1943 Kai: Midway Kaisen

1943: The Battle of Midway Mark II is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game released exclusively in Japan by Capcom in June 1988. It is the third game in the 19XX series, an update of 1943: The Battle Of Midway, released a year prior. The title of this game translates from Japanese as “1943 Modified – Midway Naval Battle”

Not a proper sequel per se, 1943 Kai is a Japan-only re-vamp of the original 1943 that keeps the same setup and gameplay, while making a few minor tweaks here and there for variety’s sake. A sturdy biplane replaces the staple P-38, the level count has been reduced from 16 to 10, and the weapon selection available from the ‘Pow’ icons has been increased to include the rare ‘wingmen’ option and a super-efficient ‘laser’ (a special weapon that could only be obtained via a hidden code in the foriginal 1943). Not just that, every weapon can now be individually powered-up by picking up the same icon twice – so word to the wise: go for two lasers and some wingmen immediately.

Well, some might say that it is almost exactly the same as its predecessor, yet 1943 Kai does have a slightly different flavour: it features an all-new soundtrack, and the overall rhythm of the game game has been increased. If anything, the core of the game is better – but then its kitsch biplanes, over-the-top weaponry and outrageous background colours (red sea?) give it a slightly tacky re-hashed feel, and make it loose the gritty pseudo-realism of the original.

The difficulty has been upped so that the game is even more unforgivably fierce… It’s a quicker, tougher challenge – a souped-up remix specifically concocted for those who enjoyed the original.