How do you play Sky Fighter?
You fly a red biplane at the bottom of the screen, shoot the enemy planes coming down from the top, and work through five stages: open sea, coastline, islands, above the clouds and the enemy fortress. A boss waits at the end of every stage, and knocking it down takes you to the next one. Lose all three lives and the run is over; destroy the fifth boss, the fortress gun complex, and the fortress falls.
It plays like the coin op plane shooters of the arcade era, but the enemy shots are slow and large so even a first timer feels the fun of slipping between bullets right away. Formations come down in a V, snake left and right in a line, or pause and dive straight at where you are. Bombers fire three way spreads, patrol boats take aimed shots from the water on the coast and island stages, and ground turrets do the same at the fortress.
What changes across the five stages and bosses?
Each stage brings faster enemies and more formations, and each boss has more health and more bullet patterns. The scenery changes too: sun glitter on the sea, a surf lined coast, coral islands, a sea of clouds and a concrete runway.
| Stage | Scenery | Boss | Boss health |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open sea | Heavy bomber (twin engine) | 70 |
| 2 | Coastline | Battleship (four turrets) | 100 |
| 3 | Islands | Super bomber (six engines) | 130 |
| 4 | Above the clouds | Airship | 165 |
| 5 | Enemy fortress | Fortress gun complex | 210 |
Bosses alternate between an aimed fan, a ring that spreads in every direction, a sweeping curtain and a rain of shots. Every time a boss drops below 75%, 50% and 25% health it releases a power up, so it pays to move for items even mid fight. Beating a boss adds a bonus of 2,000 points times the stage number plus 500 for each life you still have.
What do the power ups do?
P raises your shot from one stream to two, three and four, S puts up a shield for eight seconds that bounces enemy shots, and B adds one bomb. Wipe out an entire formation and an item drops where the last plane went down.
| Item | Effect | Note |
|---|---|---|
| P (red) | Fire goes up one level, from one stream to four | At four streams already, worth 1,000 points |
| S (blue) | Eight second shield that blocks shots and plane collisions | Blinks during its last 1.5 seconds |
| B (yellow) | One more bomb, up to five | A bomb erases every enemy shot and hits every enemy hard |
When you are shot down you lose one fire level, and the new plane is invincible for 2.6 seconds. Your bombs carry over, so spend them in a pinch rather than hoarding them. Formations finished off by a bomb do not drop items.
How are score and combo counted?
A fighter is 100, a bomber 300 and a boat or turret 400, and every kill within two seconds of the last one raises the combo, adding 10% per plane up to 2.5 times. Wiping out a formation adds a separate 500.
- Combo: it continues as long as the next kill comes within two seconds. The ×number combo shows under the score and breaks when you are shot down.
- Boss hits: every shot that lands on a boss is worth 10 points, so keep the trigger held through the whole fight.
- Rank: the result screen rates you Rookie pilot, Wingman, Ace, Top gun or Sky legend by score, and taking the fortress makes you a Sky legend whatever the score.
What formation patterns are there?
Six patterns are mixed: V, snake, dive, bomber line, crossing and a bomber pair from the sides, with ground units slipping in between from stage 2.
| Formation | Movement | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| V of 5 | The leader in front, straight down | Sit under the leader and they file into your fire |
| Snake of 6 | A single file weaving wide left and right | Wait in the middle and the whole line passes through |
| Dive of 4 | They pause, then plunge at where you were | Shoot during the pause, then step aside as they drop |
| Bomber line of 3 | Slow descent with three way shots | The shots are slow, so slip between the streams |
| Crossing of 8 | Enter from both sides and cross in an X | Just below the crossing point is the sweet spot |
| Boats and turrets | Scroll with the scenery and take aimed shots | Fortress turrets also fire rings, so keep your distance |
Tips for a higher score
- Aim to wipe every formation. One escaped plane means no item. At four streams a formation melts the moment it enters the screen.
- Dodge sideways, not backwards. Aimed shots target where you were when they fired, so a small step to the side after the shot makes them miss.
- Stay in the bottom third. Higher up you collide with diving formations and have less time to read the bullets.
- Save bombs for overlapping curtains. When a ring and a fan land at the same time there is no gap, and that is the moment for X.
- Bosses sway side to side. Instead of chasing directly underneath, read the width of the sway and be there first to rack up hit points.
Controls
- Phone or mouse: press and drag and the plane follows your finger while firing on its own. On phones the plane sits a little above your finger so it is never covered. Tap the round button at bottom right for a bomb.
- Keyboard: arrows or WASD to move, hold Z or Space to fire, X for a bomb, Enter to take off.
- Other: the speaker button at top right toggles sound. The game pauses while the tab is hidden.
Your best score and furthest stage are stored only in this browser and never sent to a server. Share result turns your score and rank into a picture card.