In the late '90s, Capcom began a push to bring shooters back into the arcades. They contracted several well known developers as part of this campaign - Cave developed Progear, while Takumi developed both Giga Wing games, as well as Mars Matrix. In addition to Dimahoo, Raizing was also handed the keys to the 1942 series, making it the only title in the series not actually developed by Capcom. It not only feels different from the other games in the series, but is also a departure of sorts from Raizing's other games. It's also unique in that, like these other games, it uses a horizontally oriented 4:3 monitor, rather than the 3:4 vertically oriented monitor used in the other games in the series.

Unlike the many other shooters out at the time, this game is strictly old school. The scoring system is simple, there are no bullet curtains, no microscopic hit boxes, and no super secret final bosses. When compared to the other shooters out at the time, 1944 is actually pretty easy. In many ways, it is a step backwards from 19XX, a sort of return to the series roots.

The very first thing 1944 does is bring the setting back to World War II. Each level has a mission name, usually something goofy and melodramatic, like Iron Beast Warcry, Nightmare Valley, or Oil Legion. Keeping in line with 1941, the settings are always changing. There are fifteen levels in total, and they are creative enough to never get repetitive. A couple of bosses get recycled, but it is not nearly as bad about it as some of the earlier entries in the series. Levels are generally short and bosses are huge, but do not take much effort to destroy. They have a habit of running away if you take more than a few minutes, which hurts your score.

There are no longer multiple planes to fly. You are back to playing as Super Ace, but there are a few new tricks added in. The charge shot is the best it's ever been, turning you invincible for a short time and flying high above the battlefield to rain molten hot lead on everyone below. This charge shot is so powerful that Capcom had to make your engine overheat after use as an excuse to prevent you from using it all the time.

The health bar also returns, which is far more forgiving than 19XX's standard "one hit and you die" system. Bomb stock is kept from the last game too, so you no longer take damage from using a bomb. You also loop whenever a bomb is used, adding an element of strategy to bombing and making you temporarily invincible. Another nice touch is that when the health bar is low, the plane catches on fire. This also applies to options, which can actually take a few hits before going down this time.

1944 also has some mighty impressive graphical effects. When your plane explodes, a little pilot ejects and activiates his parachute. If you put another credit in, you control another ship, which swoops into play. If can catch the pilot, you get rewarded with bonus points, bombs, and shot upgrades.

1944's scoring system adds one new element, large golden diamonds. Collecting the large golden diamonds gets you bonus points. If you can collect ten, you get options, which as mentioned before, are very useful. Otherwise, you still get graded for accuracy and how many enemies you shoot down. Strangely, the rank system from some of the previous games is gone. This is especially odd from a game that Raizing was involved with.

In 2008, Capcom contracted Backbone Entertainment, largely known for their on-the-cheap console/arcade emulation packs, to develop new installments in some of their older series. The results were Commando 3: Wolf of the Battlefield and 1942: Joint Strike. From a quality standpoint, both are similar - mechanically competant, but also uninspired and lacking the energy of the older games.

1942: Joint Strike is fairly straightfoward, and while the name implies it's a remake of the first game, it's actually a whole new sequel, picking and choosing elements to carry forward from its predecessors. The game is in 3D but keeps the overhead perspective, and utlizies the 16:9 widescreen display, as opposed to the 3:4 and 4:3 of the arcade games. The brief cutscenes at the beginning of levels and before bosses have a filter that give it the feel of old WWII-era newsreels, but the color scheme during gameplay is brown, grey, muted and dull. It also has one of the most annoying menus of any game ever developed, where every choice is punctuated with the same annoying fleet of airplanes buzzing across the screen.

Despite being named 1942 and positioned as something of a remake, its systems are actually taken piecemeal from various games throughout the series. The three ships from 19XX have returned. You have a life bar in addition to several lives, as well as a charge attack, which shoots a powerful burst forward like 1941. In addition to the usual power-ups, you can pull off the standard loop-de-loops, which also act as bombs to destroy everything on the screen. You also have a secondary weapon, a pair of homing missiles which act exactly the same way as the charge shot in 1941, though here they are in limited supply. However, killing groups of enemies quickly will replenish the gauge (seemingly through magic, as there are no icons to pick up), so even though they aren't that powerful and you can only hold eight at a time, you'll usually have a constant influx to use. There's also a scoring system where you get multiplies based on how close you are to an enemy when you kill them. The Joint Strike of the title refers to a manuever that can only be pulled off in co-op play, which the game supports over Xbox Live, as well as local play.

Though the game was developed in the United States, the soundtrack was composed by Norihiko Hibino, who is mostly known for his work on the Metal Gear Solid series. Though the stirring remix of the 1943 main theme in the first stage is decent, the rest is largely orchestral blandness that exhibits the symptoms of a typical Western game. A more traditional, exciting soundtrack would've been out of place anyway, compared to how dull everything is. The action is already on the slow paced side compared to modern shooters, and the fact a few of the levels run at half the intended 60 FPS frame just makes the whole thing feel aimless and plodding. There are only five levels, but they're long, with little interesting scenery or enemies, making the whole effort something of a waste.

In 2010, Capcom brought the series into mobile territory with 1942: First Strike for the iOS, which is actually a whole new game, despite some similarities with Joint Strike. The game has a similar look and practically identical menus, although it's entirely in 2D. The touch controls aren't nearly as precise as the ones in Cave's mobile games, considering there's quite a bit of lag in movement, but the screen is rarely hopping with enemies, so they function well enough. The pace is slow and plodding though, keeping with the XBLA/PSN release. The playing field is fairly wide, requiring the screen to scroll back and forth, which leads to lots of annoying blind spots.

The major difference here is the inclusion of weapon upgrade elements, similar to the NES version of 1942. As you earn coins, you can upgrade your ship/s speed, attack power, defense, and enhance various weapons. In addition to the heat-seeking missiles available at the outset, you can also buy a shield, as well as the ability to heal yourself. While the shop gives a nice incentive to score well so you grow stronger more quickly, it also necessitates the need for grinding, which is annoying.

There are also two "chapters" - the original one, consisting of eight stages where you fight against the Japanese (who seem to use zeppelins this time around, apparently), and a second one, consisting of five stages where you fight against Nazi Germany. The second campaign is quite a bit more difficult and adds a new boss plane. There's also a stupid trench-run bonus stage that's completely unsituiable for the games' touch screen controls.

It's visually bland and outclassed by many other shooters on the iOS marketplace, but 1942: First Strike is actually fairly feature rich, and given the incredibly cheap price, may be worth a bit of time, even though that's damning it with faint praise.