ULTIMATE GIIDE JOE & MAC CAVEMAN NINJA

IT HAS FINALLY HAPPENED THOSE CAVEMEN NINJAS JOE & MAC ARE BACK IN A NEW RELEASE FOR MODERN SYSTEMS. WHICH IS ALL THE IMPETUS RETRO GAMER NEEDS TO TURN BACK THE CLOCK AND REVISIT THEIR ORIGINAL JURASSIC LARK

- MARTYN CARROLL

Caveman games should really have their own subgenre.

When Ubisoft released the prehistoric spin-off Far Cry Primal in 2016, a number of online listicles popped up to remind us of some earlier examples. From Ugh! and Frak! to BC Bill and Bonk's Adventure, to the likes of Chuck Rock and Prehistorik, there are a surprising number of them. And front and centre on most of these lists was Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninja, Data East's highly entertaining prehistoric-themed platformer.

You might also know it simply as Joe & Mac, or by its original Japanese moniker Tatakae Genshijin: Joe & Mac. Regardless of the title, the game sees our two heroes embarking on a quest to rescue their beloved cavegirls who've been kidnapped by a rival tribe. Along the way they not only face ne'er-do-well Neanderthals and various environmental hazards (fire, water, the usual stuff), but also a bunch of oversized bosses ready to stomp them into the next historical era.

Taking cues from the shoot-'em-up genre, the boss battles are very much the focus of Data East's charming game and it often feels that the actual stages are simply there to string these impressive encounters together. The result is a fairly short game that can be completed in less than 20 minutes. To attract repeat plays, at several points you get to choose between A and B paths which provide alternative routes to the next boss battle. Although it's not stated, the B paths are slightly longer and also a little more challenging (in what's already a fairly tough game).