The fourth entry in Capcom's 194X series moves away from its Pacific-themed predecessors, turns the clock back a few years, and gives the action much more of a European feel. Gone are the long days of dogfighting over the vast Pacific Ocean - now you must settle that score over Paris at night, and battle the boche in their own back yard.
The playfield is now laden with obstacles of all kinds, and the gameplay really benefits from this injection of variety. As well as dodging enemy fire, the player must also cope with ground-based buildings and machinery: negotiate your way down canyons, blast your way through weapon factories, skive between houses... Thankfully you cannot crash against walls, instead you spin around and fire a multi-directional wave of bullets - yet another interesting and essential gameplay innovation, since many gun turrets have been strategically placed behind walls or rocks.
And finally there is the 'charge blast', a powerful weapon enabled by holding the button for a few seconds - who, along with the new loop-the-loop smart bombs, make up a very delicately improved game engine.