1942

1984 · Shooter · Arcade

Overview

1942 (1984) is Capcom's vertically scrolling WWII shooter: fly a P-38 across the Pacific and loop out of danger with a limited barrel roll.

Deep Dive

1942 sends a P-38 Lightning through 32 stages over the Pacific, shooting down waves of enemy aircraft and collecting power-ups carried by formations of red planes. A limited number of loop manoeuvres per stage let the plane roll away from danger. Designed by Yoshiki Okamoto, it was Capcom's first big arcade hit and began the 194X series, followed by 1943: The Battle of Midway.

Developer Story

1942 was designed by Yoshiki Okamoto at Capcom in 1984. It was a vertical-scrolling shoot-em-up set in the Pacific Theatre of World War II — players flew a Lockheed P-38 Lightning on a mission to reach Tokyo. The game introduced the "roll" barrel roll manoeuvre — pressing a button triggered a short invincibility roll that dodged incoming fire. It was Capcom's first major arcade hit and launched a long-running series.

Did You Know?

1942 was Yoshiki Okamoto's first game for Capcom, after he had made Time Pilot and Gyruss at Konami.
The barrel roll mechanic — a brief dodge with temporary invincibility — became standard in shoot-em-ups and appeared in Star Fox 64.
Players controlled an American P-38 Lightning shooting down Japanese Zero fighters, an unusual perspective for a Japanese-made game.
The game launched a series: 1943, 1943 Kai, 1941, and 19XX followed through the 1990s.

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