Comparison

Retro Buzz vs MINI POOL 3D

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

Head to head
About

Retro Buzz

Features
Read full description

RETRO BUZZ — A LOVE LETTER TO THE ARCADE. Dodge, shoot, deflect, chase and raid your way through a swarm of pixel-art insects across an endless ladder of escalating stages. Inspired by the arcade legends of the early '80s, Retro Buzz layers modern game-feel — combo multipliers, powerup drops, a dodge-dash, screen shake, telegraphed enemy fire — onto chunky multi-colour pixel art with a soft neon glow. SIX STAGE TYPES — AND YOU EARN THE DETOURS Formation stages are the backbone. Everything else happens because of what you did in them. • FORMATION STAGES — The classic. Bees, butterflies and Queen Bees fly in choreographed lines, settle into formation, then dive at you in pairs and groups. Watch the marked RUNNERS: they bolt for the planet once the swarm thins. Kill them all for a bonus... • PURSUIT — ...or let one escape and next stage you chase it down. Free 2D flight over a scrolling planet surface, ground turrets, waves that push harder the harder you fire, and a fortress with three cores to crack at the end. The escapees turn up as 5× bounties. • BASE ASSAULT — If a Queen carries your captured fighter off, or you shoot down the spy ship and grab its beacon, the next stage is a free-roaming raid across a looping star map. Your ship flies forward, you steer, and fire goes fore and aft. Hunt the hex stations on the radar, punch the core through its hatch (or strip all six cannon pods), dodge mines, and watch the alert climb from GREEN to RED. Find the station holding your fighter and it rejoins you as a wingman. • CHALLENGE STAGES — Bonus rounds where twin lines trace S-curves, loops, figure-8s and spirals across the screen. No damage. Pure accuracy. • BONUS ROUND — Score a PERFECT on a challenge stage and your ship becomes a paddle. The swarm fires, you bounce it back, and the ricochets one-shot anything they touch. • BOSS BATTLES — Every fifth stage the Queen Hornet drifts overhead: three HP-keyed phases, aimed shots, three-way spreads and U-shaped dive attacks. You get a 3-hit buffer per life. Every fourth stage cleared grants an extra life, and a rare 1UP drop floats down from killed enemies. Deep runs feel earned. POWERUPS R — Rapid Fire. Faster fire, bigger bullet cap. S — Spread Shot. Three-way fan. O — Shield Orb. Absorbs the next hit. B — Smart Bomb. Wipes every diving enemy on screen. ! — Beacon. Dropped by the spy ship. Reveals the enemy bases. 1 — Extra Life. Very rare. Treasure it. POLISHED FEEL • Hit feedback on every impact: sprite flash, sparks, debris, screen shake. • Combo multiplier — chain kills without a miss for up to 5× score. • Enemy fire is telegraphed at the muzzle, so you always get a fair read. • Enemies bank into their turns and face where they fly. • Hand-drawn multi-colour sprites: striped bees, red-winged butterflies with eyespots, crowned Queen Bees and a 48×48 Queen Hornet. • Optional CRT scanlines. Persistent high score and best stage. • Leave the title screen alone and the game plays itself — a different stage type every time. CONTROLS An analog stick, DASH and FIRE live in their own band under the playfield, so your thumbs never cover the action. Hold FIRE to shoot, tap DASH to dodge through bullets. The stick moves you sideways in the classic stages, flies in 2D on the planet run, and steers on the base raid. NO ADS. NO IAP. NO ACCOUNTS. JUST THE GAME. Best paired with: a quiet evening, a dim room, and the satisfying feeling of finally finding the base that took your fighter.

About

MINI POOL 3D

Experience a minimalist billiards challenge where each level requires a single, perfect shot to pocket the target ball. Master unique table shapes and overcome obstacles to climb leaderboards and collect rewards. Enjoy a relaxing soundtrack and offline play.

Highlights
  • One-shot billiards gameplay
  • Dynamic table shapes and obstacles
  • Realistic physics engine
  • Unlockable cues and rewards
  • Offline play supported
  • Game Center leaderboards
Features
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MINI POOL is billiards distilled to a single, perfect moment: one shot, one pocket, no second chances. Each level hands you the cue ball, a target ball, and a pocket. Drag back, aim, and release — sink it and you move on. Miss, and the run is over. Simple to learn, brutally satisfying to master. THE TABLE KEEPS CHANGING • Classic rectangles give way to triangles, diamonds, pentagons, hexagons and octagons • Obstacle balls block your line — find the angle around them • Some tables have open edges with no rails: overshoot and your ball is gone • Every playthrough is generated fresh, so no two runs are ever the same REAL POOL FEEL • True physics: cushions rebound, jaws rattle, balls drop into a real hanging net • Tournament-style tables with leather-wrapped pockets and cloth in eight colors • Smooth orbit camera — line up your shot from any angle CLIMB AND COLLECT • Earn diamonds with every cleared level • Unlock a collection of cues, from the trusty Maple Classic to glowing premium builds with real extra power • Compete on Game Center leaderboards: highest level and total pockets EASY TO PICK UP • A full run takes minutes — perfect for a quick break • Plays fully offline • Relaxing original soundtrack, a different tune every time you open the game One shot. One pocket. No mercy. How far can you go?

Screenshots

Retro Buzz4 screens
MINI POOL 3D4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Retro Buzz at none against MINI POOL 3D's 6. Retro Buzz also leads on ads (none vs shown). MINI POOL 3D's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 6 weeks). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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

Both are free to download. MINI POOL 3D sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Retro Buzz asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Retro Buzz ships an update every 6 weeks, MINI POOL 3D every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Retro Buzz versus MINI POOL 3D: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRetro BuzzMINI POOL 3D
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexander GarmashHaowei Cheng

In-app purchases

None

Retro Buzz

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

MINI POOL 3D

One-time6
  • Gold Cue$2.99
  • Obsidian Cue$4.99
  • Phoenix Cue$5.99
Show 3 more
  • Neon Cue$6.99
  • Excalibur Cue$7.99
  • Cosmic Nebula Cue$9.99

Questions

Is Retro Buzz free?
Retro Buzz is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MINI POOL 3D free?
MINI POOL 3D is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Retro Buzz or MINI POOL 3D have ads?
MINI POOL 3D shows ads; Retro Buzz does not.
Which is updated more often, Retro Buzz or MINI POOL 3D?
Retro Buzz ships an update every 6 weeks, and MINI POOL 3D every 2 days. Most recently, Retro Buzz was updated on October 7, 2026 and MINI POOL 3D on September 29, 2026.

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