The Video Game Revue

1943

I've ranted about one Konami game so far, so it's only fair that my next ramble is about a Capcom game. I've chosen one of the games that really caught my attention as a younger person and whipped me up into a frenzy not only about shoot-em-ups but video games in general. Rest assured, I will rant about other shooters in the future (Galaga, Gradius, Metal Slug, and Ikaruga are likely topics), but this one is really special to me: 1943.

It's worth noting here that the NES version of 1943 is wildly different from the arcade version. They are both brilliant games, though, and I think that most of what I have to say applies to both, but for the most part I am talking about the arcade version here.

The first thing that strikes you about 1943 is how colorful and animated it is. The game's hand-drawn, comic-style artwork really brings the vision of an air battle over the Pacific to life, and it perfectly compliments the game's frantic pace. What's more, the level design is something to behold; like any truly great shooter, 1943's waves of enemies are very deliberately and creatively planned. The overall visual effect is fantastic, and that helps a good deal to make 1943 the kind of game that sucks you in and makes you forget completely about the outside world (for a time, at least).

Complicating the simple "waves of enemies come, you shoot them" scheme is the system of power-ups present in 1943. Of course, almost every shoot-em-up has such a system, but 1943's system has a degree of planning and resource management to it that is quite impressive. Not only can you choose between different weapon types and switch what weapon you are using by picking up particular power-ups, but you are actually required to toggle the type of certain power-ups by shooting them. Some power-ups are strategically placed so that you can switch to a more suitable weapon before heading into a new area where the type of enemies will change. Finally, you have both a weapon and a life value which both count-down over time. If your weapon counter runs out, you loose your special weapon and are stuck with the default gun. If your life counter is high, you can survive a hit from an enemy shot (although it will drain your life counter a lot), and if your life counter is low, any hits you suffer are instantly lethal. The combination of these factors makes item management a major aspect of the game, in a good way.

1943 also goes the extra mile to reward experienced players. As I already mentioned, a player who knows what kinds of enemies lie ahead will be able to more effectively choose what weapon power-ups to take. Additionally, there are secret items hidden at specific points in the levels where shooting a certain spot repeatedly will reveal extra power-ups. A player that knows the location of these items has a huge advantage, although they are not so well hidden that they cannot be discovered accidentally--far from it, in fact. The moral of the story is that while 1943 will probably overwhelm you at first, given time the game will reward you enough to make you feel like a badass shoot-em-up wizard. That is a worthwhile experience if there ever was one.

When one factors in all of its various play mechanics, it becomes apparent that 1943 is one of those ingenious shoot-em-ups that blurs the line between action-shooter and action-puzzle game, and I love that about it more than I have words to express.

posted by Parappa @ 1:45 PM