Capcom A to Z: 1943: The Battle of Midway

    

Title: 1943: The Battle of Midway

Release Date: June 1987

Platforms: Arcade game, NES, PC Engine, Xbox, PlayStation 2, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, Xbox One

Director: Yoshiki Okamoto

Oh boy the next in the series! So this comes after 1942 but before 1941, and then there is a Kai version of this game, etc. etc. Alright let's hop in! 

Background

After the success of 1942 a sequel was doubtlessly going to be made. It definitely feels like a bridge in terms of gameplay and quality between the 1942 and 1941. In this case, the game takes place on the Pacific arena of WWII. The game takes place during the Battle of Midway, which was arguably the turning point for the U.S. forces during World War II. Occurring just 6 months after Pearl Harbor, the Japanese sought an opportunity to effectively cripple the U.S. naval fleet before it became an overwhelming force in the Pacific. Long story short, the Japanese fleet, coupled with quality intelligence from the U.S. forces that an attack was coming, overextended themselves and ended up crippling a large portion of their fleet instead. 

In the game, you play as a fighter plane during this battle (specifically a P-38 Lightning). Your goal is to terrorize the Japanese air and naval fleet, and try to sink an aircraft carrier, down a mega bomber, or destroyer each level, leading up to a final clash with the infamous mega-destroyer, the Yamato (the largest battleship of that era; it was not actually destroyed during Midway but it was a very recognizable ship from that era). Now your level will only end when you destroy your target; if you don't succeed in destroying your target, then the level will "loop" and you have to start the whole level over again. 

 

High Points

• As I said the game does loop in a satisfying manner, and it serves as a nice bridge between the first and the third title. The gameplay retains an arcade vibe, while adding a bit more narrative and bells and whistles of a "level" structure. The gameplay also adds screen clearing attacks, this time based on natural disasters such as lightning storms and tsunamis. Then you actually have some variety in boss battles, so it can actually be a pretty entertaining adventure. 

Low Points

• 1941 was such a fun schmup that these arcadey prequels are tough to continue with. The series is gaining some steam with this entry, but it definitely is not the most fun of the series. It really depends on what era of games you enjoy. 

Legacy

 I would say it is worth checking out once or twice, but definitely not one for the history books.

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