1941 - Counter Attack (Japan)
1941 - Counter Attack (Japan) on TG16
1941: Counter Attack is a vertically scrolling shooter originally released by Capcom in arcades in 1990. It serves as a prequel to the classic 1942 and sits third in the 194X series. This particular version is the Japanese port that came out for the SuperGrafx in 1991, an enhanced variant of the NEC TurboGrafx-16. It never saw a Western release on that console, so this is the only way to play it on NEC hardware unless you import.
You pilot a single propeller plane through nine stages, dodging bullets and blowing up enemy aircraft tanks and ships. Power-ups let you upgrade your main shot and add a sidekick for extra firepower. Each stage ends with a boss fight, often a massive bomber or warship. The game keeps the typical coin-op difficulty, so you'll need sharp reflexes to survive the later levels.
As a SuperGrafx exclusive port in Japan, 1941: Counter Attack is a neat piece of shooter history. It plays smoothly and looks slightly better than the average PC Engine title thanks to the extra hardware. If you like classic vertically scrolling shooters and want to see how the 194X series evolved, this is worth a look. It's not the deepest game, but it captures the arcade feel well.
How to Play 1941 - Counter Attack (Japan) Online
When you boot the game, you will see a Capcom logo then a title screen in Japanese. Press Start (Enter) to proceed to the main menu. From there, use the D-Pad to highlight options and press the A button (X) to confirm the first option (typically "Game Start") to begin playing. The menus are entirely in Japanese, but the essential path is straightforward: just hit Start then A.
Your plane moves automatically up the screen. Hold down the attack button (S) to fire your main weapon, and collect power-up icons that drop from enemies. These boost your shot, give you a wingman, or provide a temporary screen-clearing bomb. The core loop is shoot everything that moves, dodge bullets, and survive until the stage boss. You have a limited number of lives and continues, so practice the patterns to get further.
1941 - Counter Attack (Japan) Keyboard Controls
Controls
- Arrow Keys: D-Pad / Movement
- X: I button
- S: II button
- Enter: Run / Start
- V: Select
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