1942 is set in the Pacific theater of World War II. The goal is to reach Tokyo and destroy the entire Japanese air fleet. The player pilots a plane dubbed the 'Super Ace' (but its appearance is clearly that of a Lockheed P-38 Lightning). The player has to shoot down enemy planes; to avoid enemy fire, the player can perform a roll or 'loop-the-loop'. During the game the player may collect a series of power-ups, one of them allowing the plane to be escorted by two other smaller fighters in a Tip Tow formation. There were few enemies: Kawasaki Ki-61s, Mitsubishi A6M Zeros and Kawasaki Ki-48s. The boss plane is a Nakajima G8N.