Action 52 is an unlicensed, multicart video game compilation developed by Active Enterprises for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and by FarSight Technologies for the Sega Genesis. The NES version was released in 1991, followed by the Genesis version in 1993. The multicart consists of 52 games in a variety of genres, mostly scrolling shooters and platformers.[1] The “featured” game is The Cheetahmen, which was part of Active’s attempt to create a franchise similar to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Active Enterprises was legally incorporated in the Bahamas, but the offices and development were located in Miami, Florida while the company’s product warehousing was located in Orlando, Florida.[2]
The NES version of Action 52 became infamous among gamers for the poor quality and functionality of its games; it is often considered to be one of the worst games of all time. The Genesis version is widely considered superior, though still of subpar quality. Many video game collectors value Action 52 for its notoriety and rarity. It initially retailed for the comparatively high price of US$199 (equivalent to $396 in 2021).[3]
Gameplay
The NES version of Action 52 includes games that cover a variety of genres, the most common types being vertical shooters set in outer space, and platformers.[1] The games have major programming flaws. Some of them freeze or crash; other issues include incomplete or endless levels, confusing design, and unresponsive controls.
Each game is given a brief description in the manual for Action 52. Some of the descriptions cover games from the early development of Action 52 that were very different from the games of corresponding titles; for example, Jigsaw is described as a game involving a jigsaw puzzle, but the game titled as such on the final product is a platformer involving a construction worker avoiding construction tools.[4]
The Cheetahmen is the featured game of Action 52, and was intended to launch a multimedia franchise and an accompanying line of merchandise. A Cheetahmen animated television series, a comic book series and T-shirts were planned. An advertisement for action figures, which included concept art, appeared in a promotional comic book included in the Action 52 package.[5][6] However, these plans were eventually scrapped due to the extremely negative reception Action 52 received.[citation needed]
Active Enterprises advertised a contest involving Ooze, one of the games of Action 52. Players who could complete Level 6 of the game could enter a drawing for $104,000 ($52,000 cash, and a scholarship with the same value). Ooze was reported to consistently crash on Level 2; therefore, it was impossible to qualify for the contest[7] without using an emulator; after the contest had been cancelled, a second version of Action 52 was released which fixed this crashing problem, among some others.
The opening sequence of the NES version uses a Yeah! Woo! drum break sampled from Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock‘s song “It Takes Two
Sega Genesis
Few of the games from the NES version of Action 52 appear in the Sega Genesis version; although many of the titles have been retained, the games themselves have been rebuilt from scratch for the most part.[9] For example, Haunted Hills appears in both versions, but the player character’s gender is different (female in the NES version and male in the Genesis version), as is the setting, which is inside a haunted house in the NES version, and outside of one in the Genesis version. In the Genesis version of The Cheetahmen, the titular characters rescue cheetah cubs from Dr. Morbis and his minions.
Many – though not all – of the numerous technical issues with the NES version have been fixed in the Genesis version, which also takes advantage of the Genesis’s superior hardware.[9] Each game is color-coded on the main menu screen; “Beginner” games are green, “Intermediate” games are purple, “Expert” games are yellow, “Challenge” games are white, and multiplayer games are blue.[9] The 52nd game, also titled Challenge, consists of a random sequence of the highest levels of the other single-player games.[9] Also included in the Genesis version are the Randomizer, which selects a game at random, and a music demo mode.
