Joe & Mac, also known as Caveman Ninja or Caveman Ninja: Joe & Mac, is a 1991 run and gun platform game developed and published by Data East for arcades. It was later ported to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, MS-DOS, Amiga, Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Sega Genesis and Zeebo.
Gameplay
The game stars the green-haired Joe and the blue-haired Mac, cavemen who battle through numerous prehistoric levels using weapons such as boomerangs, bones, fire, flints, electricity, stone wheels, and clubs. The objective of the game is to rescue a group of women who were kidnapped by a rival tribe of cavemen. The game features a health system by which the player loses health over a period of time, apart from during boss battles. A two-player mode is available, and in some versions both characters are capable of damaging each other. The original arcade version and Amiga, Genesis, MS-DOS and Zeebo ports have the distinction of allowing the player to select between different routes at the end of boss battles. Also, after defeating the final boss, the players can choose between three exits – each one leading to a slightly different ending sequence.
Ports The game has been ported to various systems, some of which drop the name Caveman Ninja and refer to the game simply as Joe & Mac. A Super NES version was developed and published by Data East, and was released in Japan on December 6, 1991, followed by North America in January 1992. A version for the NES, developed by Elite Systems and published by Data East, was released in North America in December 1992. A Game Boy version, developed by Motivetime and also published by Data East, was released in North America and the United Kingdom in April 1993. A Sega Genesis version, developed by Eden Entertainment Software and published by Takara, was released in North America in January 1994; this version was published by Tectoy for the Brazilian Mega Drive in early 1994. The Genesis version is considered a close match to the arcade version. The Super NES version is a reworked game which features an overworld map used to choose the levels (unlike in other versions where all of them have to be played), which were longer, plus some bonus stages (either in the levels or out in the world map). Some of the weapons are missing and can no longer be charged up. The final boss is also different, and there are only two endings. The NES and Game Boy versions lack the option of choosing levels or endings. Both feature variants of the arcade boss. The Japanese version of the game includes a beginning scene in which cavemen enter a hut and emerge while dragging cavewomen by their hair. The scene was removed from the US release, with Data East stating: "We didn't want kids to see [the Japanese display] and think it was okay". A compilation of the game and its successors called Joe & Mac Retro Collection was announced on June 7, 2025, to be released for modern consoles in 2026.
Reception
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