NES Works #095: 1943: The Battle of Midway & Bump'N Jump

Video Works by Jeremy Parish

Remember 1942? That really bad top-down shooter? Capcom would prefer you didn't. And, to wash that bad memory from our collective mind, we have its sequel, 1943: The Battle of Midway, simultaneously a sequel and a heartfelt apology for that previous misstep. Although this arcade adaptation fails to carry over the multiplayer element from the original 1943 coin-op, it makes up for that shortcoming by introducing a permanent skill-upgrade system. One of the better vertical shooters for NES!

Meanwhile, Vic Tokai inexplicably publishes Data East's upgraded NES conversion of Bump'N Jump... well, kind of. In Japan, the home port of Bump'N Jump shipped as "Buggy Popper," which suggests it was meant to be a separate game entirely from the arcade game (alias "Burning Rubber"). Anyway, it's super dated. But still kinda fun?

Production note: NES footage captured from @Analogue Nt Mini. Arcade footage captured from MiSTer FPGA. Special thanks to @New Wave Toys and @MiSTer Addons . Video upscaled to 720 with XRGB Mini Framemeister.

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