History VideoGame / NineteenFortyTwo

* KaizoTrap: In ''1943'', most ship bosses will explode into shrapnel when defeated. Better avoid it, especially if you manage to beat the final boss and forget all about the shrapnel...or you can shoot it for extra points.

* LaterInstallmentWeirdness: ''1944'' is the only arcade installment to use a horizontally-oriented screen.

* AnachronismStew: The series has weapons that should not have existed in WWII, such as a space shuttle-like rocket boss and ''FrickinLaserBeams.''

* FrickinLaserBeams: In ''WW [[{{Pun}} frickin']] II'', no less!

* [[MidSeasonUpgrade Mid Game Upgrade]]: Partway through ''1944'', your {{Attack Drone}}s, which up to this point have been WWII-era planes, are upgraded to little jet fighters with FrickinLaserBeams.

** Prior to that, ''1943'' had overtones of [[StupidJetpackHitler Stupid Jetpack]] [[UsefulNotes/KatanasOfTheRisingSun Tojo]], with oversize giant bombers as bosses, bombers launching ''multiple'' Kamikaze [=MXY7=] rocket planes and whole squadrons of jet and rocket fighters that only existed as prototypes at the end of the war, all ostensibly in 1943. For that matter, the player's P-38 Lightning has overtones of [[OverlyLongGag Stupid Jetpack]] ''[[UsefulNotes/YanksWithTanks FDR]]'', with FrickinLaserBeams, apparently some kind of energy shield, the ability to summon ''actual'' lightning, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking being carrier-based despite the real thing being a land-based Army Air Forces fighter]].

* SequelDifficultyDrop: ''1941: Counter Attack'' is considerably easier to complete than ''1943'', featuring only 6 stages compared to the latter's 16, {{power up}}s that last much longer (each pickup adds ''60 seconds'' to the weapon timer), no drain-over-time effect to the LifeMeter, a [[AfterCombatRecovery health refill]] at the end of each stage, lifebar extensions to go with some of these end-of-stage refills, and a full health refill at least once a stage.

* PragmaticAdaptation: The NES version of ''1943'' is considerably different from the arcade version (whereas the port of ''1942'' on the same console was an attempt to replicate the arcade version on NES/Famicom hardware). It only supports one player, has a stat point system that allows the player to upgrade their ship, and some bosses are added while others are removed. The boss names were also changed from the names of real-world IJN battleships to names based on other sources, in order to quell controversy about the game being anti-Japanese.

* PragmaticAdaptation: The NES version of ''1943'' is considerably different from the arcade version (whereas the port of ''1942'' on the same console was an attempt to replicate the game on NES/Famicom hardware). It only supports one player, has a stat point system that allows the player to upgrade their ship, and some bosses are added while others are removed. The boss names were also changed from the names of real-world IJN battleships to names based on other sources, in order to quell controversy about the game being anti-Japanese.

* PragmaticAdaptation: The NES version of ''1943'' is considerably different from the arcade version. It only supports one player, has a stat point system that allows the player to upgrade their ship, and some bosses are added while others are removed. The boss names were also changed from the names of real-world IJN battleships to names based on other sources, in order to quell controversy about the game being anti-Japanese.

* HomingProjectile: Holding down the fire button in ''19XX'' causing your ship to charge up a piercing projectile that destroys weaker enemies in one hit. When it hits a stronger, it tags it to allow the player to fire homing lasers at it for a short period of time on top of their normal shots.

* NintendoHard: Except for 19XX and 1944, which is noticeably easier in an era where BulletHell shooters start to trending in arcades.
* NoPlotNoProblem: 19XX, although the plot is easy enough to understand through the in game cutscenes

* OrwellianRetcon: As already mentioned before, the game was pretty controversial in Japan when it was released in arcades, so Capcom had to make some modifications on the NES version of the game, including changing the name of the Japanese battleships using the Japanese names of ''Chinese'' warlords from ''Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms'', with the sole exception of the Ayako bombers, since [[{{Tuckerization}} they're probably named after the music composer of the game, Ayako Mori]],[[note]]Ryofu refers to UsefulNotes/LuBu, per example.[[/note]] not to mention the titular ''Battle of Midway'' was named ''The Battle of Valhalla'' in the Japanese version. Oddly, the American game box still keeps the ''Battle of Midway'' subtitle, even if the English version also use the changed Japanese names too.
* {{Prequel}}: ''1941'' obviously takes place before ''1943'', but the former was released after the latter.

** Most specifically, it is a PointBuildSystem

** Boss ships do count too since you shoot the lower-class ships first.

* SequelEscalation: Inverted and played straight at the same time; up to ''19XX'', each game has less levels (''1942''[='=]s 32 stages -> ''1943''[='=]s 16 stages -> ''1941''[='=]s 6 stages), but each newer game has stages that are more varied and have more complex gameplay than "fight waves of enemies in the sky until you reach the next end-of-stage carrier."
* ShownTheirWork: The Japanese versions of 1943 featured accurately modeled (as accurate as a Famicom could, anyway) versions of actual WWII IJN capital ships. A diligent player could recognize many Japanese battleships & carriers including the ''Ise'', ''Nagato'', ''Yamato'' (post refit), ''Akagi'', ''Hiryu'', and several others. On the other hand, the Ayako bombers are completely original-made for the game, albeit they could be inspired in the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_Ki-67 Mitsubishi Ki-67 ''Hiryu'' heavy bomber]], despise the Ayako bombers are four-engined, while the ''Hiryu'' used only two.

* StupidJetpackHitler: Certain enemies, not to mention some bosses (such as the [[spoiler:Gotha[=/=]HO-IX]]) in ''1941'' fit this trope.
** Prior to that, ''1943'' had overtones of [[StupidJetpackHitler Stupid Jetpack]] [[UsefulNotes/KatanasOfTheRisingSun Tojo]], with oversize giant bombers as bosses, bombers launching ''multiple'' Kamikaze [=MXY7=] rocket planes and whole squadrons of jet and rocket fighters that only existed as prototypes at the end of the war, all ostensibly in 1943. For that matter, the player's P-38 Lightning has overtones of [[OverlyLongGag Stupid Jetpack]] ''[[UsefulNotes/YanksWithTanks FDR]]'', with FrickinLaserBeams, apparently some kind of energy shield, the ability to summon ''actual'' lightning and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking being carrier-based despite the fact the real thing was a land-based Army Air Forces fighter]].

* VideoGameLives: ''1942'', ''19XX'', and ''Joint Strike''

* DamageIsFire: The Ayako bombers show their damage level by how many engines are on fire. Ayako I's engines catch fire in pairs, Ayako II's engines catch fire as such: First, second, and 3rd/4th together, Ayako III's engines catch fire one at a time.

* '''1943 Kai''' (Arcade, 1988): Unreleased in the US, aside from a bootleg titled ''1943: The Battle of Midway Mark II''.

[[JustForFun/IThoughtThatWas Do not confuse with]] ''VideoGame/Battlefield1942'', which is a whole different ballgame, ''Film/NineteenFortyOne'', ''VideoGame/Strikers1945'' (despite that also being a shmup series), or (heaven forbid) ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''. Also has nothing to do with the video game company Creator/{{Midway}}.[[note]]The "Midway" referred to here is Midway Island, which was part of the Pacific Theater of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.[[/note]]

** 1944 has [[SuspiciouslySimilarSong Jimmy Hart Versions]] of rock songs that wouldn't exist for another 20-30 years.

* RecurringBoss: In ''1941'', Leviathan, the [[WarmUpBoss Stage 1 boss]], makes an upgraded reappearance in Stage 5. In ''19XX'', there's F. Blackr, the black fighter that destroys your mothership and harasses you on every level. You finally get to [[FinalBoss settle the score with it in the end]].

!! The ''1942'' series contains examples of:

** '''1943 Kai''' (Arcade, 1988): Known in the US as ''1943: The Battle of Midway Mark II''.
** '''1944: The Battle of Midway''' (Famicom, 1988): A limited release version of 1943 that featured an extra weapon[[note]]a powerful laser shot represented by a "cat" sprite, of all things[[/note]] for the P-38 and nothing else

* '''1942 Joint Strike''' (UsefulNotes/XboxLiveArcade and UsefulNotes/PlayStationNetwork, 2009)

** '''1943 Kai''' (Arcade, 1988)

* UpdatedRerelease: 1943 Kai was this to the original 1943. It made the enemies harder, changed the boss order around, redid some of the player's weapons (including adding a laser beam weapon), and replaced the player's P-38 with a Boeing-Stearman Model 75 biplane.

** Played with in ''1944'' in which the second player character brought in Japanese-made Mitsubishi A6M Zero. It's up for the knowledged players to throw in WildMassGuess.

* SpentShellsShower: The fifth boss of ''19XX'' uses this ''with a twist'' after he fires out his [[GatlingGood machinegun]]... He fires out the shells forward towards you, making you have to avoid (or just shoot) them!

* WaveMotionGun: ''19XX'' has both the fifth boss and the [[SequentialBoss final form]] of the FinalBoss use this on you. Especially dangerous is the final boss' one, as his spins and sucks the player towards it!