I found something interesting with the Japanese '42 setup: they only have two carriers whereas in the '41 setup they have three. This would mean that the game starts in june '42 and that the Battle of the Coral Sea has already happened, where Japan lost one small carrier and had two large carriers put out of operation. I also like that its not 100% feasible to launch a strike against Hawaii since the Japs have just 1 CA, 1 DD and 1 sub in range and the fighters and the bomber that could be sent there would be vulnerable from a US counterattack either against a CV next to the Hawaii sea zone or an island. The Japs might want to sacrifice aircraft just to get 1 surface ship to survive so as to block a counter-attack, and the attack is much more risky than in AAR. They also have just 1 TRS whereas in the '41 setup they have 5 TRS!
I really like the '42 setup in the Pacific, its so much more balanced, whereas the '41 setup is a question mark for me and it remains to be seen what it leads to. If a KGF strategy in the '41 scenario will enable the Allies to get ashore and stay ashore in France or Italy before Germany seizes Karelia AND Caucasus, USA will not have to bother about Japan since reaching 13 VCs for the Axis won’t be possible! On the other hand, Germany and Italy combined might be able to hold off even a determined KGF strategy until Japan makes its 3 VC conquests. Time will tell!