Developer: Naxat Soft Publisher: Naxat Soft Release: 03/22/91 Genre: Shooter
I really enjoyed 1943 on the NES. After the disaster that was 1942 I did not expect much its sequel. But Capcom wisely took the game in house to ensure its quality and in some ways the game turned out even better than the arcade. As good as the game was in the arcade Capcom saw fit to remix the game and re-release it as 1943 Kai. The PC Engine would receive this version of the game and once again go above and beyond to deliver a superior experience to its arcade counterpart.
1943 Kai is an alternate version of the original arcade game that trims the fat in certain respects. The most notable change is reducing the number of stages from 16 to 10. Normally removing content is a bad thing. But in this case it is not. For as much as I like the game 1943 began to repeat itself after so long as it recycled stages and bosses. The NES version was even worse in that respect as it added eight more stages. Backgrounds and enemies sport new color palettes and there is a new weapon, the laser. Your ship is replaced with a biplane but in practice you will not notice the difference.
For the PC Engine Naxat Soft add an original mode. The game proceeds like normal until you complete its seventh stage. But then original mode kicks in. Original mode is four new stages that fix the game’s weakness, diversity in its environments. You fight through a fortress, a mine, and through a city at night with new enemies like boats, turrets, trains, and kamikaze biplanes. Even the bosses are brand new and unique to this mode. The quality of original mode is so high I almost wish it were a full-fledged standalone release on its own.
The one feature that I wish were carried over from the NES game is the stats system. Adding RPG mechanics to a shooter sounds strange but works extremely well for such a long game and is something I wish more titles would copy. Distributing points to boost the features of your ship gave the game depth as the effects of your point distribution were almost immediately tangible. It also incentivized scouring every inch of the levels to earn more points to customize your ship. Considering all levels look the same anything that distracts from the monotony of looking at the same sea and clouds help. 1943 Kai does not need it of course, but had they included this mechanic it would have been spectacular.
To see all of the game’s new content you will have to work for it. 1943 Kai was notably more difficult than the original release and that remains so at home. Enemies are more aggressive and will actively try to ram into you. The waves are more frequent and overlap and the game is not afraid to throw in multiple larger ships simultaneously as well. Even though power-ups drop every few seconds you have precious few seconds to decide which weapon you want before the enemies swarm. Without an appropriate weapon you stand little chance of defeating the bosses and unfortunately you replay the level again if you fail to beat them in time. Original mode is even worse. The game swarms you as soon as the levels start and rarely let up. Yet somehow despite how frustrating it can get I welcomed the challenge.
My one issue with 1943 is that the entire game takes place overseas. You can only look at the same blue sea for so long. The enemy variety was lacking as well. This version of 1943 Kai fixes those flaws and then some as I previously mentioned. Outside of that the quality of this arcade port is one of the best on the system. The game throws around a ton of sprites with no slowdown to the point of madness. The only thing missing is the parallax scrolling from the arcade. 1943 Kai also changed the soundtrack but I will be honest, I barely remember the music of the original. I cannot say whether the new OST is better or worse. Ignorance is bliss I guess.
In Closing
1943 Kai is an excellent shooter and better than the arcade game. The new content makes an already great game better and a reason to buy this over its stiff competition. The PC Engine may suffer from a glut of shooters but there is always room for one more, especially when it is a quality one like 1943 Kai.
