Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninja (SNES, 1991)
Graphics-7.5 Sound-7 Control-6.5 Challenge-6* Story-5
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-6.5* Fun-6.5* Originality-4
Overall Score-6.5
*1-player
+
2-player co-op
Hub world with locked out paths (similar to SMW; need to find a key in the main levels by being transported to a different area and then grabbing the key)
Large and fairly detailed bosses (sometimes made up of several different sprites - one of these falls apart piece by piece as you fight it (mammoth))
Shows bosses' healthbars
Decent art direction (similar to Wonder Boy or Adventure Island)
Ride a dino (one of the river levels)
Alternate ending if you get all keys?
Fairly expressive sprites
Difficulty options (easy-hard)
Some levels are a bit longer (level 1, mammoth cave, final segment)
Dash move (double tap though so it can be triggered by accident fairly easily)
Easier to avoid the grey dino in the river's appearance move
Faster movement and longer (horizontally) jumps
Weapon inventory
Can replay beaten levels
More interesting skeleton dino boss
Two enemies not seen on MD (mini t-rex and caveman bike)
New final boss which is a bit more interesting (though it's annoying that it has no health bar)
+/-
More different from the arcade version (enemies act like platforms when jumped on, no charge attack, alternate paths are on the hub world instead, different boss patterns, all attacks do the same damage to the player?, move backwards in levels, etc.)
Slow rate of fire overall (3 projectiles on screen at once (just 1 with the fire weapon and 2 with the stone wheel)) but in this version you also do a melee attack while firing
Can't walk while shooting
No time limit
Can't shoot diagonally (see Contra or GH)
Health drops are much less common here (instead food is placed here and there in the levels) but they no longer disappear after a few seconds)
You can now find 1-ups in some eggs and areas with a key
Mostly short levels
Life doesn't refill after bosses (in other versions getting kissed by the girls refills your health)
Respawning on the spot with manual placement (character is turned into a flying angel) plus you get to keep all your weapons
Unlimited continues?
Stone wheel weapon is less common early on
Much easier overall (varied but less threatening bosses, less damage from enemies)
Each playthrough is longer here since this version makes you take most of the alternate paths from the ARC/MD versions in a row (though they're somewhat rearranged)
Ankylosaur's fight is less predictable but also a bit slower (it was already slow before)
Unlimited ammo
No "surprised" animation at the start of boss fights (a good thing, though they could've redesigned it instead so that it doesn't interfere with gameplay)
-
No charge attack (created an interesting dynamic in boss fights)
Cavemen and boulders take more hits do destroy (breaks flow, stone wheel takes out the cavemen in one hit though)
Fewer options (lives, button config - can't change the double tap dash move into a button press or map the high jump to a separate button)
Loose scrolling when moving backwards in a level
Sometimes shorter levels (waterfall)
A bit less intense in terms of enemies on screen
Some control issues (when standing on enemies your character doesn't follow their movements - instead you stand in place while the enemy moves which doesn't make sense, slower/low gravity jumps, melee attack can sometimes disrupt ranged attacks (annoying since they're weaker than the stone wheel), can't move diagonally while being carried in the waterfall level, somewhat unforgiving hit detection around platform edges + red t-rex + fire rings during the final boss fight, can't shoot upwards while performing a high jump (until you're falling), can't shoot downwards, so-so jump height adjustment (two modes: regular and high jump - regular jump can't be adjusted and is already pretty tall), can't move while crouching)
Uneven difficulty (spikes: sword fish boss fight which goes on for twice as long here, dips: second pterodactyl fight, final segment)
Missing some things from the arcade version (the clone weapon, various animations, route selection screen sprites (hub world here)
invincibility power ups (pepper/booze), choppers in the first level, electrocution animation?)
Some backgrounds could've been more varied considering the hardware
Player character sounds like a boy when hit
Trial & error (lightning strikes, spikes hurt from the side (makes for an annoyingly tight jump in the ice cave), boss patterns (pterodactyl's fast attack (was easier to predict on MD), can't move backwards after a certain point in areas with keys, attacks from all sides, adjusting to being carried in some levels, can't destroy eggs while they're being carried)
Super short mammoth cave and dino insides levels
Stone wheel shots take a while to despawn even after exiting the screen (can screw up your timing but also makes some segments too easy since they also travel up any slopes - even those that are 90 degrees steep)
Somewhat unforgiving hit detection overall
Boring mini-games
Less interesting red t-rex boss (also takes forever to kill)
Repeats the t-rex boss one more time (the grey one, not a very fun variation either)
Final boss sprite suddenly disappears when it's killed (unlike earlier bosses)
Minor slowdown in a few spots
No dino rider segment (might have to unlock it)?
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-6.5* Fun-6.5* Originality-4
Overall Score-6.5
*1-player
+
2-player co-op
Hub world with locked out paths (similar to SMW; need to find a key in the main levels by being transported to a different area and then grabbing the key)
Large and fairly detailed bosses (sometimes made up of several different sprites - one of these falls apart piece by piece as you fight it (mammoth))
Shows bosses' healthbars
Decent art direction (similar to Wonder Boy or Adventure Island)
Ride a dino (one of the river levels)
Alternate ending if you get all keys?
Fairly expressive sprites
Difficulty options (easy-hard)
Some levels are a bit longer (level 1, mammoth cave, final segment)
Dash move (double tap though so it can be triggered by accident fairly easily)
Easier to avoid the grey dino in the river's appearance move
Faster movement and longer (horizontally) jumps
Weapon inventory
Can replay beaten levels
More interesting skeleton dino boss
Two enemies not seen on MD (mini t-rex and caveman bike)
New final boss which is a bit more interesting (though it's annoying that it has no health bar)
+/-
More different from the arcade version (enemies act like platforms when jumped on, no charge attack, alternate paths are on the hub world instead, different boss patterns, all attacks do the same damage to the player?, move backwards in levels, etc.)
Slow rate of fire overall (3 projectiles on screen at once (just 1 with the fire weapon and 2 with the stone wheel)) but in this version you also do a melee attack while firing
Can't walk while shooting
No time limit
Can't shoot diagonally (see Contra or GH)
Health drops are much less common here (instead food is placed here and there in the levels) but they no longer disappear after a few seconds)
You can now find 1-ups in some eggs and areas with a key
Mostly short levels
Life doesn't refill after bosses (in other versions getting kissed by the girls refills your health)
Respawning on the spot with manual placement (character is turned into a flying angel) plus you get to keep all your weapons
Unlimited continues?
Stone wheel weapon is less common early on
Much easier overall (varied but less threatening bosses, less damage from enemies)
Each playthrough is longer here since this version makes you take most of the alternate paths from the ARC/MD versions in a row (though they're somewhat rearranged)
Ankylosaur's fight is less predictable but also a bit slower (it was already slow before)
Unlimited ammo
No "surprised" animation at the start of boss fights (a good thing, though they could've redesigned it instead so that it doesn't interfere with gameplay)
-
No charge attack (created an interesting dynamic in boss fights)
Cavemen and boulders take more hits do destroy (breaks flow, stone wheel takes out the cavemen in one hit though)
Fewer options (lives, button config - can't change the double tap dash move into a button press or map the high jump to a separate button)
Loose scrolling when moving backwards in a level
Sometimes shorter levels (waterfall)
A bit less intense in terms of enemies on screen
Some control issues (when standing on enemies your character doesn't follow their movements - instead you stand in place while the enemy moves which doesn't make sense, slower/low gravity jumps, melee attack can sometimes disrupt ranged attacks (annoying since they're weaker than the stone wheel), can't move diagonally while being carried in the waterfall level, somewhat unforgiving hit detection around platform edges + red t-rex + fire rings during the final boss fight, can't shoot upwards while performing a high jump (until you're falling), can't shoot downwards, so-so jump height adjustment (two modes: regular and high jump - regular jump can't be adjusted and is already pretty tall), can't move while crouching)
Uneven difficulty (spikes: sword fish boss fight which goes on for twice as long here, dips: second pterodactyl fight, final segment)
Missing some things from the arcade version (the clone weapon, various animations, route selection screen sprites (hub world here)
invincibility power ups (pepper/booze), choppers in the first level, electrocution animation?)
Some backgrounds could've been more varied considering the hardware
Player character sounds like a boy when hit
Trial & error (lightning strikes, spikes hurt from the side (makes for an annoyingly tight jump in the ice cave), boss patterns (pterodactyl's fast attack (was easier to predict on MD), can't move backwards after a certain point in areas with keys, attacks from all sides, adjusting to being carried in some levels, can't destroy eggs while they're being carried)
Super short mammoth cave and dino insides levels
Stone wheel shots take a while to despawn even after exiting the screen (can screw up your timing but also makes some segments too easy since they also travel up any slopes - even those that are 90 degrees steep)
Somewhat unforgiving hit detection overall
Boring mini-games
Less interesting red t-rex boss (also takes forever to kill)
Repeats the t-rex boss one more time (the grey one, not a very fun variation either)
Final boss sprite suddenly disappears when it's killed (unlike earlier bosses)
Minor slowdown in a few spots
No dino rider segment (might have to unlock it)?