Comparison

R.TYPE vs Sky Force Reloaded

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

R.TYPE

Experience a classic arcade shooter reborn for modern devices. Battle the evil Bydo Empire across eight challenging levels, utilizing a variety of weapons and power-ups. This faithful adaptation offers both original difficulty and enhanced touch controls for an authentic retro gaming experience.

Highlights
  • Classic arcade shoot 'em up gameplay
  • Eight challenging levels
  • Multiple weapon upgrades and power-ups
  • Two difficulty settings
  • Touch and virtual D-pad controls
  • Unlockable achievements and leaderboards
Features
Read full description

R-TYPE, THE CLASSIC ARCADE SHOOTER, RETURNS AS A UNIVERSAL APP! Revisit the 80's (mesh half-shirts and Keds optional) with this classic, old-school shoot 'em up! One of the decade’s most popular arcade games will awaken fond memories of jangling quarters, Jolt Cola and week-old popcorn. Fire up your iPhone or iPad and get ready to go back... to R-Type! FEEL THE BLAST! Blast off and attack the evil Bydo Empire. Use everything in your arsenal to take them down – don’t be shy! It's retro, it's fun and it's a “10” on the difficulty scale. Finish this masterpiece and carve your name amongst the greats! INCLUDES THE ORIGINAL FEATURES… Remember how damnably difficult R-Type was? Well it still is, because we stayed true to the original, just the way you remember it! Choose between two difficulty settings, utilize two different control options and soar through eight jam-packed levels, each with its own unique boss. Upgrade to new weapons, power-ups, and attachments as you battle wave after wave of enemies. ... AND SOME NEW FEATURES TOO! - Universal version - Enhanced Touch mode - Eight levels and two different control options: touch and virtual D-pad - Two difficulty settings - Available in 10 languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Portuguese - Full Retina Display support - Game Center: unlockable achievements + online leaderboards

About

Sky Force Reloaded

Experience an intense scrolling shooter with explosive action, diverse aircraft, and challenging missions. Master beautiful stages, battle colossal bosses, and customize your plane with hundreds of upgrades. Rescue operatives and collect bonus cards for deeper gameplay.

Highlights
  • 15 beautiful and immersive stages
  • Enormous and intimidating bosses
  • Unlock new difficulty modes
  • Rescue missing operatives
  • Assemble 9 different aircrafts
  • Hunt down 30 bonus cards
  • Hundreds of weapon and equipment upgrades
Features
Read full description

The shoot ‘em up you were looking for! New entry in the series will keep you entertained with all the things you’ve came to love in scrolling shooters. Meaty explosions, incinerating lasers, collosal bosses and diverse aircrafts to pilot. “Sky Force Reloaded” is not your average scrolling shooter. It will draw you in with its beautiful environments and intense effects. It will keep you with its superb gameplay mechanics, progression system and in-game collectibles. It will leave you wishing for more, once it’s over. Fortunately, there’s a lot to do before that happens. * Master 15 beautiful and immersive stages with challenging missions to complete. * Battle enormous and intimidating bosses, laugh when they explode and cry when you explode. * Unlock new difficulty modes, all the way from Normal to Nightmare. * Put yourself in danger to rescue missing operatives from the battlefield. * Assemble and test 9 different aircrafts. Pick your favorite, with its unique features and play style. * Hunt down 30 elusive bonus cards to add even more depth to the gameplay. Some of them will grant permanent benefits, while others will boost your abilities only temporarily. * Install hundreds of upgrades to your weapons, shields and other equipment. Turn your plane into a flying tank. * Complete in-game objectives to unlock 8 assisting technicians. Choose one of them to help you with their special skill. * Spot the wrecks of your fallen friends and get rewards for picking them up. * Appreciate highly polished gameplay and well balanced difficulty curve, whether you consider yourself a casual gamer or a die-hard shmup fanatic. * Enjoy professional voiceover and incredible electronic soundtrack. Welcome to your new favorite shoot ‘em up. Welcome to Sky Force Reloaded!

Screenshots

R.TYPE4 screens
Sky Force Reloaded4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Sky Force Reloaded at Free against R.TYPE's $1.99. Sky Force Reloaded also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.4) and update cadence (monthly vs every 25 months). R.TYPE's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and ads (none vs shown). On device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Sky Force Reloaded is free to download; R.TYPE costs $1.99 up front. Sky Force Reloaded sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. R.TYPE asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sky Force Reloaded holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sky Force Reloaded has 11K ratings behind it against 62, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 62% of R.TYPE's written reviews are positive against 75% of Sky Force Reloaded's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

R.TYPE ships an update every 25 months, Sky Force Reloaded monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
R.TYPE versus Sky Force Reloaded: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterR.TYPESky Force Reloaded
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating3.4 (62 ratings)4.8 (11K ratings) — better
Positive reviews61.9% of reviews74.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings6211K — better
Update frequencyEvery 25 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS12.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB687 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperDotEmuInfinite Dreams Inc.

Customer experience

R.TYPE

All ratings62 ratings
Positive56.5%
Neutral6.5%
Negative37.1%
Written reviews473 reviews
Positive61.9%
Neutral7.6%
Negative30.4%

Sky Force Reloaded

All ratings11,427 ratings
Positive95.0%
Neutral2.1%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews528 reviews
Positive74.8%
Neutral8.0%
Negative17.2%

User reviews

R.TYPE

From 62 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Arcade-perfect port
  • 👍 Faithful to the original
  • 👍 Great retro experience
  • 👍 Customizable controls
  • 👍 Works well on iPad

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy on newer devices
  • 🐛 Unresponsive controls
  • 🐛 Covers too much of the screen
  • 🐛 Laggy performance

Sky Force Reloaded

From 11K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 🎨 Excellent graphics
  • 💰 Fair monetization
  • 🕹️ Addictive arcade-style action
  • 🎮 Great for mobile gaming

Room to improve

  • 🕰️ Repetitive grinding required
  • 🔁 Difficulty increases too rapidly
  • 🔒 Lack of account sync across devices
  • 🔇 Unresponsive controls at times
  • 📢 Intrusive ads

Bugs and requests

R.TYPE

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Ship randomly jumps to the right side
  • Buttons overlap and obscure gameplay
  • Crashes and freezes on iOS 13+
  • Compatibility issues on iPhone 12 and newer

Requested features

4 requests
  • Support for Bluetooth controllers
  • Option to resize/reposition controls
  • Difficulty settings/modes
  • Improved sound quality

Sky Force Reloaded

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Occasional crashes
  • Inconsistent performance on some devices
  • Syncing issues with saved progress

Requested features

5 requests
  • More level variety
  • Ability to customize controls
  • Landscape mode support
  • Expanded upgrade system
  • Multiplayer or co-op modes

In-app purchases

None

R.TYPE

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

Sky Force Reloaded

One-time5
  • Precious Cargo$1.99
  • SX2 - Star Doubler$3.99
  • Ads Removal$3.99
Show 2 more
  • Plane Generator$3.99
  • Starter Pack$9.99

Questions

Is R.TYPE free?
R.TYPE costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sky Force Reloaded free?
Sky Force Reloaded is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, R.TYPE or Sky Force Reloaded?
Sky Force Reloaded is rated higher. R.TYPE averages 3.4 out of 5 from 62 ratings, while Sky Force Reloaded averages 4.8 from 11K ratings.
Do R.TYPE or Sky Force Reloaded have ads?
Sky Force Reloaded shows ads; R.TYPE does not.
Which is updated more often, R.TYPE or Sky Force Reloaded?
R.TYPE ships an update every 25 months, and Sky Force Reloaded monthly. Most recently, R.TYPE was updated on November 1, 2026 and Sky Force Reloaded on November 6, 2026.

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