1943: The Battle of Midway & 1943: Midway Kaisen (Arcade, various formats, PS4/Switch, Capcom, 1987/1988)

[Randorama]

I am going to discuss Capcom’s 1943: The battle of Midway in this review, along with its relatively obscure but certainly cool variant 1943: Kaisen. In case you wonder, Kai(sen) is the Japanese name for the hyphen, and refers to the fact that the game is an “extra/remixed version”. I will discuss 1943 following my usual structure for reviews and then add further commentary to explain how Kai differs from the first title. 1943 has several revisions and even bootlegs differing in difficulty tweaks (e.g. how hard the last boss is), and offers ports on several consoles. Kai, on the other hand, was a J(a)P(an)-only games that seems to appear only in Capcom Arcade Stadium. The S(hmup)T(reatise)s for these games are here. We add further details once we start with the review (2404 words/6 pages, length; the squib version is here):

1943: The Battle of Midway (Capcom, 1987) is a (Ro)TATE shmup in which the US forces battle against the Japanese navy during 1943’s “Battle of the Midway islands”. The game features some key mechanics from Euro shmups, a relatively gradual difficulty curve that explodes during the final boss battle, and a curious “extra” version: 1943: Midway Kaisen (Capcom, 1988). Capcom indeed had an annus mirabilis in 1987, since they released this game and other gems that we have already discussed in this thread (e.g. Bionic Commando). 1943 marked their attempt at creating a great sequel to Shinji’s Okamoto’s classic 1942. The game’s legacy has continued with several titles like 1941: Counter attack , 1944: The Loop Master and 19XX: The war against destiny, Furthermore, Psikyo’s Strikers series act as spiritual siblings. The goal of this squib is to convince my readers to revisit these two almost forgotten shmup gems.

For this shmup, I would like to define a context of release that concentrates on Capcom’s annus mirabilis. In 1987, Capcom was probably the metaphorical equivalent of an exploding volcano, judging from the sheer number of classic games they released. This was the year of Street Fighter, the game laying the foundations for the revolution of the arcade games system. This year also saw the release of Bionic Commando, Black Tiger, Tiger Road and the certainly lesser known Avenger. The legendary Ghouls’n Ghosts and the classy Last Duel and Forgotten Worlds would grace arcades in 1988, along with Kai. Bigger and smaller arcade companies were also on fire in those years, and trying to summarise the Zeitgeist would not be feasible. My previous squibs attempt to introduce pieces of the puzzle, however, so my readers should have started developing a feeling of those concepts flowing through arcades, worldwide.

Romantic depictions of history maybe belong to the passages in which I rant about my experiences, agreed. Let me thus introduce the plot of the game, progressing towards the experiences one step at a time. The game pits two unnamed pilots from the US forces during the Battle of Midway islands. In this battle, the US naval forces turned the tide of the World War II theatre in the Pacific. The battle started via the almost accidental discovery of the Japanese Imperial Navy heading towards this archipelago. The US forces were able to prepare a quick strike against the then more powerful and well-organised Japanese navy and, among other results, sunk the legendary battleship Yamato. The game does not follow the historical events closely: the two unnamed pilots obliterate the key battleship in the fleet one by one, sinking the Yamato during the final battle on Stage 16 (10, in Kai).

Historical inaccuracies increase in 1943: Kai, which swaps the P-38 lightning of the first game with a biplane and has laser weapons as possible options. This weapon and the other weapons form the core mechanics of both games, as we discuss next. Both games use the joystick to control movement in eight directions, the A button to control shots, and the B button for special attacks. The basic attack is a puny dual shot that requires tapping, whereas special attacks vary depending on which part of a Stage players are fighting. In aerial first halves on all Stages, players can use lightning attack hitting all enemies and clearing all bullets on screen as a special attack. In maritime second halves, players can use a tsunami-like wave. Both special attacks freeze enemies on their spots for roughly 1.5 seconds, so players can also move and blast them while they are defenceless.

Both games have a Euro-shmup feature: planes have a H(it)P(oint)s/fuel bar that slowly depletes as time passes, and when planes take hits. Planes get a full refill after players successfully destroy a boss (80% destruction rate or higher), when they collect a “Pow” icon (8 HPs) or a Yashichi icon (full refill). HPs increase up to 128 as the game progresses and players approach the final Stage 16 (10, for Kai). The weapon system in both games rotate around changing icons and fixed icons. Fixed icons activate the type of attack associated to the icon (e.g. four-way shot), some extra energy, or points bonuses. The changing icons work in a manner like the Side Arms system. Icons start from the “pow” power-up and flip through various extra attacks until players collect one item. Each weapon icon adds 20 seconds of attack power, and the upper time limit is 80 seconds.

In 1943, players can choose among four attacks: four-way shot, shotgun, rocket (i.e. piercing missile-like shot) and missile (i.e. dual, automatic missiles). The fifth power-up activates two helpers that join the planes’ side but explode after three hits. In 1943, the shotgun attack is as useless as its counterpart in Side Arms, whereas the other attacks have their strengths and weaknesses (e.g. missile and rocket activate autofire). In Kai, the shotgun is more powerful and acts as a bullet-cancelling weapon: it cancels enemies’ bullets when hitting them. This game also switches the rocket attack with a double laser beam attack with piercing power. Each power-up awards 64 seconds of activation, against a limit of 64 points. In 1943 players must constantly juggle power-ups and refill their weapon time, 20 seconds per power-up; in Kai, there is less pressure to constantly refill weapon time.

The games also have the “rolling loop manoeuvre” from 1942, the first title in the series. When players press A+B, the planes will do a vertical loop and temporarily become invincible from bullets, as they fly at a higher quote. Players start with 2 rolling manoeuvres, and increase to three and then to four as they progress into the game. Again, players can also use B attacks to cancel bullets, but each use consumes 8 HPs; use manoeuvres and special attacks with wisdom. In both games, players can input some “special codes” at the beginning of a stage to start with a free full amount of an extra weapon. The codes are in the ST, in case readers want to use them. The games also have several secret items that players can reveal by shooting their hiding spots in each stage. The guide also explains where and how to find them.

My discussion of the game mechanics might have led readers in perhaps inferencing that Kai is an easier revision/extra version of the game. This is indeed correct, but it is also an aspect or Facet that we discuss once we have addressed the aspect/Facet of the games’ audio-visual presentation. [1]943[/i] and Kai run on pre-CPS-1 hardware, so they feature more limit colour palettes and animation frames. Stages have simple designs: most Stages have first halves presenting aerial battles in the clouds, and then maritime battles at sea level. The white of the clouds, the blue of the sea and the grey/orange shades of ships and planes’ steel form the entirety of the games’ backgrounds. Kai is however notable in having a three Stages set at dusk. Thus, these Stages offer a garish tone of orange covering clouds and seas to simulate the dying sun’s rays.

A visually satisfying aspect of the game is that this simple design has an elegant choice underpinning it. Since the pilots’ mission is that sink the Japanese navy’s key ships, each Stage simulates a “surprise strike” mission. Players thus spend 80 seconds or so in a Stage’s first part set in the ships’ aerial perimeter of defence. Planes move to sea quote, and players spend another 80 seconds to destroy a target ship’s convoy, and then the ship itself. After each Stage, planes receive a full refill (on an air-carrier) and a brief regarding the next mission. Nevertheless, visual presentation is certainly solid but heavily focused on creating an atmosphere of terse “war in the skies and on the seas”. Kai perhaps offers a richer colour palette and some historical licenses via the laser weapons, but both games focus on offering graphics functional to the at times frantic action.

The audio Facet involves one point of divergence. In 1943, players listen to four dramatic themes during the aerial battles and three themes during the maritime battles. There are no themes except for the aerial-only Stages (three, nine, 14), which have their own boss theme. Overall, the OST by Alph Lyla’s relatively obscure member Yamaga Kumi is quite solid in its attempt to create a “war movie” feeling. Sound effects have a quirky 8-bit sonority, as one would expect for a game running on this hardware. However, most sound effects (e.g. explosions) appear recycled from Capcom’s early games, thus giving a certain sensation of Deja-vu to players well-versed in this company’s game. Overall, though, 1943 has a solid audio-visual presentation that presents the action in a simple and functional manner. Though hardly memorable, the game looks and sounds crisp and well-designed.

Kai, on the other hand, involves a collaboration among (but not only) Harumi Fujita, Ayako Mori and Tamayo Kawamoto, among other Capcom musicians. As the story goes, Capcom’s supervisors initially rejected Ayako Mori’s first version of the OST. However, the Alph Lyla crew joined forces to produce a brilliant “late night Jazz” OST, and in so doing they met the incoming deadline. Players may perhaps develop a lingering feeling that Jazz in the style of Steely Dan’s more nocturnally oriented pieces may not be appropriate to shmups action. Nevertheless, or perhaps precisely because of this, Kai offers a distinct tonal shift from the more militaristically-oriented 1943. This game offers a distinct audio-visual identity that is certainly functional to the action, but adds a certain “cool” factor also involving the use of biplanes as vehicles of choice. Both games look and sound crisp and well-designed; Kai, a bit jazzy.

Let us now move to the topic of difficulty, which we also discuss via the standard tool/term of Facet. In line with other Capcom titles, e.g. Black Tiger and Tiger Road, 1943 and Kai include game mechanics and Stage design/layout as key Facets. In my view, no other Facet plays a relevant role, in either game. We can thus divide the 50 total points along these two Facets. The central differences between these two games and their resulting difficulties involve the distribution of difficulty points. In 1943, players must master four mechanics: the use and refilling of weapons, the refilling of energy levels, the use of special (i.e. B button) attacks, and rolling loops. Players must always have an eye on how many seconds they have before their weapon expires, how much energy is in stock, how to use special attacks and how to use defensive rolls.

In Kai, weapons always give a maximum of 64 seconds and energy refills are more frequent. Having a good grasp of special attacks and defences in certainly useful but not ultimately necessary. Thus, this first Facet attracts 4/25 points in 1943 and 3/25 points in Kai. Stage layouts are the main source of difficulty in both games, but in different measures and forms. In 1943, Players can overcome stages with a good grasp of the mechanics and good dodging skills until they clear Stage nine, the second stage only involving aerial battles. From Stage 10 to 15, players should learn the specific types of enemy formations appearing during the aerial battles, and how to handle bosses during the maritime battles. Stage 16 offers a dramatic bump in difficulty: players must master the first half of the aerial battle, recover a full stock of energy, and then master the second part.

Once players can enter the final maritime battle with a full stock of energy, they must memorise a safe path to cross the first and second line of defence for the Yamato. Wise timing but also careful of special attacks becomes indispensable, since they drain energy. The Yamato offers another dramatic bump in difficulty, since players must memorise a safe sequence for its front section, one for its central section, and one for its final section. Wise use of the rolling loop can make or break a run: by the final section, planes should have little energy left and have a safe route to clear the final enemies. This facet attracts 18/25 difficulty points, for a total of 22/50 difficulty points. The game offers a low-tier challenge for expert players, but it involves a sharp increase of eight points during the final, nerve-racking stage and boss battle.

In Kai, Stages tend to be fairly easier, with the game ending after Stage ten. Players need to develop a good knowledge Stages six to ten, with the last tenth Stage requiring intensive focus for each half, plus the Yamato battle. At 7/25 points, however, the Stages in this game provide a definitely less stressful and more manageable challenge than in 1943. The total I propose for this game is in fact 10/50, i.e. a top-tier challenge for beginner players. Furthermore, players who choose to abuse the bullet-cancelling shotgun weapons should be able to 1-CC the game in an almost trivial manner (i.e. the difficulty goes down to 5/50). Playing for score both games requires finding the secret items in each stage and battle: the STs contain more details, but here I simply propose that the difficulties increase to 26/50 points for 1943 and 14/50 (or 9/50) points for Kai.

The slight increase in tier should not act as a deterrent for players who wish to 1-CC the two titles: Kai has more scoring tricks and it is an easy title, once mastered. 1943 requires a lot of patience because the final Stage acts almost as a whole challenge onto itself. Both games can be mastered. In conclusion: 1943: The battle of Midway and 1943: Midway Kaisen are two shmups from Capcom, released in 1987 and 1988. The first game attempts to reconstruct the historical battle via 16 Stages of aerial and maritime battles, and a remarkably though final clash with the Japanese flagship Yamato. The second game offers an alternate/extra take to this title by having only ten Stages, a different power-up and weapon systems, and a groovy jazzy OST. While the first title is notorious for the overall high difficulty and sudden sharp increase of difficulty in the last Stage, the second game is an easy 1-CC for any beginner player. Both games are nevertheless solid games, even if players need to enjoy their Euro shmup-like mechanics and perhaps quirky mechanics.