Retrospective Investigation - Action 52 Analyzed

[@NicoEvaluates]

Apologies for the few editing mistakes during Sombreros especially. Sony Vegas didn't particularly like a 3 hour project, so the render failed 28 times. At some point I just decided it was good enough. This whole video from beginning to end took 130 hours to make. Enjoy!

[@Jaypeapolaris]

Do the gensis versoin

[@Ballowax]

Why not use adobe premier

[@Atlas_Redux]

@@Ballowax I've had the exact same issues with Premiere, and Premiere's UI is a fucking mess to deal with. But it's what I know, so it's what I use.

[@KetwunsGamingPad]

I dare someone to build a time machine, , capture a screenshot of the Ooze Congrats screen and send it to Vince Perri in 1991 lol!

[@Beepers559]

That would probably bamboozle him greatly.

[@sarasaland4709]

“Unfortunately, we’re out of the shit and into the fuck.” -Nico Evaluates, 2019.

[@Radman1889]

You seriously played through all of this garbage? Someone get this man a medal... or a pizza!

[@mercurialkarlsefni6550]

Or a medal pizza

[@alex_-yz9to]

Pizzedal

[@TheoZaHero]

I mean... just a pizza would be fine. _Mmm... barbecue chicken..._ 🤤

[@depression6261]

Pizza time

[@Dadork400]

Metal blade+Pizza=Pizza blade lol

[@nacerdjaafri9919]

The funniest thing about OOOZE is that the arabic section in the manual literally translates to "Avoid the milk or the green leak" hahahahaha

[@RayManiac90]

They put so much effort in these translations, I mean look at the quality of this game, I wonder why it didn't win a GOTY price.

[@Red_Biker_Dude]

I'm surprised they did any translations at all

[@spicybreadproductions1972]

@@Red_Biker_Dude I guess they intended a European release?

[@random.explosion]

I wonder what the arabic section said in the manual for "the evil empire" where they're literally talking shit about arab people lmao

[@nacerdjaafri9919]

​@@random.explosionit translates to: the Arabian desert has bad "enemies and goblins".... 😂😂😂

[@ThatOneStuff]

Watching all of this turned my brain into the boss AI.

[@zanmolecules4105]

Underrated comment

[@luigibarqs]

Great video, you put a lot more effort into analyzing each game than most people I've seen play this in the past.

[@Real1Gaming]

Gotta give a like just for the dedication alone. Highly impressive.

[@snufflepuspenguins1234]

i’ll have two number 9s, a number 9 large, a number 6 with extra dip, a number 7, two number 45s, one with cheese, and a large soda. Action 52 : I'll have two Alfredo and the Fettucini's, a large Alfredo and the Fettucini's, a Silver Sword with extra dip, a Critical Bypass, two Bosses, one with cheese, and a large soda.

[@flash4354]

_I'll take an Alfredo, fat boi._

[@dweston76]

I legit have fallen asleep to this on purpose many times! Love the detail and in depth analysis. 10/10

[@Hyreia]

Yup. Literally did this last night.

[@JomasterTheSecond]

Action 52 truly is 52 of the games of all time.

[@frenchyproductions9692]

Dude, I watched it all. I can't even fathom how you did this. Holy shit. Good work man. Bonus points for showing unused sprites and content too.

[@ZorotheGallade]

The code gore that surfaces from examining these games is astounding. But even then, I think this is the first and only time someone will ever discover that playing normally through Billy Bob warps you to Cheetahmen.

[@moe7659]

3:09:35 The Spanish description mentions the three "Tramposos", which translates to "Cheaters", did they misread "Cheetah Men" as "Cheater Men"?

[@hellmitor2056]

One of the best videos on youtube, i always come back to see this.

[@tschak909]

my guess with the manual is that they wrote all the descriptions of the games, before they actually started coding them. It literally was the design document.

[@4acrehome168]

Yep. And it could have actually been a semi good game.

[@hpswagcraft]

I watch this video a couple times a month, sometimes every couple days. It is criminal that the best video EVER released about Action 52 has been doomed to relative obscurity by the epic and lovely youtube algorithm. So many viewers are missing out on this masterpiece. You should definitely start making more investigations about games like this. I subscribed regardless, though, because I am a trusting and patient man. Thank you for the many hours of viewing, king.

[@milesipka]

For Nico and anybody else considering playing this... Thing... I actually found something Nico overlooked in the "Storm Over The Desert" game (the tank sim). Those giant Saddams are actually 1UPs - letting Saddam run into your tank gives you an extra life. I discovered this by accident when doing my playthrough of that game and while watching the footage noticing the increasing lives in each level title screen (BTW I used a Game Genie hacking cheat code for infinite energy) and I pinned down the cause by watching every second of the playthrough and counting each time I let Saddam run into me... THAT'S why you cannot shoot him down - because he's NOT an enemy. So, if you decide to play that particular game, Saddam is your friend...

[@Beepers559]

I don’t think anyone would’ve ever figured this out outside of freak accident since it seems so random. Then again giant saddam is also super random

[@JavaMR]

I always end up back at this video, it's really good for background noise when I'm playing video games or trying to sleep. The amount of effort you put into this video is astounding. Good on ya mate.

[@hpswagcraft]

I've seen this video like 100 times and "throwing steamers" cracks me up every single time

[@shibaos]

aien

[@fredrichfernando6798]

Timestamps for each game: 7:38 Fire Breathers 13:20 Star Evil 20:25 Illuminator 26:49 G-Force Fighters 28:54 Ooze 35:09 Silver Sword 38:15 Critical Bypass 41:57 Jupiter Scope 44:08 Alfredo and the Fettuccinis 46:44 Operation Full Moon 48:41 Dam Busters 51:09 Thrusters 52:13 Haunted Hills of Wentworth 57:03 Chill Out 58:09 Sharks 1:00:17 Megalonia 1:01:58 The French Baker 1:03:12 Atmos-Quake 1:04:50 Meong 1:08:21 Space Dreams 1:09:35 Streemerz 1:13:25 Spread Fire 1:17:37 Bubblegum Rosie 1:21:43 Micro-Mike 1:29:57 Underground 1:33:47 Rocket Jockey 1:34:32 Non-Human 1:36:13 Cry Baby 1:38:59 Slashers 1:41:56 Crazy Shuffle 1:44:57 Fuzz Power 1:48:04 Shooting Gallery 1:50:45 Lollipops 1:56:33 The Evil Empire 2:00:50 Sombreros 2:05:30 Storm Over the Desert 2:07:59 Mash Man 2:09:28 They Came from Outer Space 2:14:59 Laser League 2:16:35 Billy Bob 2:27:04 City of Doom 2:30:57 Bits and Pieces 2:34:26 Beeps and Blips 2:41:38 Manchester Beat 2:46:29 The Boss 2:50:16 Dedant 2:52:30 Hambo's Adventures 2:56:04 Time Warp Tickers 2:59:06 Jigsaw 3:01:47 Ninja Assault 3:07:08 Robbie and the Robots 3:09:35 The Cheetahmen

[@NicoEvaluates]

Thank you, I added them into the video.

[@ZorotheGallade]

With the exception of Meong, all 52 games are literally the same with tiny variations. The platformers are identical to the topdown shooters, except with jumps and gravity. The "beat em ups" are just shooters where the attack has a melee range, and so on and so forth.

[@flash4354]

If this video doesn't get the popularity Nico's weapons list video gets, I become A N G E R Y.

[@arti5882]

It didnt

[@jedisalsohere]

angery

[@hpswagcraft]

im here 3 years later and its honestly fucking criminal

[@hpswagcraft]

still angery

[@lordmegatron65]

Easily the most detailed review of this game on KZbin!! You did so well with this. Great work! 😊👍

[@KaMui_AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs]

Finally I know what Alfredo, also known as "Alfred N the Fettuc", really is!

[@infyranna9004]

I play this game when drinking with my friend, its so bad its good. I even got my wife to play it and she laughed her ass off, as she never plays video games at all. ty for the video, it is great.

[@MCDreng]

For city of doom the intent of that bizzare death sprite change + the windows being enemies is that it'll come together and look like the tenant threw you off the building. Unfortunately they didn't make another death for when you don't die in the window.

[@CSXIV]

This might be the first Action 52 video I've seen where Alfredo and the Fettuccine actually worked.

[@paulallen4358]

The ooze description in arabic literally translates to: "avoid the green milk or leak" lmfao 😂😂

[@Trail_Lentil]

This is still one of my favourite videos on KZbin. I've probably rewatched it 4 or 5 times now.

[@symphony-of-the-mint2008]

That's 13-16 hours purely on this video. Dang.

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

That's over half a day of this video. I'm impressed.

[@BlastMaster]

Action 52 is the gift that keeps on giving... great doc, thanks!

[@Leotsune]

This was so fun to watch, I really liked the video. Thanks for all your effort Nico!

[@Jordan10704]

This video doesn’t get enough love. Great job and analysis - you can tell you put a lot of effort into this! Would love to see you analyze more games beyond the Mega Man series.

[@KetwunsGamingPad]

Mate this is fantastic! This is literally the ultimate Action 52 video! You deserve way more views for all your efforts and your fabulous in depth technical analysis. I have never seen anyone do this before and you are clearly the most passionate to debunk this pile of garbage! Kudos!

[@poppybasers]

This must be the best video I have ever seen on this game. Very thought out and a great evaluation, showing a lot of interesting things that I knew nothing about (I've been obsessed with this game and story since 2008, spending countless hours digging into it). Thanks a lot for this great video, hoping for Action 52 for the Sega Genesis next?!

[@AlphaxZero28]

Mm what a quality video For such a poor quality game

[@Atlas_Redux]

You're an absolute madman. I loudly applaud you.

[@COMBOY]

1:56:33 And a meme was born: "Arabian desert has bad Arabians".

[@elecboi3067]

COMBOY not really

[@mercurialkarlsefni6550]

Where was this comment made, Alabama?

[@depression6261]

That's a strike !

[@belstar1128]

Yes and also good and neutral Arabians.

[@The_Deep_Blue]

hey i just wanted to give you a big thank you for uploading thus video. i struggle with sleep a lot and this video in specific has been really helpful in telling my brain to go to bed

[@seireiart]

I watched the entire video, twice 😁 (This is a great production and analysis of the games.) It sure is a fascinating story of a small team trying to make 52 games in a short period back in the early 90s. but AVGN sums it up the best when he said: "Quality over Quantity, that's our lesson here.",

[@RobobTheGreat]

This is the most THOROUGH video about Action 52 I've ever seen!

[@Rgoid]

1:22:57 “from HERE to THERE”

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

This is fantastic, I LOVE this video! A mass analysis of Action 52! It's like a weird, terrifying nerdy dream! And as an angry European from the UK, you're overestimating our skills if you think Brexit makes as much sense as Action 52.

[@noirlavender6409]

This is my favorite video ever

[@Flashlight237]

1:47:50 I was able to get past that not by manipulating the X-axis of the character, but rather the Y-axis. Yeah, I tried glitching Fuzz Power instead of resorting to hacks beforehand, but the game is ridiculously stable for an Action 52 game.

[@dodoguy]

Action 52 drinking game Take a shot everytime they use the boss Ai

[@eplatamx2017]

great proyect, im not sure if it still counts as a video, its more like a documentary or a movie

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

It's still a video though isn't it? Technically a film is a video.

[@singingcoyote1370]

imagine getting this game cartridge for your birthday in the 90s. man you would cry yourself to sleep every night the next 12 months in silence in ur bed.

[@Zolega89]

You would have been a rich kid at that point

[@jc.1191]

😔 Poor kids

[@GianfrancoLaRotta]

Do the Sega Genesis and The Cheetahmen 2 versions, now!! 0:40

[@Flashlight237]

I think the developers might've had some strokes when making the manual.

[@Hyreia]

Wow. A definitive video on Action 52. Thank you.

[@DeadKoby]

I've played this........and seen many people's reviews.... Nice to see the levels that few ever get it.

[@jc.1191]

That was really funny and informative. Good job!

[@MrTekKnowledge]

Developers jobs are hard enough. They should NOT be in charge of product decisions and specifications, nor making the final go or no go on their own code. This is a cautionary tale. It also seems that they wrote the manual too.

[@snufflepuspenguins1234]

Coming next April fools... Nico evaluates Action 52 for the Sega Genesis

[@randomguyontheinternet7940]

He didn't do Cheetahmen yet.

[@Enan63.]

I really miss this type of content. Since it was very ambitious! However, these video take a LONG time to produce. So I respect your decision Nico for not making any more of these videos.

[@anevilghost670]

Fun Fact: Lollipops is actually supposed to be one of those "Looks cute, but actually gets really dark later on." Hence why the music in Level 3 is so messed up (If you play on a real cartridge, then it actually sounds like music.) If the creators actually managed to finish this, then maybe there'd be a real story. But alas, it's shit like all the others.

[@KnakuanaRka]

AnEvilDude Funny; I’ve heard that was a bug.

[@NicoEvaluates]

@@KnakuanaRka I'm quite sure it's a bug, as it's level 3. But I'd like to see the source for the claim made here.

[@narusferree6506]

This is the sound of a dog being made to play Action 52. *screams of a million tortured souls*

[@supersmashbro596]

3 months, huh? and not a single one of the three devs decided to test this thing? yeah it's a miracle this thing came out at all.

[@jc.1191]

The business guy had more cash than talent

[@TronBonneVonne]

Seeing your child playing a Taiwanese bootleg should not inspire you, Period. The eiffel tower was built in 2 years and some change. But that's how long action 52 should have gestated. Then, maybe, it would have been decent. I also appreciate all the work you put into this video.

[@hpswagcraft]

It's crazy to imagine that some kid in a third-world country somewhere probably played this game every day. It must have happened at least a few times.

[@eightcoins4401]

It didnt happen. The cart retailed for 125$ usd only in the US

[@eightcoins4401]

This is not injusted for inflation btw. It literally was 125 bucks when most games were 60. I doubt pirate copies of it were any popular either

[@nyx9208]

This needs views this is crazy

[@Jdcryno]

This game is better than my internet connection

[@warlordofvideogameglitches]

*Dial up sounds*

[@feezee82]

Nico, in the Cheetahmen video you mentioned that enemies from the other games get reused and what to make of it. But in the instructions manual it clearly says that the Gamemaster transforms into one of the Cheetahmen and must battle enemies from the other 51 games. So the reason is actually explained.

[@ZorotheGallade]

That's because Doctor Morbis decided it was Morbin time and morbed all the sprites into the game.

[@scottjefferson4048]

Not like it makes it look any better, they are literally reused assets and no amount of "lore" will change that, if the rest of the games were decent, it wouldnt look as bad and that is not the case.

[@hpswagcraft]

@@ZorotheGallade the morbin time meme is a year old already now? jesus. i fucking HATE time. absolutely horrifying

[@ZorotheGallade]

@@hpswagcraft One year? I thought it was years ago.

[@DeskoDev]

it starts at 0:00, thank me later

[@marlonmontelhiggins8570]

Oh, my gosh. I never knew that. Thank you so much. Really helped out.

[@jc.1191]

Thanks champ

[@hpswagcraft]

appreciate it brother

[@PeterAckarey]

Peed myself laughing at 47:06. Thanks for that.

[@SamnissArandeen]

Action 52 discourse is incomplete until angry Russian Kermit plays it.

[@tschak909]

Thank you for your sacrifice.

[@June28July]

2:26:55 you don't play those Billy Bob levels?

[@materiagrezza9331]

I'm Italian, and reading the terrible translations from the manual is so hilarious AF, I'm out of breath.

[@PointlessCarp]

Only just at game #2, but I'm already learning new stuff! This game is such an anomaly, one thing I'd like to see an explanation to is why some things work on emulator and not on actual hardware and vice versa. For example the fourth level of Star Evil does work on hardware (later revision, I believe, with working Alfredo and Jigsaw)

[@JavaMR]

From what I've seen, emulators are a bit more tolerant with errors. Take the Sonic 3 prototype that was released a while ago. On original hardware, whenever Tails grabs onto a rope the game crashes, but on some emulators the game keeps going (albeit with severe graphical glitches)

[@Eltro920]

It's a common misconception that Action 52 took up 2 MB of cartridge space for all the graphics and code. In reality, it was an unfinished game due to lack of programming experience on NES hardware, a deadline that was a month after the start of development, and a changes in direction in the middle of development. The end result didn't come near filling up 2 MB.

[@MandrakeFernflower]

There's also a fuckton of copy-paste code in the rom

[@jc.1191]

Iirc it's full of really unoptimized lookup tables. There's a video looking at the code I saw. I think it's just copy n pasted over and over, the same stuff.

[@BogusChip]

Great video mate, love it!

[@Lordhermitcrab]

You must have brain damage from playing through each and every one of these games. I applaud you

[@Mattfromthepast]

So in 91 you could get a SNES for Christmas or this. How many kids got this for Christmas and got themselves emancipated?

[@GinoSC]

now THIS was a experience

[@mistertagomago7974]

I still cant get over the fact that enemies dont actually move. Also i dont think you mentioned but in Sombrero i noticed things blocking your path have hitboxes that arent tied to the sprites.

[@riam850]

48:55 - Wait, is that Shrek!?

[@eightcoins4401]

The director of the game got the idea from seeing a nes multicart. He was oblivious that all the games were pirate dumps of the games of others.

[@thrillhouse4151]

Hahaha this started playing on auto play, thought it was a commercial playing the Cheetahman theme and I had to run over and see what was going on hahhaha.

[@kristopherguilbault5428]

21:28 did you say like "SpongeBob's Vagina?!"

[@dweston76]

That bit cracks me up most :)

[@TheBestToasty]

Damn what a ride

[@Gigidag77]

I wish AVGN would have encountered the Billy Bob -> Cheetahmen Glitch

[@Nx_Joey_D]

I hope at some point you decide to review the Genesis version of Action 52 because I REALLY want to see when you find out that, on that port, they turned the Cheetahmen into .... wait for it .... a clone of ILLUMINATOR!! .... not kidding!

[@jc.1191]

🤣 Good catch

[@hpswagcraft]

as much as id hate to see him torture himself again, i would watch the shit out of this.

[@aurathedraak7909]

well billy bob wouldnt be finished anyways because of that bank switching bug and not only that 11 levels are inaccessible anyways because of this flawed programming.

[@angrytigermpc]

In the Micro-Mike description, the "flea, and" is NOT a strike. It's two separate independent clauses "He's only the size of a flea" And "It's difficult getting from here to there" It's "optional", I guess? But certainly not outright incorrect.

[@anibarukyouran1145]

Awsome content man! you shown more of this game than anyone else thanks for torturing yourself for our amusement. I know sounds like a pain but if you can split this video into smaller sections and make it like a series or something like that, would do better on views. Also I love how this game gradually transforms you into an angry nerd XD

[@KonEl-BlackZero]

I use this video as background sound to study.

[@frankez99]

Great video! Thanks for suffering for our entertainment brother….

[@zanmolecules4105]

Time?

[@GODCONVOYPRIME]

3 HOURS HELL YEAH BABY WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@kimberleyarnold7457]

Who did the guitar cover of the Cheetahmen theme?

[@autobotstarscream765]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnurpH2JopZ8frc

[@tivvy2vs21]

Remember mikey spikey 200s review of this

[@tengudwn57]

Is this a documentary? Or is it just a video?

[@feezee82]

Here is my theory for game 43 - Beeps and Blips. I think the reason why it is so much better than the rest is because it was made BEFORE Vince hired the guys to make him Action 52. From what I read, two of the developers made games as a hobby and showed Vince one of those games to convince him to hire them. I wouldn’t be surprised if game 43 was that game.

[@Nx_Joey_D]

The two initial developers did make a “demo” game for Perri but that was a clone of Tetris on an Amiga. Based on the description in the instructions for “Bits & Pieces” it sounds as if they, maybe, wanted to include the clone onto the cart but if I had to guess it was realized that there would be a clear infringement issue. Perri always intended to make a legal multi cart so I can see him not wanting to include a blatant rip off. The games do feature ripped off content that’s clearly a licensing issue but I doubt Perri would have recognized that.

[@alex_-yz9to]

Damn i couldn't stay for the entore thing... But 1 and a half hours is good enough right?

[@flash4354]

Watch it periodically. Like, a few game segments a day.

[@thistime1483]

I remember buying this horrible thing thinking I was getting 52 awesome Nintendo games. My disappointment grew more and more intense as I came across the horrific controls, laughable graphics, and many unfinished levels. One plus side is that it's worth quite a bit of money on eBay now. I'm glad I kept my copy after all.

[@tivvy2vs21]

Did you pay 200 dollars, or get it "used" (cause no one would use this thing)?

[@thistime1483]

@@tivvy2vs21 I bought it used for about 5 dollars back in 2004 or so.

[@shinkiro403]

@@thistime1483 wow, jackpot

[@jc.1191]

@@thistime1483 I'm glad you didn't pay full price. I feel bad for those who were scammed with that price.

[@johnmj89schannel47]

Would be interesting to see a rom hack of this game that improves the gameplay and maybe even some sprite work to make this turd playable

[@Hyreia]

In Star Evil, It would have been so easy to just have more than one pool of sprites. Three qtips on screen at once. Four enemies at once. Done.

[@davidpeters6743]

Green and blue grass on the moon, checks out.