Comparison

NOVA STRIKER vs Last Squadron

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

Head to head
About

NOVA STRIKER

Features
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A retro '90s-style vertical bullet-hell shooter you can play with one finger โ€” free, and fully playable offline. Weave through walls of bullets across 3 stages and massive boss battles. Skim past enemy fire to "graze" for score and bomb gauge, and turn the tables with screen-clearing bombs. Clear everything, and a hidden true battle awaits. โ—† Features - Intuitive controls: drag to move, auto-fire, double-tap to bomb โ€” one-handed play - Graze system: near-misses are the path to high scores - 3 stages + more: unique midbosses, bosses, and a hidden final boss - Achievements & rankings: 14 achievements and global rankings (with per-language boards) - Difficulty options: EASY / NORMAL / HARD - 17 languages supported, works offline โ—† How to Play 1. Drag to move (your ship fires automatically) 2. Double-tap to trigger a bomb (clears enemy bullets) 3. Graze enemy bullets for bonus score 4. Watch a short video to revive after game over and push on for the clear Note: This game contains flashing lights. Player discretion is advised for those with photosensitivity. โ—† Made for players who enjoy - A retro arcade shooter, pixel art, neon lights, and a tense trip through space - A quick game during a break, or a longer high-score and score-attack session at home - Learning to dodge patterns with one hand in portrait mode instead of aiming every shot - Starting on EASY, settling into NORMAL, then taking on the hardcore density of HARD โ—† A score run with choices NOVA STRIKER is a danmaku-style shmup where reading a pattern matters as much as reflexes. Your ship fires on its own, leaving you free to steer through the gaps. A close dodge earns graze and fills the bomb gauge, so a daring line can be worth more than a safe one. Spend a bomb to clear a crowded screen, or save it for a boss phase: each run is a chance to refine that decision. โ—† Reasons to return The three stages are built around distinct enemy waves, midbosses, and boss battles, culminating in the hidden final boss. Choose the pace that suits you: EASY introduces the flow, NORMAL rewards consistency, and HARD asks for careful routing through thicker bullet patterns. Chase all 14 achievements, improve your high-score, and compare results on global leaderboards with separate boards by language. โ—† Play on your terms This is a free single-player action game for portrait smartphones, designed for a few spare minutes or repeated practice. It works offline, so a connection is not required to fly and dodge. A rewarded video is offered only when you choose to revive after game over; there are no forced ads interrupting play. With drag movement, auto-fire, and a double-tap bomb, it stays focused on the arcade rhythm. Price: Free (rewarded ads only โ€” no forced ads) Supports: Smartphones (portrait)

About

Last Squadron

Features
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12 March 2034. A signal from beyond the Kuiper Belt went unsolved for three days. On the fourth day it answered: the sky split and the Hive fleet settled into Earth orbit. Satellites fell within the hour. Massed armies became targets and command chains broke. All that held were scattered airbases. Earth is defended region by region now โ€” and in this phase four nations' fighters fly. You are the last squadron. โ€” WAVE-DRIVEN MISSIONS โ€” The boss does not arrive on a timer. Each mission is built from waves, and a wave ends only when enough enemies fall. Mission length follows your performance. โ€” 320 OPERATION INSIGNIA โ€” Every mission has four objectives on every difficulty: Operation Complete, Full Sweep, Steel Wing, Untouched. Higher difficulty tiers unlock with the insignia you earn. โ€” TEN AIRCRAFT, TEN WEAPON PATTERNS โ€” Four national fighters plus six hangar aircraft. Each has its own firing pattern. Pattern crates collected in flight let you switch between them โ€” the power never changes, only your style of fighting. โ€” FOUR DIFFICULTY TIERS โ€” Easy, Hard, Very Hard, Impossible. Higher tiers mean enemies fire more often and arrive in greater numbers โ€” not bloated health bars. โ€” HEADQUARTERS โ€” Spend credits to raise your pilot's intellect, endurance, agility and fire rate. Buy new aircraft from the hangar and prepare consumables before a sortie. โ€” FROM ANATOLIA TO ORBIT โ€” It begins over Anatolia; passes the Bosphorus, Ankara, Mecca, Dubai and Agra; and ends on Mars and the plasma worlds. Nobody knows what waits beyond the rift. โ€” WEATHER โ€” Fog narrows your sight, crosswind pushes the airframe, extreme heat wears it down. Find the calm-air corridor and fly it. Playable in five languages: Turkish, English, Arabic, Hindi, Korean. The story, characters and events are entirely fictional.

Screenshots

NOVA STRIKER4 screens
Last Squadron4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: NOVA STRIKER at none against Last Squadron's 7. NOVA STRIKER also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 10 days). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Last Squadron sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. NOVA STRIKER asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NOVA STRIKER ships an update every 3 days, Last Squadron every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
NOVA STRIKER versus Last Squadron: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNOVA STRIKERLast Squadron
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 days โ€” betterEvery 10 days
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” better
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size46 MB35 MB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperJOIN CIRCLE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANYVolkan Alanya

In-app purchases

None

NOVA STRIKER

No in-app purchases

7 purchases

Last Squadron

One-time7
  • 80 Tokens$0.99
  • Welcome Pack$0.99
  • 500 Tokens$4.99
Show 4 more
  • Remove Ads & Premium$4.99
  • Season Pass$4.99
  • 1,200 Tokens$9.99
  • 3,000 Tokens$19.99

Questions

Is NOVA STRIKER free?
NOVA STRIKER is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Last Squadron free?
Last Squadron is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do NOVA STRIKER or Last Squadron have ads?
Both NOVA STRIKER and Last Squadron show ads.
Which is updated more often, NOVA STRIKER or Last Squadron?
NOVA STRIKER ships an update every 3 days, and Last Squadron every 10 days. Most recently, NOVA STRIKER was updated on October 6, 2026 and Last Squadron on October 16, 2026.

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