F-22 is an advanced unlicensed hack of 1943: The Battle of Midway (1943: The Battle of Valhalla in Japan) developed by Inventor and assumed to be originally published by Shanghai Paradise in 1997 (although this version has not been documented). It was later released in 2001 by Inventor, as Navigator by Power Joy Ltd., and again as F-22 by Waixing in 2006. The latter version is the most commonly seen one and is featured on most modern plug'n play systems.
Gameplay[]
(Similarly to 1943) You control a fighter jet as you shoot down enemies and collect powerups. Due to it being an advanced hack, it changes the graphics, powerups, music, and levels. If you collect a powerup, you may get either more firepower, missiles, extra mini jets that shoot along side you, and extra lives. (Unlike 1943) You have lives, but getting hit only makes your jet flash for a moment. There are only a total 16 stages in the game, but most of these stages reuse the same music and bosses from earlier ones.
Versions[]
Original (Unknown)[]
A reconstruction of the splash screen
An original release of this game is assumed to have been made by Shanghai Paradise in 1997, based on graphics for an unused splash screen found in the ROM. However, no cartridge of this version has been found, and it is unknown if its name is F-22 or something else.
The splash screen was only disabled in the Inventor and Navigator versions by removing the tilemap and changing the palette to gray, so when you boot up the game the screen will display as gray for a few seconds. Code also exists in these versions which appears to print graphical text during the introductory cutscenes, however the graphics for this text have been removed.
F-22 (Inventor)[]
The earliest documented release, from 2001, which credits the game to Inventor. This is one of the few games where the Inventor name is known to appear and the only one containing their logo.
[]
A version released by Power Joy Ltd. on the Power Joy Navigator console. This version has a more elaborate background on its title screen as well as a different title logo. The rest of the game is the same as the Inventor version.
F-22 (Waixing)[]
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Another hack of F-22. Even though it shares the same name, it has several differences. Like the title screen being different instead interpreting the F-22 (Player's fighter jet) in space. It also removes the cutscenes, the wavy effect after you defeat a boss and instead of there being 16 stages, there are only 3 stages. This version commonly appears on modern plug-n-play and handheld consoles.
A VT03 version was also produced by Waixing.
F-35[]
A hack of the Waixing version of F-22 by Timemax which only changes the title screen to F-35.
F-85[]
A rare hack of the Waixing version of F-22 that only changes the title to say F-85 instead of F-22. It has only been sighted on the ColaCao Arcade Machine.
Trivia[]
- The game is named after the F-22 Raptor, which is a real life fighter jet. Interestingly, the game was released only 2 months after the fighter jet was unveiled to the public.