Joe & Mac Retro Collection Review – Prehistoric Fun

Long before complicated combat systems became the norm, two cavemen could carry an entire adventure simply by whacking dinosaurs over the head. Joe & Mac Retro Collection is all about revisiting those simpler times with three colourful SNES platformers from Data East. Read on if you’re in the mood for some prehistoric silliness, along with a few much-appreciated modern conveniences.

Three Games, Plenty of Dinosaurs

The collection begins with Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninja, originally released in 1991. Our two cavemen are having the time of their lives when a rival tribe kidnaps the women from their village. The only reasonable solution is to grab whatever weapons they can find and beat up everything standing between them and their beloved ladies. ‘Cause of course it is.

We move through side-scrolling stages, jumping over obstacles and attacking enemies with prehistoric weapons. Food restores health, while weapon pickups give us different ways to deal with the local wildlife, which apparently consists almost entirely of creatures interested in eating us. Each stage leads to a boss encounter, usually involving a particularly large and rather unfriendly dinosaur. The SNES version also includes an overworld map connecting the levels.

The second game, Congo’s Caper, takes a slightly different approach. We control Congo, a monkey who has been transformed into a caveman and must rescue his girlfriend from a demon. Unlike Joe and Mac, Congo relies primarily on his club, which, for some reason, we decided to name Linda. Taking damage transforms him back into a monkey, and collecting red gems allows him to regain his human form and become stronger.

Both forms can run and roll, abilities that come in handy when navigating the game’s 35 levels. There’s also more emphasis on exploration, with hidden areas and collectibles. Collecting enough crystals even activates a roulette-style bonus game. It’s a nice change of pace, although Congo has to handle his adventure alone, as this entry doesn’t support cooperative play. Linda doesn’t count.

Finally, Joe & Mac 2: Lost in the Tropics brings our prehistoric heroes back for another adventure, this time involving a stolen magical crown. The familiar platforming returns, but there’s considerably more freedom in how we progress. We can travel around a world map, visit different stages and even ride friendly dinosaurs.

Perhaps the strangest addition is the village, where collected currency can be spent on useful items and improvements to our home. We can also court a woman, get married and eventually have a child. Guess what we named our child. Yes, somewhere between fighting gigantic reptiles and recovering a magical crown, our cavemen have apparently decided it’s time to settle down and start a family. It’s Linda. We named our child Linda.

Comfortable Stone Age

Red Art Studios has included several features that make these older games more approachable. Save states allow us to preserve our progress whenever we like, while the rewind function lets us undo a poorly timed jump or an unfortunate encounter with a dinosaur. Considering how unforgiving some older platformers can be, we found these additions to be a godsend.

There’s also a new Boss Rush mode for each game, challenging us to defeat its bosses as quickly as possible. Both the Western and original Japanese versions are included, alongside optional CRT filters and display settings. The virtual unboxing feature is another nice touch, allowing us to examine original packaging, cartridges and instruction manuals. An artwork gallery and music player complete the extras.

The original games, however, retain some dated design decisions, and the absence of the arcade versions is a little disappointing, although not enough to spoil our enjoyment. The adventures are also fairly short, but the first and third games support local two-player cooperative play, which should make revisiting them with a friend considerably more entertaining.

A Little Piece of Gaming History

Our score: 9/10

• Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
• Developer: Red Art Studios
• Publisher: Red Art Games
• Genre: Action platformer / Retro collection
• Release Date: October 29, 2026
• Modes: Single-player, local co-op (two of the three games)