Joe & Mac

The game stars the green-haired Joe and the blue-haired Mac, cavemen who battle through numerous prehistoric levels using weapons such as boomerangs, bones, fire, flints, electricity, stone wheels, and clubs. The objective of the game is to rescue a group of women who were kidnapped by a rival tribe of cavemen. The game features a health system by which the player loses health over a period of time, apart from during boss battles. A two-player mode is available, and in some versions both characters are capable of damaging each other.

The original arcade version and Amiga, Genesis, MS-DOS and Zeebo ports have the distinction of allowing the player to select between different routes at the end of boss battles. Also, after defeating the final boss, the players can choose between three exits – each one leading to a slightly different ending sequence.

The One reviewed the arcade version of Caveman Ninja in 1991, calling it "a cutesie 'jumpy-jumpy' game which uses some good graphics and neat comic touches to overcome the unoriginal gameplay", recommending it as being "worth a try".

Skyler Miller of AllGame criticized the NES version for its "unresponsive controls", writing that "jumping and simultaneously throwing your weapon, an important move, is often hard to perform". Miller also wrote that the graphics are average for NES. GamePro wrote that the NES version was colorful but that the graphics "are prehistoric", criticizing the "flat backgrounds and sprites". GamePro also criticized the music, described as "rock-splitting clinks and clanks".

The game was followed by various sequels. Joe also appeared in the 1993 Game Boy puzzle game Franky, Joe & Dirk: On the Tiles, along with Franky from Dr. Franken and Dirk the Daring from Dragon's Lair. The Japanese version of the SNES game Congo's Caper was presented as a sequel called Tatakae Genshijin 2: Rookie no Bōken and featured a new protagonist.

The title duo would later return in Joe & Mac 2: Lost in the Tropics, which added light role-playing aspects to the series. An arcade sequel titled Joe & Mac Returns eschewed the scrolling action of the original games in favor of gameplay similar to another Data East series, Tumblepop.