19XX: The War Against Destiny is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game made by Capcom

Capcom

is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...

 in 1995

1995 in video gaming

-Events:*May 11 – Introduction of trade magazine GameWeek *May 11-16 — The 1st annual Electronic Entertainment Expo is held in Los Angeles, California...

 (copyrighted in 1996

1996 in video gaming

-Notable releases:*January 29 — Duke Nukem 3D, successor to the simple side-scrolling originals, and a genre-redefining title for first person shooters....

). The game is the 4th of a series of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 vertical shooters made by Capcom. The story takes place before a fictional war (Hence, the 19XX

19XX

19XX is a placeholder year. Alternate versions include 19??, 19xx, 19—, 19__, etc. 199X is also sometimes used. However, since the 21st century, many have found this to be outdated.- Fiction :...

) 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.

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, the latter determining which weapon can be powered-up beyond other weapons.

Lightning

P-38 Lightning

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft built by Lockheed. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament...

 - Well balanced plane. Medium Power, Medium Speed, Strong Homing. Its special weapon is the "Vulcan."

Mosquito

De Havilland Mosquito

The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...

 - Slow and powerful plane. Strong Power, Weak Speed, Weak Homing. Its special weapon is the "Missiles."

Shinden

Kyushu J7W

|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Green, William. Warplanes of the Second World War, Volume Three: Fighters. London: Macdonald & Co. Ltd., 1961 . ISBN 0-356-01447-9....

 - Fast and weak plane. Weak Power, Strong Speed, Medium-weak Homing. 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 Flying Pancake that appears in later levels.

Vulcan - Straightforward shots. The level 1 version of this gun is default on all ships from the start (and whenever you lose a life). The P-38's specialty; produces 3 shots when fully powered-up.

Missiles - 3 way missiles. More powerful than the Vulcan or Laser at close range. The Mosquito's specialty; when fully powered-up, the forward firing missiles become stronger.

Laser - Large blue laser. The Laser has the "piercing effect" (can go through standing, destroyable structures) and is somewhat stronger than the Vulcan. The Sinden's specialty; when fully powered-up, produces twin laser beams instead of one.