Sky Force Reloaded is one of the best (or maybe the best)
vertical shooting games in 2016. While still retaining the classic arcade style
for most of its game play, SFR moves one step further by providing some extras
to enhance game experience of the players. One of the biggest departures from
the previous games is the extra planes addition which could be obtained by
collecting certain plane’s part on random occasions during a stage. These
planes have their own characteristics and may provide various advantages (or
even disadvantages) for certain game levels.
Here are the complete list of 9 planes provided in the game, based on the
latest update (ver.1.45-Sep 9, 2016):
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The Classic
“A Little Rusty but
Gets the Job Done”
Also known as Model 2004. As starter plane of the game, The “Red” Classic is exactly
what you can expect from a typical-standard-war-plane. Basically the same plane
from previous Sky Force game, it provides standard armament to deal with the
enemies, thus it might be overshadowed with other more powerful and special planes
which appear later in the game.
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| The Classic's laser whip vs Twisted Vengeance (before the latest update) |
Nevertheless, The Classic receives a special treatment once you obtain the last golden card (permanent card no. 24),
it will replace the ship’s main canon with a laser whip. Compared to the
spreading shots of a typical main canon, the laser lacks shooting coverage, but
much more powerful. Tell the truth, the "supercharged" laser whip is arguably the most powerful weapon in the game, especially for the Nightmare levels and Bonus stages (B1/B2).
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| The Classic's sweeping rapid drones shots (after the latest update) |
The latest update even modified the drones with more rapid and sweeping shots that cover greater area thus making the Classic much more versatile than ever.
Pros: Versatile, laser whip (after you obtain the 24th
permanent card) which is really powerful after being charged, sweeping rapid drones shots
Cons: Very
standard armaments, the laser whip lacks coverage.
Enforcer
“Main Cannon Damage
+10%”
With 10% more damage, this plane is basically a slightly
upgraded version of the Classic. Other than that, nothing’s so special with it.
Nevertheless, it provides more fire power and ideal for early levels grinding
than the Classic. The good news is: If you played Sky Force 2014 before, you
will automatically get this plane.
Enforcer probably, is the best plane in the game if you use it after receiving temporary Maximum Firerate card.
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| Enforcer vs Spinning Retaliation (Boss of Stage 2) |
Pros: Versatile, 10% more damage with
main cannon.
Cons: Very standard armaments, no specialty.
Ambulance
“Increased Rescue
Speed”
The ship’s name and color tell you everything. This white
ship is special made for rescue mission. It greatly increases the survivor
rescue speed up to 50% (even more with no.8 card), thus perfect for collecting “Rescue
All People” medal. The ambulance is truly a great help for rescue purpose,
especially for early levels of everyone’s favorite Stage 5.
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| Ambulance vs Canned Dread (before recent updates) |
Ambulance starts to differentiate from other planes after recent updates by having three-way main cannon shots and increased defense. While some may argue that its fire power decreased, the Ambulance has become more and more versatile to use.
The latest update even brought another addition to the plane's arsenal: supercharge shockwave, which is released after using main weapon supercharge (permanent card #9 needed). The effect is similar with mega bomb, but much more smaller.
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| Ambulance's new 3-way shots and supercharge shockwave (after the latest update) |
Pros: Rescue speed increased much, special for rescue medal
missions, “Stay Untouched” medal guaranteed after surviving the stage (if you
haven’t had the medal yet), larger shots coverage, supercharge shockwave. Probably one of the best plane for tournament and the best wingman in the game.
Cons: Low health, decreased fire power.
Iron Clad
“Health +50%, Speed
-10%”
The Hulk in the game, Iron Clad provides 50% more defense to
your ship, while sacrificing 10% of the speed. That means, even though it’s
less maneuverable, the plane could withstand more pounding from enemies. Iron
Clad + “Health Regeneration” card will be perfect for conquering insane and
bullet hell levels, especially for Stage 5 and after.
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| Iron Clad vs Canon Spider of Stage 4 (before recent updates) |
Similar with Ambulance, the Iron Clad also could access supercharge shockwave after the latest update.
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| Iron Clad releases supercharge shockwave (after the latest update) |
Pros: More health, suitable for difficult stages especially
when combined with “Health Regeneration” card, supercharge shockwave.
Cons: Slow, less maneuverable
Swift Justice
“Health -50%, Speed
+10%”
This plane is a complete opposite of Iron Clad. It provides
more maneuverability while having half of normal defense. If you prefer speed
more than health, then Swift Justice is for you.
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| Swift Justice on Stage 5 (before recent updates) |
Similar with Ambulance, the main cannon of Swift Justice also differentiate from others after the latest update. The main cannon now has very focused shots which provides more damage to a single target, hence increasing its fire power than before.
The changes of Swift Justice's main weapon after Oct 16 update (left) and Nov 16 update (right)
Pros: Highly agile, especially when combined with “Increased
Plane Speed” card. Fire power increased after the latest update due to its focused shot main cannon.
Cons: Low health
Limp Berserker
“Max Fire Rate,
Ridiculously Low Health”
My personal favorite. Limp Berserker, as the name implies,
provides you with maximum fire rate, while having almost zero defense. For the
people with “attack is the best defense” attitude, having this plane is a must.
You’ll get maximum fire rate right from the start, which means, no need to
collect power ups from glowing enemy ships, hence makes your job much easier.
This plane however, shares the same weakness with other special ships:
ridiculously low health.
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| Limp Berserker unleashed super charged canon on Murky Huntress (Boss of Stage 6) |
Limp Berserker is one of the most versatile planes in the
game, as it could adept perfectly with any difficulty levels, from the easiest
to the hardest stages. If you concentrate on maximizing main cannon power,
Berserker could help you to level up and gathering stars much more quickly than
any other ships.
Pros: Maximum fire rate, highly versatile, “Stay Untouched”
medal guaranteed after surviving the stage (if you haven’t had the medal yet).
Cons: Ridiculously low health, useless if you have max fire
rate temporary card.
Ace of Spades
“Increased Luck at
Card Hunting, Ridiculously Low Health”
This black plane is one of a kind, as its main purpose is
obvious: card hunting specialist. While not having any bonuses in terms of
armaments, Ace of Spade will boost the chance for getting cards in the game,
especially with the help from certain cards in the game. Other than that, this
plane is merely a ship with ridiculously low health. And unfortunately, due to
the latest update, the card drop rate is also affected by game levels, thus
making this plane only makes big effect during the early stages of the game.
That doesn’t mean you can’t obtain cards with this plane on later stages. It
just gets more and more difficult to use this plane due to its very low health
and lacks of bonuses.
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| Ace of Spades vs Laser Whip Spider of Stage 7 |
Pros: The best plane for card hunting, especially on later
stages and when it combined with cards which increasing the card drop rate and Lucy Clover (technician).
Cons: Ridiculously low health, lacks of armaments bonuses.
Octopus
“Fire Mini-Rockets”
Alongside Limp Berserker, this is probably the most
versatile plane in the game. Octopus is basically The Classic with modified
missile system. Instead of firing a single guided missile, it unleashes
multiple mini guided rockets to the enemies. While not powerful enough to
destroy stronger opponents, the rockets are capable to disable enemy weapons
from any blank points. These rockets are also very helpful to deal with canon
fodders (formation of smaller planes crossing the screen), hence increasing the
chance to get medal for destroying 100% enemy forces. Ideal for completing
stage 5 and advanced stages.
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| Octopus vs Frying Falcon (Boss of Stage 8) |
Pros: The most versatile plane in the game, capable for
destroying multiple enemy planes and weapons from any blank points.
Cons: The individual rockets are typically weak against strong enemies
Gladius
“Increased Fire
Power, Shorter Weapon Range”
Gladius is quite bizarre. It has the most
powerful main canon among other planes in the game, with a price of ... (very)
short shooting range. While highly capable for destroying enemies or even their
bosses much faster, you need tremendous amount of skill to get this plane close
enough to shot the enemy because the canon could only reach one-third of the
screen. Hence, it’s quite safe to say that this plane
is more difficult to use and not suitable for beginners. Anyway, if you love
challenges and brave enough to deal face to face with the enemies, Gladius is
for you.
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| Gladius vs Super Deflection Canon (Boss of Stage 9) |
The latest update enables Gladius to have slightly longer range for a moment after the supercharge.
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| Gladius' longer range after a supercharge (after the latest update) |
Pros: The most powerful main cannon among other planes.
Cons: Very short weapon range, very difficult to deal with
long range enemy weapons.
