1943: The Battle of Midway

Game Details:

"1943" innovates on the vertical scrolling shooter gameplay of its predecessor. The core is its energy system: players are no longer "one-hit-kill", but have an energy bar. Attacks or the use of "Mega Crash" will consume energy. Once the energy is depleted, the game ends. This design extends the player's single-game survival time, but also requires players to carefully manage their energy. The game offers a variety of time-limited switchable enhanced weapons, such as automatic bursts, tri-directional shots, and scatter shots. In addition, the game explicitly uses the names of historical Japanese warships as stage bosses, such as "Kaga", "Tone", etc., which enhances the immersion of the WWII background. The game has a smooth feel, and the graphics and sound effects have been significantly improved compared to the previous work, making it one of the most popular works in Capcom's "19XX" series.

Game Guide:

I. Effective Use of the Energy System

• Energy is life: Remember that the game determines failure by energy depletion, not by the destruction of the machine. Any hit, collision, or use of Mega Crash will consume energy. Try to reduce unnecessary blood loss by skillful positioning.
• Accumulate Energy Items: Destroying certain large enemy aircraft or entire teams of enemies will drop POW items. Among them, items with the letter "E" can replenish energy, which is a more important life-saving resource than firepower upgrades, and should be picked up first.
• Calculate the cost of Mega Crash: Mega Crash is a screen-clearing life-saving skill, but it consumes a lot of energy. Use it only when the barrage is so dense that it cannot be dodged, or when facing a fatal attack from the boss. Using it when the energy is below the safety line may cause the player's energy to be depleted and lead to failure.

II. Enhanced Weapon Selection and Switching

• Weapon Timing: Enhanced weapons are time-limited, and the usage time can be extended by picking up the same type of POW, up to 64 seconds. When the weapon timing is nearing the end, you should immediately look for or prepare to switch to the next weapon.
• Recommended Weapon Combination:
• Tri-directional: The most versatile, with a wide coverage, suitable for clearing dense small enemy aircraft, and can attack multiple targets at the same time in the boss battle.
• Shell: High-attack missiles are the first choice for boss battles. Holding down the shoot button allows continuous firing and can quickly reduce the boss's health. Before the boss battle, you should try to switch to or retain Shell.
• Scatter: Wide range but short range, mainly used to eliminate enemy bullets (commonly known as "bullet elimination"). When the enemy bullets are too dense and there is not enough space for positioning, you can switch to this weapon for defensive attacks.

III. Boss Battles and Special Techniques

• Prioritize Part Destruction: Stage bosses (such as aircraft carriers and battleships) usually have multiple destructible turret components. These turrets will launch a large number of bullets. Before attacking the boss's main body, the turrets should be destroyed first to reduce the density of the barrage on the battlefield.
• Low-altitude Tsunami: In low-altitude combat scenarios (usually battleship boss battles), using Mega Crash will trigger a tsunami effect, which not only clears bullets but also causes continuous damage to the battleship boss and pauses the scrolling for a few seconds. This is very practical in boss battles and is an important means of output and control.
• Find Hidden Bonus Points: There are hidden bonus items or special sub-machine upgrades in the game. For example, performing a certain number of "Mega Crashes" at a specific location can trigger a hidden laser weapon, which has extremely high damage and is the ultimate goal for high-score challenge players.