1941: Counter Attack

The goal is to shoot down enemy airplanes and collect weapon power-ups (POW).^[2] The game uses a vitality system instead of life system in which if the player is hit, it loses one point of vitality and the player is destroyed if hit with 0 vitality then the player is given the option to continue. Lightning attacks can be used by pressing the B button which sacrifices a portion of life energy. Three loops can be performed per level and a bonus is awarded at the end of the level for unused loops. Player 1 uses a P-38 Lightning and Player 2 uses a new plane: DH.98 Mosquito. The game shifts from the original Pacific Front setting with that of the Western Front, in the north Atlantic Ocean.

It is the first shoot 'em up to add +1 to the score when a continue is used.^[2]

1941: Counter Attack was first released in arcades by Capcom and Electrocoin in 1990, running on the CP System board.^[3][4] In February 2021, it was re-released in pack 2 of the Capcom Arcade Stadium compilation for Nintendo Switch.^[5][6][7]

In Japan, Game Machine listed 1941: Counter Attack in its March 15, 1990 issue as the third most popular arcade game of the month.^[18] The game garnered positive reception from reviewers and awards from Gamest magazine.^[17][19] However, the original arcade version had mixed reception from western publications.^[3][20] In contrast, the SuperGrafx conversion had very positive reception from Japanese critics.^[11][14] Readers of PC Engine Fan voted to give the SuperGrafx version a 19.44 out of 30 score, ranking at the number 368 spot in a poll.^[21]