Joe & Mac AKA Joe & Mac: Caveman Combat AKA Caveman Ninja, is a platform game released for the arcades by Data East. Which was later adapted for the MegaDrive/Genesis, Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Amiga,PC and obviously as I am talking about it now the Super NES.
This arcade game might have been ported to a whole bunch of systems but it was done by a wide variety of developers Eden Entertainment handled the Sega Megadrive/Genesis version, Elite Systems developed the NES version, Motivetime developed the GameBoy version and the Super NES version was developed and published in 1991 by Data East. The MegaDrive/Genesis version is considered to be the closest match to the arcade version with the Super NES version being a sort of reworking, its similar in style but its more of a special different version than a direct port of the arcade game.
The prehistoric period is a great time to set a game in particularly a platforming game like this. You need an impressive boss well just pick up any old dinosaur book and turn one of the larger creatures in it into a big impressive cartoon version of its self and bang there you go, the same can obviously apply to the little ones. Yeah technically dinosaurs and cavemen didn't exist at the same time but what the heck its only a game right no need to be too worried about accuracy. Joe & Mac does a great job of doing just this it is absolutely full of gigantic bosses that look very impressive for a relatively early SNES title. The game has a very cool cartoon aesthetic the main guys Joe and Mac are just so full of character. The backgrounds are also nice and bright and really pop, I don't have any issues with I guess you could say that I am a really big fan of this games characters and graphics. I am a huge fan of Little Shop of Horrors so when I found a boss that looked like Audrey 2 I was over the moon.
I feel that the music really fits the game it has a sort of happy tropical vibe to it to start with and then it starts to show beats of whimsy and then layers on a bit of intensity when theres a boss. Overall I really like it and I feel it fits both the graphics and the style of game in general. The sound effects are quiet simple and very much what you would expect. The dinosaurs roar, boomerangs swish through the air or a bone, you'll hear it swishing through the air and Joe and Mack make ouch noises when hit, its all exactly what you would expect but also rather charming.
To start with your jumping about and swinging your club but there are four weapons you can grab and use these are Bones, Boomerangs, Flames, and Rolling Stones. This is how they work The bones are weak but you can shoot three of them at once. The boomerangs are pretty much the same but with a much better range on them. Flames are only shot out one at a time but they are very powerful. The last weapon the Rolling Stones is probably the best weapon, its pretty much as powerful as the flames but you can shoot two at once, and they can travel up walls. As well as attacking with the club and the other weapons you can also jump on most enemies heads and sometimes you can use this to reach things that you couldn't otherwise get.
Ok so if this game has any downfall it is the fact that the levels are in general very short and very easy, in honesty it's a very short and easy game. You will finish it and you will finish it quickly sure you have limited continues and no battery back up or password system but there really not needed. In honesty though if your anything like me then you wont care if you finish it you'll just be glad you played it because you will have found it to be really fun, its something that you can sling on in the future just because its enjoyable. I would give it 8 out of 10, it would gain a higher score if it was longer or had extras like a boss rush mode but as it stands its a fun little game.
So how much will a copy of this game cost you if you wanted it? Well loose carts of Joe and Mack no matter which region you pick tend to go for about £14 minimum, with boxed copies going much higher so its not like you can grab an import to save cash. It is intresting to note that recently a Joe and Mac Ultimate Caveman Collection SNES Cartridge was released by retro-bit and its currently around £23 on Amazon and contains all 3 Joe and Mac SNES games. As for my copy well I got a deal on a bunch of Japanese Nintendo cartridges about 5 or 6 of them for £35 and this happened to be one of the games so I cant give an individual price I paid for this.
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