Capcom A to Z: 1942

Title: 1942

Release Date: 1984

Platform: NES, Arcade mainly (ton of others later!)

Director: Yoshiki Okamoto

Genre: Schmup

Next up in our stroll through Capcom's catalog of titles, we have the original game in the 19XX series, 1942.

 

Background

This game is one of those Arcade originals; you know the type. The point of the game isn't flashy stages and inventive game design, but a simple presentation, concept, and the goal to wrack up the highest score possible. The game, once again, is set during World War II, but the original game focuses on the Pacific theater of the conflict. The goal of the game is to play as an American pilot of a Lockheed P-38 Lightning (dubbed the "Super Ace") as he flies his way through the Japanese sky-fleet from Midway all the way to Tokyo. 

The game is split into 32 levels, but they are roughly the same levels. Each level plays like a "loop" where it begins and ends on an aircraft carrier (a tactic actually started during the Pacific theater of World War II). In each loop, the player will battle against three enemy types (each modeled after a real Japanese plane, including the infamously fast Zero), and some loops will cap with a boss fight against a mega plane modeled after a Japanese long-range bomber. The game itself will actually loop again once Japan is reached, which is a true arcade staple. 

The game was designed by Yoshiki Okamoto, a Capcom developer of some of Capcoms biggest games from the 80's and early 90s, such as Street Fighter II and Final Fight. This man was also responsible for creating Son Son who still remains one of my favorite characters in Marvel Vs. Capcom 2. 

High Points

• Well this is a true old-school arcade game. The goal here is to top the score board, and in that this game does a great job at making an entertaining experience. The action is fast, the goal is simple, and the game is challenging enough to eat up your quarters. While the narrative is simple, I do like the conceit of slowly drawing closer to your eventual destination of Japan. It gives your player a sense of drive and purpose in such a simple way. 
• The game has a simple but useful power-up system that I really enjoy. It is very much a rudimentary system, but it works for the simplistic game-play. Also, I enjoy that you can do loop-de-loops and barrel rolls to avoid enemy fire. 
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Low Points

• The game loop does get boring pretty quickly. The enemy variety is so limited, and the music really is monotonous (it is a simple military drum beat). The sound design is nice, but even then the sounds become grating after a hearing them for a while. 
• Okay, is it just me or is it weird for a Japanese company to develop a game about an American plane attacking Japanese planes and eventually the Japanese capital during World War II? I mean, one of the striking characteristics about the Pacific theater during World War II were the extensive bombing campaigns that the United States carried out against the Japanese, and I am not even including the dropping of the atomic warheads. It just strikes a weird and curious chord with me. 

Legacy

 Well this game became a huge hit for Capcom, yet it is still a series of games that is definitely overlooked when compared to the rest of Capcom's catalog. I thing the game is best left as what it was: a good early step for the company, yet one that serves better as a building block for not only the other games in the 19XX series, but for Capcom schmups as a whole.