19XX: The War Against Destiny

19XX: The War Against Destiny is a vertically scrolling shoot-'em-up game produced only for the arcade on Capcom's CP System II hardware. It is part of the 194X games and was released in December 1995.

Gameplay

As with most games in the series, the player can maneuver the plane with the 8-way joystick, and there are two buttons; one for firing the main weapon, and the other for a secondary function. Instead of the loop-de-loop, the second button fires a bomb. 

The game also introduces two new weapon systems;

• Marker Missile System: When the player holds down the fire button, and releases it, their plane will charge up and launch a special Marker Missile. If the missile is fired at a medium- or large-sized enemy, it attaches to it, allowing the player to fire greenish (blue for player 2) laser rays that lock onto where the missile struck the enemy, damaging it, until the missile detonates. It is useful for if the player want to destroy multiple enemies at once, and also against bosses. If used against cannon fodder enemies, the missile just penetrates through them. The strength of the lasers that are fired at where the Marker Missile hits depends on how long the player charges it. Not too powerful, but the players have the advantage of having an infinite amount of these munitions.
• Variable Bomber System: A smart bomb weapon that features a charging mechanism like that of the Marker Missile System. Pressing the bomb button once releases a brief, but powerful blast. When you press and hold down the button, it starts off with a small explosion followed by a larger, more powerful one, depending on the time spent holding the button before depressing it. The bomb can be charged through three different levels. Unlike the Marker Missiles, the bombs are limited in supply. To add more bombs to your stock, you can collect icons with a "B" on them.

The Vital bar is also removed, making it so that players lose a life with one hit. At times, Medals appear on screen as they shoot down the enemies, allowing them to collect them for bonus points. At the end of a level, the player would be ranked (S for highest, E for lowest) on how quickly they defeated a boss, along with being promoted to a new rank depending on how many enemies they shoot down and how acccurate they were, in addition to an overall ranking for how well they cleared the level along with bonus points proportionate to this ranking. The player would also receieve a Special Bonus determined by how many medals are collected and how many Variable Bombs they have remaining in their stock, along with a Rank Bonus that multiplies the total value of the Special Bonus, depending on how they ranked overall.

Plotline

The game takes place in a fictional setting not related to any historical or future war, in the year 19XX. Regional battles broke out in different parts of the world, along with a never-ending conflict with a mysterious enemy..."Outer Limits", a weapons conglomerate working from behind the scenes, and are now seeking to gain control of the entire world with a devastating Doomsday Weapon. Seeing the threat Outer Limits posed, the World Peacekeeping Agency recruits two ace pilots, Mark Raratto (Player 1 character) and George Hamill (Player 2 character), to take on their evil plans, and destroy the Doomsday Weapon. However, the two would also have to be quick on the draw, when they encounter an unknown ace pilot from the ranks of Outer Limits, flying a mysterious black aircraft to impede them on their approach to the Doomsday Weapon...

Planes

There are three different fighter planes to choose from, each with its Speed, Power, and Homing rated on a scale of 1 to 10 (1=Lowest, 10=Highest), along with the Special Weapon that it works the best with.

Lockheed P-38 Lightning

• Speed: 6/10
• Power: 4/10
• Homing: 7/10
• Special Weapon: 4 Fire 

deHavilland DH.98 Mosquito

• Speed: 4/10
• Power: 10/10
• Homing: 3/10
• Special Weapon: 3 Way 

Kyushu J7W1 Shinden

• Speed: 9/10
• Power: 3/10
• Homing: 5/10
• Special Weapon: Super Shell 
• Note: Name misspelled as "Sinden" in-game

Special Weapons

There are three types of Special Weapons that can be used in the game, each with its own strengths and weaknesses, also replacing the standard machine guns. By collecting more of the same type of weapon, it becomes stronger. The weapon can be made even stronger when used with the plane that it works the most efficiently with.

4 Fire

The 4 Fire is a Special Weapon that rapidly fires a four-way spray of projectiles with a medium spread. It is the strongest when used with the P-38 Lightning, and is the most versatile. At full power with the Lightning, it becomes a six-way spread.

Super Shell

The Super Shell fires a stream of piercing, laser-like blasts in a straight pattern with no spread. It is at its most powerful when used with the Shinden, and is good against bosses. When this Special Weapon's power is at its peak with the Shinden, it becomes a double blast.

3 Way

Rapid-fire rockets in a three-way fan pattern. Has the widest spread, but tends to miss lesser enemies in the gaps between the projectiles. Useful at close-range, and is even more powerful when used with the Mosquito. When fully powered up with the Mosquito, it fires five-way rockets.

Other Pick-ups

Medals

These medals come in three sizes with point values proportionate to those sizes; small (300 Pts.), medium (500 Pts.), and large (1000 Pts.). They can be acquired from enemies, and/or if the player continuously shoot at certain spots in some levels, a large number of medals would stream out.

Mobi-chan

A chibi form of the Mobilsuit from Side Arms Hyper Dyne, this icon appears when certain conditions are met. When collected, it causes massive damage to all enemies on screen, and even wipe out lesser enemy planes. It is worth 5000 points.

Yashichi

Once again appearing as a bonus item, the Yashichi only appears when certain conditions are met. When collected, it provides an extra life.

Credits

Game Designer: I.Satsuma, Tomonori・Nonaka, S.Obata (Manhattan)
Program Designer: T.Ueno, Batayon, Hdo, Dress, Ittetsu, You!, Hits
Scroll Designer: Taka, Fukumoyan, Ziggy, Imahori, Hiroshi Sugiyama, Kazu, GORO SUZUKi, Sawatch
Object Designer: Y.Maruno, Misuporumu, Yoshino・Hiroaki, Mimura Kenji 8, N.Fukuda, Yuki, Henoheno, Bow, T.Osumi, GZ, K・Tokunaga, You・Ten・Nakano, Takep, Eizi・Murabayashi, Kogaman
Music Composer: SYUN "KOBEKKO" Nishigaki, ZUZUKI Tatsuro
Sound Designer: Hiroaki "Mach–2" Kondo
All Sound Produce: Arcade Sound Team
Special Thanks: Noritaka Funamizu (Poo), Mucchi, S.Yasuki, Nezumi, DAI_Chan, Sakomizu, Mr. Hirao, Mr. Kubozono, Miss. Alison, Miss. Rita, and All Capcom Staff

Links

• http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/19XX_-THE_WAR_AGAINST_DESTINY- Japanese Wikipedia article
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19XX:_The_War_Against_Destiny English Wikipedia article
• http://www.shmups.com/reviews/19xx/ Shmups review of the game