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Normally, a compilation of games is a good thing. The two stellar volumes of the Capcom Classics Collection and the awesome Taito Legends are perfect examples of how to make a set of great games. There’s a reason for that, though – the games are a blast to play. Action 52, on the other hand, is a textbook example of how to make the opposite of the sets I just mentioned. The games are laughable, and not a single one is memorable. Even the “best” of the set, Cheetahmen, has been neutered.
Active entertainment is a small game company with only two full titles to its name, one of which is the Action 52 (the other being the unreleased NES title Cheetahman 2). The masterminds behind this game must have thought that if they could create a cartridge with 15x as many games as normal, they’d be millionaires. Considering the results, it would seem like they either A) Hired a group of college programmers to create some basic games or B) Hired ONE man to create every game in his basement. Any of the above options would have probably turned out better than what was released.
In truth, Active Enterprises contracted FarSight Studios to create their abomination and thus the Action 52 was released in 1991 for both the NES and the Genesis. Read the full article for more details.