View source for Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninja

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A 1991 Platformer Arcade Game by [[Data East]]. Set in [[Prehistoria]], the object of the game is to [[Damsel in Distress|rescue the titular duo's harem of]] [[Nubile Savage|cave girls]] from a band of rival cavemen and their dinosaur pet bosses.

It has seen quite a few home ports, namely the [[Super NES]], [[Sega Genesis]], [[Nintendo Entertainment System]], [[Game Boy]], Amiga, DOS and Zeebo. It was followed by two SNES sequels: ''Congo's Caper'' (1992) and ''Joe & Mac 2: Lost in the Tropics'' (1994). There was also an arcade spin-off in 1994 titled ''Joe & Mac Returns''.

On November 6th 2009, French developer [[Golgoth Studio]] announced that they were working on a [http://golgothstudio.com/devblog/category/joe-mac/ new installment in the series in DLC format]. Lack of updates since then places the new ''Joe & Mac'' squarely in [[Development Hell]] for the time being.

{{tropelist}}
* {{spoiler|[[Abhorrent Admirer]]: If you go down the middle and lower paths after the final boss, the ending will show you being chased by either an overweight middle-aged cavewoman or a male neanderthal in a drag. Though Joe and Mac have the same scared reaction when they're being chased by groupies.}}
* [[And Your Reward Is Interior Decorating]]: In ''Lost in the Tropics''.
* [[Bamboo Technology]]: Mook cavemen riding a foot powered helicopters. They throw bombs at you, for some odd reason.
* [[Bound and Gagged]]: The cavegirls, all tied up in various forms during boss fights. This [[Bowdlerized|was removed from the SNES version]] [[Fetish Fuel|for obvious reasons]].
** The redheads and brunettes are tied to poles.
** The raven-haired ones are under [[Unwilling Suspension]].
** The blondes simply have their hands tied behind their backs.
* [[Wizard Needs Food Badly|Cavemen Need Food Badly]]: Its possible for your caveman to fall over dead from starvation. Or more hilariously, fall over dead from starvation soon after surviving an attack with one HP left.
* [[Charged Attack]]: Only in the arcade version. If you take too long to fire, it will tire your caveman out, and you'll take damage.
* [[Color-Coded Multiplayer]]
** {{color|green|Joe}} (Player 1)
** {{color|blue|Mac}} (Player 2)
* [[Doppelganger Attack]]: Only in the arcade version, it's the duo's only ninja attack.
* [[For the Evulz]]: The first level in ''Joe & Mac 2'' would have ended without a boss fight, if it weren't for some random neanderthal whacking a sleeping stegosaurus on the head [[For the Lulz]].
* [[Head Swap]]: Joe and Mac themselves, plus the redheaded and brunette cavegirls.
* [[Inventing the Wheel]]: One of many weapons in the game.
* [[Kill It with Fire]]: one of the stronger weapons in the game.
* [[Mama Bear]]: The first boss, a tyrannosaurus rex, awakens once you hurt its offspring.
* [[Man-Eating Plant]]: The second boss which bears an [[Lawyer-Friendly Cameo|incredible resemblance]] to [[Little Shop of Horrors|Audrey the second]]. It can [[Tentacle Rope|grab]] and eat you, which is an [[Captain Obvious|instant kill.]]
* [[The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything|The Ninjas Who Don't Do Anything]]: Despite the title Joe and Mac don't have any ninja powers except for the [[Doppleganger Attack]]. In Japan, the subtitle was actually ''Tatakae Genshijin'' ("Fighting Cavemen") and the SNES version is simply titled ''Joe & Mac''.
* [[Palette Swap]]: The cavegirls and some of the enemies.
* [[Powerup Mount]]: Two levels have your cavemen ride on either pterodactyls or brontosauruses.
* [[Sequel Number Snarl]]: ''Tatakae Genshijin 3'' is known as ''Joe & Mac 2'' in the U.S. and ''Joe & Mac 3'' in Europe.
* [[Shout-Out]]: Upon defeating one of the bosses, your player will [[Bad Dudes|pump a fist in the air]].
** Also, there's Cola as a collectible food item, which was common in [[Data East]] games.
* [[Smooch of Victory]]: After every boss fight, the rescued cavegirl will kiss your character on the cheek, restoring his health. If two players are playing, only the one who dealt more damage to the boss gets it (much to the other's chagrin).
* [[Title Confusion]]: ''Joe & Mac 2'' is known as ''Tatakae Genshijin 3'' in Japan and ''Joe & Mac 3'' in Europe. The Japanese title makes sense, since ''Congo's Caper'' was ''Tatakae Genshijin 2'' over there, but the change from ''Joe & Mac 2'' to ''Joe & Mac 3'' is a bit more puzzling (unless they were counting ''Joe & Mac Returns'' as "Joe & Mac 2", which came out almost at the same time).
* [[Womb Level]]: Results in a giant realistic-looking beating heart as a backdrop.

{{reflist}}
[[Category:Platform Game]]
[[Category:Arcade Game]]
[[Category:Game Boy]]
[[Category:Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninja]]