Caveman Ninja

Caveman Ninja
Also known as: Joe & Mac: Tatakae Genshijin (JP) Developer: Data East Publisher: Data East Platform: Arcade (Data East Edward Randy hardware) Released internationally: February 1991 This game has hidden development-related text. This game has unused graphics. This game has debugging material. This game has regional differences.

The Caveman Ninja, better known as Joe & Mac, must battle a tribe of figurative-but-quite-possibly-literal neanderthals who have kidnapped their cave-babes (it was the caveman '90s) across five prehistoric lands with branching paths.

Unused Screens

Game Info Screen

Holding 1P Start + 2P Start when the game boots should display a version info screen, but the developers added a rts opcode at the beginning of the routine to dummy it out. Put the appropriate code in either cninja.xml or joemac.xml to re-enable this feature:

joemac	cninja
<cheat desc="Fix Version Screen"> <script state="run"> <action>maincpu.mw@000238=0x32F8</action> </script> <script state="off"> <action>maincpu.mw@000238=0x32F6</action> </script> </cheat>	<cheat desc="Fix Version Screen"> <script state="run"> <action>maincpu.mw@000238=0x3306</action> </script> <script state="off"> <action>maincpu.mw@000238=0x3304</action> </script> </cheat>

JP	INT

Joe & Mac is labeled version 3.3, while all non-Japanese sets are labeled version 3.3A. This includes sets labeled as "World ver 4", "World ver 1", and "US ver 4" in MAME, so clearly, the info here is out of date.

Location Test Screen

To access the following two screens, put the following code in cninja.xml and/or joemac.xml, enable it, then lose a life:

  <cheat desc="Change Ready Screen">
    <parameter>
      <item value="0x0E42">Location Test</item>
      <item value="0x0E54">Ending Test</item>
    </parameter>
    <script state="run">
      <action>maincpu.mw@0018D2=param</action>
    </script>
    <script state="off">
      <action>maincpu.mw@0018D2=0x0E0E</action>
    </script>
  </cheat>

JP	INT

JP Text	Translated
今回は ここまでなの ごめんね･･･♥	That's all for now. I'm sorry...♥

These would be used in location test versions of the game, but there's no code that references this screen's subroutine in the final game.

Ending Test

This is a simple test of the ending screens. The game will display the first two pictures of Joe & Mac reacting in shock, all three of the game's different ending pictures (Fat cavewoman, enemy cavewoman, cave-babes), then the scrolling credits landscape sans objects and credits.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Objects

Default Weapon Pickup

An item that would give players their default weapons back (Stone Axe for 1P, Bone for 2P), but none of the enemies or objects in the game are coded to drop it.

Put the following code in MAME's cninja.xml cheat file to make the first caveman in Stage 1 drop the item, and make the second caveman drop the Fire weapon:

  <cheat desc="Default Weapon Pickup">
    <script state="run">
      <action>maincpu.mb@012525=0x01</action>
      <action>maincpu.mb@012535=0x02</action>
    </script>
    <script state="off">
      <action>maincpu.mb@012525=0x10</action>
      <action>maincpu.mb@012535=0x10</action>
    </script>
  </cheat>

The item will always use the axe graphic, even if 2P is the only one playing. There's a bone item graphic in the object graphics ROM, but there's nothing in the item's code that references it.

Map Characters

Two unused characters that would appear on the game's map screens: The cavewoman from Stage 1 in a neutral stance, and an enemy caveman.

Put the following code in cninja.xml to change the first enemy caveman in Stage 1 to one of the unused characters, albeit with an incorrect palette:

  <cheat desc="Unused Map Characters">
    <parameter>
      <item value="0x02">Cavewoman</item>
      <item value="0x03">Neanderthal</item>
    </parameter>
    <script state="run">
      <action>maincpu.mb@012527=0xB5</action>
      <action>maincpu.mb@012529=param</action>
    </script>
    <script state="off">
      <action>maincpu.mb@012527=0xE2</action>
      <action>maincpu.mb@012529=0x00</action>
    </script>
  </cheat>

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Graphics

A fossilized trilobite that would have appeared in the background of the high score screen. Even though there's plenty of space for it in the upper-right corner, it's still unused.

A hidden message (カネコが書いた - "Written by Kaneko") stored with the Stage 5 background graphics. Atsushi Kaneko is one of the game's six graphic designers.

Weapons can be charged, and weapons can be fired upwards, but charged weapons cannot be fired upwards. This graphic of the charged Tusk weapon pointed upward suggests this wasn't always intended.

Graphics for an ammonite enemy can be found mixed in with the game's food items.

A partial set of alternate food items appear directly after the ammonite graphics. Includes a different tomato sprite, a banana bunch (As opposed to the banana peel that the final game uses), eggs, cheese, crackers, and bugs!

A completely unused enemy: A saber-toothed cat.

Like the similarly sized dinosaur enemies, this has idle, turning, walking, and running animations.

It also has the standard set of hurt and dying animations that every used enemy has.

Unfortunately, the enemy was never coded, so all it's doing now is taking up a significant chunk of the object graphics ROM.

The Stage 4 cavewoman has an unused animation of her looking off to the side. It's worth noting that none of the other cavewomen are animated; this was probably meant to be used on the location test screen.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Developer Text

Labels for the game's music, sound effects, and instrument samples can be found in the audio CPU.

Music

0x40E8	open.bgm	0x43E4	bgm1.bgm	0x5518	bgm2.bgm	0x5A24	bgm3.bgm	0x6B4F	bgm5.bgm	0x73E9	boss1.bgm	0x7F2F	clr1p.bgm
0x828B	clr2p.bgm	0x8507	branch.bgm	0x8772	end1.bgm	0x8D25	end2.bgm	0x908D	end3.bgm	0x9300	ending.bgm

Sound Effects

Text starts at 0xA8A5.

p_out	p_ono	p_thnd	p_chak	p_kiai	p_jump	t_nige1	t_nige2	p_damag	p_konbo
p_small	t_wing1	t_wing2	korogaru	korogaru	F_fuku	F_nageru	F_jimeny	mizu	kusa
coin-b	kiba_na	kiba_ht	t_nige2	foods	buki	kudake	j-copter	j-copter	Jr._pyu
hajiki	t_maru	gaiko	b_haku	ice_b	ice_b	kami	k_baku	kamina	b_hit
o_hit	h_hit	f_hit	attack	t_hana	keikoku	p_out2

Instruments

Text starts at 0xCA01.

flute	bonend	bonusbassd	afr_bass	afr_bass	a_bassx	gamran	baribari	steeldrum1	steeldrum2
piano_2	piano_3	piano_4	piano_5	piano_6	piano_7	piano_8	pia_casio	pia_gt	hiseqx
seque	badbell	belflute	bellsyn	belviola	chaimer	kinkon	toybell	abc	cheap
kira1	kira2	metalsyn	analogue	flution	flution2	gira	hamowire	soundtrack	soundtrac2
synclavi	clav_1	delayer	masked	melody	percle	readcal	spaces	synther	tremolo
tubasyn	wavewire	wire	analogue2	tomita	voice1	voice2	voice3	voice4	voice5
voice6	voice7	voice8	voice9	accordion 3	celest_1	celest_2	e_organ1	e_organ2	e_organ3
e_organ4	hammond_1	hammond_2	impact_org	organ_1	organ_2	organ_3	organ_4	soften	organ_v1
organ_v2	esn_org	ob_organ1	ob_organ2	sx_organ	waveorgan	porgan_1	porgan_2	porgan_at	harpsi
ginginlead	lead	maskedlead	syorgan1	syorgan2	marimba_1	marimba_2	marimba_st	melody_at	mokkin_at
s_xylo	vibra_1	vibra_2	vibra_3	xylo_1	xylo_2	shami_1	shami_2	e_guitar1	e_guitar2
grassharp	guitar_1	guitar_cx	bright_dis	clavsitar	hard_g	hardy_1	hardy_2	hardy_3	hardy_4
hardy_5	low_dist	a_bass	a_bassx	afr_bass	bright_wb	w_bass	analog_b1	analog_b2	analog_b3
analog_b4	syn_b1	syn_b2	syn_b3	syn_b4	syn_b5	syn_b6	syn_b7	syn_b8	syn_b9
syn_b10	thick_b	bassclavi	bright_b1	bright_b2	dx7_b	e_bass1	e_bass2	e_bass3	e_bassx
pick_b1	pick_b2	pick_b3	ricken_b	rr_bass	log_bass	mokugyo_b	casio_cym	ride_symba	hr_snare
meka_dr1	meka_dr2	meka_drm3	metalhit1	metalhit2	noise_sd	noise_sd2	snare	waterclap	bd_tom
bowlhit	smallbowl	b_drum	afr_drm1	afr_drm2	baribari	gamran	steeldrum1	steeldrum2	steeldrum3
steeler	at_clari	fagot	fue	piccolo1	sht_brs	syn_oboe	trp_1	trp_2	trp_3
trp_4	brs_1	brs_2	crystal	hard_brs	5th_brs1	metal_brs	opl_brs1	opl_brs2	opl_brs3
rise_brs	slow_brs	wave_brs	wave_brs2	5th_brs1	5th_brs1	bell_brs	delay_brs	vivi_brs	bassoon
brk_sax	cheap_horn	hard_horn	hi_sax	hornsect	sax_1	sax_2	sax_3	soft_sax	softuba
syn_brs1	syn_brs2	syn_sax	cembalo_1	cembalo_2	solovln_1	solovln_2	solovln_3	violin_1	violin_2
violin_3	violin_4	5th_str	lane	distrings	hi_str	orchstra	strings	syn_str1	syn_str2
syn_str3	pizz_1	pizz_2	vioboe	bass50	bass60	bass70	bass80	bassd80	harpsi5
harpsi	brass1	brass2	brass3	brass3

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Regional Differences

In the Japanese version only, hitting certain spots in the first two rounds will reveal a special bonus item: Chelnov! After appearing, he'll try to escape by running to the left. Collecting him earns the player 1000 points.

This object is still in non-Japanese versions, but extra code was added to the object's initialization subroutine that instantly deletes it.

(Source: Original TCRF research)