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1942
Screenshot of 1942
Developer	Capcom
Publisher	Capcom
Designer	Yoshiki Okamoto
Released	1984 (arcade) 1985 (NES) 2005 (PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PlayStation Portable as part of Capcom Classics Collection)
Genre	Vertical scrolling shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, 2 player Co-op
Platform(s)	Arcade, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, MSX, NES, ZX Spectrum, NEC PC-8801, FM-7, Game Boy Color, PlayStation 2, Xbox, PlayStation Portable
Input methods	8-way Joystick, 2 Buttons
Arcade cabinet	Upright
Arcade CPU	Zilog Z80 (@ 4 MHz)
Arcade sound system	Zilog Z80 (@ 3 MHz) 2x AY8910 (@ 1.5 MHz)
Arcade display	Raster, 224 x 256 pixels (Vertical), 256 colors

1942 is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up made by Capcom that was released for the arcade in 1984. It was later ported to the NES, MSX, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, NEC PC-8801, Commodore 64 and Game Boy Color. It was included as part of Capcom Classics Collection for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 in 2005. 1942 is the first game in the 194x series, followed by 1943: The Battle of Midway. The NES Version was developed by Micronics.

1942 is set in the Asian theater of World War II. Despite the game being created by a Japanese company and staff, the goal is to reach Tokyo and destroy the entire Japanese air fleet. The player pilots a plane (dubbed the "Super Ace", although its appearance is clearly that of a Lockheed P-38 Lightning), and has to shoot down enemy planes. Besides shooting, the player can also perform a "loop-the-loop" to avoid enemy fire.

Destroying a formation of red enemy planes will result in a power-up. there are different types as follows:

• Two Machine Guns
• Destroy all planes in the screen
• Two Side Planes
• Bonus Points
• Extra Loops
• (Rare) One extra P-38

There are 32 levels, the ending of each finishes with the plane landing upon an aircraft carrier, receiving a debriefing and a briefing for the next mission. Players have to travel through Midway, Marshall, Attu, Rabaul, Leyte, Saipan, Iwo Jima, and finally Okinawa before reaching the ultimate goal, Tokyo. On the Famicom (NES) version, all enemies still displayed when it lands on the carrier will explode and earn the player points. This is not so in the Arcade version, which makes it very hard to attain 100% rating on level completion. Some stages mark the appearance of the Japanese Mother Bomber Ayako (based on an actual Japanese bomber, see Nakajima G8N), which must be shot down to complete the stage. Each level increases the difficulty and planes become more aggressive as you move throughout the 32 levels.

1942 was one of Capcom's first breakaway hits, eclipsing the company's preceding three titles (Vulgus, Sonson, and Pirate Ship Higemaru) in popularity. While not as popular as some of Capcom's series that would debut later in the 1980s (Street Fighter and Mega Man in particular), 1942 would become one of Capcom's hallmark games throughout the arcade era.

Although not the first game to receive a sequel (with Pirate Ship Higemaru receiving a Japan-only console semi-sequel, Higemaru Makaijima, in April 1987), 1942 was the first Capcom title to spawn a successful series of sequels, with five titles in the 19XX line released from 1987 to 2000. Additionally, many of Capcom's other vertical shooters featured very similar gameplay to the series such as Varth: Operation Thunderstorm.

1942's longevity has shown through in many re-releases since its introduction, principly in Capcom Generations 1 for the Playstation and Saturn consoles. It was recently featured in the Capcom Classics Collection for the Playstation 2 and Xbox, as well as Capcom Classics Collection: Reloaded for the PlayStation Portable.

• 1942 at the Killer List of Videogames
• 1942 at Arcade-History
• 1942 guide at StrategyWiki
• 1942 at GameFAQs
• 1942 at MobyGames
• 1942 at World of Spectrum
• 1942 page located at NES HQ

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