Joe & Mac Returns (Arcade) Playthrough
170A playthrough of Data East's 1994 arcade game, Joe & Mac Returns.
Played on the machine's default settings.
Joe & Mac Returns, the fourth and final game to star Data East's lovably simple-minded "cavemen ninja," was an arcade exclusive title that wasn't afraid to take a few risks. Rather than create yet another bog standard hop-and-bop platformer, Data East chose to break with series' tradition and shifted to a different genre altogether.
The gameplay will instantly feel familiar to anyone who has played Tumblepop, Parasol Stars, or Snow Bros. It's a single-screen action game in which the goal is to clear the screen of enemies while grabbing as many items and points as possible. You club your enemies to stun them, and once you have them seeing stars, you can stuff them in a sack which can be rolled into other enemies to knock them down like bowling pins. The action is simple but fast-paced, and it's every bit as addictive as the old-school classics it's derived from.
But what really makes this one so memorable, and what sells it as a true Joe & Mac game, is its presentation. Every inch of the screen is packed with color and detail, the sprite work is fantastic, and the character animations are brimming with little flourishes that breathe a ton of humor and personality into the game. The Karnov and Mizoguchi cameos were nice surprises, and I especially loved the hilarious interstitial cutscenes with the bathing ladies. (You certainly wouldn't see that type of humor in a game nowadays!)
The sound is great, too. The sample-based music goes heavy on rhythmic caveman chants and tribal drum beats, and while most of it isn't super memorable, it is a lot of fun to listen to as you play. The same goes for the voice work - the goofy Tarzan yells and one-liners (like the super derpy, "I got a power up!") are pretty funny the first hundred-or-so times you hear them.
I wonder if Charles Martinet was a fan of this game back in the day. That "let's a go!" that kicks off each stage sounds awfully familiar, don't you think?
Joe & Mac Returns is as good as a send-off as a series could ask for. It manages to recapture the magic of the first game that was missing from Congo's Caper and Lost in the Tropics, and it's a helluva lot of fun. If you liked any of the earlier games, this one is worth going out of your way to play.
If you're interested, it can be bought from GOG, Steam, and the Switch eShop. I think it's well worth the asking price.
I miss you, Data East!
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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