It’s funny, really. I didn’t actually discover Joe and Mac until the home translation of their arcade game, Caveman Ninja, came to the SNES. I found that sort of odd because I’ve been to my fair share of arcades as a younger kid, so you think I would’ve found it there first. But I digress. This side-scrolling caveman romp is still a lot of fun after all these years, and ideal for two player sessions.
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But if you don’t have a SNES, fret not. The original Caveman Ninja has made its way to Nintendo Switch thanks to Flying Tiger Entertainment and the Johnny Turbo’s Arcade line, which previously introduced Bad Dudes to the platform, alongside other games. And just like that game, Caveman is a timeless classic, even if it is a little bit on the short side.
The adventure begins with rogue cavemen making off with your girlfriends (a trope for a game such as this), forcing Joe and Mac to leap into action as they take on human, dinosaur and other foes in the hopes of saving the day. You’ll take on everything from rogue T-Rex creatures to giant plants to weird caveman contraptions that have you wondering, “Wait, they built this before discovering fire?”
Along the way, you’ll pick up weapons that will help you along. You start out with hammers that you can throw, but you’ll eventually pick up better ones during your journey. Your best bet is the boomerang, which has both speed and precision going for it. Just be careful. If you die, you lose it and have to start with the hammer again.
Unga Bunga, This Is Fun-ga
The game is rather short, as you can go through what it has in about a 30 minute time frame. That does leave Caveman Ninja short when it comes to replay value, as there are no DIP switches to play around with or extra games to play. (That leaves me wondering just why there isn’t a Joe and Mac compilation, rather than just an arcade port.)
That said, Caveman Ninja is still no-frills fun. This is especially true if you can bring a second player along with you, as the game fully supports local couch co-op. (Sorry, no online.) It’s a romp running through this thing with a friend, especially as you tactfully figure out the boss battles and try to dominate with just a handful of lives.
The arcade transition has been handled well by the Johnny Turbo folks, too. The graphics look good on both the big-screen and portable, though I think I prefer Joe and Mac‘s home smoothness just a bit more. The music is good fun to listen to as well; and the sound effects (even that high-pitched “OW!” the heroes say upon getting hit) are nostalgic.
How much mileage you get out of Caveman Ninja really depends on how much you like either Joe and Mac or old-school classics in general. It does come up a bit short on replay value, but it does come from the old-school arcade era, so that’s not a real surprise. And what it lacks in frills, it makes up in caveman-bashing goodness. There’s definitely an audience for that; so if Joe and Mac is your bag, this romp is worth dragging into your game library.
WWG’s Score: 3.5/5
Disclaimer: A review code was provided by the publisher.
