Play 1943 - The Battle of Midway Online

Capcom released 1943: The Battle of Midway for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988, a follow-up to their earlier arcade shooter. It arrived during a period when the NES library was expanding with numerous action-oriented titles, and this one fit right in with its straightforward, mission-based approach to aerial combat.

You pilot a lone fighter plane across the Pacific, tasked with destroying enemy ships and aircraft to weaken the Japanese fleet before a final confrontation. The game introduced an energy bar that depletes from both enemy fire and simply flying, which forces you to collect fuel canisters dropped by downed foes. You also gather power-ups to enhance your main gun and accumulate a special meter that, when full, unleashes a massive screen-clearing lightning attack. The pacing is relentless, with enemy planes swarming from all directions and battleships filling the screen with bullets, making survival a tense exercise in evasion and target priority. It feels like a constant scramble to stay airborne while chipping away at a much larger force.