Player Review-Aerofighters Assault/Sonic Wings Assault/ ソニックウィングス アサルト (1998) Developers-Paradigm Entertainment Publishers-NA: Vic Tokai WW: Video System  Series-Aero Fighters Platforms-Nintendo 64  Genres-Air Combat Simulation Modes-Single-player, Multiplayer

Being a fan of the Aero Fighters series, this game is embarrassing and a massive let down. It was like when Mortal Kombat finally went 3D and we got that cheesy, horribly voice acted mess of a game that was Mortal Kombat 4. This time it appears they tried to go for more of an Ace Combat/Pilotwings type of feel. Those games are an acquired taste, they are not for everyone. They are good for what they are, but you have to be INTO THAT.

First of all, this game is on the N64 and if you remember that console at all than you know how horrid that controller was. This is not the controller I want to be playing an aviation-based game on. Second of all, all the character, all the flavor, all the aesthetic choices that made the previous games unique, don't exist here. The playable machines are all super generic, the graphics aren't very nice to look at, and there are still different characters to choose from, but they are all pretty lifeless and boring unlike what you would be used to if you played the other entries in the series. Volk & Hien make their return to the pilot selection and so does Keaton but if you remember, the gimmick or the running gag with Keaton is that he just kept changing into these bigger/better robot bodies between games but in Aerofighters Assault, he's back to just being a normal human being.

The mission briefings are a nice added touch to the overall aesthetic of the game but everything else is so typical and vanilla that the game still struggles to feel like it's own unique experience. This is not fun. The missions sometimes take way too long to complete and you're not really doing anything interesting in them to begin with. The environments are damn near empty, the frame rate is choppy, and the gameplay is repetitive and one-dimensional.

Video System & Paradigm Entertainment shit the bed with this one. It's a far cry from where this series should have gone at this point. For a series as interesting and fun as Aero Fighters, I expected so much more. They took a huge risk making this a combat flight simulator as opposed to the top/down shoot'em up games we were used to. As far as I know Aero Fighters and Turbo Force are pretty much Video System's entire resume. They haven't really done anything else so it's sad to see their magnum opus destroyed like this.

THE GOOD -For N64 the graphics weren't that bad.

THE BAD -Turning a vertical scrolling shooter into a combat flight simulator is a bad idea especially on the N64 in 1997. That was a massive gamble to deviate to a new genre completely.

-Everything you loved about the series is pretty much gone. While they use some of the same characters, they stripped them of all their appeal. They tried to go so much more realistic and that's never really what made these games great.

Player Review-Aero Fighter Special/Sonic Wings Limited (1996) Developers-Video System Publishers-MediaQuest Programmers-Yukio Kaneda Composers-Naoki Itamura Series-Aero Fighters Platforms-Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Arcade, Android Genres-Vertical-Scrolling Shooter Modes-Single-Player, Multiplayer Aero Fighters Limited/Sonic Wings Special is a mash-up of the first 3 games. Most people who have played this, probably played it on a console like PS1 or Sega Saturn, i've never seen this in an arcade.

On the console version there are 7 teams and 14 pilots, the arcade version offers 6 teams and 12 pilots. Alot of your favorites like Keaton, Mao-Mao & Hien are present in this game. Spanky is back, but for some reason his name was changed to Whity and Ellen & Cindy are also in the game but Cindy's name was changed to Cincia. I'm not sure the reason for the name change considering these are major characters in the series. Chaika & Pooshika, Kowful the Viking, T.B. A-10, Lord River N. White are also some recurring characters that are playable here. Each team has a secret machine that is unlockable and there is also a secret team that exists in the console version. This is the first game in the series to offer unlockable content which I guess adds to the replay value but that's assuming you even find the unlockables intriguing enough to go after them. I'm a completionist and I like to explore games fully so this was a much-needed addition for the home entertainment systems as far as i'm concerned.

For this game, Video System adopted the same philosophy as they did with the third entry of the series where your playthroughs won't be exactly the same because there are different levels you COULD play at different stages but that's not necessarily the level you WILL play.

I have a few issues with this game and they are as follows: First of all, this came out a year after Aero Fighters 3 but it doesn't appear to be as impressive graphically. Second of all, this game doesn't really seem to add that much to the series. I like the addition of the unlockables and because it's on PS1, you are able to utilize the memory card and get back to the action at your leisure but for the 4th game in a series, this just doesn't appear to be all that special (no pun intended) and in story it seems to actually take place after the 3rd game but there isn’t a whole lot different with the characters except some likely pointless changes.

THE GOOD -Although games like this were tailor made for the arcade which means you are pretty much expected to beat it in one sitting, I like being able to utilize the memory card and come back to it.

-The addition of unlockable material gives the game a sense of replay value and variety as well. Beating the game takes quite a bit of time though so it's up to you whether you care enough to actually unlock everything.

THE BAD -This game doesn't really add much to the series and considering it was the last game before the series took a complete detour into a more realistic 3D setting, that's a drag.

-Aesthetically this is probably the most boring game in the series outside of the original. Video System didn't do enough to really make this feel like it's own stand alone entry.

Player Review-Aero Fighters 3/Sonic Wings 3 (1995) Developers-Video System Publishers-Video System Designers-A. Ōkawara, A. Sakamura, Count IKuei Composers-Hiroyuki Itou, Norie Aoki, Soshi Hosoi Series-Aero Fighters Platforms-Arcade, Neo Geo AES, Neo Geo CD Genres-Vertically Scrolling Shooter Modes-Single-Player, Co-op Arcade System-Neo Geo MVS Aero Fighters 3/Sonic Wings 3 is one of the greatest vertical-scrolling shooters ever made but it's not necessarily the best game in sequence, it's just different from Aero Fighters 2. Video System didn't make a lot of games but they hit the jackpot with the Aero Fighters series. From game to game they just kept expanding on the story and adding more enjoyable elements. Some people may take issue with the much shorter levels in this game but as always, with these type of games...i've always been on the side of "less is more".

As far as characters are concerned a lot of your favorites from the previous games like Keaton, Mao Mao, Hien, Spanky and Ellen & Cindy make their return but also Kowful & River who weren't playable in Aero Fighters 2 make their way back. Like the first game in the series, you can't really mix and match characters from different countries which is a bummer. It kind of hurts the sense of variety but overall I don't think it effects the game that much. The alien forces that you've been trying to save the world from seem to have gained access to or created even more advanced technology than before. Alot of the bosses just materialize out of thin air. There is a wide variety of interesting enemy machines keeping in line with the typical modern warfare theme but also with the "humans vs. aliens" backdrop they were going for. Each of the playable fighter jets have their own unique weaponry, I love how when you build Hien's charge shot up enough his machine literally turns into a phoenix and spits fireballs and also how the more you collect power-ups and maximize your firepower your fire type actually morphs. Hien normally projects what appears to be shurikens made of pure energy but they morph into kunai as you gain more power. It's not a big deal but I like small details like that. The bombs really help out a lot during gameplay and each individual machine has their own specific bomb type.

The soundtrack matches well with the action in the game, it has a very suspenseful feel. The booming sound effects, the roar of the gunfire and exploding enemies also adds quite a bit to the ambiance.  While each stage is supposed to be a different location on the world map, they didn't go for showing off landmarks this time, they did their own thing with how each of these environments look and they still match those specific countries while having their own flavor.

The game is only 8 stages but because they come from a selection of 18, there is a lot more there than first meets the eye, which adds to the replay value of the game. Although the levels are short, the boss fights are a lot more challenging than they had been previously because of some of the erratic patterns of their attacks and also their speed of movement but it's not as difficult as a lot of the other games i've played in this genre.

THE GOOD -Continuing to build on the Aero Fighters identity. They don't seem to have a shortage of ideas when it comes to character designs, the design of enemy machines and the various levels in the game.

-The addition of hidden bosses and hidden levels as well as having the stage selection be somewhat randomized adds to the sense of adventure. I'm the type that likes to explore and see everything, so this enhances the game greatly for me.

THE BAD -The game still loops and has a second, more difficult playthrough.

-The levels are short which doesn't affect the gameplay in the sense that it keeps you from really getting into it, but  the different enemy machines you encounter before the boss are supposed to prepare you for the that battle but in this game and for alot of levels there isn't much space between the start of the stage and facing off with the boss.

Player Review-Aero Fighters 2/Sonic Wings 2 (1994) Developers-Video System Publishers-SNK Designers-A. Ōkawara, Katsuyuki Yamamotoya, Hiroko Yokoyama Composers-Hiroyuki Itou, Norie Aoki, Soshi Hosoi Series-Aero Fighters Platforms-Arcade, Neo Geo AES, Neo Geo CD  Genres-Vertically Scrolling Shooter Modes-Single-Player, Co-op Arcade System-Neo Geo MVS

Aero Fighters 2 is actually the first game I played in the series. Assuming the first game would pale in comparison to this, I went straight for this one to see what the series was really like and it didn't disappoint. It took all the elements from the first game that were fun and added to the player's enjoyment and expanded on it.

First of all, it's more graphically impressive than the first one. There is a 2 year gap in development between them so you can understand why. You can still choose from some of the same pilots between countries like Hien from Japan & Mao Mao from China but they also added characters like Ellen & Cindy and Spanky the Dolphin who will become staples in the series, in fact Spanky may be the most iconic character in the series. Keaton from the United States returns but this time he's a robot which means something may have happened to him in the story of the first game and it's carrying over to the next title.

They went alot darker with the soundtrack, it's the kind of music you would expect to hear in a movie when a character is in danger which adds to the tone of the game. This is war, it's not supposed to be upbeat. The enemy machines are mostly what you would typically see in games like these (helicopters, stealth bombers, fighter jets, submarines, warships etc.) but there are also some space crafts and other types of advanced technology to worry about. The levels are usually centered around specific landmarks of the countries you visit so you will see the Eiffel Tower, The Statue of Liberty & The Aztec Ruins among other things which connects the game to the real world.

The game is generally fairly short but like so many other games in the genre, the levels loop after you've completed the initial ten. I've never been a fan of that idea because I feel like once you've run out of created content, the game is over..I don't want to immediately play through the same stages I just saw. There are some bonus levels that are kind of the same concept as those special stages in the Donkey Kong Kountry games where you can collect all the bananas. You fly through these open areas blasting through hordes of enemy machines that don't fire back which allows you to collect power-ups for the next level.

While Aero Fighters 2 isn't exceptionally hard, some of the bosses are pretty challenging. You should be able to beat this game without pouring too many quarters into it but it's probably not an experience you will return to especially if the 3rd game in the series is available in the same Arcade. The Neo-Geo CD version of this game pretty much runs like a rom, you don't have to insert imaginary credits but you can continue infinitely if you die. The pacing of the action is pretty quick especially if you're good at these type of games and can maintain your power-ups.

THE GOOD -The pacing of the game keeps you from losing interest, even if you have to continue, you can get through the game fairly quickly.

-It doesn't take itself too seriously. It's kind of a goofy, silly sort of adventure. Some times I think game developers get so wrapped up in trying to provide a realistic experience that I think they forget the object of developing games is for the players to have fun. Aero Fighters 2 is a FUN game. It has a sense of humor, it has interesting characters and it expands on it's story.

-Instead of the same generic levels that look like nothing that alot of these type of games have, they actually added popular landmarks from different countries so that these locations actually look and feel the way they are supposed to.

-Some of the cinematics and character dialogue for this game are really funny especially some fo the stuff that involves Keaton & Spanky.

THE BAD -The looping gimmick where you complete all of the levels the game really has to offer and then you just play through it again at a tougher difficulty and that's how you get to actually see the ending because they count those levels as new levels, that alot of vertical scrolling shooters use is a cop-out.

Player Review-Aero Fighters/Sonic Wings- ソニックウィングス (1992) Developers-Video System Publishers-JP: Tecmo (Arcade), JP: Video System (SNES), NA: Mc O'River (Arcade, SNES) Designers-Shin Nakamura Composers-Naoki Itamura Series-Aero Fighters Platforms-Arcade, Super NES Genres-Scrolling Shooter Modes-Single Player, 2 player Co-op The first Aero Fighters/Sonic Wings game is good but I didn't really fall in love with the series until the second installment. This one has basically all of the same elements that I loved in the other games just toned down. Aero Fighters came out in 1992 and it was also ported to the SNES so it's not exactly the pinnacle of what type of content this genre can produce.

My favorite part of the Aero Fighters/Sonic Wings series has always been the atmosphere they were able to build around it. The game has kind of a Top Gun feel with a hint of Street Fighter.  You can choose machines from 4 different countries, each with a Player 1 and a Player 2 pilot option but players are bound to fighting for the same country. The enemies range from pretty standard fighter jets, space shuttles, warships and massive tanks to armed satellites & a giant cyborg monkey. They didn't stay in the standard modern warfare box, this game not only has a sense of humor but also it's own unique identity.

There are only seven levels in the game which seems extremely short but actually that's fine because games in the vertical-scrolling shooter genre that go for too long eventually start dragging and then you don't want to play any more. There isn't a whole lot going on here and that's not necessarily a bad thing. You can experience the game within a fairly short time and it's fun enough to play again, although the following entries in the series are a lot more advanced; and therefore, better games...you probably won't come back to this one unless you're on some type of gaming marathon and you're going to play through all of them.

THE GOOD -The style of this game is probably the most intriguing thing about it. The designs of the machines, the individual characters & overall aesthetic of the game is what I take away from it most.

-It's not a very long game but short & sweet is a plus sometimes. When I completed it, I didn't feel like I wanted more. I enjoyed the sense of accomplishment from beating it and I moved on, there is definitely room for a sequel and those are very good as well but this is a good start.

THE BAD -You don't do much in the game besides destroy enemy machines. There aren't a lot of bells & whistles and added gameplay elements that enhance your enjoyment of this game. It pretty much follows the same basic blueprint as most games in the genre. You shoot down enemies, you collect power-ups, you get your fire power to MAX, you maybe collect some objects for extra points and then you face-off with the boss.

Player Review-Turbo Force/ターボフォース (1991) Publishers-Video System (Japan), McO'River (US) Platforms-Arcade Turbo Force is supposedly the spiritual successor to the Aero Fighters/Sonic Wings series produced by the same developers. You can definitely see the similarities in the aesthetic even down the fonts that are used; it has the same 1980's action movie feel to it and the designs of the enemies and the environments are very similar to that of Aero Fighters. The only major difference being that the machine you pilot is a suped-up, flying sports car, loaded with weaponry.

It's a pretty generic shoot'em up being that it came out in 1991, these types of games weren't exactly at their peak in this generation of gaming, but it's definitely a cool enough and fun enough title to spend a few hours on.

The thing that this game is missing that the Aero Fighters games have is a backstory, dialogue and fleshed out characters. Considering how interesting the initial concept is that the game is hinged on, you would expect the developers to lay out some rhyme or reasons as to why any of the events that take place within the game do, but they didn't bother. If you're going to put me in a heavily outfitted sports car to go on a warpath, i'd like to know why.

Video System Japan is really only known for the Aero Fighter series. They don't have much on their resume and while Turbo Force wasn't a bad start, they are better than this and they've proven it. It's fine that this is just the precursor to what's to come because I think they learned a lot from this but this game is pretty bare bones even though it is quite fun.

THE GOOD -The gameplay isn't half bad, it's pretty much just a more primitive version of what would become Video System's masterpiece. -Interesting game concept

THE BAD -The lack of a story kind of a waste for how interesting the aesthetic and concept of this game is. It's really unfortunate. It's like watching a great actor in an ok movie.

Player Review-Strikers 1945 III-Strikers 1999-ストライカーズ1999 (1999-2020) Developers-Psikyo, Windysoft (Android) Publishers-Psikyo, Mobirix (Android; until 2019), S&C Entertainment (Android; 2019-present) Directors-Naozumi Yorichika Producers-Shin Nakamura Designers-Naozumi Yorichika, Hideyuki Oda, Norikazu Takemori Composers-Masaki Izutani, Kensuke Satoh Series-Strikers 1945 Platforms-Arcade, Android, Nintendo Switch Genres-Scrolling shooter Modes-Up to 2 players Simultaneously Arcade System-Psikyo SH2 Strikers 1945 III is also know as Strikers 1999 in Japan because not only was it released that year but in the context of the story it is supposed to have taken place 54 years after the 2nd game so if that game takes place in 1945, the dates line-up. There is a bit of discrepancy though because the first game is supposed to have taken place directly following the close of World War II which would have been almost the fall of 1945 moving into the new year, and if the second game takes place after that, that's means a World War would have ended and then the Strikers fought 2 other major wars before the end of the year which is an insane time line. Either way i'm glad they continued with the story because story elements aren't very easy to insert into a game like this so I still commend them for making the effort.

So now in 1999, alien nanites have taken control of most of the world's weaponry and again it's up to the Strikers (A team that consists of the world's best fighter pilots) and now the F.G.R. (The evil organization from the first two games) to join forces and save the world once more. You can choose between six different pilots and six different machines all with their own unique abilities that are somewhat similar to those you've already piloted in the previous games, and of course they keep "upping the ante" on the enemy machines and boss fights. This time they've deviated from that World War II aesthetic entirely and went for a more modern warfare "humans vs. aliens" vibe. There are points in the game where you actually go into outer space which is not what modern fighter jets are for but I think it's fine that they take creative liberties with this story and this atmosphere they're building and just do what they want.

This installment in the Strikers series is getting closer to the "insane amounts of moving objects on screen/bullet hell" style that we are used to in the shoot'em up genre BUT it's still easy enough for even a casual gamer to get some enjoyment out of it. The addition of the the technical bonuses is something I think really added to the gameplay because in a lot of these games, beyond how many machines you take down and just defeating the bosses until you reach the end, there doesn't seem to be much of an objective or a goal. Now the game judges you on how you take down the boss and striving to get that bonus just strengthens the sense of accomplishment as you complete each level. They've also added medals you can collect for extra points but that really just adds to your score, trying to actually collect them during gameplay makes the game a little harder because you're trying to get your bonus points without getting hit but i'm not sure it does anything for your enjoyment unless you are just focused on that final score.

My one major gripe about this game is that when you've beaten the game, it loops and then you play through the same levels again at a higher difficulty setting, which I put on the same level of fighting game bosses that are pretty generic in design and their moveset is just a bunch of moves that other characters in the game have like Seth from Street Fighter IV or Charade from Soul Calibur II. It's just a cop out. If you have no more game for me to play than the experience is over.

All-in-All, vertical-scrolling shooters are in Psikyo's wheelhouse, they have made quite a bit of them and they do them justice. Alot of game developers cannot pull these off because they are very hard to not only make interesting but make challenging without overdoing it.

THE GOOD -Although the story is pretty generic, I'm glad that they continued pushing it across several games and that there are noticeable differences in the type of things you see in game in context to the events that transpired between installments.

-Technical Bonuses are a nice addition to the game because it gives you something more to try to accomplish between levels.  Alot of vertical scrolling shooters are particular about how you take down certain enemies but how that's worked into the gameplay varies between titles. In some of them if you aren't hitting the spots you need to be hitting, you won't destroy the boss and you either get a deduction or you have to do the level over.

THE BAD -Looping the levels is a cop out. Once I finish a game, unless it's a really interesting or fun game like Bioshock or something like that, i'm not playing this game again on a stronger difficulty setting. These types of games are hard enough as it is by nature of what they are, it's not more fun for the game to be much harder.

Player Review-Strikers 1945 II- ストライカーズ1945II (1997-2002) Developers-Psikyo, Kuusou Kagaku, (Sega Saturn/PS), WindySoft (iOS/Android) Publishers-Psikyo, Success (PlayStation, JP [re-release as part of SuperLite 1500 Series]), Agetec (PlayStation, NA), Midas Games (PlayStation, EU), GungHo Online Entertainment (PlayStation Network), Mobirix & APX Soft (iOS/Android), S&C Entertainment (Google Play) Directors-Naozumi Yorichika, Hideyuki Oda Producers-Shin Nakamura Designers-Naozumi Yorichika, Hideyuki Oda, Norikazu Takemori, Emi Taniguchi, Yoko Tsukagoshi, Kunio Asahara, Keizo Fujita, Hideto Kamioka (Arcade) Daisuke Nobori (PS/Sega Saturn) Programmers-Shiori Saito, Keisuke Takagi, Kenichi Fujita, Kunihiko Nogomi Artists-Yoshiyuki Takani Composers-Masaki Izutani Series-Strikers 1945 Platforms-Arcade, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, PlayStation Network, iOS, Android Genres-Scrolling Shooter Modes-Up to 2 players, Simultaneously Arcade System-Psikyo SH2

Strikers 1945 II is barely different from the original. It's pretty much the same game with different enemies. It's not any better or worse, it's just slightly different, that's it. That's the whole story. The game is a legitimate sequel as far as the story is concerned but the "evil organization tries to take over the world" gimmick is still what they're going with.

THE GOOD -There was some sort of narrative in the first game and this is the continuation of that. While that is pretty standard for games, alot of games of this type in this genre don't have a plot at all so i'm still giving credit for the attempt.

THE BAD -There are so few differences between Strikers 1945 & Strikers 1945 II that I don't really see the justification for a sequel.

Player Review-Strikers 1945-ストライカーズ1945 (1995-2020) Developers-Psikyo, KM-BOX (iOS/Android), City Connection (Windows) Publishers-Psikyo, Atlus (Sega Saturn) Agetec, Inc (PlayStation), APX Soft (iOS/Android), Zerodiv (Switch), City Connection (Windows) Directors-Naozumi Yorichika Producers-Jun-ichi Niwa, Shin Nakamura Composers-Masaki Izutani Series-Strikers 1945 Platforms-Arcade, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Android, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows Genres-Scrolling Shooter Modes-Up to 2 Players, Simultaneously  Arcade System-Psikyo 1st Generation

Strikers 1945 is your pretty standard modern warfare shoot'em up. Along with Aero Fighters & the 19XX games these are probably the more recognizable and successful games of their kind but the more you play through these, the more you start to feel like if you played one....you played them all.

The title suggests that World War II is the backdrop for this game but of course when you start fighting Giant Crabs and having battles on the moon, you'll realize how far outside of the box Psikyo has taken it. I like that they went this route because it gives the game more of it's own unique flavor. You can choose between six different playable machines with their own unique weaponry but there isn't really a significant difference between them. They all handle pretty much the same. The game will tell you a bit about the pilots of each machine BUT there isn't a whole lot of story elements revealed. From what I can gather this actually takes place directly following World War II. Apparently a far more sinister enemy than the Axis Powers has emerged with futuristic weaponry and it's the job of the world's greatest pilots to take them down. That's not much to work with but at least they made an effort.

All-in-all, if you like shoot'em ups, you will enjoy not just Strikers 1945 but the Strikers series in general. In hindsight though, these games just aren't that special, they offer the same experience as a lot of games in this genre. With each new installment of the series, not much changes..it's the common gripe people have about Call of Duty except on a larger scale. There are pretty significant differences between World at War, Modern Warfare, Black Ops, Ghosts & Advanced Warfare while across the Strikers series it's all basically the same game with different enemies.

THE GOOD -A lot of shoot'em ups in the modern era have pretty strongly attached themselves to the concept of "Bullet Hell" where there's just an insane amount of things coming at you at once, Strikers 1945 doesn't go that far. It's fairly difficult but it's not frustratingly hard. I'm not really a fan of this genre and it's for that reason. Alot of the games are too hard for me to actually enjoy but this one is pretty well balanced. -While this game does still use some of the same generic settings and war machine designs that pretty much every game of this type uses like the giant warships with multiple cannons, their own thing with alot of their enemy designs. They could have just had you shooting down planes and blowing up tanks all day but they threw in some alien lifeforms, giant robots and some machines I don't even know how to describe. -While the story isn't very layered or interesting, I will give Psikyo credit for the attempt.

THE BAD -Strikers 1945 is a good game but it's not particularly special. It's not really raising the bar or innovative in any way. -The weird pervy easter egg of being able to see the pilots undressed provided you complete the game without losing a life. This game is too hard for such a worthless unlockable especially on console. I didn't fight through stages of chaos for softcore hentai.

Player Review-1945K III (2000)

Published by-Oriental Soft, Inc. Platform-Arcade Genre-Action Perspective-Top-down, 2D Scrolling 1945K III isn't part Capcom's 19XX series, it's actually produced by a company called "Oriental Soft". While it's a little more generic than similar games like Aero Fighters, it's still a pretty good representation for the vertical-scrolling shooter genre overall. If you ever played Psikyo's "Strikers" series, this game seems to take a lot of cues from that which isn't necessarily a bad thing because those titles are some of the better entries in the genre but it does make this game less special.

I have no understanding of the title because this isn't the 3rd game in a series and I guess that 1945 is when World War II ended but judging by the different machines you can pilot, i'm not sure that's when this is supposed to take place because I'm almost positive we didn't have stealth bombers in the 40's. The machines you can choose from are popular aircraft from different countries and while I do appreciate the variety, i'm not sure if it's exactly necessary for this game. Unlike much of the games in the 19XX series there is a little more creativity right off the bat with the type of enemy machines you will encounter but overall this is a pretty basic shoot'em up that doesn't really bring anything new to the table especially considering this game came out in 2000 which is the same year as 1944: The Loop Master and a year AFTER Strikers 1945 III which are actually much better games in comparison.

I know it appears that it's a common theme in the shoot'em up genre to not actually have a story but I can assure you that's not the case. Games like Gunbird, Dimahoo, Radiant Silvergun, Ikaruga & DoDonpachi do actually have plots. This game however does not so it's just stage after stage of destruction. It doesn't really seem like you're fighting for anything. It's a pretty mindless playthrough.

THE GOOD -Although this game seems to be based in a somewhat real setting they didn't force their designs to adhere to real world standards. There are a lot of enemy machines that break that mold.

THE BAD -This game doesn't really add anything to the genre that wasn't there before especially by the year 2000. The big bullet hell shoot'em ups weren't that prevalent before because the technology couldn't handle that in years prior but we were starting to get more difficult and more interesting titles in this genre at this point so this one is kind of vanilla.

Player Review-19XX: The War Against Destiny (1995) Developers-Capcom Publishers-Capcom Designers-Shinichiro Obata, Tomonori Nonaka, Yoichiro Ikeda Programmers-Hideo Sako, Tatsumi Kimoto, Tomohiro Ueno  Artists-Eizi Murabayashi, Gorō Suzuki, Hiroshi Sugiyama Composers-Shun Nishigaki, Tatsuro Suzuki Series-194X Platforms-Arcade Genres-Vertically Scrolling Shooter Modes-Single-Player, Co-op Arcade system-CP System II

19XX: War Against Destiny is actually the first game I played in the 19XX series. It's not THE best nor is it the last game in the series, which makes no sense because 1944 actually follows this. You would think that the out-of-context game in the series that doesn't specify when exactly it takes place would be either the first or final, but this is the route they went. While this game is a massive step up from the previous 3, it's still a pretty generic experience overall.

What I DO like about 19XX as opposed to the other games in the series is that you can pick between 3 different machines with their own unique capabilities. A sense of variety is something that has always been missing. Like 1944, it does a great job of selling you on this atmosphere through the soundtrack, the effects, and the art direction. I like the "mission briefing" style cinematic they show before each level because it really adds to the aesthetic they were going for. Although the setting still seems to be World War II (though that isn't specified), they have gotten a lot more creative with the enemy types. We know that none of the Axis Powers had massive 4-legged tanks but in the context of a video game it's nice to see the creators step outside the box.

Despite the disclaimer at the beginning of the game that explains that none of the events that take place are true and it's all fiction, there still isn't much of a story here. If you play the game to the ending, it DOES have one but there's nothing substantial. I assume that the disclaimer is just there so that people don't think anything that happens during gameplay actually happened in any World War.

THE GOOD -I like being able to pick a different playable machine because it adds a sense of a variety to a game that isn't present in other games in the series.

-The developers flexed their creativity a little bit with the designs of the enemy machines instead of just having you destroy a bunch of generic bombers, warships & tanks. -Nice mellow soundtrack, not better or worse than what you get in 1944...just something different but that still fits the game's overall style.

THE BAD -Even with all the power-ups and charge shots and bombs that you're allowed it still seems like some enemies are unkillable. You will pour so much time into taking down some of the bosses.

Player Review-1944: The Loop Master (2000) Developers-8ing/Raizing Publishers-Capcom Platforms-Arcade, GameTap Series-194X Genres-Vertical Scrolling Shooter Modes-Single-Player, 2-Player Co-op Arcade System-CP System II

1944: The Loop Master is undoubtedly the masterpiece of Capcom's 19XX franchise. As I stated in my review of 1941: Counter Attack, it feels like every game in the series is ACTUALLY the same game, getting better and better each time until they produce the final product, which would be this.  This isn't Capcom's greatest effort in the vertical-scrolling shooter genre BUT it is definitely one of the best.

What makes this one so much better than it's predecessors? Let's start with the visuals. 1944 being created over a decade after the first game in the series means massive graphical upgrades, it means more detail, it means better looking stages, better designed enemy aircraft and that more can be happening on the screen at once which adds to the chaos and difficulty of the gameplay. There seems to be an actual art direction and an attempt to create an actual atmosphere around the game so it doesn't feel so empty and devoid of character. Each stage feels like it’s own battle and it's own moment within the war so there is some semblance of story here. Titles that ran on Capcom's CPS-II arcade system board used the Qsound processing algorithm so this game could have a legitimate soundtrack and vibrant sound effects. The background music has a very "Top Gun/80's action movie" flavor to it.

The problem with the previous games is that they were so tedious and repetitive that they almost didn't feel like games at all, they felt like tasks or chores..things you didn't want to do but you had to do. 1944 actually feels like a game. It's actually fun to play both alone and with a friend. Strategizing on how to take out each special target and how to get to it's weak points without taking substantial damage was actually entertaining as opposed to just mindlessly floating through level after level of boring enemies that barely offer a challenge. The game calculating the amount of enemies on the level you destroyed actually makes sense for this installment more than some of the earlier games in the series because it's actually hard to destroy some of the different tanks, warships and bombers. I actually ended up with less than 100% accuracy in 1942 or 1943 for some levels because I got tired of even pushing the fire button.

THE GOOD -Capcom teamed up with Eighting/Raizing to create this title who you may know for creating the Bloody Roar franchise, but they are also absolute masters when it comes to the vertical-scrolling shooter genre. If you can't have any fun playing this...you just don't like these types of games.

-Although there is still isn't much of a story present in this game, they at least do their due diligence to create a unique and interesting atmosphere around it. I assume that because it deals with an event that actually happened (World War II), Capcom didn't want to put their own spin on it, which is understandable but at the very least the game feels like it's own world. It has it's own energy.

-If you are able to utilize the charge shot properly as well as the other power-ups, the stages actually go pretty quickly.

-The game is only 15 levels so even though right off the bat it's alot more fun than the games that preceded it, it doesn't give you a chance to get bored of it before it's over.

THE BAD -1944 isn't as interesting as many of the other games in this genre and even some distributed by Capcom themselves because it deals with our own actual history so it doesn't have as much material to work with as titles that went the science fiction route. This is more of a nitpick than anything though because there is nothing actually wrong with using a more realistic atmosphere for a game.

Player Review- 1943: The Battle of Midway/1943 Kai/ 1943 ミッドウェイ海戦  (1987)

Developers-Capcom Publishers-Capcom Designers-Yoshiki Okamoto Composers-[Original release:] Kumi Yamaga, [1943 Kai:] Manami Matsumae, Takashi Tateishi, Junko Tamiya, Hiroshige Tonomura, Tamayo, Kawamoto, Harumi Fujita Series-194X Platforms-Arcade, NES, PC Engine, Xbox, PlayStation 2, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga, PlayStation 3 Genres-Vertical Scrolling Shooter Modes-Single-Player , 2 player  Co-op Arcade System-Capcom Commando Hardware

1943 seems like a slightly better version of 1942. It actually has background music, the stages look a lot better, the action in-game is a lot more fast-paced, it's a little more difficult, and it looks better graphically.

The major flaw in this title is that it's STILL boring. There's still nothing special about 1943. It uses World War II as a backdrop which is actually a very proactive and fascinating time in history, but all you do in the game is destroy enemy air & watercrafts, that's the whole game. It doesn't really get any more basic than this.

THE GOOD -1943 gets a lot of things correct that 1942 didn't. The addition of a soundtrack, an increase in the pacing of the levels & the higher degree of difficulty all makes this a more enjoyable experience.

-Adding Cheat Codes that allow you to skip levels is great because this game is STILL too long, still has too many stages. It's not fun enough to take up so much of my time. Allowing me to shorten it at my discretion was a very good idea.

THE BAD -The game overall is still pretty bland, it's not really a memorable experience. Once you beat it, the replay value is out of the window and I actually doubt that many people who play this will even finish it because while it's more fun than 1942, that's not really saying much. This was fun for about 4 levels and then I was already yawning.

Player Review-1942 (1984)

Developers-Capcom Publishers-Capcom Designer-Yoshiki Okamoto Composer-Ayako Mori Series-194X Platforms-Arcade, Nintendo Entertainment System, MSX, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, NEC PC-8801, FM-7, Sharp X1, Game Boy Color, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, PlayStation 2, Xbox, PlayStation Portable, Windows Mobile Professional Genres-Scrolling Shooter Modes-Single-Player, 2 player Co-op Arcade System-Capcom Z80

The fun of vertically-scrolling shooters is the sense of accomplishment in testing your intelligence and hand-eye coordination against the dangers of the chaos on screen, but 1942 is so far away from offering that experience that it's hard to understand how this genre took off from here. While it's considered a "Capcom Classic" and it did very well for the company; especially as far as making their mark in arcades was concerned before the release of Street Fighter II, by today's standards 1942 is almost unplayable.

For starters the game doesn't have a soundtrack or any background music. Aside from the sound effects of destroying enemy aircraft, taking off at the beginning of levels & firing weaponry, all you hear is series of whistles and what kind of sounds like war drums. The designs of the levels and the aircraft are extremely basic and pretty much don't change as you continue through the game. The only actual difficulty here is trying to get high accuracy in your "shooting down" percentage from stage to stage, which not only isn't fun but doesn't really do anything except add to your score. You could actually complete this game, mostly dodging enemies and enemy fire and only killing when it's the only option, get low accuracy every time and you'd still probably beat the default high score if you just play through all the levels.

Perhaps the most damning issue with this game is the length. I could possibly forgive some of these flaws if it was only 8 to 10 levels but there are actually 32. Imagine 32 levels of shooting down the same boring aircraft over and over, in these lifeless empty environments, with pretty much no soundtrack. Nothing interesting to look at, nothing fun to do, and the same annoying sound effects ringing off in your ears for over an hour. I've actually beaten 1942 in both the arcade and on the NES because i'm a completionist, and I don't ever like to start games if i'm not going to finish them, but I have to say the game itself is less difficult than fighting the urge to just give up and walk away from the machine or turn off the console mid-play.

There are updated versions of the game to be downloaded for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and for your Android devices called "1942: First Strike" & "1942: Joint Strike" and while they do actually succeed in making the game playable for a modern audience, they still pale in comparison to some of the games that would precede it in the 19XX series. I would recommend that if you're going to get into the series that you start with these instead of going back to what they were in their original form. These are a better representation of what the game was supposed to be.

THE GOOD -Capcom has mastered revamping and reworking games for different eras of gaming. While the original version of this game is so primitive that it's hard to get any enjoyment out of it, they created more state of the art versions of the game so this generation of gamer could actually experience their vision for the series.

-The updated versions of the game shorten the game greatly to about 13 levels, the experience becomes tedious and uninteresting really quickly with games in this genre if you don't have any special features or there isn't much interesting going on during gameplay. This game is too bare-bones to be as long as the game it's adapted from.

THE BAD -Considering video game soundtracks in the 8-bit era were condensed into midi format, you would expect that many titles in this era was hard on the ears but actually Capcom proved with the Mega Man series that they can produce iconic and very listenable background music for their content. This game not having one at all is a massive disservice.

-The very few upgrades or power-ups don't make this game go any faster or make it any more fun. -The original version of this game being 32 levels long wouldn't be so bad if anything actually changed from level to level but the changes are so subtle that you won't even notice. Playing through this game feels like playing through the same level 32 times.

Player Review-1941: Counter Attack (1990)

Publishers- Arcade [JP/NA]: Capcom EU: Electrocoin, SuperGrafx [JP:] Hudson Soft Directors-Yoshiki Okamoto Designers-Akira Nishitani, Noritaka Funamizu, Toshihiko Uda Programmer-Yoshihiro Shindome Artists-Akemi Kurihara, Akira Yasuda, Sadaki Matsumoto Composers-Hiromitsu Takaoka Series-194X Platforms-Arcade, SuperGrafx Genres-Vertically Scrolling Shooter Modes-Single-player, 2 Player Co-op

1941: Counter Attack is the precursor to the 19XX: War Against Destiny title which would be the fourth installment in Capcom’s vertical, side-scrolling shooter series. While occurring earlier in history, 1941 is actually the third game in the series following 1942 & 1943 Kai/1943: Battle of Midway. Capcom’s final and perhaps best attempt at a legitimate entry in this genre is 1944: The Loop Master, but for now let’s take a look at this one and see how it stacks up against it’s predecessors as well as other games in the genre.

While being rooted in historical context, the game doesn’t provide much incite or commentary on the events it depicts, and for a series that ran from 1984 to 2000, you would think that there would be some semblance of a story that you could piece together between games but that really isn’t the case. Vertical-scrolling shooters such as these are generally boring anyway and exist as a “cash grab” in arcades because while patrons may on the basis of aesthetics find this interesting enough to play, most people don’t have the patience or the hand-eye coordination to actually be good at them, and when there isn’t really much going on around the action it becomes a pretty mundane playthrough very quickly. With each new game in the series Capcom seems to get a little better at providing an entertaining experience but it seems like they are actually just making the same game over and over, tweaking it little by little until it’s better, and the last game in the series is just the one they wanted to make from the beginning but the technology at the time wasn’t up to snuff.

1941 being the third game in the series is obviously a lot better than 1942 & 1943: Battle of Midway, which are barely different from one another but all-in-all there isn’t much fun to be had playing this. What makes it worse is it’s also fairly easy so where a lot of these type of shooters still have the element of mystery because you won’t make it far enough in the game to find out just how much of a waste of time it is, you may actually witness this first hand.

I’ve actually beaten this game and made it to the end but that sense of accomplishment I usually feel when I complete a game didn’t exist here especially because they didn’t even use the ending to actually add any story elements or anything interesting at all. In the credits they name for you the “bosses” of the game which are just a series of generic tanks and aircraft and then player 1 & player 2 fly off into the sunset. That’s it, that’s the whole thing.  The games is about 6 levels of mildly well designed settings and tedious boss fights and that’s it.

The game isn’t exactly a disaster. Capcom added this game to several of their “classic” compilations to be released on more modern consoles & handhelds so it wasn’t considered a fail for them, and for the time that it came out and it’s genre I can see how this was considered a notable entry but in hindsight the game has not aged well and offers a virtually empty experience by today’s standards. Even for it’s time period games that predate it like SiniStar & Galaga offered a something that; while repetitive, had way more to offer in terms of style & flair which I assume is why those games are iconic and 1941 is virtually unknown to a lot of gamers and especially the casuals.

THE GOOD -Pretty significant graphical upgrade from the previous game: 1943 Kai/1943: The Battle of Midway. -The level designs offer a lot more detail than 1942 & 1943 so you at least have something moderately interesting to look during gameplay. I would imagine that before this you couldn’t have many objects on screen at once so that significantly reduced how you could depict each setting. -The fire rate on your weaponry is perhaps the biggest improvement of this installment in the series. The much weaker fire rate of your aircraft’s artillery in the previous two games slowed down the gameplay.

-This is one of the shorter games in the series which is good because even if you decide to play this for an extended period of time, you can complete it or make significant progress in a reasonable time frame.

THE BAD -I assume that because this is an arcade game and it’s not really meant for home consumption (although it was released for SuperGrafx) Capcom didn’t think a story was necessary. It’s also based in the realistic setting of World War II so maybe they didn’t want to actually tamper with real world history, but you can’t offer gameplay this tedious and not at least try and break the monotony with some semblance of a narrative. It feels like everything you do is for nothing. It’s JUST a game and that’s it. Buttons and actions.

-Because the game is based around a legitimate war a lot of the stage designs and designs of the playable/non-playable aircraft, warships & tanks are pretty bland. There isn’t much room for their designers to flex their muscles.

Player Review-Capcom Generation: Dai 5 Shuu Kakutouka-tachi (1998) Other Titles: Street Fighter Collection 2, Capcom Generation 5, Capcom Generations 5: Street Fighter Collection 2 System(s): Sega Saturn Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom Original system(s): Capcom CPS-1 Game total: 3 Games included: Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, Street Fighter II′: Champion Edition, Street Fighter II′ Turbo: Hyper Fighting Sound driver: SCSP (1Track) Genre: Compilation, Fighting/Taisen Kakutou, Action Number of players: 1-2

This is the final game in the Capcom Generation series but if you are fiend for nostalgia and a fan of Capcom then don't worry because this series seems to have evolved into the "Capcom Classics Collection" and various other compilations that still continue to be released. Capcom Generation 5 is peculiar because it's actually just Street Fighter Collection 2. What makes no sense is the FIRST Street Fighter Collection actually has BETTER games in the series on it and this one is just 3 different versions of Street Fighter II.

Capcom may have gotten away with this years ago when we didn't really know any better and just bought every installment of the same game over and over but if they were going to make a collection out of it they could have at least put EVERY version of Street Fighter II on the disk. The disk would hold WAY MORE than just the 3 games on it but they all cap out at 3 games for some reason. Street Fighter II is a classic and they added some features like being able to unlock the original CPS soundtracks, but the hidden game modes like "CPU Battle" and "Super Vs. Mode" don't really add much to the gameplay.

THE GOOD -Street Fighter is one of the better games Capcom has produced and Street Fighter II was kind of it's magnum opus so I can understand why this would be attractive to gamers.

Player Review-Capcom Generation: Dai 4 Shuu Kokou no Eiyuu (1998)

Other Titles: Capcom Generations 4: Blazing Guns,  Capcom Generation Collection 4: Lone Hero, Capcom Generation 4,  カプコン ジェネレーション －第4集 弧高の英雄 System(s): Sega Saturn Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom Original system(s): Capcom Commando Hardware, Capcom CPS-1, Capcom Gun.Smoke Hardware Game total: 3 Games included: Commando (Senjou no Ookami; 戦場の狼), Mercs (Senjou no Ookami II; 戦場の狼II), Gun.Smoke (ガンスモーク) Sound driver: SCSP/CD-DA (64 tracks) Peripherals supported: 6 Player Genre: Compilation, Shooting Number of players: 1-3 Capcom Generation 4 features some early Run n' Gun games. They are basically top-down vertical-scrolling shooters but I actually find these to be a little bit more enjoyable than the aircraft based SHUMPS like 1942 and Vulgus. The collection consists of Commando, Gun.Smoke & Mercs. All 3 of these games offer basically the same experience but Mercs is probably the one you will have the most fun with because it came out later in the company's history so naturally Capcom was better at making these type of games by then.

Similar to many of the other games in these collections, these are basically "cell phone games". They aren't arcade classics like Pac-Man or NBA Jam that you would still play today. You will get a few hours of enjoyment out of each but they don't offer any replay value.

THE GOOD -The Capcom Run n' Gun games are actually some of the most enjoyable in their collections.