Beat ‘em ups are a dime a dozen these days, some hitting properly, while others fail to measure up. Thankfully, Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl - from developer/publisher Interbang Entertainment - successfully hits the mark in both its overall gameplay and nods to the two hetero lifemate’s adventures throughout the years that their unwavering fans will no doubt appreciate.
"You Know About This Game Show They Got Goin' On Here??
Probably the best part about Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl is that it is available for PC, Nintendo Switch, and… the Nintendo Entertainment System. That’s right. Thanks to Limited Run Games, a lucky few were able to snag a limited edition NES cartridge version of the 8-bit retro brawler. I only wish I had been able to review that version, but the Switch version is still fully worth gamers’ time and money. In fact, fans of Kevin Smith, specifically, will definitely want to check it out.
The story picks up immediately after the events of 1995’s Mallrats, with Jay and Silent Bob tasked with escaping the Eden Prairie Mall after sabotaging the “Truth or Dare” dating game show. If that statement means nothing to you, it’s unlikely that you’ll come away from Mall Brawl with any opinion other than it being a serviceable beat ‘em up. For everyone else, it’s the callbacks to Kevin Smith’s filmography and Jay and Silent Bob’s silver screen shenanigans alone that make Mall Brawl worth playing.
Players will take on everyone from masked hockey hooligans, to shopping mall cops, to the Easter Bunny, and even the lovable Mooby, while side-scrolling along with the backdrop of various mall locations such as the “Truth or Dare” stage itself, as well as store signs including but not limited to “Gerbils, Gerbils, Gerbils.” It’s these references that make Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl special, as everything else is just standard brawler fair.
Players can switch between Jay and Silent Bob using the R-Button, which is something that they’ll be doing a lot. Controls aren’t super tight in terms of movement and avoiding oncoming attacks. Combos can lead to more powerful attacks and grapples, but they are hard to consistently land. The chaotic nature of the combat against multiple enemies reminded me why I never beat early-90s NES brawlers like Battletoads or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. However, this, to me, is the epitome of what makes Mall Brawl successful. It legitimately feels like an NES title that I have repressed since playing in my youth, and provided a solid feeling of nostalgia as I - often painstakingly and repeatedly - made my way through the levels. Good luck, too, because once both Jay and Silent Bob die, you’ll start back at the beginning of the level.
These aren’t knocks against the game, though, since that’s how most games actually were in the 90s. The only real gripe I had with Mall Brawl was the fact that weapons were only good in whichever fight they were obtained. Once the encounter was over and I walked to the next side-scrolled section, the weapon would disappear regardless of how many times it was used. Again, this isn’t a total knock on the game, but it would have been nice for weapons to break after a certain number of uses, or right before a boss.
Back To The Mall
The sheer amount of references in Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl made me want to rewatch all of Kevin Smith’s catalog of films, probably while replaying Mall Brawl to find any I missed (I know what you’re thinking, and yes - Dogma is in Mall Brawl). A serviceable beat ‘em up makes it a fine enough game for fans of the genre. Mostly, it’s a game for fans of Jay and Silent Bob as a way to pass the time until Jay and Silent Bob: Chronic Blunt Punch makes its way into our loving hands.
A Switch copy of Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl was provided to TheGamer for this review. Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl is available now for PC, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Entertainment System.