Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl

Perhaps if you wished that Double Dragon IV followed in the first two arcade games' presentation style, then Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl's 8-bit throwback approach is not for you. Regardless, for those of us who crave more in the same vein of Technōs NES bickety bam beat-'em-ups, then playing Mall Brawl may just be your retro Wolvie berserk style. What else are we gonna do? Snootchie Bootchies!

Jay and SIlent Bob: Mall Brawl is a strong achievement, a worthy NES throwback and a fun game for Kevin Smith fans and haters alike. Unfortunately it is hamstrung by a stage so bad that it brings down the entire experience and should, quite simply, be patched out entirely or made significantly shorter and easier.

Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl is tons of fun for fans of 8-bit brawlers.

Jay and Silent Bob Mall Brawl is a game that so faithfully mimics a classic NES beat 'em up, but lacks the fidelity, attention to detail, or variety of scenarios to fully achieve what it sets out to do.

Overall, Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl is an enjoyable title if you can forgive some of its issues. The overly aggressive AI, the short hit reach, and the classic game padding don't make for a pleasant experience once you notice them. However, the experience is solidly enjoyable, with some concessions made for those aforementioned flaws, and it accomplishes the rare feat of having the solo experience be a bit more fun than the multiplayer one. While fans of the duo will get a big kick out of this game, and even those who aren't familiar with these characters will enjoy their time with this title.

Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl does a great job recreating the look and feel of an original NES release, but takes its retro inspired roots a bit too far and becomes a game which few but the most dedicated will finish. That said, I did enjoy my time with the game and catching the references to other Kevin Smith movies.

There’s slightly more fun on the cards when playing in co-op mode with a friend, as some of the game’s downsides can be easily counteracted with brute force by duos. If you’re a super-fan of Kevin Smith’s work, you can bump the score by a couple of points. However, as just another game floating in a sea of alternative investments, Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl – Arcade Edition can easily be avoided.

Is a fairly solid beat ’em up paying homage to the greatest of Kevin Smith’s greatest gags worth a full fifteen dollars? While the enjoyment of it seems a bit situational, if you’re a fan of Smith’s comedy hijinks and want a playable museum of his best, I’d say that fifteen’s worth it. While the challenge is there and the combat satisfies, it doesn’t strive to make any new ground in the genre, other than a couple of tricky levels inspired by games of the era it aims to imitate. This is perfectly fine because it does all that it needs to with what it is, a simple NES throwback with some 90’s movie flair that thrives for nostalgia in more ways than one. Even if you don’t know much about the movies, if you catch this on sale, give it a try. Who knows, you might find yourself with some movies to watch for the weekend.

Retro to a fault, just like the duo.

I fell in love with Kevin Smith films in my teen years, devouring the Askewniverse movies, comics, and anything else I could get my hands on. I guess you could say I'm the exact target audience for Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl - Arcade Edition, and the game really delivered for me. It's fun, the old-school graphics look great, and developer Interabang Entertainment filled the game with winks and nods that fans will definitely appreciate. The difficulty level might turn off less-experienced gamers, and it's on the shorter side, but these are minor quibbles. This is well worth a purchase for Askewniverse fans. Snoogans.