1942 is a vertical scrolling flying action shooter made by Capcom of Japan that was released for the arcades in 1984. It was ported to the Famicom in 1985 in Japan and in North America for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1986, where the development was handled by Micronics. It is the first of the popular "19XX" series of vertical flying shooters made by Capcom.
I got to play this through pirated compilation games cartridges that were sold cheap during the early 1990s.
The Story
You are a daring fighter pilot of a special P-38 Lightning "Super Ace" fighter. You are are engaged in fierce battles with the enemy during 1942.
Over land or sea, you must defeat enemy air forces with your skills by blasting them out of the sky. Will you taste victory Or defeat? The tide of battle is in your hands.
The Graphics and Sound
As one of the early NES shooters, the graphics are a bit well done. The airplanes have a cartoony look to them that is somehow attractive and fits the atmosphere of the game. The game has boring backgrounds but the explosions and shots really seem to stand out against the flat backgrounds.
The sound is bad in 1942. The ''shooting'' sounds are like tiny muffled firecrackers and the background music is unexciting. But overall, it doesn't affect the fun factor of the game, thankfully.
The Gameplay
The gameplay is what saves 1942 from video game mediocrity. It is damn simple and kind of addictive too. You shoot your machine guns with the 'B' button, and do a kind of useless dive-maneuver with the 'A' button.
The difficulty slowly rises as the waves of enemy planes keep coming. The power-ups are nice, although they don't come out often like in other shooters. There are no real boss characters but only plentiful swarms of enemy planes. The infinite continues are a blessing in this game.
My Verdict
If you like vertical scrolling shooters, then 1942 is a good, classic example of the genre. Get this one quick and play it through the NES or by emulators. However, if you tend to like some other video game genres, then I would not recommend this game. Casual and wimpy gamers need not apply.