1943: The Battle of Midway is the second game in the 1940 Series, and a direct sequel to 1942. It was originally released in 1987 for Arcades and later ported to the Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and Amiga. It also received a modified port/remake to the NES which introduces many new elements. On the next year Capcom released a enhanced remake titled 1943 Kai: Midway Kaisen, which remained Japan-exclusive.
Story[]
The game is set in the Pacific theater of World War II, off the coast of the Midway Atoll. The goal is to attack the Japanese air fleet that bombed the American aircraft carrier, pursue all Japanese air and sea forces, fly through the 16 stages of play, and make their way to the Japanese battleship Yamato and destroy her. 11 of these stages consist of an air-to-sea battle (with a huge battleship or an aircraft carrier as the stage boss), while 5 stages consist of an all-aerial battle against a squadron of Japanese bombers with a mother bomber at the end.
Gameplay[]
In this game players control the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, which became the series staple ship. Gameplay is similar to the predecessor, with one button for shooting and a second button used for looping or to unleash a powerful screen-clearing attack. This game ditches the lives from the previous game in favor of a ever-decreasing fuel gauge which works as a health meter. When the fuel gauge is depleted, the game is over.
By destroying formations of red ships, a POW icon is dropped, which refills a little of the fuel gauge. By shooting the POW it will cycle between the various weapons available, which can then be picked to equip it to the ship. Special weapons have limited ammunition, but by picking the same weapon again the ammo is refilled. Various items can also be found by shooting specific spots on the scenery, which will grant score bonuses.
Items[]
- POW: Gives additional energy to the player.
- Shotgun: Destroys enemy bullets, but has limited range.
- 3 Way: The player can shoot in three directions.
- Auto: It shoots 8 times while the button is pressed down.
- Super Shell: It shoots continuously while the button is pressed down. Double the power of normal bullets.
- Laser: A secret weapon which pierces through enemies and has infinite ammo.
- Energy Tank: Partial energy recovery.
- Side Fighter: Increases offensive power.
- Yashichi (pinwheel icon): Maximum energy recovery.
- Holstein (cow icon): 20000 points.
- Barrel: 10000 points.
- Sakichi (star icon): Restores energy and ammunition, 5000 points.
- Mobi-chan: 100000 points.
- Lucky Cat: Changes your weapon to Laser.
- Bamboo Sprout: 2000 points.
- Dragonfly: 10000 points.
- Strawberry: 20000 points.
Missions and Bosses[]
Mission | Name | Boss |
---|---|---|
1 | Mission 1 | Tone |
2 | Mission 2 | Kaga |
3 | Mission 3 | Ayako I |
4 | Mission 4 | Fuso |
5 | Mission 5 | Akagi |
6 | Mission 6 | Daihiryu |
7 | Mission 7 | Ise |
8 | Mission 8 | Hiryu |
9 | Mission 9 | Ayako II |
10 | Mission 10 | Mutsu |
11 | Mission 11 | Daihiryu |
12 | Mission 12 | Yamashiro |
13 | Mission 13 | Soryu |
14 | Mission 14 | Ayako III |
15 | Mission 15 | Nagato |
16 | Mission 16 | Yamato |
Enemies[]
Fighters[]
- Zero (Mitsubishi A6M Zero)
- Fukusuke (Mitsubishi J8M Shūsui)
- BVD (Nakajima Kikka)
- Shoryu (Yokosuka P1Y Ginga)
- Raizan (original)
Cruisers[]
- Hatsuharu (Destroyer-class)
- Shiratsuyu (Destroyer-class)
- Natori (Cruiser-class)
- Myoko Kai (Cruiser-class)