1942
System: NES
Release Date: November 1986
Developer: Micronics
Publisher: Capcom
Genre: Shoot ‘Em Up
It’s 1942 on the NES and that means we are Super Ace! Capcom has now thrown its hat into the ring, releasing all three NES titles in November 1986. 1942 is a vertical scrolling shoot ‘em up that was popular in arcades. Of course, in these early days, publishers thought, “Let’s get it ported to the home consoles!” And so, they did.
1942 is an okay representation of the arcade classic. The graphics are much worse. The sprite blinking is bad with so many objects on screen at once. The game feels slow and choppy. I guess I’m not giving it a very glowing review, eh? The Super Ace pilots a Lockheed P-38 Lightning over the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War 2. The goal is to get through 32 stages, where you are rewarded with “CONGRATULATION” typed across the screen before being kicked to the title. Satisfying…
You shoot with the B button and are able to “Loop the Loop” with the A button, which temporarily removes you from the playing field, allowing you to escape a particularly hairy situation. Your targets are: small gray planes that fly from top to bottom, sometimes looping around and giving a second go at you. Small green planes that fly horizontally, sometimes making several passes. Medium sized gray and green planes fly up from the bottom of the screen, take multiple hits, and give bonus points when destroyed; if they make it to the top, they’re gone.. There are large planes that fly up from the bottom and if they make it to the top, stick around and shoot at you.
There are also yellow and red planes that fly in specific formations that drop power ups when they are all destroyed. There are six different formations, and each gives you a specific power up. One gives you an extra set of machine guns, another kills all enemies on screen, another gives Super Ace extra planes for his formation, two give a points bonus, and the last gives an extra “Loop the Loop”. You are capped at 3 “Loop the Loops” and seem to earn one at the end of each round. I didn’t find them all that useful, so I’m not 100% sure on those mechanics.
Levels fly over ocean and islands. A seemingly never ending barrage of enemies fly toward you. If the Super Ace had actually existed, Japan would have lost all their resources for war very quickly, I blew up thousands of planes in my playthrough that went 16 levels. After every several levels, you face a huge boss plane that ends up being a pushover once you realize you can avoid all his shots by flying behind his right wing and killing him.
Graphics: 1.0
A lot of gray, green in enemies and backgrounds, and blue water. Very little detail.
Sound: 0.0
Who thought a high pitched march was a good idea for background music? Not someone in their right mind, that’s for sure.
Gameplay: 1.0
All you can do is move around and shoot. The Loop the Loop maneuver isn’t very satisfying.
Difficulty: 3.0
Avoid enemies and get a 1-up every 80,000 points. That’s fair.
Fun Factor: 1.0
Not as good of a shoot ‘em up as Sega has given me.
Overall Grade: 1.2
1942 earns a D. It’s a subpar arcade port that offers little.