Action 52
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Action 52 is a multicart consisting of 52 individual video games released for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Mega Drive/Genesis consoles by Active Enterprises. Initially sold for the comparatively high price of $200 USD (or "less than $4" for each game), the cartridge became notorious among gamers as one of the worst video games of all time. Many video game collectors covet it for its uniqueness and rarity.
The game states that it contains 52 "new and original exciting games." The majority of the titles included on the cartridge have significant glitches. Some games start on a real NES but fail in many emulators, and vice versa. Some freeze or crash for no apparent reason, some levels exist only in incomplete and impassable forms. Many games have severe design flaws, including unresponsive controls and level designs leading to frequent instant deaths.
While the original NES game was developed internally by Active Enterprises, the Sega version, released two years later, was developed by FarSight Studios, who had also developed Color a Dinosaur for the NES. This version featured a somewhat different lineup of games, and slightly superior graphics, but the majority of the technical problems remain. Plans for a Super Nintendo Entertainment System version of the cartridge were announced, but Active Enterprises withdrew from the video game industry shortly thereafter, and no copies are known to exist.
The games
Nintendo Entertainment System
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The games included on the cartridge are of a variety of genres, although the most common are scrolling shooters and platform games. Examples of scrolling shooters include Star Evil, G-Force, Thrusters, and Megalonia. Some of the platform games available are Ooze, Alfredo, and Bubblegum Rosie. All but one of the games support single player, the exception being Fire Breathers, a simple two-player fighting game which requires two players.
Of special note is the last game on the cartridge, The Cheetahmen. The Cheetahmen were the flagship characters of Active Enterprises LTD., and Action 52 was released along with a twelve page comic book providing the backstory of the game. The game is noticeably superior to most of the other games on the cartridge, and contains considerably fewer glitches. However, further levels in the game reveal that like many of the titles before it, Cheetahmen was not completely finished before release either. The game consists of six levels, each of the three Cheetahmen getting two levels, the second of which includes a boss battle. It is also known on Action 52's menu by the title The Action Gamemaster, named for a humanoid character who appears briefly in the opening cinema sequence, but does not appear elsewhere in the game.
Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
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Each game was color coded on the main menu screen. "Beginner" games were displayed in a green font, "intermediate" games were displayed in a purple font, "expert" games were displayed in a yellow font, and multiplayer games were displayed in blue font.
In addition to the fifty two games listed above, the Mega Drive/Genesis version featured a music test mode, and a "randomizer" option. If selected from the main menu, the randomizer would randomly choose and start one game from the fifty two available on the cartridge.
Several new games were introduced for this version. A number of these were given the same name as games from the NES version: Haunted Hills, for instance, is entirely different to the NES game of the same name. Other games have had various minor changes, including a version of The Cheetahmen which completely deviates from the original platformer on the NES, and is replaced with a game where the Cheetahmen rescue captured cheetah cubs from monsters.
Screenshot gallery
Nintendo Entertainment System
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| Game 7, Critical Bypass | Game 13, Haunted Hills | Game 35, Sombreros | Game 52, The Cheetahmen |
Sega Genesis
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| Game 13, The Cheetahmen | Game 29, Spidey | Game 32, Sunday Drive | Game 49, Black Hole |
Trivia
- A sample of Rob Base's song It Takes Two was used in the beginning sequence of the NES version.
- The sound generated for moving the select cursor on the NES version was used for the Power Player Super Joy III's menu.
- Active Enterprises advertised a competition in which anyone who could complete level 5 of Ooze (NES version) would be entered into a prize draw to win $104,000. It was soon discovered that the game would crash on level 3, making the competition impossible
References
- [Action 52]. [MobyGames]. Accessed on September 15, 2005.
- "[Jay Obernolte Interview]." [Cheetahmen Corner]. Accessed on September 15, 2005.
- [FarSight Studios]. Accessed on September 15, 2005.
External links
- [Cheetahmen Corner] - A site dedicated to Action 52, Cheetahmen and other Active Enterprises information.
- [Action 52 page] located at [NES HQ]
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