1942: Joint Strike

Like all games in the series, Joint Strike is a classic vertical scrolling shooter and allows 2 player co-operative multiplayer. The multiplayer can be played locally or online. During multiplayer gameplay, the game's standard homing missile attacks are replaced with Joint strike attacks. Each player must select one of three Joint Strike attacks at the beginning of the game. One ability co-op players can use jointly is a lightning field net.

Despite the name, 1942: Joint Strike is more of an amalgamation of best elements of the 194x series than it is remake of Capcom's classic 1942. For example, 1943: The Battle of Midway introduced a health meter and bombs that clear the screen of enemies and their fire whereas the original 1942 had one-hit kills and simple rolls that would dodge enemies and their fire. 1941: Counter Attack introduced charge-fire, land-based battle sections, and rank increases, none of which 1942 nor 1943 has. 19XX:The War Against Destiny introduced multiple plane selection, end-stage bonuses for bombs left, and grades for the time it took the player to defeat the stage boss. The music heard on the title screen and during the first stage in Joint Strike is a remix of the background music for the first few stages of 1943.