Radial Cannons are strong and common tower enemies that shoot radial waves of projectiles in multiple specified angles and directions. Colored lights on top of the cannons indicate their general threat level and a hint of their firing patterns.
Appearance[]
A Radial Cannon appears mounted on top of a metal tower in a shape of a square with rounded corners, with four base supports on each side of the body.
On the top of the Radial Cannon is a leveled gray circular core containing its armament, beneath it is a bright blue circle adorned with rotating orbs of light. Surrounding the top of the core are twelve LED lights of equal sizes whose color hints at the Cannon's firing patterns, or in general their threat level. Except for the ones with red lights, the lights activate alternatively in a clockwise pattern. On the arc a few bright segments indicate the number of angles/directions the Cannon discharges its bullet waves in (except for red variants).
The twelve lights each display a single color simultaneously which are one of blue, green, yellow or red.
Behaviors[]
General[]
Radial Cannons are mounted to their tower and thus cannot be moved.
As a tower enemy, Radial Cannons have noticeably more health compared to some other enemies. Similarly, a red health bar appears above the Cannon when damage is dealt, fading after a few moments of leaving it intact.
Radial Cannons cannot be collided with; the Plane simply flies past them.
Radial Cannons rarely drop Health Restore items upon destruction.
Radial Cannons do not target the player's Plane directly, since they discharge projectiles in a radial pattern around them. Therefore, the Holo Granny Technician cannot distract them with its decoys, as they do not have a specific target to aim at.
These projectiles only damage the Plane and phase through other enemies, and cannot be destroyed by its firepower. However, it can be absorbed by Energy Shields, dissipated by Mega Bombs and Iron Clad's Main Weapon Supercharge shockwaves, and slowed by Slo Mo Chan. The cannons' health, damage and fire rate increase along with higher difficulty levels.
Armament[]
Radial Cannons have a wide variety of armament types, each with different patterns, fire rates and damages.
Blue[]
The most basic type, it discharges just two bullets, a single bullet in horizontally opposite directions. Three pairs are shot before a recharging pause. The projectiles are dark blue, travel slowly but deal moderately high damage on contact.
Green[]
Slightly more advanced than the blue-light types. It shoots four bullets, with each adjacent one in perpendicular directions to one another and forming a North-South-East-West pattern. They shoot the same type of bullets as the one with blue lights with similar properties, five times before a reloading break.
On the Lewiatan Zeppelin Boss, the Radial Cannons with green lights shoot six light-blue bullets in a hexagonal formation.
The variations with blue and green lights are exclusive to Stage 5.
Yellow[]
Shoots straight streams of three projectiles at six angles (60 degrees apart), a total of 18 projectiles each sitting forming a hexagon. After discharging four times, it reloads for a short time. The projectiles are light blue, travel slowly and deal moderate damage on contact.
This variation appears on Stage 5, Stage 10 and Stage 11.
Red[]
The most advanced and commonest of the four variations. Red Radial Cannons have multiple sub-variants which fire different patterns of bullets, described below by order of the Stage of their first encounter.
Red I[]
Shoots a wave cluster of three bullets in twelve directions (30 degrees apart) for a total of 36 projectiles, each of which travels fast and deals high damage on contact. It takes time to reload between each wave consistently. The projectiles are blue and leave behind a white trail.
Other enemy armaments that discharge similar bullet clusters include the Supercharged Mantis Cannon (Four bullets in ten directions), post-destruction radial cannon of the Energized Spider Railguns and Experimental Heavy Gunships (Five bullets in sixteen directions) and the recharging cannon of the Spinning Retaliation and Heavy Defense Drone (Three bullets in sixteen directions).
This sub-variation appears on Stage 4 and Stage 9.
Red II[]
Shoots long, curving streams of 20 projectiles each, in five directions (72 degrees apart), for a total of 100 projectiles per volley, after which it reloads for a short time. The projectiles are small, blue in color, travel slowly and deal light damage.
This variation appears on Stage 5 and Stage 10.
Red III[]
Function similar to the variations with yellow lights, instead shooting three bullets in twelve directions (total of 36 projectiles), forming a dodecagon shape. The discharge frequency is lower, while bullets appear similar to those released by the first red variant, and their properties are similar to those discharged by yellow variants (damage included).
This variant appears on Stage 6, Stage 8 and Stage 11.
Red IV[]
Shoots long, clockwise spiraling streams of nine projectiles each, in five directions (total of 45 projectiles per volley). It has a very short cooldown period after each volley, and on Insane Difficulty onwards the period is so short that the streams connect into a long, continuous discharge. It fires blue projectiles, with the same properties as those discharged by blue and green Radial Cannons.
This variant appears on Stage 7 and Stage 12.
Red V[]
Shoots a wave cluster of four projectiles in twelve directions (30 degree apart) for a total of 48 projectiles, initially traveling at a very fast speed before decelerating greatly. This variant discharges three waves before reloading. The projectiles are blue and leave behind a white trail.
The properties of the bullets are the same as the first type which also discharges the same kind of bullet cluster, with high damage on contact.
This variant appears on Stage 11 and Stage 12.
Red VI[]
Shoots a wave of six bullets each in five directions, for a total of 30 projectiles per wave. After discharging thrice, it reloads for a slight duration. The bullets are blue and bear the same properties as those shot by blue and green Radial Cannons (including the same moderately high damage).
This variant is exclusive to Stage B1.
Red VII[]
Shoots a long, clockwise spiraling streams of thirteen bullets each in three directions (120 degree apart), for a total of 39 projectiles per volley. Between each wave is a moderate cooldown. The bullets are blue and share the sae properties as those shot from the yellow variants (with similar moderate damage).
This variant is exclusive to Stage B2.
Strategy[]
- Red Radial Cannons are highly dangerous enemies due to their high damage and multiple projectiles per shot, both combined to quickly create a dense and deadly field of projectiles when the Cannon is left intact for too long. Prioritize and destroy them as soon as they appear, perhaps with the use of the Main Weapon Supercharge ability. Upgrade your Plane's firepower often to helps burst down their high health, especially on higher difficulty levels.
- Practice memorizing the locations and their respective patterns to dodge in time and not be caught off-guard, especially against 1st and 5th variants of red Radial Cannons due to their high projectile speed and damage.
- The Slo Mo Chan Technician perform well against Radial Cannons by slowing down fast projectiles or create maneuvering windows between fields of their projectiles. Slo Mo Chan also reduces the maximum range of some variants, buying you more time to shoot from afar.
- When cornered by Radial Cannons' projectiles, quickly free yourself with a charge of Energy Shield or Mega Bomb, otherwise the Plane will suffer heavy damage or even destruction due to their waves of projectiles and nearby enemies' concentrated firepower.
Trivia[]
- Radial Cannons are commonly seen in Bosses, in particular based off the ones with red lights.
- The variants shooting bullet swarms are featured on Spinning Retaliation, Murky Huntress, Frying Falcon, Araneae Lebes and The Scarlet Heart.
- The Lewiatan features the green-light Radial Cannons, which shoot six bullets in different directions instead of four.
- Volatile Drones, Supercharged Mantis Cannon Turrets, Energized Spider Railguns, Experimental Heavy Gunships and type II of Elite Gunships are next-generation enemies, which discharge bullet clusters from a hidden Radial Cannon upon destruction.
- Radial Cannons retained their light colors from Sky Force Anniversary. However, despite the red and yellow variants having changes to their shooting patterns for Reloaded, the blue and green variants remain exactly the same as their former counterparts.
- The Plane's missiles have a priority system, which usually target Radial Cannons over other enemies whenever they are in view.
Images[]
