Planes are player-controlled aircraft and part of the huge air force that is synonymous with the Sky Force games. They are the main form of combat transportation for players as they go out to take on enemies throughout a Stage.
About[]
Only one type of Plane could be played as in Sky Force Anniversary. Since then, Sky Force Reloaded has taken on the feature of multiple Planes playable in a bigger arsenal. A total of nine Planes are featured that each bear different qualities and technical and technological stats, such as the magnitude of the destruction they cause in general.
The Classic is the only Plane available at the start of the game, and the other eight are to be unlocked by collecting their five aircraft parts that are found by a pretty slim chance while playing a Stage (drop chance increases with later Stages and higher difficulties). The table below shows the appearances of the Plane models, as well as their in-game blurb, description, and overview.
The Plane that you always start off the game with, bearing the default magnitudes of firepower, health, magnet strength, movement speed and many other aspects in its Loadout.
Initially, this Plane has a basic Main Cannon, which shoot multiple projectiles with a slight spread, dealing maximum damage at point-blank but less at maximum range.
Collecting all the Bonus Cards puts this Plane through an overhaul, and its Main Cannon is replaced with a powerhouse "Laser Whip" armament. Its Support Drones are positively affected as well, as they gain a drastic boost in their normally insignificant firepower.
The Ambulance is the Plane of primary emphasis on medical relief service, being able to rescue Survivors in just a mere second compared to the standard three seconds for the rest of the Planes.
Its firepower, spread out in three directions, can be used as an advantage for taking out a wider spread of enemies. However, the firing pattern can also be a handicap due to the reduced number of projectiles being fired straight forward, resulting in reduced damage against single targets.
A Plane that delivers hell of destruction to enemies with super-focused and boosted Main Cannon firepower. However, in exchange for this positive, the firepower itself is left with a shorter range, significantly less than the height of the screen.
When using the Main Weapon Supercharge ability, its accumulated bullets are focused into a point at the tip, allowing for point-blank damage even at maximum range.
Like The Classic, the Enforcer carries no traits in its statistical loadout and uses a default spread firing pattern. However, with its slightly more powerful Main Cannon firepower, it can be used as a pre-focus on enemy destruction if players unlock it before Gladius.
On mobile devices, the Enforcer plane is rewarded for free if Sky Force 2014/Anniversary was pre-downloaded and recognized by the game.
The Iron Clad, as its name suggests, has an ability to resist more damage but in contrast, is more vulnerable in general due to its slightly decreased movement speed. It uses a default spread firing pattern like most Planes.
The Iron Clad is one of the few Planes with a unique Main Weapon Supercharge ability: on mobile versions, it releases a shockwave that blows away enemy projectiles in exchange for the usual surge of firepower. On widescreen versions, it releases a single large projectile that behaves similar to those discharged by Wing Cannons.
The Swift Justice has an emphasis on increased movement speed, easing the difficulty of evading enemy blasts. However, in exchange for this benefit, any damage received is amplified due to reduced max HP.
This Plane has a unique firepower pattern that takes the shape of a chevron without spread, making it an advantage for whittling down enemies and provide consistent damage at any distance.
Limp Berserker starts off every Stage with its firepower fully charged, making it a slight advantage for casting out enemies quickly, though deemed ineffective in the later parts of the game. Its Main Cannon uses the basic firing pattern.
This Plane will instantly disintegrate upon a single contact with an enemy, considerably making it a form of encouragement for the "Stay Untouched" Stage Medal.
This Plane bares a similar look to the one featured in Sky Force Anniversary as an end-of-game bonus, which is permanently obtained upon collection of all the Bonus Cards in that game. Its Main Cannon uses the basic firing pattern.
The Ace of Spades is well-known for its capability of pulling in more Stars with an increased magnet strength. as well as providing a higher chance of successfully finding Bonus Cards.
Similar to the Limp Berserker, the 'Ridiculously Low Health" of this Plane makes it a major weakness in challenging Stages since just a single enemy blast will instantly blow it apart.
The last and most unique of all the Planes, featuring great firepower as well as a micro-missile system where a salvo of 16 small homing rockets are fired in place of the two missiles. Outside of this, its Main Cannon uses the basic firing pattern.
The destructive Main Weapon Supercharge of this Plane in the widescreen versions featuring high speed SAM-like missiles splattering enemies into ruins is an excellent deal for Medal-seeking Stage runs, making it a lot easier in escaping tough predicaments. On mobile versions, the Supercharge ability behaves as normal.
This Plane is featured in the annual Christmas Tournament, which utilizes an adequate magnitude of firepower that appears to be independent of Loadout upgrades. It does not have any special ability and lacks Support Drones.
The only playable Plane in the Christmas Tournaments, used for taking down exclusive dessert themed enemies.
In Google Play Games, achievements are awarded for clearing all Stages with each of the Planes.
Trivia[]
Some of the Planes' names act as references to or reminders of certain things or famous people.
Gladius is the Latin translation of "sword", inferring the Plane's destructive firepower and limited range.
Iron Clad (More specifically, Ironclad) means the subject is covered with and protected by iron, which infers its ability to endure damage.
Swift Justice's name is not to be confused with an American detective drama series of the exact same name. Its increased speed and number engraved on its fuselage can also be a reference to racing driver Lewis Hamilton.
In a game of French-suited playing cards, Ace of Spades is the name of the most valuable card in the whole deck, which implies the high successful Card-hunting ratio given by the Plane of this same name.
Bugs[]
On PC widescreen versions, there is a nearly game-busting exploit that one can do with the Planes. Essentially, setting Player 1 and Player 2's controls as the same buttons allows both Players to be controlled by one press. A recommend tip is to leave the Fire button separate, because Autofire will make this non-essential, and the Fire button is also used for selecting the Plane. Both Planes can be controlled as one entity, which leads to quite the extravaganza. The only exception is Iron Clad and Swift Justice, as those two Planes have different movement speeds. Another important note is that when using Power-Ups, both Planes will use them if applicable, so two Mega Bombs or Lasers will be used simultaneously to do great damage. While this is likely the only downside to this strategy, you can change the controls of the Power-Ups to activate only one Energy Shield (this keeps both Planes safe). The source is listed here, on this Steam Discussions post.
