Hardcore Gaming 101 – Promoting the culture of video games



19XX Series

By Nick Zverloff

All shooters have their ways of adding challenge. Raiden style shooters use fast, aimed bullets and unpredictable attacks. Danmaku games flood the screen with thick curtains of projectiles. Horizontal shooters like R-Type will have difficult to navigate terrain and hordes of enemies. Capcom’s 19XX series takes a different and less traveled road of being extremely long, harrowing tests of endurance. Typical 19XX games are roughly two to three times longer than a normal shooter, the longest one taking hours to complete in one sitting. The 19XX series also puts emphasis on good aiming, scoring, and defeating bosses before they get away. With less emphasis on survival, the series is generally easier than most shmups, but still offer enough challenge to make them fun.

Most of the 19XX games are based on World War II, but with a sci-fi twist. Government secret weapons are all over the place including lasers, nuclear war machines, tanks and planes the size of buildings, and even alien technology. These games may look a bit more realistic than most shooters, but they are still full of super science and can be very imaginative when it comes to the setting.

1942 - 1984

Arcade, NES, MSX, Commodore 64, Gameboy Color, FM 7, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, PS2 (Capcom Classics Collection), X-Box (Capcom Classics Collection), PSP (Capcom Classics Reloaded), Wii (Virtual Console)

1942 was made all the way back in Capcom’s earlier days, back when their biggest games were Pirate Ship Higemaru and Vulgus. Even though 1942 looks very dated on just about every platform, it still plays well and feels very different from most shooters, even today. The backgrounds do get a little repetitive, but this is partially excusable because you are flying over the Pacific Ocean.

In 1942, you play as Super Ace, a plane that looks suspiciously like a Lockheed P-38 Lightning. It is your mission to fly all the way from The United States to Japan and clear the way of enemy weapons so that the main fleet can get through. This puts emphasis on destroying every last enemy you see, which can be very challenging because there can be a lot of enemies on screen at once.

This also ties into scoring and upgrading your firepower. Every so often, a large group of enemies will fly in formation and taunt you, much like the challenge levels in Galaga. If you can shoot down all enemies in a formation you received extra points and either a firepower upgrade or options. The firepower upgrade is pretty weak and hardly essential. The options on the other hand, put two smaller planes that fly next to you and fire when you fire, effectively tripling your firepower. The downside is that they can be destroyed if an enemy shoots, or more likely, rams them.

One feature that is unique to 1942 is a special move called looping. During each level, you get three loops that are activated by pressing a special button. If you loop, you temporarily become invincible, but with a catch. When you loop, you are unable to attack, making you somewhat vulnerable. The upside to looping is that you can use it to temporarily plan your attack and get out of a tight spot at the same time. Strategic use of looping is key, especially when the screen gets more hectic than usual.

This also ties into one reason 1942 can seem very easy sometimes. Enemies hardly ever fire their guns. This may be because enemies were supposed to be kamikaze, so it would make perfect sense for enemies to try to ram you if they were out of ammunition or low on fuel.

1942 has very dated graphics and sound. The graphics consist of very small sprites, lots of palette swapped enemies, and the aforementioned repetitive backgrounds. The background music tries to sound like something out of a marching band, but sound technology was not nearly good enough to pull this off. The result is the same squeaky drums being played over 32 long levels. It can be annoying if played for extended sessions.

1942 was ported everywhere, from well-known systems such as the NES or the Gameboy Color to obscure systems like the ZX Spectrum. It was also included in many different compilation games such as Capcom Classics Collection or Capcom Classics Reloaded. It can also be found on the Wii Virtual Console. Most of the console and computer ports stay faithful to the original game, even if some are much better handled than others. The NES port was infamous and was handled by Micronics, a company that did historically bad arcade to console conversions such as Athena, Ghosts ‘n Goblins, and later Raiden Trad. The Gameboy Color port is surprisingly faithful to the arcade version, except the smaller screen makes it a needless strain on the eyes.

1943: The Battle of Midway 1987

Arcade, NES, Turbografx, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Amiga

1943 Introduced a lot of the defining elements of the 19XX series, such as a health bar, bombs, and an array of weapons to pick up. It is also not nearly as long as 1942, but still stands at gargantuan 16 levels. It improves upon the formula 1942 established and continues to focus on destroying all enemies in formations, but does not do anything too wildly different.

Your new weapons in 1943 are auto gun, which is a rapid fire weapon; 3-way, a pretty standard spread gun; shotgun, which is a short range weapon that erases enemy attacks; and shell, which shoots large, explosive rounds that are good for taking out bosses. All of the weapons are powerful in their own way, but come with a time limit. The time limit is an ingenious addition, as with a health bar and low difficulty, even a novice could hold onto a power up for extended periods of time. The other big new addition to your arsenal is bombs. Like most bombs in shmups, they clear the entire screen of weak enemies and heavily damage large ones. Bombs depend on the level. If you are flying high in the sky, lightning will strike all enemies on screen. If you are flying low, near the ocean, a huge wave douses all enemies beneath it. This could be a reference to the kamikaze myth or “divine wind” with nature itself opposing your enemies. The downside is that bombs take up a small amount of health, so strategic use of them are key.

With the addition of the health bar comes a new rank system. Unlike in other games famous for rank systems such as Zanac and Battle Garegga, doing good, destroying everything, and not dying makes the game easier. You receive a rank with a title such as Corporal or Major whenever you complete a level and your health bar increases to correspond with this rank. In theory, this is a way of rewarding the player for doing good, but if you can go a whole level without dying, a bigger health bar does not really do you much good. It is a cool idea, but is a bit flawed in execution.

1943 also brings a new way to add to your score. Every so often, a hidden cat statue will appear and randomly warp around the screen. If you manage to catch this lucky cat statue, you are rewarded with lots of bonus points. It is pretty fun when it comes up, but does not appear very often.

While 1943 is a good game, it does very little to improve upon the original formula. Backgrounds are still very repetitive, bosses have recycled sprites, and there is not very much variety in enemy design. This should not be too surprising, as Capcom is somewhat infamous for having very little improvement in their sequels.

Like its predecessor, 1943 was ported all over the place with some versions being very different from the arcade original. The well-known NES version adds in a very interesting feature where you can customize your plane’s statistics such as speed, power, and time limit at the beginning of the game. You can even level it up to make it stronger.

There was an updated version of 1943 released in 1988, called 1943 Kaisen. It replaced Super Ace with a Boeing Stearman E75, a type of biplane. It also makes weapons more powerful, reworks graphics, remixes sounds, and adds some new enemies. This version was ported to the PC Engine, but remained exclusive to Japan until it was re-released in Capcom Classics Collection for X-Box and Playstation 2.

1941: Counter Strike 1990

Arcade, Supergrafx, PS2 (Capcom Classics Collection: Remixed), X-Box (Capcom Classics Collection: Remixed) PSP (Capcom Classics Collection: Remixed)

1941 is an oddball in the series. It has more emphasis on level design, huge bosses, and power ups. It is also the only game set in The European front in World War 2. To punctuate how vastly different 1941 is from the rest of the 19XX games, it is easily the shortest game in the series, sporting six levels, which is completely normal for most shooters, but short for this series.

1941 is a giant leap forward, fixing many of the problems of 1943 and by extension, 1942. Now that the game takes place in Europe, you fly over actual scenery. All of the levels are very evocative and take full advantage of the setting, such as ruined cities during the blitz, or secret Nazi missile silos. Many of the levels actually take place indoors, and include walls. Fortunately, crashing into walls does not kill you, but just makes you spin out of control, which can be annoying but strangely useful sometimes so you can shoot enemies approaching from the rear.

The sound is also greatly improved. 1942 and 1943 had what sounded like digitized marching bands and reused many of their songs. 1941 has some of the catchiest music in the series and never reuses anything. Most of them are fast, upbeat, and accompany the frantic action very well.

With the long and very well designed levels come gigantic bosses. Most of them are large war machines covered in turrets such as a huge battleship or gigantic planes. There are some more original fights, though. One particularly memorable boss is at the end of level three, a rocket carrying enough explosives to carpet bomb an entire city. The game never tells you where exactly this thing is going, but it might be better to not know. If you can stop it, the rocket detonates over a forest, hopefully not doing too much damage. Another one of the more memorable parts of 1941 is the final boss, a clearly alien spacecraft that breaks out of the remains of a previous boss. It even uses strange attacks that are never seen before in the game and flies much differently from anything else. It is also very fast and can dodge your shots, making it a very formidable adversary.

1941 also adds a couple of new weapons, such as the powerful shadow. Most levels open with a gold power up, which shifts between options and shadow. Options have changed a bit and are still powerful, yet breakable small planes that fly alongside you. Shadow stays with you for the rest of the level, giving you three shadow images of your ship that follow you wherever you go. It is a pretty cool power up and is not seen in any other game in the series. The other new addition is a charge shot, which becomes a series mainstay.

Even with all the improvements and changes, 1941 still plays like a 19XX game. Power ups are still temporary and obtained by blasting enemy formations and scoring still rewards you for defeating every enemy you ever see. For changing and improving so much without losing its distinct feel, 1941 is one of the greatest games in the series. Its greatness may be eclipsed by the next game, though.

19XX: The War Against Destiny 1996

Arcade

19XX is an even bigger improvement than 1941, adding selectable planes, a new setting, and even elements of more modern shooters that were out at the time. Dropping the World War Two setting, 19XX takes place during a fictional war, possibly set in the future. Everything from artillery cannons with ten guns, to trains that shoot lasers, to walking tanks is present, showing some very imaginative enemy designs. 19XX’s graphics are easily some of the best in the series. The sprites are large and colorful. The backgrounds are also surprisingly beautiful. Most of the levels take place in very lush, natural environments such as dense jungles or remote and beautiful islands.

Gameplay wise, 19XX drops the health bar in favor of a more traditional shooter feel, now using a standard bomb stock instead of spending health to clear the screen. There are also elements of danmaku or curtain fire shooters added in for good measure. While there are bullet patterns to navigate, 19XX opts more toward faster, Raiden style bullets and never makes the patterns too complex. It works very well, as 19XX feels both contemporary and old school at the same time, which is a very unique feel that not very many other shooters can replicate.

While 19XX does a lot to revolutionize the series, its biggest contribution is the addition being able to select your fighter. There are three planes to choose from, all of them being powerful in their own way. They are-

Lightning- Lightning is good all around. It has above average homing and speed, but it is a bit lacking in power. Its special weapon is a powerful vulcan cannon that pours molten hot lead into anything dumb or slow enough to get in its way. Fitting Lightning’s theme, the vulcan shots do not do too much damage, but their rate of fire is very fast, making it deceptively powerful.

Mosquito- The Mosquito hits hard, so hard that it sacrifices its homing and speed. Its special weapon is a spread gun that shoots in three directions. At first, this seems like a pretty bad weapon, as it spreads out The Mosquito’s deadly power and makes it harder to hit with. However when it upgrades, the spread shot shoots three additional tiny missiles in the center, not only focussing the attack, but keeping your previous spread shots to cover you from the sides. It is an ingenious weapon that takes some time to get used to, but quickly becomes one of the best weapons in the game.

Sinden- The Sinden is the fast plane of the bunch, being easily the fastest of the selectable planes. Its power and homing are pretty bad, but all that speed can make jetting around and blasting enemy formations a breeze. The Sinden, like the other planes, has a special weapon that easily compliments its strength. It has a laser that pierces straight through enemies and is great for clearing out formations. With the Sinden’s speed, you can zip across the screen and sweep away anything that even tries to get close to you. When upgraded, the laser doubles in width and power, making it easier to sweep the screen than ever. It may not be the best against bosses, but in the right hands, The Sinden is unstoppable.

19XX is also different for having only seven levels. It is not nearly as long as some of the other games in the series, but the levels are long and show a variety of exotic locations. The missions are also more interesting, from fighting a diving war machine in The Red Sea, to a battleship raid in The Arctic, to a secret tank base in the jungle behind a waterfall, 19XX takes you all around the world. All of this culminates in the main villain, a nameless pilot flying a black fighter jet, shooting two nuclear missiles that must be stopped. The final battle is very intense and one of the highlights of the game.

A few new scoring elements have been added. 19XX keeps with the trend of grading you, even giving you a letter grade after every battle based on your survival, bomb stock, accuracy, consistency in shooting down every enemy, and speed in taking out the boss. It also adds medals. There are three sizes of medals, small medium, and large, that are dropped by certain enemies or are revealed from blowing up scenery. Medals increase your score and are sure to give you a higher grade. It is a cool scoring element that is very well implemented and keeps you on your toes.

19XX is one of the most celebrated entries in the series, considered by many to be one of Capcom’s best shooters. It was never ported to any home systems, but escapes obscurity partially for being so good. There was even a possible reference to the mosquito plane in Mars Matrix, a joint effort between Capcom and Takumi.

1944: The Loop Master 2000

Arcade

1944 was made for the CPS 2 arcade board as part of Capcom’s push to bring shooters back into arcades. 1944 and many other classics such as Dimahoo, Progear, and Giga Wing attempted to take the world by storm and make a comeback for shmups. While this attempt was only partially successful, it resulted in some very good games that are revered even today as some of the best of the genre.

Raizing/8ing, one of the most talented shmup makers at the time, developed 1944. Unlike the many other shooters out at the time, this game is strictly old school. The scoring system is simple, there are no bullet curtains, no microscopic hit boxes, and no super secret final bosses. When compared to the other shooters out at the time, 1944 is actually pretty easy. In many ways, it is a step backwards from 19XX, a sort of return to the series roots.

The very first thing 1944 does is bring the setting back to World War Two. Each level has a mission name, usually something goofy, like Iron Beast Warcry, Nightmare Valley, or Oil Legion. Keeping in line with 1941, the settings are always changing. There are fifteen levels in total, and they are creative enough to never get repetitive. A couple of bosses get recycled, but it is not nearly as bad about it as some of the earlier entries in the series. Levels are generally short and bosses are huge, but do not take much effort to destroy. They have a habit of running away if you take more than a few minutes, which hurts your score.

1944 also removes different playable characters. You are back to playing as Super Ace, but there are a few new tricks added in. The charge shot is the best it has ever been, turning you invincible for a short time and flying high above the battlefield to rain molten hot lead on everyone below. This charge shot is so powerful that Capcom had to make your engine overheat after use as an excuse to prevent you from using it all the time. To be fair, if the overheat feature were not included, 1944 would be far too easy, even for the most inexperienced of players.

The health bar also returns, which is far more forgiving than 19XX’s more standard “one hit and you die” system. Bomb stock is kept from the last game too, so you no longer take damage from using a bomb. You also loop whenever a bomb is used, adding an element of strategy to bombing and making you temporarily invincible. Another nice touch is that when the health bar is low, the plane catches on fire. This also applies to options, which can actually take a few hits before going down this time. The effect of your plane and options catching fire is a very cool feature, possibly inspired by Toaplan’s Fire Shark, where your plane would light up before exploding.

1944 also has some impressive graphical effects for its time. Scaling is very present and is especially noticeable in the memorable charge shot. When your plane explodes, a little pilot ejects out and is parachuting down. If you put another credit in, you can save him before the timer runs out, and if you do catch him, you get rewarded with bonus points, bombs, and shot upgrades. The parachuting pilot is incredibly well animated and is strangely, one of the best looking parts of the game.

1944’s scoring system adds one new element, large golden diamonds. Collecting the large golden diamonds gets you bonus points. If you can collect ten, you get options, which as mentioned before, are very useful. Otherwise, you still get graded for accuracy and how many enemies you shoot down. Strangely, the rank system from some of the previous games is gone. This is especially odd from a game that Raizing was involved with.

Even though 1944 is a step backwards, it is still a very good game. It is easy and fast paced enough that beginners can get into it without losing hope and is good for a trip down memory lane for veterans. Even though there are better games in the series, do not overlook 1944. It is the most underrated game in the series.

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