Strikers 1945
In 1945, the second world war ended. Soon, there was peace, but an organization of high-ranking military officers from all over the world form a global army known as CANY. Their mission was to conquer the world. CANY activity was found in areas like the Soviet Union, America, Japan, and even Germany. It is revealed that CANY had weapons never seen before from rockets to mechanical walkers. The world quickly formed a group of pilots and planes called the Strikers whose mission is to rid of CANY from the world.
SCREENSHOTS
PHYSICAL
HISTORY
Strikers 1945 (ストライカーズ1945), also known as Striker 1945, is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up bullet hell arcade game developed and published by Psikyo in 1995. In Japan, it was ported to the PlayStation and Sega Saturn by Atlus in 1996; later was also released as part of Psikyo Shooting Collection Vol. 1: Strikers 1945 I & II by Taito for the PlayStation 2 (in Europe by Play It under the name 1945 I & II: The Arcade Games). The game was followed by Strikers 1945 II in 1997 (released in North America as just "Strikers 1945"), and Strikers 1945 III in 1999, as well as the second title remake called Strikers 1945 Plus.
In 2022, the original arcade version was included as part of the Sega Astro City Mini V, a vertically-oriented variant of the Sega Astro City mini console.
Gameplay
Each plane in Strikers 1945 has three attacks: a normal shot, a charged shot, and a bomb that clears the screen of minor enemies and bullets. Both normal and charged shot can be strengthened by grabbing power-ups and extra bombs can be collected. Gold bars, which are found by destroying certain buildings or enemies, can be collected for bonus points. After the defeat of the final boss, the player's time, number of gold bars, and number of enemies killed are added up for each level and, if high enough, marked with a silver or gold medal. In the Japanese arcade version, a hidden post-credits bonus can be unlocked if the player beat the entire game without losing a life, showing the six pilots (five females and one male) posing undressed.
Plot
It is the Summer of 1945 and World War II has ended. The world once again returned to its state of peace. However, a mysterious organization called C.A.N.Y. emerged to conquer the world using super weapons never seen before. It is composed of high-ranking international military officials. Six best fighters, who together form a team called Strikers, have been chosen secretly by United Military Headquarters for a mission against this threat. Near the end of the game it is revealed to the player that C.A.N.Y are actually a race of aliens that set out to take over the world. The last stages have the selected plane travel to the Moon to destroy C.A.N.Y's secret base and the true leader, Mecha C.A.N.Y.
Reception
In Japan, Game Machine listed Strikers 1945 on their July 15, 1995 issue as being the fourth most-successful arcade game of the month. Consoles + reviewer rated the imported Saturn version at 92%.
1CC RUNS
One-credit clears we point to as the benchmark for this game.
Show all 55 runs
GAMEPLAY VIDEO
STORES best right now: Nintendo eShop −70%
Prices are cached from each storefront and may be out of date. Last checked 24 Sept 2026. We checked Steam and found no way to buy it there right now.
PRICE HISTORY
Every price change we know of, per shop. Flat means the price held; PC shops reach back through IsThereAnyDeal's archive, console shops start when this site started watching.
Nintendo eShop low: $2.39 (10 Sep 2026) , Fanatical low: $5.79 (30 Apr 2026) , Humble Store low: $3.49 (29 May 2023) , PlayStation Store low: $2.99 (10 Sep 2026) , Steam low: $1.99 (17 Apr 2025) , Xbox low: $2.99 (17 Sep 2026)
REVIEWS
Published elsewhere, collected here. Every score is the outlet's own, on the outlet's own scale. Follow the link for the full review.
“Strikers 1945 II is a lot like the first (already great) game, but improves on it thanks to its frantic gameplay and new approach to charged attacks. Two-player is a lot of fun whether played on the big screen or undocked in TATE mode with detached Joy-Con and trying to improve on your high score adds plenty of replayability. The game could benefit from an online high score board, but Strikers 1945 II is a joy to play through each time and is one of the best shmups available from the growing range on Switch.”
“Strikers 1945 is a fun shoot 'em up that Nintendo Switch owners are going to enjoy. There are several graphical options to add filters to the look of the game, not to mention that you can switch the game's display to be vertical, take your Joy-Con out and place the Switch vertically to play the game just like you could back in the day, with your very own small arcade-style display.”
“Although it's not the best example of a classic arcade shooter, Strikers 1945 is an enjoyable game to pick up and play whenever you want a fix of retro shoot 'em up action.”
“STRIKERS1945 delivers a mid-1990s retro experience thanks to its vertical shoot'em up structure. It's a game that does its job well and despite the lack of a strong long term appeal, it allows for a good experience that anyone who enjoys retro-style shoot'em ups will appreciate.”
“Regardless of all this, however, Strikers 1945 is an excellent shoot ’em up, and a great way to kick off the Psikyo Shooting Stars collections on Switch — yet another example of how the platform is an amazing gateway to retro experiences from nearly every distinct era of gaming history at this point.”
Reviews are the work of the outlets named. Titles, scores and quoted excerpts are reproduced for identification and criticism; each links to the original.
SCORES
ACHIEVEMENTS 2 sets
Tracked by RetroAchievements and earned in an emulator that reports to it. A game tracked on more than one machine gets a set for each, because they are different lists earned on different hardware.
