1942 is a vertical-scrolling shooter that Capcom released in Japanese arcades in December 1984. Yoshiki Okamoto directed and designed it. It was the first Capcom game made with Western markets in mind, so the player flies an American P-38. A roll button lets the plane loop out of danger for a moment, a move meant to rescue players from hopeless situations. The large boss bomber 亜也虎 was named after composer 森安也子 and became a recurring boss in the 19XX series.
The Famicom version, released on 11 December 1985, was Capcom's first Famicom game and sold over a million copies worldwide. Elite brought the game to British home computers, and ASCII handled the Japanese MSX and PC versions, each with its own technical compromises.
1942 was the first Capcom title to spawn a successful sequel series.12
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | 1942 | Arcade | June 1985 | Romstar / Williams Electronics | 1 |
| NA | 1942 | NES | November 1986 | Capcom | 1 |
| NA | 1942Developed by Digital Eclipse. | Game Boy Color | May 19, 2000 | Capcom | 1 |
| JP | 1942 | Arcade | December 1984 | Capcom | 1 |
| EU | 1942 | Arcade | May 1985 | Capcom | 1 |
| JP | 1942Capcom's first Famicom release; developed by Micronics. | NES | Dec 11, 1985 | Capcom | 1 |
| EU | 1942Also Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum. | Commodore 64 | 1986 | Elite Systems | 1 |
| JP | 1942 | MSX | 1986 | ASCII | 1 |
| JP | 1942PC-88, FM-7 and X1. | Other | 1987 | ASCII | 1 |
| JP | 1942Virtual Console Arcade; North America and PAL in January 2011. | Wii | Dec 21, 2010 | Capcom | 1 |
| WW | Capcom Arcade Stadium: 1942Add-on for Capcom Arcade Stadium. | Switch | Feb 17, 2021 | Capcom | 3 |
| WW | Capcom Arcade Stadium：1942Steam add-on. | Windows | May 24, 2021 | Capcom | 4 |
Version differences
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GraphicsFamicom/NES
The Famicom version has rougher backgrounds and different POW colors, and pressing fire sometimes plays the shot sound without firing a bullet.2
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GraphicsMSX
The MSX version scrolls in 8-dot steps, uses single-color characters, and its large bomber boss only moves forward and back.2
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AudioMSX2
The MSX2 version flickers heavily when many characters are on screen, and its music stops whenever a sound effect plays.2
Where to play legally today
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Steam Purchase
Reception
It was the fifth highest-grossing arcade game in Japan in 1986 and topped the UK Euromax charts from July to November 1987. The NES version sold over a million copies worldwide, and the 194X series had sold 1.4 million units by December 2019.1
Sources
- 1en.wikipedia.org
- 2ja.wikipedia.org
- 3en.wikipedia.org
- 4store.steampowered.com
- 5store.steampowered.com
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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