Joe & Mac
Original North American Release Date: January 7th, 1992
Publisher: Data East
Developer: Data East
Before titles like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time and Sunset Riders demonstrated how SNES ports could actually be more superior compared to their arcade counterparts, Joe & Mac attempted to set the early standard. Joe & Mac, originally known in arcades as Caveman Ninja, is a two-player action-platformer that features two cavemen battling all kinds of prehistoric enemies.
The game’s boss battles are particularly notable because of how are large and colorful the bosses appear in the game, from a screen-filling Tyrannosaurus Rex to a very angry wooly mammoth. All the character designs possessed a very toon-like appearance that gave Joe & Mac a Saturday morning cartoon quality, which certainly helped to increase the game’s appeal.
The Nintendo Switch Online SNES library already features the game’s sequel, Joe & Mac 2: Lost in the Tropics, so bringing the original to the service shouldn’t be much of a hurdle for Nintendo. Joe & Mac bridged the gap between arcade and home console games, as it showcased the graphical power of the SNES only a few months in the console’s lifespan.