I am in awe of this caveman. Just an absolute unit.
Joe & Mac is an action platformer from Data East, the same folks who made Bad Dudes. It is about a pair of cavemen and not, to my dismay, about Joseph and Lucy Mack Smith, the parents of Mormonism founder Joseph Smith.
In some iterations, this game is also known as Caveman Ninja, though there’s basically nothing ninja-like about its title characters, so I’m not sure what what that’s about. Just look at how stealthy Joe (or possibly Mac, who’s to say) is here:
So what is the game, really? Well, for starters, it’s easily one of the best-looking games I’ve played on the NES – it’s really well-animated and surprisingly colorful. The game also features huge, awesome sprites for many of its bosses, somewhat of a rarity in 8-bit games:
If you get too close to that plant, it straight up eats you, and it rules. It’s surprisingly hard to avoid, as it lobs a seemingly endless wave of projectiles and other enemies at you and you’re occasionally just knocked into it. Still, really cool. It’s also important to note that large dinosaurs blow up upon being killed, just like in real life.
I wouldn’t say Joe & Mac plays as well as it looks, however – while you can get weapon upgrades here and there, the gameplay doesn’t vary a whole lot. You run around, throw axes or wheels or whatever, and then fight a boss. While that’s certainly enjoyable, there isn’t much else to it.
The platforming also sometimes leaves a little to be desired – in addition to your regular jump, you also have an obnoxiously high jump that’s done by holding up while jumping. It can be pretty easy to accidentally do this and leave yourself vulnerable, and even when it’s done deliberately it can be a little hard to control. I also really hated having to make one of these huge jumps onto a small platform with an enemy on it, which then immediately knocked me back down to where I started, or even to my death in some cases.
Like many games from this era, Joe & Mac began as an arcade release, and received numerous ports – the Genesis version is very similar to the original, while the SNES version tweaks a bunch of things and is practically its own game. The NES version is simplified for 8-bit hardware, but maintains much of the charm of the original.
Despite being a bit repetitive and occasionally frustrated, I’m definitely a fan of this one. It’s fun, a little bit silly, and looks great for an NES game. It’s a bit uncommon as far as NES games go and runs about $15-20, but is a solid addition to any platforming fan’s collection.
Next week is a somewhat infamous NES game that shows up on a lot of “worst ever” lists, but it has its share of fans, too. Are those people dumb? Probably. Find out for sure next week!