19XX: The War Against Destiny

19XX: The War Against Destiny
Sales flyer.
Developer(s)	Capcom
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Platform(s)	Arcade Game, GameTap
Release date	Arcade December 7, 1996 December 18, 1995 December 25, 1995 (Merry Christmas!)
Genre(s)	Vertical scrolling shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, 2 player Co-op
Input methods	8-way Joystick, 2 Buttons
Cabinet	Upright
Arcade system	CPS-2
Display	Raster, 224 x 384 pixels (Vertical), 4096 colors

19XX: The War Against Destiny is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game made by Capcom in 1995 (Even though the copyright date says 1996, it was released in December of 1995). The game is the 4th and supposed "last" of a series of World War 2 vertical shooters made by Capcom. The story takes place before a fictional war (Hence, the 19XX) as a lone pilot tries to defeat an entire army/evil organization from starting another World War, which soon escalates to a nuclear apocalypse.

Basics

The player selects one of three different planes, each with different ratings in speed, power, and the strength of their homing attack. When flying through the levels, three primary weapons can be used by picking up their respective items, to fire either spreading vulcan bullets, straight-firing lasers, or multi-directional missiles. By holding the Fire button, the player can charge up to fire a special missile. If this missile hits a large enemy, the player will lock on to that enemy, and can fire fast homing projectiles to damage it further. There is also a supply of smart bombs which can be used to clear away the majority of enemies and their projectiles from the screen. However, smart bombs can also be charged up, and each level of charge yields a different effect. Of course, if the player is shot down while charging up a bomb, it will have no effect.

Bosses

There are 6 stages in all. The bosses are as follows:

• Ayako Special (Japanese Mother Bomber; stage: The Pacific Ocean)
• Raimei (Japanese Battleship: Stage: The Red Sea)
• Karbert Armor (German Heavy Tank: Stage: The Congo Jungle)
• Grantz (German Submarine: Stage: The Denmark Strait)
• Sancho Pedro (Spanish Attack Train: Stage: Spain)
• Outerlimits (Axis Power Squadron: Stage: Outerlimits aircraft carrier in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean)

End of Level Bonuses

At the end of every level, the player receives additional points for the number of bombs you have in stock, a rank increase of 1-5 for the percentage of enemies destroyed, a grade for the time it took to defeat the boss, and a bonus for every medal collected which is multiplied by the rank. After beating the last level, the player also gets a large bonus for the number of lives he has remaining.

Planes

Each plane has a different set of statistics and a special weapon. A special weapon means that the plane has the ability to gain another power up which the other planes cannot. An example would be the Lightning and the Sinden. The Sinden and Lightning can both use the Laser weapon, but the Sinden has another level of this it can gain that the Lightning cannot.

Lightning The average and medium plane. The Lightning does not excel in power or speed, but it doesn't lack either. It does however, have the strongest type of homing attack. Its special weapon is the standard blue "Vulcan."

Mosquito The slow but powerful plane. The Mosquito lacks in speed and homing, but is a hard hitter in plain brute force. Its special weapon is the red 3 way "Missiles."

Shinden The fast but weak plane. The Sinden can fly across the screen at amazing speeds, but can hardly damage anything. Its homing is slightly better than the Mosquito's. Its special weapon is the green "Laser."

Weapons

There are 3 weapons available in the game. These are found by destroying a red formation of enemy planes or a red flat pancake looking ship that appears in later levels.

Vulcan Straightforward shots. The standard gun in every shooter, the gun is default from the start, but when powered up it can do substantial damage.

Missiles 3 way missiles. More powerful than the Vulcan or laser, the missiles can do much damage, but it may be difficult getting all the shots to hit.

Laser Large blue laser. Straight and useful in some situations. The Laser can go through enemies and take out a formation easily.

References

• 19XX: The War Against Destiny at the Killer List of Videogames
• 19XX: The War Against Destiny at GameFAQs