1942 is set in the Pacific theatre of World War II. The goal is to reach Tokyo and destroy the entire Japanese air fleet. The player pilots a plane dubbed the Super Ace. The player’s overall goal is to shoot down enemy planes. You can collect power ups to increase your fire power. You can also make your plane roll to avoid enemy attacks 3 times per life. There are 32 levels ranging from Midway to the last Final Area.
As a relatively early NES game it wasn’t the most accurate port – the frame rate and sound effects are significantly weaker than those of the arcade game released two years prior – but it was still one of the best examples of the genre in the home console market at the time, and with 32 lengthy stages it certainly took a while to master.
The plane in 1942 is a Lockheed P-38 Lightning, the same type which was flown by Richard Bong in the Second World War. He was America’s top ace, credited with shooting down 40 Japanese planes.
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