1943:The Battle of Midway

1943, full title 1943: The Battle of Midway, is a vertical-scroll shoot-em-up developed by Capcom. The arcade original launched in 1987 and was ported to the Famicom / NES in the same year. As the direct sequel to 1942, it is the second entry in the renowned 194X aerial combat series. Set around the Battle of Midway during World War II, players pilot fighter aircraft against Japanese air and naval forces across 24 stages. The loop-de-loop evasion from the previous game is removed, replaced by screen-clearing bombs to wipe out enemies and projectiles. A new aircraft energy system is introduced: the plane has health that depletes when taking damage, and a life is lost only after energy runs out. Destroying foes drops power-ups to boost firing rate, firepower and restore energy. Alternating two-player mode is available for high-score competition. Compared with 1942, 1943 brings improved visuals, denser bullet patterns and enhanced chiptune soundtrack with better-balanced difficulty. It is widely regarded as one of the finest vertical shooters on the NES. Re-released in multiple Capcom retro compilations, the full game with bomb mechanics can be enjoyed via modern emulators and remains a must-play title for retro NES fans.

These are the default keys. Click the gamepad icon 🎮 in the player’s bottom toolbar to rebind them. Gamepads are detected automatically. On phones you get on-screen buttons.

1P

2P

The NES was always two-player — 2P uses the numeric keypad, and NumLock does not matter. No numpad? Rebind 2P to other keys in the 🎮 panel.