to download; Project Neon costs $1.99 up front. DANMAKU sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Project Neon asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for DANMAKU against 5.0 for Project Neon. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Project Neon has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DANMAKU ships an update fortnightly, Project Neon every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
DANMAKU versus Project Neon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDANMAKUProject Neon
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings15 — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#133 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size80 MB15 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperMIZOU, CO., LTD.FULLSET

Customer experience

DANMAKU

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Project Neon

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

DANMAKU

One-time1
  • Supporter Pack$4.99
None

Project Neon

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is DANMAKU free?
DANMAKU is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Project Neon free?
Project Neon costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, DANMAKU or Project Neon?
DANMAKU and Project Neon are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 5 ratings respectively.
Do DANMAKU or Project Neon have ads?
DANMAKU shows ads; Project Neon does not.
Which is updated more often, DANMAKU or Project Neon?
DANMAKU ships an update fortnightly, and Project Neon every 5 weeks. Most recently, DANMAKU was updated on October 31, 2026 and Project Neon on October 31, 2026.

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