Action 52

n/a

Action 52
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Active Enterprises
Developer: FarSight Technologies
Supporting companies: Nu Romantic Productions (sound)
Original system(s): Nintendo Family Computer
Developer(s) of original games: Active Enterprises
Game total: 52
Sound driver: GEMS
Genre: Compilation
Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code US 1992-05 $199.00199.00

---

This short article is in need of work. You can help Sega Retro by adding to it.

---

Action 52 is an unlicensed Sega Mega Drive game compilation multicart developed by FarSight Technologies and published by Active Enterprises. An extensively-redesigned port of the publisher's infamous 1991 Nintendo Entertainment System multicart Action 52, it was released exclusively in the United States in May 1992 at a retail price of $199. While considered far superior to the original NES release, the title remains relatively basic and poor in gameplay design.

Games

Each game is color coded, with a legend on the first screen when the cartridge is booted up: Expert, Intermediate, Beginner, Two Player, Special. All of the games can be exited by pausing with  START  then pressing while paused; which will return the game to the title screen.

List of games

	1: Go Bonkers (Expert)
	Known simply as "Bonkers" on the in-game list. You control a green ball that will bounce all the way up and all the way down on a vertical field. You can move it left and right with the D-Button. The ball will destroy bricks of matching colors; touching a grey brick with a different color will change the ball's color (however, the ball cannot be changed back to green using the gray bricks with green in the middle). Hitting a Black Cross brick will make you lose one ball and revert the ball color to green. After all colored bricks are removed, simply remove the remaining bricks with green in the middle to clear the level. Also worth mentioning, this is one of the few games of the cart to have a title screen.
	2: Darksyne (Expert)
	Pilot a ship stuck in a room with enemies. As in Asteroids, you are bound by gravity, and holding and using the D-pad will allow you some limited form of motion. Holding gives you a shield with limited energy. shoots. Destroy all the enemies without hitting the walls of the level to move on to the next.
	3: Dyno-Tennis (Two player)
	Simple tennis game. Player 1 is the orange dinosaur; Player 2 is the purple one. and move. swings. Most points after 10 sets wins.
	4: Ooze (Expert)
	Platforming run-and-gun where players take the role of the Ooze Boy. shoots (notoriously, Ooze Boy is not able to shoot while jumping); jumps. crouches; moving while crouched crawls. Falling from too high a slope will kill Ooze Boy. Players are tasked to collect keys throughout each level, in order to progress to the next.
	5: Star Ball (Expert)
	A pinball game. flips the left flipper; flips the right flipper. There appears to be multiple tables; the manual mentions that collecting all bonuses and destroying all the enemies you can, will take to the next table.
	6: Sidewinder (Expert)
	After Burner/G-LOC clone, except you can move freely to the left and to the right (with scrolling too!). fires.
	7: Daytona (Expert)
	Simple 3D racing game. the goal is to win many races as possible, thereby increasing cash winnings and enter the ultimate race, the "Daytona". Hold to accelerate; brake with , Steer with and and hit to switch between low and high gears. Players start the game with $ 3,700 and will be charged an entrance fee to enter each race; with the entrance fee increasing as the races progress. Players must avoid hitting obstacles and other cars; or else the car will take damage and be completely stopped. Payment will be deducted for any damage incurred to the car, and the game ends if the player runs out of money.
	8: 15 Puzzle (Expert)
	Action 52's adaptation of Fifteen puzzle. Players must get all the scrambled numbers in order under a 5 minute time limit. Use the Directional buttons to move the cursor and to move the selected block.
	9: Sketch (Expert)
	Line art canvas. D-Button moves the pencil. Hold to draw. changes pen size. changes pen color. This is similar to Art Alive! by using the same pencil sprite and other features.
	10: Star Duel (Two player)
	11: Haunted Hills (Expert)
	Known as "Haunted Hill" in-game, and also one of the few games on the card to have a title screen. Tommy Tow is lost in the haunted hills and he must the way out by collecting all of the hidden diamonds. D-Button moves Tommy left and right; makes Tommy attack with his torch, and jumps.
	12: Alfredo & the Fettucinni's (Expert)
	Known as just "Alfredo" in-game. Alfredo must catch the fettuccini's and pasta's and avoid the sausages and the meatballs. D-Button moves Alfredo left and right.
	13: The Cheetahmen (Expert)
	Use Aries, Apollo and Hercules to find all the stolen cheetah cubs in every level. D-Button moves, jumps and attacks. Each Cheetahmen has their own attacks: Hercules punches, Apollo shoots a crossbow and Aries uses his clubs.
	14: Skirmish (Two player)
	15: Depth Charge (expert)
	16: Minds Eye (expert)
	17: Alien Attack (expert)
	18: Billy Bob (expert)
	19: Sharks (intermediate)
	20: Knockout (Two player)
	21: Intruder (Intermediate)
	22: Echo (intermediate)
	23: Freeway (Intermediate)
	Spike's family moved to a new home, but they left some things behind; all of Spike's toys. Help Spike travel safely back and forth across the freeway and carry his bones, frisbees and balls to his new home while avoiding to get ran over by the vehicles. Spike can only carry one object at a time. The Directional Button moves Spike around.
	24: Mouse Trap (Intermediate)
	Known in-game as "Mousetrap". Marty the mouse must get all the pieces of cheese before any of the cats get him. The Directional Button moves Marty around.
	25: Ninja (intermediate)
	26: Slalom (intermediate)
	27: Dauntless (intermediate)
	28: Force One (intermediate)
	29: Spidey (intermediate)
	30: Appleseed (intermediate)
	31: Street Skater (Intermediate)
	Known simply as "Skater" in the game.
	32: Sunday Driver (intermediate)
	33: Star Evil (intermediate)
	34: Air Command (intermediate)
	35: Shoot Out (Intermediate)
	Listed in-game as "Shootout".
	36: Bombs Away (intermediate)
	37: Speedboat (Beginner)
	Listed in-game as "Speed Boat". Pilot a speeding boat racing to the end of the course, dodging obstacles. D-Button moves the boat.
	38: Dedant (beginner)
	39: G-Force Fighter (Beginner)
	Referred as "G Fighter" in-game. Players must escape with a stolen prototype of the enemy's new starship. Move with the Directional Button and fire with .
	40: Man At Arms (beginner)
	41: Norman (beginner)
	42: Armor Battle (Two player)
	43: Magic Bean (Beginner)
	Based on the Jack and the Beanstalk fairytale.
	44: Apache Chopper (Beginner)
	Known just as "Apache" in-game. Command the Apache gunship through a narrow canyon at a low altitude; destroying any enemy planes, tanks and helicopters in sight. The D-Button moves the Apache helicopter, while fires the Vulcan cannon.
	45: Paratrooper (beginner)
	46: Sky Avenger (beginner)
	47: Sharp Shooter (Beginner)
	Listed in-game as "Sharpshooter".
	48: Meteor (beginner)
	49: Black Hole (beginner)
	50: The Boss (Beginner)
	The Lizard gang is loose. Collect all of the hidden money bags in the hideout; and moves, and climbs the ladders and shoots.
	51: 1st Video Game (Two player)
	Referred as "1st Game" at the in-game menu. The game itself is a rendition of Pong (which post-dates the first "video game" by many years).
	52: Action 52 Challenge (Special)
	Simply referred as "Challenge" in-game, is an endurance test which puts the player into a random series of the highest levels of the other remaining 46 single-player games.
	Music Demo (Special)
	Listen to the games' music and sound effects.
	Randomizer (Special)
	The game will randomly select a variety of games to play

History

Development

Vince Perri gave FarSight Technologies 1 year of developing time for the Mega Drive version of the game.

Mario González, which designed the NES version, did not worked in this one.

Release

Like the NES game of the same name, it sold poorly and was met with negative reception.

A Nintendo Super Famicom version of Action 52 was advertised alongside the Sega Mega Drive version, but was ultimately unreleased (presumably due to Active Enterprises' bankruptcy.)

Magazine articles

Main article: Action 52/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

FI advert (1993)

FI advert (1993)

FI print advert

Print advert in GamePro (US) #54: "January 1994" (199x-xx-xx)

Print advert in Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #57: "April 1994" (1994-xx-xx)

Print advert in EGM² (US) #5: "November 1994" (1994-1x-xx)
also published in:

• Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #65: "December 1994" (1994-xx-xx)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

{{{{{icon}}}|L}}
Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 40 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 40

	40
Based on 2 reviews

Action 52

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, TW

Technical information

Main article: Action 52/Technical information.