Jay And Silent Bob: Mall Brawl – Arcade Edition
Brawl the wrong moves
Appearing in eight films over 25 years, it’s no wonder Jay and Silent Bob are considered by many to be lovably dumb and crude rather than… just dumb and crude. A move to videogames seemed inevitable, an 8-bit styled brawler much less so.
This ‘arcade edition’ sharpens up the graphics and sound, but other changes are minor. It’s essentially still the NES game first released in 2019.1 If you die, you’re sent back to the beginning of the current level rather than the beginning of the whole game, which is great, but otherwise it’s partying like it’s 1988.
With a friend locally, or on your own switching between the two characters, you’ll wrestle the authentically awkward and unresponsive controls while beating up everybody you see. You know, like Jay and Silent Bob don’t.
There’s plenty for fans of the View Askewniverse to appreciate, certainly. Familiar people, places, and jokes will pop up throughout, allowing you to point and declare “I understood that reference!” like a Captain America meme. It lacks the edge of the movies, however; there’s little to none of the unrepentant crudeness that often powers the characters’ movie scenes.
While Jay and Silent Bob diehards may get some enjoyment out of this, possibly with the aid of certain cigarettes, most people will struggle to do so. It’s often difficult and frustrating, more down to a rigid determination to mimic 30-year-old game design than by intention. Even when things are going smoothly, it’s all too simplistic to have much fun with. It’s memorable for the wrong reasons.2