Strikers 1945

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S1945 Logo.png
Strikers 1945
S1945 Title.png

Title screen

Developer: Psikyo
Music: Masaki Izutani
Program: Person B
Art: Person C
Release date: 1995
Next game: Strikers 1945 II


Strikers 1945

Strikers 1945 is a 1995 manic shooter developed by Psikyo. It is the first in the Strikers series of shooting games, followed by Strikers 1945 II (+ Strikers 1945 Plus) and Strikers 1999 (Strikers 1945 III).
It follows a post-World War II plot where a mysterious organization known as C.A.N.Y. tries to take over the world with new super-weapons, and the "Strikers" team blast off to destroy the new threat.

Strikers 1945 was ported to the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Android platforms, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The game is also included in the (currently upcoming) 2022 Sega Astro City Mini V platform.

Gameplay Overview

The ship select screen in Strikers 1945.

Strikers 1945 contains eight stages of play, with the first four stages played in a random order. There is a second loop that can be played simply by completing the first eight stages, for a total of 16 stages. The actual stages in Strikers 1945 are often quite brief, with some being shorter than 60 seconds, with the bosses often taking up more time than the stages themselves. A single loop takes about 15 to 20 minutes on average.

Six ships are available to select, each one with its own shot type, option type, special weapon, and bomb attack.

Controls


Button Function
A (Tap)
Shot
Fire the player's Shot weapon.
A (Hold)
Super-Shot
Charge up the Super Shot. Release to fire.
Can only be performed when the player has options with them.
B
Bomb
Releases a screen-clearing Bomb.
Bomb functionality varies between ships.

Ships


Note: Ship stats are rough guesstimates until more concrete data is found. Research needed.

P-38 Lightning Shot Power Super-Shot Bomb Movement
S1945 Ship P38.png High Fastest Charge Explosive [ Data ]

Main Shot: Fires a straight shot with a low shot limit. Options fire homing missiles.

Super-Shot: Options stay in place and fire concentrated straight shots.

Bomb: Performs an invincible somersault and drops a screen-covering explosive. Ship cannot move while bombing.


P-51 Mustang Shot Power Super-Shot Bomb Movement
S1945 Ship P51.png High Slowest Charge Explosive [ Data ]

Main Shot: Fires a wide shot with a low shot limit. Options fire straight-shot missiles that deal high damage.

Super-Shot: Options deploy around the ship and spin in a circle, then slowly move upwards. The options destroy enemy fire and deal constant collision damage.

Bomb: A squad of heavy aircraft flies in and performs a bombing run.


Spitfire Mk.VII Shot Power Super-Shot Bomb Movement
S1945 Ship Spitfire.png Average Fast Charge Action [ Data ]

Main Shot: Fires a wide shot with a low shot limit. Options trail ship movement, firing drill missiles that slow down and deal constant damage to targets.

Super-Shot: Options deploy in front of the ship and fire concentrated splits shots at a slight angle.

Bomb: Releases a massive, narrow flame beam. The beam destroys enemy fire. Ship movement is slowed while beam is present.


Messerschmitt Bf-109 Shot Power Super-Shot Bomb Movement
S1945 Ship Bf109.png Average Fast Charge Explosive [ Data ]

Main Shot: Fires a straight shot with a high shot limit. Options lock on automatically and target enemies.

Super-Shot: Options group up and fire a concentrated volley of shots while crawling up the screen.

Bomb: Performs an invincible somersault as support aircraft performs a bombing run. Ship cannot move while bombing.


Zero Fighter Shot Power Super-Shot Bomb Movement
S1945 Ship Zero.png High Very Fast Charge Explosive [ Data ]

Main Shot: Fires a wide shot with a low shot limit. Options fires bombs/mines that explode on contact with enemies, or shortly after being fired.

Super-Shot: Options lock on to nearby enemies and fire concentrated shots up close.

Bomb: Summons a massive lightning storm that instantly destroys enemy fire and deals constant damage.


J7W SHINDEN Shot Power Super-Shot Bomb Movement
S1945 Ship Shinden.png High Slow Charge Action [ Data ]

Main Shot: Fires a narrow shot with a high shot limit. Options fires straight-shot missiles that deal high damage. Options stay directly behind ship.

Super-Shot: Options line up in the front of the ship and then crawl upwards, shooting concentrated shots to the sides.

Bomb: Performs an invincible somersault and fires a fast blast of energy shaped like the ship. High damage, but narrow and short. Cannot move while bombing.

Items


Gold Bar: Primary score item. Dropped by grounded enemies and objects. Worth 200, 500, 1000 or 2000pts.
P Icon: Power-up item. Dropped by red planes. Collecting one increases the power of the ship's main weapon by 1, and adds one option. A maximum of 4 can be acquired at once, with excess P icons worth 4000pts.
B Icon: Bomb item. Adds a bomb to the stock. Six bombs can be held at once, with every following bomb pickup being worth 1000pts.

Rank


Rank increases or decreases based on the ship's current power level. It mostly influences the speed of bullets fired by enemies. Rank is adjusted immediately upon the power level of the player ship changing.
Additionally, the first four stages have different difficulty depending on the order of stages, with the "hard" version of each stage being 1-3 and 1-4.

Rank is lowered by death (causing your player ship to drop back down to level 1), or by colliding with an airborne enemy, which lowers the player's current power level by 1.

Loops


Strikers 1945 features a second loop with denser and faster bullet patterns. Additionally, enemies that are destroyed will release clusters of revenge bullets.
There are no conditions to enter the second loop, and like the first loop, the second loop's first four stages are in a random order. Unlike the first loop, the game's rank is already at max, so the four stages do not vary in difficulty.

Scoring


The main scoring trick in Strikers games involves collecting gold bars that are left behind by some ground enemies and destructible objects. Gold is worth 200, 500, 1000 or 2000pts depending on what frame of animation it is on. One gold bar animation lasts for 7 frames each.

For ideal score play, the player wants to collect the gold bars on the frame that they flash white.

Strategy

See Strikers 1945/Strategy for stage maps, enemy and boss descriptions, walkthroughs, and advanced play strategies.


TBD


Story

At the end of World War II, world peace seemingly returned to mankind, until an organization known as C.A.N.Y. rose to take over the world with a new breed of superweapons of mass destruction. A team of ace pilots known as the "STRIKERS" were formed in order to destroy this new foe and stop their plan for world conquest.

Ending

Later on, it is revealed that the organization was created by aliens who specialize in brainwashing human brains, intending to invade planet Earth. The leader of the organization, also called CANY, is destroyed by the Strikers, alongside the alien base.


Development History

TBD


Version Differences

World Ver.

  • The easter egg revealing the identities of the Strikers pilots does not occur.
  • The Japanese text on the high score table does not appear.

Trivia

TBD


Gallery

See (Template Page)/Gallery for our collection of images and scans for the game.


Video References

Video Index

References & Contributors

  1. Page text, info, and formatting by CHA-STG
  2. Special thanks to STG Rev. 2020 Discord for fact-checking.