Comparison

Puzzle Forge 2 vs Hero Emblems II

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

Head to head
About

Puzzle Forge 2

Become a blacksmith and forge powerful weapons by combining resources on a board. Sell your creations to heroes, earn gold and experience to upgrade your skills, and discover new heroes attracted by your talent.

Highlights
  • Unique weapon creation system
  • Combine resources to build weapons
  • Add gems and enchantments
  • Earn spells and magic items
  • Increase blacksmith skills
  • Meet and serve heroes
Features
Read full description

Heroes of Burning-Blade needs your help! As the new blacksmith of the realm, put together ressources on the board to build powerful weapons. Sell these equipments to heroes, earn gold pieces and experience to increase your skills. Who knows which new hero will be attracted by your talents? - Build 2000 differents weapon thanks to the unique creation system of Puzzle Forge 2. - Add gems and enchantments to your creations. - Earn spells and magic items in quests. Use them to improve your unique weapons. - Like in any RPG, use your experience to increase your skills. - Meet many heroes with strange requests.

About

Hero Emblems II

Embark on an epic adventure combining match-3 puzzles with classic JRPG elements. Lead a team of heroic warriors, unleash powerful skills through strategic emblem matching, and explore a world filled with magic, monsters, and ancient mysteries.

Highlights
  • Match-3 emblem battles
  • Traditional JRPG exploration
  • Unique hero skills and backstories
  • Equipment customization
  • Food consumption system for buffs
  • Japanese character voice acting
Features
Read full description

A new evolution of match-3, combat, and adventure! Hero Emblems II is a JRPG that combines elements of side-scrollers and match-3 games. Players control members of the Night Chasers, a group of heroic warriors, as they embark on an adventure to save their lands from an evil threat. [Game Features] ◆ Thrilling match-3 battle experiences Match three Emblems to clear them from the board and make your heroes attack. Clear four or more to generate Magic Emblems, allowing your heroes to unleash powerful skills. Perform combos to launch even more powerful attacks and vanquish your enemies! ◆ Traditional JRPG experience In a world of magic and swordplay, players will control members of the Night Chasers as they embark on an adventure together. Enter deep caves, explore ancient ruins, unlock treasure chests, fight against ferocious monsters, upgrade your equipment in town, and gain new information from villagers in the local taverns. A exciting RPG experience is waiting for you in Hero Emblems II! ◆ Substitute Heroes Each Hero possesses their own unique skills and backstory. There's Zack, the Human Warrior; Lucien, the Marten Knight; Sid, the Felinian Black Mage; Abner the Bard, and many more! Lead your favorite heroes into battle! ◆ Thrilling Japanese character voices in battles Personalized character voices make combat a thrilling, intense and fun experience! ◆ More equipment Enemies attack with a wide range of debuffs such as Poison, Ignition, Petrification or Curses. To fight against these tough opponents, you will need to choose your Heroes' weapons and armor carefully, and make good use of accessories to resist enemy debuffs and boost your Heroes' abilities! ◆'Food Consumption System' for Enhancing Battle Power A hero's adventure is always brimming with all sorts of challenges. Vicious monsters boast tremendous strength and always catch people off guard with their varied attack styles. Now, heroes can boost their abilities by indulging in delightful delicacies, allowing them to thwart monster attacks with a more refreshing rhythm! ◆One-time payment, IAP-free, and ad-free A New Chapter in the Night Chasers' History A long time ago, there was a mercenary group known as the Night Chasers. Instead of making money, these heroic warriors went around helping those in need. During the war, they helped a great many people who were suffering under tyranny and injustice. However, in the ensuing age of peace, the Night Chasers were no longer needed, and were forced to disband. Years later, four young people - Zack, Lucien, Sid, and Odelia - decided to carry on their legacy, forming the new Night Chasers. One day, Zack and his party save an Elven girl named Dolores. Suffering from amnesia, Dolores cannot remember why she has ventured so far from the Elven Kingdom – only that she has been sent on an urgent quest. Concerned for her well-being, the Night Chasers take her into their fold, leading them to discover an ancient and terrible threat to the kingdom... ** Recommend to use iPhone 6/iPad min4/iPad Air2/iPad 5th Gen./iPad Pro or later devices for better experiences.**

Screenshots

Puzzle Forge 24 screens
Hero Emblems II4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Puzzle Forge 2 at Free against Hero Emblems II's $6.99. Puzzle Forge 2 also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.3) and iOS requirement (7.1 vs 10.3). Hero Emblems II's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 7). On review sentiment, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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

Puzzle Forge 2 is free to download; Hero Emblems II costs $6.99 up front. Puzzle Forge 2 sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Hero Emblems II asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Puzzle Forge 2 holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 104 and 156 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Puzzle Forge 2's written reviews are positive against 63% of Hero Emblems II's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Puzzle Forge 2 ships an update every 5 weeks, Hero Emblems II every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Puzzle Forge 2 versus Hero Emblems II: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPuzzle Forge 2Hero Emblems II
PriceFree — better$6.99
Rating4.6 (104 ratings) — better4.3 (156 ratings)
Positive reviews70.4% of reviews — better62.8% of reviews
Number of ratings104156 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS7.1 — better10.3
Further details — not scored
Size160 MB544 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperTuesday QuestHeatPot Games Ltd.

Customer experience

Puzzle Forge 2

All ratings104 ratings
Positive90.4%
Neutral3.8%
Negative5.8%
Written reviews152 reviews
Positive70.4%
Neutral10.5%
Negative19.1%

Hero Emblems II

All ratings156 ratings
Positive81.4%
Neutral7.1%
Negative11.5%
Written reviews180 reviews
Positive62.8%
Neutral11.7%
Negative25.6%

User reviews

Puzzle Forge 2

From 104 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Highly addictive and engaging gameplay
  • 🧠 Strategic depth requiring planning ahead
  • 🎨 Beautiful graphics and charming art style
  • 😄 Humorous character dialogue and personality
  • 🔄 Unique merge puzzle mechanics

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
  • 🐛 Game-breaking bugs with frozen boards
  • 🐛 Data loss and progress not saving
  • 🐛 Tutorial is confusing and inadequate
  • 🐛 Shop top shelf items unclickable

Hero Emblems II

From 156 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Excellent match-3 gameplay mechanics
  • 💰 No pay-to-win or microtransactions
  • 🎨 Beautiful graphics and animations
  • 🎵 Great music and character voice acting
  • 📖 Engaging story with RPG elements

Room to improve

  • ⚔️ Severe difficulty spikes and boss balancing issues
  • ⏳ Excessive grinding required for progression
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and soft crashes
  • 🌍 Poor English localization and translation quality
  • 📋 Lack of quest journal or quest tracking system

Bugs and requests

Puzzle Forge 2

Reported bugs

18 issues
  • Game crashes and freezes during gameplay
  • Frozen board bug in tournament mode
  • Progress not saving after reinstall
  • Top shelf shop items not clickable
  • Ads reappearing after purchase removal
Show 13 more
  • Restore purchases not functioning
  • Game crashes when skipping ads
  • Enchanted slots disappearing
  • Hero not accepting completed weapons
  • Contract completion showing 0 gold reward
  • Game slowing down after extended play
  • Tutorial completion blocking progression
  • Academy not appearing on map
  • Money glitching and not decreasing
  • Freezing when handing equipment to NPCs
  • Orc shield request not accepted
  • Game ending prematurely with moves remaining
  • Gem delivery not working after purchase

Requested features

16 requests
  • Undo button for accidental moves
  • Ability to delete or sell unwanted weapons
  • Comprehensive recipe guide for crafting
  • Better and more detailed tutorial
  • Chinese language localization
Show 11 more
  • Spanish language localization
  • Third game in the series (Puzzle Forge 3)
  • Additional ore types beyond Netherium
  • More weapons and items to craft
  • Difficulty settings at game start
  • Mini-games for variety
  • Cross-device progress synchronization
  • Better contact/support system for issues
  • Fill empty screen space with content
  • Option to use shop items when game over
  • Legendary weapon crafting guide

Hero Emblems II

Reported bugs

11 issues
  • Game crashes during final boss battles
  • Soft crashes and emblem dropping errors
  • iCloud sync not working properly after reinstall
  • Location markers disappearing after quest completion
  • Touchscreen input not working on one side of map
Show 6 more
  • Elf character joining prevents map movement
  • Five-star gems unable to convert with adjacent gems
  • Visual glitches and display errors
  • iPad home bar black border display issue
  • iPad orientation support missing
  • Game freezing and crashing randomly

Requested features

11 requests
  • Enemy level indicators for dungeon difficulty assessment
  • Quest journal and quest tracking system
  • Endgame endless mode for post-story gameplay
  • Easy or casual difficulty mode
  • Game+ or New Game+ mode
Show 6 more
  • Multiplayer PvP battle mode
  • Korean language support
  • Better iCloud sync functionality
  • Difficulty balancing adjustments
  • More distinct puzzle board icons
  • Faster map navigation speed

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Puzzle Forge 2

One-time7
  • 1000 Gold$0.99
  • 1 Wisdom Stone$0.99
  • Remove Ads$2.99
Show 4 more
  • 5000 Gold$3.99
  • 6 Wisdom Stones$4.99
  • 30 Wisdom Stones$19.99
  • 50 000 Gold!$29.99
None

Hero Emblems II

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Puzzle Forge 2 free?
Puzzle Forge 2 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hero Emblems II free?
Hero Emblems II costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Puzzle Forge 2 or Hero Emblems II?
Puzzle Forge 2 is rated higher. Puzzle Forge 2 averages 4.6 out of 5 from 104 ratings, while Hero Emblems II averages 4.3 from 156 ratings.
Do Puzzle Forge 2 or Hero Emblems II have ads?
Neither Puzzle Forge 2 nor Hero Emblems II shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Puzzle Forge 2 or Hero Emblems II?
Puzzle Forge 2 ships an update every 5 weeks, and Hero Emblems II every 3 weeks. Most recently, Puzzle Forge 2 was updated on October 9, 2026 and Hero Emblems II on October 17, 2026.

Other comparisons