Caveman Ninja / Joe & Mac
Joe & Mac (also known as Caveman Ninja) is a 1991 run-and-gun platformer originally released in arcades by Data East, later ported to SNES. Players control cavemen Joe (green hair) and Mac (blue hair) battling through prehistoric levels.
Availability: Nintendo Switch Online — Super Nintendo Entertainment System app (Nintendo Classics)
This guide documents the game's main progression and structure; some specific details are still being verified and are noted where relevant.
Controls
Joe and Mac's default melee weapon is a club. Ranged weapons available during play include the bone, boomerang, fireball, and stone wheel — picked up as pickups rather than a fixed loadout. Since only one ranged weapon type is typically held at a time in this genre of Data East platformer, players likely swap active ranged weapon by picking up a new type, though the exact swap/stacking rule for the SNES port specifically was not confirmed independently.
Weapons / Pickups
Weapon types confirmed across sources: club (melee default), bone, boomerang, fire/fireball, flint, electricity, stone wheel.
Progression / Stage Structure
The SNES version replaces the arcade's split-route stage order with a world map from which the player selects levels. The SNES version also features longer individual levels, plus bonus stages, compared to the arcade original. Some level names identified: Volcano Grasslands, Tyrant Forest, Stinger Treetops, Log Ride, and Waterfall (exact assignment of these to a specific version/port was not independently cross-checked).
Bosses
Confirmed boss-type encounters include a Tyrannosaurus (first level, arcade), a "Legendary Giant Tyrant Triffid" (giant carnivorous plant boss, one FAQ noting 5 life bars), a Giant Pteranodon, and a pod of angry Ichthyosaurs. The SNES version has a different final boss than the arcade version, and only two possible endings versus the arcade's three.
Gameplay Mechanics
Health depletes over time during normal play but not during boss battles. The arcade version lets players pick between different routes after boss fights; the SNES version removes this route-selection feature in favor of the world map. Two-player mode is available.
Still confirming
- Complete, verified list of all SNES stage names in order.
- Full boss roster and which bosses appear specifically in the SNES port versus arcade-only.
- Exact number of total stages in the SNES version.