Line #78 VideoGame/Action52


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4	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/action52_cover_art.jpg]]
5	[[caption-width-right:350:''[[{{Pun}} Lights! Camera! Action 52!]]'']]
6
7	->''"Make your selection... now."''
8	-->-- '''Game Voiceover'''
9
10	''Action 52'' is a compilation of 52 games for the [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]], with a second version for the Platform/SegaGenesis released by Active Enterprises and advertised in the back of many gaming magazines of the day. It was famously sold for the unusually high price of $199 US, which would make the cart cost roughly $4 for each included game.
11
12	The inspiration for the compilation began when head of Active, Vince Perri, saw his son playing a pirated NES multicart he borrowed from a friend of his that had 40 games on it. It immediately became quite popular with other kids in the neighborhood, who were amazed that so many games could fit on one cartridge. This provided him with a revelation; if programmers in Taiwan could produce multicarts, why not programmers in America? Instead of putting in games from other companies, why not put in original games you couldn't find anywhere else? Thus ''Action 52'' was born.
13
14	''Action 52'' was revealed to the world with a press release, proclaiming the upcoming release of a variety of spin-off material, including action figures and a "Creator/{{Disney}}-quality" SaturdayMorningCartoon based on the game's flagship characters, ''The Cheetahmen'' as well as the [[http://www.consoledatabase.com/consoleinfo/actiongamemaster Action Gamemaster,]] a portable system that would play games from nearly every console available at the time. With the exception of a single [[ComicBook/TheCheetahmen comic book]] included with copies of ''Action 52'', none of these products ever came to fruition, as ''Action 52'' was not commercially successful enough to fund any of them, and Active would quietly leave the gaming industry not long following the game's release.
15
16	Several years after the game was released, a protoype for [[VideoGame/CheetahmenII an unfinished sequel]] to ''Cheetahmen'' on the Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem was discovered. ''Cheetahmen II'' had been programmed onto hundreds of crudely relabeled ''Action 52'' cartridges, but was never officially released. Only around 1,500 copies of ''Cheetahmen II'' are known to exist, making it one of the rarest and most expensive NES carts.
17
18	A history of how the game came to be [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_52 is in The Other Wiki]]. WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd reviewed the most of ''Action 52'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4QBeADNM34 here.]] The second part, covering ''Cheetahmen'' and its unreleased sequel, can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwmoJkHS-2E here.]] Even though his review contains some inaccuracies, it still sums the games up pretty well. A more detailed series of all 52 games [[note]]including the ones that are only playable on a certain emulator[[/note]] can be [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4D40E5708C6BAEEA seen here.]]
19
20	''Action 52'' has been given a shot at redemption with two projects: the ''VideoGame/Action52Owns Project'' (in which indie game developers are collaborating to remake each game in the collection) and ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaxU_jlHnIU Action 52 Revisited]]'' (which tries to relate all games together).
21
22	'''The games on the compilation:'''
23
24	[[folder: NES version]]
25	# Fire Breathers – [-The one game on the cartridge that requires two players in order to play properly-]
26	# Star Evil
27	# Illuminator
28	# G-Force Fighters
29	# Ooze – [-The game is titled as "Oooze" (with 3 O's) inside the manual. The select cursor always starts on this game when the menu is loaded. It also crashes partway through level 3.-]
30	# Silver Sword
31	# Crytical Bypass [sic]
32	# Jupiter Scope
33	# Alfredo (aka Alfred n the Fettuc) – [-"Alfredo and the Fettucinni's" in the manual. This game crashes the Rev. A cartridges if one attempts to start it; a player will need an emulator or Rev. B cartridge to play this game.-]
34	# Operation Full-Moon
35	# Dam Busters
36	# Thrusters
37	# Haunted Hill (aka Haunted Halls) – [-"Haunted Hills of Wentworth" in the manual.-]
38	# Chill-Out
39	# Sharks
40	# Megalonia
41	# French Baker
42	# Atmos-Quake
43	# Meong
44	# Space Dreams
45	# Streemerz – [-This game has the potential of crashing the cartridge after making it a ways into the game.-]
46	# Spread-Fire
47	# Bubblegum Rosy (aka Bubble Gum Rossie) – [-"Bubblegum Rosie" in the manual.-]
48	# Micro Mike
49	# Underground
50	# Rocket Jockey
51	# Non-Human
52	# Cry Baby
53	# Slashers
54	# Crazy Shuffle
55	# Fuzz Power
56	# Shooting Gallery – [-Attempting to exit this game after starting it will likely cause the cartridge to crash, necessitating a hard reset.-]
57	# Lollipops
58	# Evil Empire
59	# Sombreros – [-"Sombrero's" in the manual.-]
60	# Storm Over the Desert – [-"Storm Over the Desert (The Land War)" in the manual.-]
61	# Mash Man
62	# They Came... – [-"They Came from Outer Space" in the manual.-]
63	# Lazer League – [-"Laser League" (with an S) in the manual.-]
64	# Billy Bob
65	# City of Doom
66	# Bits and Pieces
67	# Beeps and Blips
68	# Manchester – [-"Manchester Beat" in the manual.-]
69	# Boss
70	# Dedant
71	# Hambo (aka Hambo's Adventures)
72	# Time Warp Tickers
73	# Jigsaw – [-Like Alfredo, this game crashes on Rev. A cartridges and only works on an emulator or Rev. B cartridges.-]
74	# Ninja Assault
75	# Robbie Robot (aka Robbie n the Robots) – [-"Robbie ''and'' the Robots" in the manual.-]
76	# Cheetahmen (aka Action Gamemaster) – [-"The "Action Gamemaster"" (with quotations) in the manual.-]
77	[[/folder]]
78
79	[[folder: Genesis version]]
80	# Bonkers (aka Go Bonkers)
81	# Darksyne
82	# Dyno Tennis – [-Two-player game.-]
83	# Ooze – [-Remake of the NES version.-]
84	# Star Ball
85	# Sidewinder
86	# Daytona
87	# 15 Puzzle
88	# Sketch
89	# Star Duel - [-Two-player version of Darksyne.-]
90	# Haunted Hills – [-Remake of the NES version.-]
91	# Alfredo – [-Remake of the NES version.-]
92	# The Cheetahmen – [-Remake of the NES version.-]
93	# Skirmish – [-Two-player game.-]
94	# Depth Charge
95	# Mind's Eye
96	# Alien Attack
97	# Billy Bob – [-Shares its name with the NES version, but is a completely different game otherwise.-]
98	# Sharks – [-Remake of the NES version.-]
99	# Knockout – [-Two-player game.-]
100	# Intruder
101	# Echo
102	# Freeway
103	# Mousetrap
104	# Ninja – [-Remake of "Ninja Assault".-]
105	# Slalom
106	# Dauntless
107	# Force One
108	# Spidey
109	# Appleseed
110	# Skater
111	# Sunday Drive
112	# Star Evil – [-Remake of the NES version.-]
113	# Air Command
114	# Shootout
115	# Bombs Away
116	# Speed Boat
117	# Dedant – [-Remake of the NES version.-]
118	# G Fighter – [-Remake of "G-Force Fighters".-]
119	# Man at Arms
120	# Norman – [-Remake of "Storm Over the Desert".-]
121	# Armor Battle – [-Two-player version of Norman.-]
122	# Magic Bean
123	# Apache
124	# Paratrooper
125	# Sky Avenger
126	# Sharpshooter – [-Remake of "Shooting Gallery".-]
127	# Meteor – [-Remake of "Jupiter Scope".-]
128	# Black Hole
129	# The Boss – [-Remake of the NES version.-]
130	# 1st Game (aka 1st Video Game) – [-Two-player game. Clone of VideoGame/{{Pong}}.-]
131	# Challenge (aka Action 52 Challenge) – [-Not so much a game in itself; rather, it's an endurance mode of the most difficult levels of the other games in random order.-]
132	[[/folder]]
133
134	----
135	!!''Action 52'' includes examples of:
136
137	* OneUp:
138	** Some games feature pickups that give extra lives. For an example, in ''Hambo'' or ''Beeps and Blips''.
139	** Running over Satan Hosain in ''Storm over Desert'' also gives an extra life.
140	* AllThereInTheManual: The NES manual contains descriptions for each of the games, providing bits of backstory not covered in the games themselves, such as ''Fire Breathers'' focusing on "the last of the dragon wars," and the main villain of ''Boss'' being "The Toad" with an army of salamander hit men. You can see the manual for yourself [[https://archive.org/details/Action52NESinstructions here]].
141	* AllTheWorldsAreAStage: Sort of. The last game, ''Cheetahmen'', uses an array of {{Palette Swap}}ped enemies from previous games. A few of them are actually based on bosses, [[DegradedBoss but they don't put up any more of a fight]].
142	* AntagonistTitle:
143	** ''Non Human''. The title refers to the abominations the player faces, and not the player himself.
144	** According to the manual, the title of ''Megalonia'' refers to the Empress Machine that is controlling the game's enemies.
145	* TheArtifact: Game #52 was originally going to be focused on the Action Game Master with the plot of him being sucked into the TV and facing off against characters from all the other games. Late in development, Vince Perri decided that using the game to launch a merchandisable property in the vein of ''Ninja Turtles'' would be a better idea. Thus, the game became ''Cheetahmen'' instead. There are still many leftovers of that original concept, such as the Action Game Master being prominent in the first cutscene and even the box art, and the enemies in ''Cheetahmen'' being pulled from other games.
146	* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: "Satan Hosain," the gigantic version of Saddam Hussein that appears in ''Storm Over the Desert''.
147	* BedsheetGhost: Several enemies in ''Haunted Hill/Halls'' are these.
148	* BigBoosHaunt: ''Haunted Hill/Halls'' takes place in a series of dark, dilapidated hallways filled with ghosts.
149	* BlackoutBasement: ''Illuminator'''s central mechanic is that the screen goes dark shortly after the game starts, and the lights briefly turn back on every time the player defeats an enemy.
150	%%* BlatantLies: According to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Action_52_%28NES%29_box_art.jpg the box]], as displayed on Website/TheOtherWiki, its creators gave it the "Action Seal of Quality Assurance". What kind of quality they were talking about is unclear, but it certainly doesn't mean what most of us would think "quality" means. Hopefully, it means "We're saving the best for last". Also: the manual contains numerous inaccuracies.
151	* BleakLevel: The final level of ''Cheetahmen'' is very dark, and does not contain any regular enemies leading up to the final boss fight.
152	* BlobMonster: Most of the enemies in ''Ooze'' are blobs of slime that bounce around. The large, blue, faceless ones are the most dangerous, as they cannot be defeated by your gunfire, and can only be avoided.
153	* BossOnlyLevel: Level 2 of ''Ninja Assault'' is entirely dedicated to a boss fight against a red-clad ninja. The game moves on to stage 3 after he is defeated.
154	* BottomlessPits: There are many bottomless pits found in the games, particularly in 2D sidescrollers such as in ''Ooze''. Some cause unintentional vertical WrapAround.
155	* BullfightBoss: White Rhino in ''Cheetahmen'' does nothing but charge the player. Funnily for these, his charge actually doesn't go all the way across the screen. making it possible to simply hug the wall.
156	* CaptainErsatz: The Action Gamemaster from ''Cheetahmen'' is a pretty obvious knockoff of ''WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster''.
157	%%* CarryABigStick: Aries likes to use clubs in combat.
158	* CartoonBomb:
159	** One enemy in ''Fuzz Power'' is a black sphere with a fuse and a green face.
160	** One of the most common enemies in ''Boss'' are hands that reach out from the windows in the buildings and drop red orbs with fuses.
161	* {{Catchphrase}}: The ''Cheetahmen'' comic attempted to give the trio a pair of these. "Let's sink some subs!" being their battlecry (the villains being mutants called "sub-species," you see), and "Livin' large!" as their version of "[[TotallyRadical Cowabunga!]]", apparently.
162	* CatFolk: The Cheetahmen are a trio of cheetahs that were mutated into a humanoid form after being injected with mutagen by Dr. Morbis.
163	* CharacterTitle: Multiple games are named after the titular character you play as:
164	** ''Alfredo''
165	** ''Bubblegum Ros(s)ie''
166	** ''Micro Mike''
167	** ''Billy Bob''
168	** ''Hambo's Adventures''
169	** ''Cheetahmen''
170	* CheckpointStarvation: There isn't a single checkpoint in any level, in any of the 52 games. If you die at any point, you're starting that level from the beginning.
171	* ChestMonster: The moneybags in ''Streemerz'' damage you if you collect them, as indicated by the green frowning face that appears.
172	* CinematicPlatformGame: Attempted with ''Billy Bob'', which has most of the classic signs: ledge-grabbing, slow jumps, and a fairly realistically-proportioned hero with decent enough animations.
173	%%* {{Cloudcuckooland}}: ''Time Warp Tickers''
174	* CollisionDamage: Hitting any sort of obstacle causes you to take damage. HitboxDissonance is common.
175	* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: The Genesis version has this on the main menu, with the game titles being in different-colored text depending on their category:
176	** Yellow is used for "Expert" (#1-2, 4-9, 11-13, 15-18).
177	** Purple is used for "Intermediate" (#19, 21-36).
178	** Green is used for "Beginner" (#37-41, 43-50).
179	** Blue is used for "Two Player" (#3, 10, 14, 20, 42, 51).
180	** White is used for "Special". Game #52, ''Challenge'', is the only game to use this category, along with the ''Music Demo'' and ''Randomizer'' options on the menu.
181	* CopyAndPasteEnvironments: It even goes so far that some sections of levels in many games are repeated over and over with the same enemy placement (if it's not random).
182	* DamnYouMuscleMemory: In all of the platform games, the "jump" and "attack" buttons are B and A respectively, the opposite of the vast majority of similar games on the system.
183	* DeadlyDroplets:
184	** Droplets of ''Ooze'' hurt the player on contact. They first appear in green variety but later on the player encounters pink and even cyan droplets.
185	** Water droplets in ''Bubblegum Rosie'' hurt Rosie upon contact.
186	* DeadlyWalls: In most of the ShootEmUp games, contact with the walls will cost you a life. Poor collision detection kills you before you actually touch them. ''Star Evil'' is the worst offender, as you can get killed less than a second after starting it up due to the speed of the level scrolling.
187	* DemBones: Skeletons from ''Bits 'N' Pieces.'' are one of the enemies encountered in that game.
188	* DemotedToExtra:
189	** ''Cheetahmen'' was the main attraction of the NES version and was deliberately placed as the final game on the cartridge, with a special intro cutscene that none of the other games have. In the Genesis version, however, it's just another title found partway into the compilation (game #13) with no added story significance. Likewise, the bosses from the NES version of ''Cheetahmen'' show up in the Genesis one, [[DegradedBoss but are just regular enemies]].
190	** Active Enterprises's planned ''Cheetahmen III'' game for their Action Gamemaster console would have emphasized this even further, along with the NES ''Cheetahmen'' and ''Cheetahmen II''. Showing that the Genesis ''Cheetahmen'', unlike its NES counterpart, wasn't even being counted as part of the main series.
191	* DenialOfDiagonalAttack:
192	** In ''Dam Busters'', your character can only fire in the four cardinal directions, but the enemies can fire in any direction they want.
193	** Apollo in ''Cheetahmen'', has an extremely narrow field of fire, as his crossbow only fires in a straight line at a single height, whereas his brothers have attack ranges spanning their whole sprites.
194	* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: From the intro of ''Cheetahmen'': "The Cheetahmen ran off... ... and now... The Cheetahmen"
195	* {{Descriptiveville}}: ''Sunday Drive'' in the Genesis version has an endless number of exit signs that read "[=SegAVILLe - NeXT eXIT=]". You never make it to the next exit, however, so you never get to go to Segaville.
196	* DiscOneFinalBoss: Despite being the BigBad, Dr. Morbis is actually the ''first'' boss of ''Cheetahmen II'', and extremely easy to defeat.
197	* DirectionallySolidPlatforms: Some of the platform games have platforms you can jump through. In extreme cases, this can allow you to jump and glitch through the floor.
198	* DoomyDoomsOfDoom: ''City of Doom'' has it right in the title.
199	* DoubleMeaningTitle: ''Chill Out'', despite its name being a common slang phrase, is mostly about a guy in a parka running around an ice world.
200	* DownTheDrain: Some levels in ''Cheetahmen'' take place in sewers.
201	* DungeonBypass:
202	** It's possible to skip most of levels 1 and 3 of ''Cheetahmen'' by finding the secret exits. This should also be possible on level 5, but a GameBreakingBug causes the game to break if you try to do that.
203	** You can also skip level 2 of ''Slashers'' by walking into one of the doorways.
204	* EarlyGameHell:
205	** The first two levels of ''Billy Bob'' are noticeably harder than the rest of the game. While the early levels contain extremely dangerous platforming with lots of screens that place hazards on the start point of the following screens before you can see them and have chances of loading obstacles in unavoidable positions, the last two levels consist mostly of straight lines that are fairly simple to charge through at full speed.
206	** Also applies to ''Fuzz Power'', as the first section is nearly impossible to do with pure skill but the rest of the game is fairly manageable. (At least until the [[UnintentionallyUnwinnable insurmountable wall in level 3]])
207	* {{Engrish}}: The manual. Very surprising because it was made in the US.
208	* EndlessGame: Most of the games loop back to the first level upon completing the final one, if they don't crash first.
209	* EnemySummoner: The spider bosses in ''Haunted Hill/Halls'' shoot baby spiders at you, which are standard {{mooks}} from level 2 onwards.
210	%%* EnergyWeapon: The player character in ''Sharks''.
211	* EverythingTryingToKillYou:
212	** The classic example: the clearly-marked bags of ''pain'' sitting on the floor in ''Streemerz''. Not to mention the deadly bouncing balls and clowns.
213	** Haircare products in ''Fuzz Power''.
214	** Chains in ''Haunted Halls''.
215	** Windows, bowling balls, insects and rubble in ''City of Doom''.
216	** Candy products in ''Lollipops''.
217	** Some weird... things in ''Spread Fire''.
218	** Pasta in ''Alfred(o) N The Fettuc(ini)''.
219	** Food, file cabinets and envelopes on wheels in ''French Baker''.
220	** Child toys in ''Space Dreams''.
221	** Weird... things in ''Timewarp Tickers''
222	** Utility tools in ''Jigsaw''.
223	** Green Elton John heads in ''Non-Human''.
224	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: "Shooting Gallery" is well, a shooting gallery.
225	* ExcusePlot: Most of the games that have stories that are explained in the manual, but have no other bearing on the gameplay. ''Cheetahmen'' is the only game that has an opening cutscene in the game itself, but it too stops being relevant once the game starts.
226	* FakeDifficulty:
227	** ''Star-Evil'' begins with an obstacle directly in front of your ship immediately after the game starts.
228	** In any of the single-screen {{Platform Game}}s, the enemies spawn in random locations, meaning there's nothing stopping them from spawning right next to the player character and leaving the player no time to prepare for them.
229	** In certain games like ''Underground'' and ''Evil Empire'', enemies can spawn in large quantities on certain small platforms in such a way that it's impossible to reach the platform and shoot the enemies without dying.
230	** In ''Billy Bob'', certain screens begin with pits immediately in front of or under the player, making the pits impossible to avoid unless the player knows that they're coming beforehand. Additionally, the falling obstacles appear in random places, sometimes appearing in spots where they are impossible to avoid.
231	* FakeTrap: Certain spikes in ''Bubblegum Rosy'' have no collision detection, meaning the player can fall on them without taking damage. This only applies to some of them, however.
232	* FlipScreenScrolling: ''Billy Bob'' only displays one screen's worth of stage at any given time, and does not move to the next screen until the player character moves off-screen.
233	* FlunkyBoss: ''Star Evil'''s bosses have enemies spawning alongside them.
234	* GameBreakingBug: So, so many.
235	** In certain games like ''Star-Evil'' and ''Megalonia'', the stage boss has a chance of not spawning at the end of the stage, leaving the player with no choice but to kill themselves. However, ''Megalonia'' doesn't provide this option, forcing the player to reset the entire game.
236	** Certain games crash after beating specific levels, making the games impossible to beat. ''Ooze'' is the most well-known example, as it crashes after clearing level 2, making the contest associated with the game impossible to win.
237	** ''Alfredo'' and ''Jigsaw'' cause the game to crash upon ''being loaded'', unless you're using certain emulators. ''Alfredo'' in particular sometimes fails to start not only in the Genesis version as well, though with less consistency.
238	** Level 5 of ''Atmos Quake'' is nigh-impossible to beat because your ship explodes randomly.
239	** ''They Came'' is particularly easy to crash, as it crashes upon dying, clearing the first stage, or resetting the game.
240	** In Level 5 of ''Cheetahmen'', accessing the [[DungeonBypass hidden level skip]] results in the player being sent to Level 10, where the game completely glitches out.
241	** In ''Cheetahmen II'', if you take too long to defeat the second boss, the Ape Man, then he'll eventually walk off the screen and never return, forcing you to restart the whole game. If you actually do defeat Ape Man however, the game fails to load the next level, leaving you no better off than you were before.
242	* GenreShift: Between ports, ''Billy Bob'' changed from a ''Prince of Persia''-esque platformer to a Wild West-themed first person shooter.
243	* GiantEyeOfDoom: A few of the enemies in ''Non Human'' are just floating eyes.
244	* GoombaStomp: ''Mash Man'' and ''Bits 'n Pieces'' let you attack enemies by stomping them.
245	* GraffitiTown: The odd-numbered levels of ''Boss'' take place in a decaying city, albeit with the twist of them being populated by frog people.
246	* HardLevelsEasyBosses: In most of the games to feature boss fights, they're the easiest parts of the game. ''Haunted Hills/Halls'' and ''Cheetahmen'' have stages filled with incredibly stiff platforming challenges, but the boss tends to be pretty predictable and their attacks are easy to avoid. ''Cheetahmen II'' is particularly notable, since the first boss, Doctor Morbis, does nothing but run left. ''Micro Mike'' is a game so difficult many players never even learn the game has a boss fight, and it's by far the easiest part of that game, since Mike isn't rocketing off at absurd speed and instead moves at a normal rate.
247	* HardModeFiller: The only difference with different levels of ''Space Dreams'', ''Spread Fire'' and ''Shooting Gallery'' is that the enemies gradually move faster with each level.
248	* HitboxDissonance: Very severe in some of the games. Attacks that should miss you hit, and attacks that should hit enemies don't.
249	%%* ImplementingTheIncomplete: Basically what Vince Perri did with this.
250	* ImprobableWeaponUser: Johnny Jawbreaker from ''Lollipops'' fights enemies by clubbing them with a large lollipop.
251	* InfiniteOneUps: ''Evil Empire'' and later levels of ''They Came...'' spawn 1-Ups infinitely.
252	%%* InNameOnly: Several of the games on the Mega Drive version reuse names from the NES original despite being completely different games.
253	* InconvenientlyPlacedConveyorBelt: Conveyor belts are present in level 4 of ''Cheetahmen'', and they have BottomlessPits below them.
254	* InstantGravestone: Enemies and cars in ''Sombreros'' briefly turn into gravestones when hit.
255	%%* InterfaceScrew: The life bar in some levels of some games isn't visible. In a few others, the life bar isn't visible at all.
256	* InvincibleMinorMinion: A lot of enemies cannot be destroyed, including the bouncing enemies in ''Bubblegum Rosy''.
257	* InvisibleBlock: Some pits in level 3 of ''Alfredo'' can be walked over, making this a rare case that invisible blocks make a game easier.
258	* InvisibleWall: The first level of ''Sombreros'' requires you to walk down a very narrow street against the flow of traffic and avoid getting hit by cars. For some reason, it's completely impossible to step on the clearly visible ''sidewalk'' where there are no cars!
259	* JapanTakesOverTheWorld: The box art stressed that the cartridge was made in America, playing on a rise in anti-Japanese sentiment during the early '90s recession in the U.S.
260	* JumpPhysics: All of the platformers have stiff, sloppy physics that will only let you move in mid-jump while you're descending. The jumps also have no momentum or weight, whether you're rising or falling.
261	* KidHero: ''Illuminator'' and ''Bubblegum Rosy'' both have fairly youthful-looking protagonists.
262	* KillScreen: The second-closest thing to an ending. In ''Ninja Assualt'' the graphics become heavily glitched upon reaching Level 4, and although the level is playable, the game does not progress upon reaching the end, effectively still making it an example.
263	* KingMook: The bosses in ''Manchester'' basically look like the standard enemies with their hair on fire.
264	* LadderPhysics: Work as ladders in video games do except in ''Lollipops'' where you can go up the ladder only by jumping up them.
265	* LeapOfFaith: Quite a number of levels require you to jump on a platform you can't actually see. Made worse with jumping controls that make redirecting yourself in midair difficult.
266	* LevelAte: ''Lollipops'' is entirely made out of food. ''French Baker'' and ''Alfredo'' have food-themed levels.
267	* LivingToys: The enemies in ''Space Dreams'' include teddy bears, dolls, mobiles, rattles, and balloons.
268	* LuckBasedMission: So many:
269	** In some games, enemies appear in random places. In some games, a bad enemy placement means death, or an {{Unwinnable}} situation, e.g. in ''Under Ground''. Bullet enemies in ''Micro Mike'' can appear behind the player during boss fights, making it impossible to dodge them. ''Hambo'' is probably the worst offender for this, as not only do you start the game with just one life, it's possible for enemies to spawn right on top of Hambo, killing him as soon as the level begins.
270	** In other games, enemies which are able to shoot, do it at random times. Sometimes they don't shoot at all while other times they shoot several bullets at you, and the player characters don't have enough mobility to be able to dodge them.
271	%%WebVideo/StuartAshen, who played the game as part of his second "Quickest Game Overs Ever" video, managed to die in ''0.4 seconds'', the quickest Game Over he found in either video, and had this happen twice in the five times he played the game. Additionally, he noted that whereas every other game featured in the two videos required stupidity on the part of the user (or, at worst, a nasty GuideDangIt moment), ''Hambo'' was the only one where the instant Game Over was purely a result of developer incompetence.
272	* MightyGlacier: Your tank in ''Storm Over The Desert'' is this, being so slow that even the soldiers outrun it, but able to destroy the [[FragileSpeedster pink tanks]], the unsurprisingly weak soldiers, and Satan Hosain. It ''can'' be destroyed, but it takes [[DamageSpongeBoss many, many hits]].
273	* MindScrew: ''Non Human'', ''Spread Fire'', ''Time Warp Tickers'', among others, are incredibly difficult to discern what they're about. ''Time Warp Tickers'' in particular looks like it was inspired by a particularly intense MushroomSamba, its setting is ''that'' nonsensical.
274	* MiniGameGame: ''Action 52'' consists of 52 small games.
275	* MinusWorld: Several that are encountered during normal gameplay, in many cases unavoidably.
276	** If you fall down a hole in Level 5 of ''Cheetahmen'', you end up in [[SecretLevel Level 9]], which is a room with a OneUp. When you exit the room, you go to Level 10, which is a garbled mess where you fall to your death.
277	** In the second level of ''Thrusters'', the screen starts blinking, and you can't progress any further. If you crash here, your ship scatters into a glitchy mess that can still move around. It can be avoided only with a right emulator and rom.
278	** The "lost levels" of ''Cheetahmen II'', which are {{Remixed Level}}s from ''Cheetahmen I'' where the music is all glitched, and your Cheetahman is invincible. Once you play through here, the game locks up, just like at the end of Level 4.
279	** In the third level of ''Lollipops'', the music becomes heavily glitched as the result of the game interpreting other game data as music.
280	** The last level of ''Ninja Assault'' is populated by {{Glitch Entit\|y}}ies, and the game does not continue upon reaching the end.
281	** Level 8 of ''Beeps n Blips'', where the background is garbled and the level can't be completed because both the player and enemies are invincible.
282	* MooksButNoBosses: The majority of games have no boss battles.
283	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: ''Satan'' Hosain, the apparent main antagonist of ''Storm over the Desert.''
284	* NightOfTheLivingMooks: ''Bits and Pieces'' has zombies making up the common enemies.
285	* {{Ninja}}: ''Ninja Assault'', unsurprisingly, is about these. The Genesis version also contains a game simply called ''Ninja''.
286	%%* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Possibly the crowning achievement of ''Ninja Assault'': big-nosed, coonskin-wearing ''hillybilly ninjas''. Strange indeed are the ways of the Zin-Zan.
287	%%* NintendoHard: Games with enough coherence to begin with usually wind up in the worst excesses of this.
288	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed:
289	** The evil "[[UsefulNotes/SaddamHussein Satan Hosain]]" from ''Storm Over the Desert''. Running over him gives you an extra life. In ''Cheetahmen'', he becomes an easily-dispatched midget.
290	** The "Elton John" heads in ''Non-Human''.
291	* NoEnding:
292	** The majority of the games simply loop back to the first level upon completing the final one, with no acknowledgement that all the levels have been completed. Meanwhile, other games are simply impossible to beat, as they are either guaranteed to crash at a certain point, or otherwise are designed in a way that they are impossible to overcome.
293	** Individual levels have no proper indication for when they end; they just end abruptly.
294	** ''Ooze'' has an ending screen telling you to enter a code and send it to Active Enterprises for a chance at a prize. However, in most versions, the game crashes upon completing Level 2, making this ending impossible to see normally.
295	** ''Cheetahmen'' simply returns to the player select screen once the final boss is defeated, not even showing the Game Over screen first.
296	* NoFairCheating: An unintended example. Most of the games become a lot easier to beat if you play on a PAL-format NES or an emulator switched into PAL mode, which slows the games down. The lone exception is the one game where it would have helped the most, ''Micro Mike'', which in PAL mode quickly glitches out and becomes unplayable due to graphics corruption.
297	* NonIronicClown: The protagonist of ''Streemerz'' is clearly both a clown and a good guy.
298	* NonStandardGameOver: ''Ninja Assault'' goes the ''VideoGame/{{Karateka}}'' route and replaces the standard GameOver screen with a "The End" screen instead.
299	* NotTheFallThatKillsYou:
300	** In most of the platform games, falling ''can'' kill you, and you need not actually touch the ground from a long jump for a character to begin his death animation.
301	** ''Billy Bob'' is a notorious example of this. If he drops off a ledge, not only does he die before he hits the ground, but he stops in mid-fall, lies flat on his face, and stays there levitated in mid-air.
302	* OneHitKill: In the Cheetahmen comic, the Cheetahmen defeat all of the rival sub-humans in one hit. Even White Rhino gets killed in one hit, despite having the look of a MightyGlacier.
303	* OneHitPointWonder: The vast majority of player characters lose a life if they take any damage at all. The main exceptions being the Cheetahmen, Bubble Gum Ros(s)ie, and the tanks in ''Storm Over the Desert''.
304	* OneUp: Some games have 1-up pickups. Games with these include ''Evil Empire'', ''Dam Busters'', ''Crazy Shuffle'', ''Cheetahmen'' and more. In ''Beeps 'n Blips'', the 1-Ups don't increase your life count but rather give you more hit points.
305	* OneWordTitle:
306	** ''Illuminator''
307	** ''Ooze''
308	** ''Thrusters''
309	** ''Sharks''
310	** ''Megalonia''
311	** ''Meong''
312	** ''Streemerz''
313	** ''Underground''
314	** ''Slashers''
315	** ''Lollipop(s)''
316	** ''Sombreros''
317	** ''Manchester''
318	** ''Boss''
319	** ''Dedant''
320	** ''Jigsaw''
321	* PachelbelsCanonProgression: The music of ''Dam Busters'' has this in its second half.
322	%%* PlatformHell: Some of the games fall right into this. Unusually, this seems to be unintentional.
323	* PoisonMushroom: The money bag collectibles in ''Streemerz'' give a frowny face and damage you upon being collected, though a dummied-out smiley face suggests this is unintentional.
324	* PowerGlows: According to the manual, ''Rocket Jockey'' was supposed to have a lasso which would glow brighter as it gains power, but this doesn't appear in the final game. It was added in the ''VideoGame/Action52Owns'' remake, though.
325	* PressStartToGameOver:
326	** In ''Star Evil'', the first level contains a wall directly in front of your ship as soon as the level starts, meaning that the player can lose a life immediately as the game starts unless they know to move out of the way the moment they gain control.
327	** ''Hambo's Adventures'' starts the player with only one life, and the enemies spawn in random locations. If the player is particularly unlucky, they can have an enemy spawn on top of them and get Game Over less than a second after starting.
328	%%As [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA3WogFaeFQ this video]] from WebVideo/StuartAshen demonstrates, it is very easy to kill yourself immediately at the beginning of ''Starevil'' and ''Hambo's Adventure''--the latter of which he timed at ''less than half a second''.
329	* PublicDomainSoundtrack: ''Jigsaw'' uses "Long, Long Ago." ''Cry Baby'' uses the Alphabet song.
330	* {{Pun}}: "Lights! Camera! Action 52!" from the phrase "Lights, Camera, Action" used when filming is shown in media.
331	* PunnyName: ''Ham''bo, who is a pig.
332	* RailShooter: Many games, particularly the side scrolling space shooters, but almost all the games are side scrolling.
333	* RatchetScrolling:
334	** Any game that features screen scrolling only moves in one direction.
335	** ''Dam Busters'' has certain points where it's completely possible to go too far into a dead end with no way to backtrack, forcing you to reset the game.
336	* RecurringBoss: In the majority of the games that feature boss battles, there is only one boss that appears at the end of every stage.
337	* RecurringRiff:
338	** ''Space Dreams'' and ''Dam Busters'' use similar melody at some points. Also, you can hear the level 1 motif of level 3's theme in ''Lollipops'' sometimes.
339	** There's also the theme for ''They Came'' and ''Beeps 'n Blips'', which uses the same melody from level 2 of ''Haunted Halls''.
340	* RecycledSoundtrack:
341	** ''They Came'' and ''Beeps 'n Blips'' have the same music, while the themes from ''Fuzz Power'' and ''Cheetahmen'' end up being reused in ''Cheetahmen II'' (and ''VideoGame/SyobonAction'', in the case of the latter).
342	** A lot more noticeable in the Mega Drive version, where the entire soundtrack (bar the title and menu themes) is used in multiple games.
343	* RefugeeFromTVLand: The Cheetahmen enter a kid's living room via a TV in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWXOQD-VAmY commercial]] for the game.
344	* RocketRide: The Player character in ''Rocket Jockey'' is a cowboy flying a rocket while sitting atop it. Some of the enemies do the same thing.
345	* RollingAttack: The main character in ''Fuzz Power'' attacks by performing a somersault that allows him to ram into enemies.
346	* RougeAnglesOfSatin: Several of the game descriptions in the manual have this:
347	** ''Micro Mike'' - "He's only the size of a flea, and it's difficult getting from ''her'' to ''their'' when you're smaller than the stand of hair. It seems like ''your'' in the land of the giants."
348	** ''Streemerz'' - "Try climbing to the top of this one by throwing ''steamers'' and climbing them"
349	** ''Bubblegum Ros(s)ie'' manages to combine this with GenderBlenderName.
350	* SadlyMythtaken: The Cheetahmen consisted of Apollo, Hercules, and Aries. Considering Aries is supposed to be a master of martial arts and the group's combat expert, he was probably supposed to be named after Ares. (Aries is the ram constellation, Ares is the Greek war god.)
351	* SaveThePrincess: ''Illuminator'', ''Billy Bob'', and ''Lollipops'' all have this plot, according to the manual. [[AllThereInTheManual This is not reflected in the games themselves]].
352	* SchizophrenicDifficulty:
353	** Level 3 of ''Sharks'' is much harder than the rest of the game, due to the sharks being replaced with jellyfish which are hard to hit.
354	** In ''Billy Bob'', it's extremely noticeable where the game gets easier with each level.
355	* SecretLevel: Level 9 of ''Cheetahmen'' (a single room containing a OneUp), which can be accessed by a secret exit in any of the odd-numbered levels. However, doing this in level 5 will cause the game to go [[MinusWorld level 10]] where the game completely glitches up.
356	* SentryGun: Some games like ''Robbie Robot'' have these. Sentry Guns are the sole enemies in ''Operation Moon''.
357	* ShiftingSandLand: Some levels in ''Storm Over the Desert'' have sand traps.
358	* ShoddyKnockoffProduct: Several of the games take heavy inspiration from other games:
359	** NES version:
360	*** ''Firebreathers'' = ''{{VideoGame/Combat\|Atari2600}}''
361	*** ''Sharks'' = ''VideoGame/{{Jaws}}''
362	*** ''Streemerz'' = ''Roc'n Rope'' (sometimes confused with ''VideoGame/BionicCommando'')
363	*** ''Slashers'' = ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon''
364	*** ''Fuzz Power'' = ''VideoGame/AdventureIsland''
365	*** ''Storm Over the Desert'' = ''VideoGame/BattleCity''
366	*** ''Billy Bob'' = ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia''
367	*** ''City of Doom'' = ''Crazy Climber''
368	*** ''Hambo's Adventures'' = ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' (Even the manual alludes to this)
369	*** ''Ninja Assault'' = ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' (In particular, level 4 is a blatant copy of stage 2-2 from Ninja Gaiden II.)
370	*** ''Cheetahmen'' = ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}'' (With a hint of ''WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster'' in the opening cutscene.)
371	*** ''Operation Full Moon'' = ''VideoGame/{{Jackal}}''
372	*** ''Dedant'' = ''VideoGame/{{Centipede}}''
373	** Mega Drive version:
374	*** ''Go Bonkers'' = ''Diamonds'' (Platform/AppleMacintosh game)
375	*** ''Darksyne'' = ''VideoGame/{{Gravitar}}''
376	*** ''Sidewinder'' = ''VideoGame/AfterBurner''
377	*** ''Star Duel'' = ''Space War''
378	*** ''Alfredo'' = The ''VideoGame/MarioBros'' minigame from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3''
379	*** ''Skirmish'' = ''VideoGame/{{Archon}}''
380	*** ''Depth Charge'' = ''Depth Charge'' (An early arcade game)
381	*** ''Minds Eye'' = ''VideoGame/{{Minesweeper}}''
382	*** ''Echo'' = ''Simon''
383	*** ''Freeway'' = ''Freeway'' (The Atari 2600 game, which itself was a clone of ''VideoGame/{{Frogger}}''.)
384	*** ''1st Game'' = ''VideoGame/{{Pong}}''
385	*** ''Daytona'' = ''VideoGame/OutRun''
386	*** ''Star Ball'' = ''Speed Ball''
387	* SkippableBoss: The bosses in ''Megalonia'' will have less health depending on how many enemy ships the player shoots leading up to them. If the player shoots down enough ships to reduce its health to zero before it appears, the boss will not appear at all, and the game will continue to the next stage.
388	* SomeDexterityRequired: To move while jumping in most of the platformers, the B button has to be released - it can't be held down. However, the B button is also a jump button. In four of the platforming games, the player can jump only when moving, although ''Haunted Halls'', ''Bits 'n Pieces'' and ''Cheetahmen'' don't have this problem.
389	* SpaceIsNoisy: Many space shooters in this game collection, true to the genre, have a lot of noise going on.
390	* SpaceWestern: In ''Rocket Jockey'', your character is dressed as a cowboy, and whirls around a lasso while riding on a rocket through space.
391	* SpellMyNameWithAnS: The title character of ''Bubblegum Rosie'' has her name spelled inconsistently between the game-select screen, the title screen, and the manual. Respectively, they spell it as "Rosy", "Rossie" and "Rosie".
392	* SpikesOfDoom: ''Bubblegum Rosy'' features some which won't work at all. In ''Mash Man'', spikes have [[HitboxDissonance much larger hitboxes than it seems]]. And in ''Underground'' (where these take on the form of mushrooms or spears) it's safe to fall on top of them but not safe to walk past them.
393	* StalactiteSpite: Spears in ''Billy Bob'' only start to fall when Bob is under them.
394	* StealthPun:
395	** A possible example with ''Thrusters'', which has a rather suggestive looking spaceship as the protagonist.
396	** The characters in ''Boss'' are amphibious gangsters, effectively making them cold-blooded killers.
397	* SuperDrowningSkills: Most games which have water have it be a one-hit kill.
398	%%* TakeThat: The Saddam Hussein analogue in ''Storm Over the Desert'' can be killed in just one hit. As a double TakeThat, he is basically a slightly modded sprite from ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros''. What's more, his name is ''{{Satan}}'' Hosain.
399	%%** Also worth noting that the Iraqi tanks are pink and that running over Hussein gives you extra lives.
400	* TechnicalPacifist: Hercules in ''Cheetahmen'' doesn't want to attack unless provoked, according to the ''Cheetahmen'' comic book.
401	* TeenageMutantSamuraiWombats: The Cheetahmen, basically.
402	* ThreateningShark: Both versions contain a game called ''Sharks'' in which the main enemies are sharks that attack your diver.
403	* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: The character from ''Silver Sword'' lobs his sword at enemies.
404	* {{Tilesweeper}}: Meong, the 19th game. You control an A52 logo and walk through three grid fields. Some tiles are traps which you can tell if you watch their animations. Standing in one spot for a few seconds blows you up. Also, the layouts are not randomised and the furthest side columns are typically empty.
405	* TitleByNumber: ''Action'' '''''52'''''
406	* TitleDrop: ''Meong'' provides an odd variation, with the main character being an "A52" logo.
407	* TrapDoor: In ''Meong'', the goal is to traverse a tiled area while avoiding the tiles that hide these.
408	* TrappedInTVLand: The plot of ''Cheetahmen'' involves this, as a kid called the Action Gamemaster is pulled into the game. Then the Cheetahmen show up, tell him not to worry, and run off to fight things. [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse The Action Gamemaster never sees them again]].
409	* TyopOnTheCover: The game selection screen has ''Crytical Bypass'' (unless it's an intentional case of XtremeKoolLetterz) and ''Alfred n the Fettuc'', which is supposed to be "Alfredo and the Fettucini".
410	* UndergroundLevel: ''Underground'' and ''Dedant'' are entirely that for obvious reasons but some other games have underground levels as well.
411	* UnexpectedGameplayChange:
412	** ''Bubblegum Rosy'' starts off as a side-scrolling platformer, but turns into an overhead driving game in level 2, then back into a platformer in level 3.
413	** ''Ninja Assault'' is primarily a side-scrolling beat em up, but the third level onward adds in elements of a platform game, with the addition of bottomless pits.
414	** ''Cheetahmen'' has more of a non-indicative first taste of gameplay -- the first level is an isometric 3D sidescroller a la ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon'', but after that, all the levels are strictly 2D platforming.
415	* TheUnfought: Dr. Morbis isn't actually present in ''Cheetahmen'' despite being presented as the main villain in the comic book. He doesn't appear until the sequel.
416	* UnsoundEffect: ''Time Warp Tickers'' has "[[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext Time?]]" as the stock death animation.
417	* UnintentionallyUnwinnable:
418	** Many of the games contain tough, nasty and cruel examples. Most famously ''Ooze'', which was part of a back-of-the-box competition where anyone who beat said game would be entered into a raffle. Since the game is impossible to beat (after getting past three of its five levels, it crashes the cartridge before the third level can load), this raffle saw extremely few entries.
419	** In ''Star-Evil'', when too many sprites are onscreen when it's a boss time, the boss itself doesn't appear at all.
420	** The fifth level of ''Atmos Quake'' is unbeatable since your ship always randomly explodes.
421	** It's possible to get stuck at a dead-end in ''Dam Busters'' thanks to the game's RatchetScrolling. If that happens, your only option is to reset the game.
422	** ''Fuzz Power'''s third level has a jump that's impossible to pass.
423	** The fourth stage in ''Starevil'' is unwinnable for being extremely glitchy (a pink background with no way to pass the level).
424	** The eighth stage of ''Beeps and Blips'', which glitches up, and there's no way to die or kill anything.
425	** The second stage of ''Thrusters''; if you happen to die, your ship glitches out and it becomes invincible, but you can't pass the level. If you ''do'' manage to clear the level without dying, it just repeats the same screen in an endless loop.
426	** The ''first'' stage of ''They Came...''; if you die, the game crashes. If you complete the level, the game crashes. If you try to exit the game, [[RuleOfThree the game crashes]].
427	** The fourth stage of ''Ninja Assault''; your character is horribly glitched up but you can still move around and defeat enemies as normal. When you defeat the boss however, you don't advance to the next stage, you are simply stuck in limbo.
428	** ''Go Bonkers''' ninth and final level cannot be completed since an area featuring blocks that must be destroyed to finish the level are blocked off by other blocks, including those that kill you upon contact. The small openings that exist between these blocks are small enough that your ball could pass through... if only one side of the tunnels wasn't a death block.
429	* VariableMix: Unintentionally in level 3 of ''Lollipops'' where walking and hitting things changes the tones.
430	* VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: The last level of ''Cheetahmen'' takes a stab at this: dark locales, difficult platforming, and swarms of enemies.
431	* {{Wackyland}}: ''Time Warp Tickers'' and ''Manchester'' take place in locations that are, charitably, nonsense. There are unintentional examples too. Like ''Micro Mike'', due to tiles chosen for the level.
432	* WatchForRollingObjects: "Hambo" is centered around the player having to jump over various kinds of balls.
433	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: ''Cheetahmen'': The Action Game Master never appears again after the opening cutscene. According to the manual, he transforms into each of the Cheetahmen, but this is not reflected in the game.
434	* AWinnerIsYou:
435	** In ''Cheetahmen'' you don't even get a "Conglaturation!" screen for your troubles. Beating the final boss instantly returns you to the title screen.
436	** ''Sharks'' and ''Dedant'' will give you the GameOver screen when the final mission is completed.
437	* WordPureeTitle:
438	** ''Megalonia''
439	** ''Meong''
440	** ''Dedant''
441	** ''Alfred n the Fettuc'' (Although this is supposed to be ''Alfredo and the Fettucini'')
442	* WorkInfoTitle: The title reflects that the game a collection of 52 action games.
443	* WrapAround: 2-directional horizontal variation is present in ''Chill Out'', ''Cry Baby'' and ''Dedant''. There are unintentional examples too.
444	* XtremeKoolLetterz: ''Streemerz'' and ''Lazer League''.
445	** Likely unintentionally done in ''Crytical Bypass''.
446	* ZeroEffortBoss:
447	** Ironically applies to the RecurringBoss in ''Boss'', where you can just go to the left and shoot constantly because he never goes beyond the right-hand side of the screen or attack.
448	** The Scavenger, the FinalBoss of ''Cheetahmen''. If you stay to the left of the screen and off of the middle platform, his predetermined movement path will never touch you. Additionally, you play this fight as Apollo, who is armed with a crossbow. The Scavenger has no additional attacks, either, so there's no reason not to simply shoot him from a distance, where he can't do anything to you.
449	----

Context VideoGame / Action52