Comparison

Double Dragon Trilogy vs Merge Dragons!

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

Head to head
About

Double Dragon Trilogy

Relive the classic arcade experience with this compilation of three iconic beat 'em up games. Master martial arts moves and battle through urban landscapes to rescue a kidnapped girlfriend. Enjoy co-op gameplay, customizable controls, and multiple difficulty settings.

Highlights
  • Includes three classic installments
  • Arcade and Story game modes
  • Customizable controls
  • Three difficulty levels
  • Achievements and leaderboards
  • Original and remastered soundtracks
  • Bluetooth co-op mode
Features
Read full description

A groundbreaking, uber-popular game upon its arcade debut in 1987, Double Dragon is the undisputed godfather of co-op beat ‘em all! Enter Double Dragon Trilogy, a compilation specially optimized for mobiles and which includes all three installments of the beloved arcade series: Double Dragon, Double Dragon 2: The Revenge, and Double Dragon 3: The Rosetta Stone. The first one begins with Billy and his brother Jimmy, two martial arts experts, in a mission to rescue Billy's girlfriend, Marian, who’s been kidnapped by the Black Shadows Gang. All your favorite moves are here: punches, kicks, elbows, knees, head-butts and an assortment of not-exactly-street-legal weapons. Battle your way through all 3 titles and bask in the greatness of one of the ‘80s most popular arcade games! FEATURES: •Two game modes: “Arcade” (play the game from beginning to end and go for the high score) and “Story” (unlock new stages and achievements while playing through the game) •Customizable controls •Three difficulty levels: “mobile” (specially balanced for mobile games), “original” (similar to the arcade version) and “expert” (a real challenge!) •Achievements & leaderboards (Game Center) •Choose between the original 8-bit soundtrack and a brand-new remastered one! •Co-op mode (two players) via bluetooth •Gamepad support - very soon with most iOS controllers MORE ABOUT DOTEMU facebook.com/dotemu twitter.com/dotemu youtube.com/dotemu

About

Merge Dragons!

Combine magical items to heal a cursed land and discover new dragon breeds. Solve puzzles, build your camp, and evolve your dragons to uncover secrets and restore a mystical world.

Highlights
  • Combine objects to create better items
  • Hatch and evolve dragon breeds
  • Solve challenging puzzle levels
  • Build and customize your dragon camp
  • Complete daily quests and weekly themes
  • Play with friends in Dens
Features
Read full description

Merge Dragons! is a free-to-play merge puzzle and camp-building game where you combine magical objects, hatch and evolve dragons, and restore a cursed fantasy world, all at your own pace. Discover a magical world where every object hides a secret and every merge brings you one step closer to saving it. The vale of Dragonia was once a thriving magical realm until the evil Zomblins cast a curse of fog and darkness across the land. Now it's up to you to heal the world by merging everything around you: dragon eggs, ancient trees, fallen stars, mythical creatures, magical flowers, and countless treasures. Merge dragon eggs to hatch loyal companions, evolve them into mighty ancient dragons, and watch them roam your camp harvesting resources while you plan your next move. MERGE DRAGONS! FEATURES: == Merge & Evolve Objects == • Merge 3 identical objects to evolve them into something rarer and more powerful then keep chaining, because the combinations go deeper than you'd expect • Explore 500+ unique objects across 81 challenges: dragon eggs, magical plants, ancient relics, fallen stars, coins, treasures, mythical creatures, and so much more • Merge Life Essence to unleash healing energy and restore Dragonia's cursed lands piece by piece • Find hidden Gaia statues in each level and merge them to solve the puzzle and breathe new life into the world • Discover over 1,600 object combinations. == Collect & Evolve Dragon Breeds == • Meet unique dragon breeds, each with their own look, personality, and special abilities • Evolve every dragon through growth stages, from a tiny hatchling all the way to a legendary ancient dragon • Unlike most merge games, your dragons are active companions: hatch them in your camp and they'll roam freely, automatically harvesting objects for you while you focus on merging • New limited-edition dragon breeds arrive with every bi-weekly themed event, the collection never stops growing == Puzzles & Quests == • Over 180 hand-crafted puzzle levels, each with unique layouts, hidden secrets, and satisfying challenges that test your merge strategy • Nearly 900 quests to keep you busy and rewarded — complete them to earn rare items, dragon eggs, and valuable camp upgrades • Daily quests with Kala keep every session feeling fresh, with new goals and rewards every day • Hidden levels are scattered across Dragonia some players never manage to find them all == Build Your Dragon Camp == • Your camp is your home base in Dragonia: build it up, decorate it, and expand it as you heal more of the land • Earn Dragon Power by merging objects and completing puzzle levels to push back the evil fog consuming your camp • Collect and restore magical structures, buildings, and decorations as you reclaim the land from the Zomblins • The more dragons you hatch and evolve, the more your camp truly comes alive == Play with Friends == • Visit your friends' camps, discover new strategies, and send gifts • Join a Den, the game's guild system to play alongside a community of dragon defenders • Chat in real time, trade tips, and band together to tackle group challenges and earn exclusive Den rewards • Fresh bi-weekly themed events give your whole community something new to explore and collect Download now and discover where Merge Dragons will take you! Follow us on our social media accounts for latest updates: https://www.facebook.com/MergeDragons https://www.instagram.com/mergedragons https://x.com/MergeDragons Optimized for Tablets. May be played without an Internet connection. Merge Dragons! is FREE to download and includes optional in-game purchases (including random items). Information about drop rates for random item purchases can be found in-game. If you wish to disable in-game purchases, please turn off the in-app purchases in your phone or tablet’s Settings. Use of this application is governed by Zynga’s Terms of Service, found at https://www.take2games.com/legal

Screenshots

Double Dragon Trilogy4 screens
Merge Dragons!4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Merge Dragons! at Free against Double Dragon Trilogy's $2.99. Merge Dragons! also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.2) and review sentiment (77% vs 42%). Double Dragon Trilogy's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and ads (none vs shown). On 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

Merge Dragons! is free to download; Double Dragon Trilogy costs $2.99 up front. Merge Dragons! sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Double Dragon Trilogy asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Merge Dragons! holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Merge Dragons! has 423K ratings behind it against 307, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 42% of Double Dragon Trilogy's written reviews are positive against 77% of Merge Dragons!'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Double Dragon Trilogy ships an update every 24 months, Merge Dragons! weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard10 real differences · 1 level
Double Dragon Trilogy versus Merge Dragons!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDouble Dragon TrilogyMerge Dragons!
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating3.2 (307 ratings)4.7 (423K ratings) — better
Positive reviews41.8% of reviews77.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings307423K — better
Update frequencyEvery 24 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#65#7 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size127 MB416 MB
Age rating12++9
DeveloperDotEmuGram Games

Customer experience

Double Dragon Trilogy

All ratings307 ratings
Positive50.8%
Neutral6.5%
Negative42.7%
Written reviews730 reviews
Positive41.8%
Neutral10.0%
Negative48.2%

Merge Dragons!

All ratings422,609 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral2.8%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews4,374 reviews
Positive77.0%
Neutral8.5%
Negative14.6%

User reviews

Double Dragon Trilogy

From 307 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Arcade-perfect emulation
  • 🎶 Nostalgic soundtrack
  • 💪 Classic beat-'em-up gameplay
  • 📺 Scanline filter option

Room to improve

  • 🎮 Challenging touch controls
  • 💤 Laggy performance on some devices
  • 🔁 No continue option
  • 🔍 Unclear button mapping

Merge Dragons!

From 423K App Store ratings

What we love

  • ⭐️ Five stars
  • 😊 Fun and addictive
  • 👍 Great animations and graphics
  • 🎉 Frequent updates and events
  • 💰 Free to play with optional in-app purchases

Room to improve

  • 🐉 Dragons can be frustrating to control
  • ⏰ Long wait times for chalices and dragon energy
  • 💰 Expensive in-app purchases for gems
  • 📦 Excessive locked chests and eggs
  • 🔋 High battery consumption

Bugs and requests

Double Dragon Trilogy

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Sound issues on iOS 9+
  • Crashes and freezes on certain devices
  • Unresponsive controls

Requested features

4 requests
  • Unlimited continues
  • Customizable button layout
  • Multiplayer co-op mode
  • Difficulty settings

Merge Dragons!

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Game crashes and progress loss
  • Disappearing items and dragons
  • Glitches with event progress tracking

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to name dragons
  • Option to disable automatic harvesting
  • More ways to earn gems without spending money
  • Reduced chalice and dragon energy recharge times
  • Increased camp storage space

In-app purchases

None

Double Dragon Trilogy

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Merge Dragons!

One-time10
  • 30 Day Dragon Gem Payout$3.99
  • BONUS Pile of Dragon Gems$4.99
  • Pile of Dragon Gems$4.99
Show 7 more
  • Premium Land$6.99
  • Bag of Dragon Gems$9.99
  • Merge Dragons! Event Pack$9.99
  • Royal Pass$9.99
  • Chest of Dragon Gems$19.99
  • Cauldron of Dragon Gems$49.99
  • Volcano of Dragon Gems$99.99

Questions

Is Double Dragon Trilogy free?
Double Dragon Trilogy costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Merge Dragons! free?
Merge Dragons! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Double Dragon Trilogy or Merge Dragons!?
Merge Dragons! is rated higher. Double Dragon Trilogy averages 3.2 out of 5 from 307 ratings, while Merge Dragons! averages 4.7 from 423K ratings.
Do Double Dragon Trilogy or Merge Dragons! have ads?
Merge Dragons! shows ads; Double Dragon Trilogy does not.
Which is updated more often, Double Dragon Trilogy or Merge Dragons!?
Double Dragon Trilogy ships an update every 24 months, and Merge Dragons! weekly. Most recently, Double Dragon Trilogy was updated on November 6, 2026 and Merge Dragons! on November 10, 2026.
Which is more popular, Double Dragon Trilogy or Merge Dragons!?
Double Dragon Trilogy currently peaks at #65 in the App Store charts, and Merge Dragons! at #7. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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