Sunsoft 1987

Shoot 'em Up

NES

1 Player | 2 Player Co-op

 

Sky Kid

The odds are definitely against them. The enemy's coming by land, by sea, and by air, with an arsenal of every deadly weapon known to man. Tanks, Machine Guns, Battleships. And the most villainous army of soldiers this peaceful little land has ever seen.

And the defense? Just two lonely skykids in thinly armed, single engine prop bi-planes. They've got guts, but they'll need help from above to win this battle — a steady hand, lightning reflexes, nerves of steel, and a heart of gold. Do you think you have what it takes? Then fasten your seat belt and take a deep breath. Because you are their only hope.

Your mission is to take off from the airstrip, fly through the enemy forces, bomb the targets, and then return to base. You can use your guns against regular enemies, but only bombs can destroy the mission targets. You won't leave base with the bomb. You will need to pick it up on the way to the target but beware — you won't be able to loop , severely hampering your maneuverability. Bases can take several forms, but they will always be comprised of 3 parts. Hit the center with your bomb to bring the entire thing to the ground and gain the most points. Loops aren't only used in dog fighting. If you do a loop near your girlfriend dressed in blue, you will be rewarded with a kiss after the mission worth extra points. You can also perform looping tricks around billboards, the Statue of Liberty, the sphinx, the snowman, and the genie. You can even change the time of day by looping around the sun or the moon when they appear. If you are hit, your plane will start tumbling down to the ground. By pressing [Up] along with the [A] and [B] buttons repeatedly, you may be able to recover before crashing. The sudden appearance of a cliff or building may prove too steep for you to climb over it in time. Mash the loop button to rapidly gain altitude and avoid crashing. Shooting Training will happen on stages 8, 16 and 24. It's not just your accuracy that will be tested — use your loop to position yourself to hit the difficult arrangement of targets. In later stages, volcanoes will appear as some of the most difficult obstacles in the game. Your loop won't be very effective so speed through in between blasts.

Your guns can be used to shoot other planes or ground targets. To hit enemies on the ground, you will need to tip the nose of your plane down or level out near the deck. Fighters Can attack from both directions, shooting and evading with loops Bombers Flies in at the top of the screen from the right side dropping parachute bombs Trucks Defenseless ground units that will travel along any open area AA Guns Shoots rapid anti-aircraft shells that can reach about halfway up the screen Tanks Only fires straight forward, but can expertly defend ground units behind themselves Cannon Fires a high reaching shell that splits into 4 parts when it explodes Rockets Single shot that flies straight up and explodes into 4 parts AA Boat Like the land version, it shoots anti-aircraft shells reaching halfway up the screen Cannon Boat Fires a high reaching shell that splits into 4 parts when it explodes Gun Boat Like the tank, can only shoot straight forward to defend ships behind itself Submarine Has no weapons and is hard to hit, but worth a lot of points Fire Balloons Wide target that hovers in place but can shoot 4 bullets at once Missiles Will fly in from the left and explodes when near, loop if you fail to shoot them first Thunder Kid Shoots lightning from the bottom of their clouds, so stay clear or above Some stages will feature unique targets in the form of blimps and UFOs. These hard to hit opponents can only be destroyed by dropping a bomb directly on their center. Sky Kid features 26 stages in total, where you have the option of saving your bomb to destroy the UFO at the very end. Starting at stage 27, the levels begin to repeat.

Game Genie Codes

SXEKGZVI	Unlimited Lives	Game Genie
PANYNZLA	1 Life — Both Players	Game Genie
TANYNZLA	6 Lives — Both Players	Game Genie
PANYNZLE	9 Lives — Both Players	Game Genie
AAOKIZPA	More Bullets	Game Genie
IAVNNZPA GAVNUZAA	Start at Level 5	Game Genie
ZAVNNZPE PAVNUZAE	Start at Level 10	Game Genie
APVNNZPA YAVNUZAE	Start at Level 15	Game Genie
GPVNNZPA LPVNUZAA	Start at Level 20	Game Genie

 

 

Sky Kid
Sky Kid offers a surprising level of control over your biplane. When you hold up or down, it not only changes your altitude but also alters the angle of your bullets, allowing you to shoot in various directions. This is important because the composition of ground enemies with different attack ranges will force you to continually fly higher or lower. You are also given a "loop" ability that not only lets you get behind planes on your six, but also gives you invincibility frames that will let you dodge enemy attacks with proper timing. Another unique feature is the ability to recover after getting hit. Instead of simply being destroyed, your aircraft will begin tumbling down, giving you a chance to recover by button mashing. In 2 player mode, the second player can even shoot you out of the death spin.

The missions are very repetitive but the great core game mechanics help make up for it. Not being able to loop with the bomb equipped can really change things up since you are now a sitting duck for most enemy attacks on your way to the target. It's a good single player game but it really shines in multiplayer. A second player can take strategic positions to wipe out the ground units or provide covering fire while you are carrying the bomb. Ultimately, Sky Kids is a difficult yet surprisingly forgiving game, making it a great entry point for newcomers to the genre.