Joe And Mac Retro Collection Review – No Reinventing Of The Wheel

Red Art Games have refused to reinvent the wheel – they were at the keynote. That is, if prehistoric times had such eloquent speakers. Yep, we’re going way back, this time for some caveman arcade tomfoolery in Joe & Mac Retro Collection.

This collection pulls on the heartstrings, as I remember this when people used to get their gaming fix from paper, and it featured in gaming mags like Mean Machine and CVG. I  wanted to play it, but these games were NTSC and TVs back then in Blighty couldn’t do it, plus import prices were astronomical.

Originally from Data East (who had some great titles in the arcades – Commando, Robocop and Vigilante), our local arcade never had Joe & Mac, but I played it on the Amiga, and I was more into Chuck Rock. Still, I’m pleased to say that Joe & Mac Collection has now come to the Switch 2.

It’s an arcade side-scroller where you bash dinosaurs on the noggin in a view to get some smooches from the local cavegirls, with boss battles featuring rather large dinos, and a few others.

Menu options such as screen ratios, overlays and CRT are on offer, though unlike QUByte Interactive’s foray into retro games, there are no cheat options, which were synonymous with home systems back then. However, it’s so much easier than I remember.

Smash, Bash and Repeat

There are no difficulty modes in Joe & Mac Retro Collection. While there are boss rush modes, they aren’t stupidly hard, so if you want something you might actually complete without stressing, then you might have found it.

In fact, the original Joe & Mac Caveman Ninja is so easy, I felt like I was cheating somehow. Then I played the second game, Congo’s Caper – a title I was completely unfamiliar with, that I may as well have undone the previous paragraph.

Starting with the Boss Rush mode was unwise, and though it’s not the hardest game known to (cave)man, it’s a lot faster than its predecessor, and as a result, it’s best to get used to the main game, which is a Mario-like experience with Yosemite Sam cavemen.

Instead of a plumber, our hero is a half-monkey boy on a mission to save his bird (girlfriend). It’s like an adolescent Toki. It’s serviceable, but nothing that hasn’t been seen before, and unless you played it before, it’s not got the charm of Joe & Mac Caveman Ninja, despite being more polished.

The Good, The Bad, and The Bezels

Our third title is a return for the prehistoric duo, Joe & Mac 3: Lost in the Tropics. The level design is more involved, with platform puzzles and interacting more with the environments both horizontally and vertically. It’s more complete, but I prefer Joe & Mac Caveman Ninja out of the bunch.

This is more to do with the nostalgia and recalling those scanline screenshots in the magazines. “Oh my god, it’s arcade perfect!” – a sentence a lot of us were spouting and rarely got to see, even with the suffix ‘The Arcade Game’. They never were like the arcade.

Joe & Mac Caveman Ninja feels like a proper arcade cabinet affair. I even ended up switching the ratios to be more like the originals. Granted, it does look a bit silly on the Switch 2’s real estate, but Red Art Games have done a good job with the bezels.

Retro games are back in favour at the moment, and it’s nice that some publishers are bringing back old-school games without, ahem, reinventing the wheel. The UI is decent; there are 2-player modes, overlays and ratios, and a rewind feature too. It all works well, but remember, these are arcade games and aren’t meant for longevity.

A Nostalgic Bonus

Once you’re done playing, there are some box art collections, artwork and a jukebox to play from all three games. Again, if you’re a fan, you’ll be in your element and even if not, the sketches in the gallery are well worth a look.

Will you keep coming back to Joe & Mac Collection and sit at home perfecting your scores? Maybe, but also unlikely. Nevertheless, it’s a good one for your collection – more so if you like the original. As for me, that’s the draw, and the others are a juicy bonus.