Missile Planes are aircraft enemies capable of collision and are unique to Stage B2. They fly towards the bottom of the screen and launches two accurate homing missiles upon destruction.
Appearance[]
Missile Planes are predominantly silver with subtle light orange highlights. Their fuselage and tail mirror that of a Heavy Helicopter Gunship without the rotor, and features a blue light on each side of the cockpit. Additionally, they boast dual wing sets—one angled up and the other downward—with each upper wing equipped with a missile pod.
Akin to a Heavy Fighter, as damage to the aircraft accumulates, Missile Planes become more engulfed in flame until they are destroyed and explode mid-air.
Behavior[]
General[]
Missile Planes travel from the top edge of the screen straight downward (may appear from the sides before facing downward), exiting the screen at the bottom and breaking active Chain Bonus as a result unless they are destroyed in time. The number of Missile Planes is increased on Nightmare difficulty level.
Similar to Prop Planes, Missile Planes can collide with the player's Plane, dealing damage to both aircraft until either one is destroyed or they separate. The damage incurred is less if the collision occurs on the wings rather than directly on the fuselages. When there is an active Energy Shield, Missile Planes are immediately destroyed upon contact; otherwise the Plane typically disintegrates upon collision due to their high body damage.
Missile Planes can rarely have a glowing yellow aura, whose destruction guarantees the drop of a Weapon Upgrade item that boost the Plane's Main and Wing Cannons fire rate,
Armament[]
If left intact, Missile Planes remain unarmed. On destruction, Missile Planes launch a pair of high-accuracy homing missiles ahead of their facing direction, regardless of the player's position. Each missile travels at fast speed, follows the Plane and deals moderate damage on contact.
Missile Planes in action and being destroyed (Nightmare difficulty).
These missiles are designed to only damage the Plane, harmlessly phasing through other enemies otherwise. However, they can be absorbed by Energy Shields, annihilated by Mega Bombs and Iron Clad's Main Weapon Supercharge shockwaves, and slowed by Slo Mo Chan's ability.
Strategy[]
- Study their spawning location and quickly burst them down using the Main Weapon Supercharge ability to prevent them from accumulating in high number.
- As with other ramming enemies, Energy Shield is an effective countermeasure against Missile Planes by colliding your Plane with them, which will instantly destroy both the enemies and their missiles. Similarly, Mega Bombs can produce the same outcome. Never attempt to collide with Missile Planes without an active Energy Shield otherwise.
- Despite the tracking missiles, they are initially launched downward the screen, which limits their turning angles. Evade the missiles by simply moving either to the sides or behind the destroyed Missile Plane. Note that the missiles can perform an U-turn and may attempt to hit the Plane a second time.
Trivia[]
Images[]
- ↑ In this scenario, the Missile Plane descends vertically while the player's Plane remains uncontrolled. Both aircraft will be directly aligned with each other. On Nightmare difficulty, the Missile Plane might pass through the player's Plane without being destroyed, resulting in a loss of potential total damage.
- ↑ Even Iron Clad is destroyed. Therefore, exact values for each difficulty level is unknown.