___________ ___
/\ ____ \ __ /\__\
\ \ \___\ \ _______ /\ \__ \/__/_ ____ _____
\ \ _____ \ /\ ___\ \ \ _\ /\ \ / ___`\ / ___ `\
\ \ \___/\ \ \ \ \__/ \ \ \/ \ \ \ /\ \/`\ \ /\ \__/\ \
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \_____ \ \ \__ \ \ \ \ \ \__\ \\ \ \ \ \ \
\ \__\ \ \__\ \ \_______\ \ \___\ \ \__\ \ \_____/ \ \_\ \ \_\
\/__/ \/__/ \/_______/ \/___/ \/__/ \/____/ \/_/ \/_/
______________ ______________
/\ __________\ /\___________ \
\ \ \_________/ \/__________/\ \
\ \ \ \ \ \
\ \ \ \ \ \
\ \ \__________ __________\_\ \
\ \__________ \ /\ ____________\
\/_________/\ \ \ \ \___________/
\ \ \ \ \ \
\ \ \ \ \ \
________\_\ \ \ \ \___________
/\_____________\ \ \_____________\
\/_____________/ \/_____________/
o---------------------------------------------------------------------------o
| Platform: NES |
| Version 2.0 (December 10, 2007) |
| |
| By Brian Sulpher & The Admiral |
| Email:
[email protected] &
[email protected] |
o---------------------------------------------------------------------------o
INTRODUCTION
------------
So many clichés jump to mind when thinking of Action 52: "They broke the mold
with this one," "They just don't make them like they used to," and "One man's
trash is another man's treasure." Action 52 is a terrible game, by any
standards, and no one will ever tell you otherwise. In fact, the sole reason
that this guide exists and that you are likely reading it is because Action
52 is so astoundingly bad that you almost need to see it to believe it. It's
not just bad based on a few gamers' experiences, either. The game was a
complete scam, released by a phantom company at an initial price of $200.
Action 52 was sold under the guise of "52 games for less than $4 each," but
even this statement relies on a very loose interpretation of the word
"games." Nearly every single one of the 52 games is loaded with bugs or
glitches. Some games don't start, some freeze or crash moments after
loading, and many are just clones of other games with different colors and
sprites. The back story of Action 52 is probably more interesting than the
game itself, and this guide dedicates a section to the folly that was Active
Enterprises and the game that has become their legacy.
Despite all that, there's something strangely attractive about this game.
It's drawn attention among a dedicated enough circle that it's a veritable
cult classic in the making. When you relax all your standards of what a game
should be and just take it for what it is, you can actually have quite a bit
of fun "playing" Action 52. This guide, while keeping in that spirit of fun,
offers a very in-depth look at the workings of each game, from the initial
storyline presented in the manual down to the individual glitches that will
end your gaming adventures. Hopefully, this guide will enhance whatever
entertainment Action 52 affords you, letting you experience one of the most
unique games ever made to its fullest. Yeah, they just don't make them like
they used to. And Active Enterprises sure broke the mold with this one.
=============================================================================
D I S C L A I M E R ACT0A
=============================================================================
This FAQ is meant for personal use only and cannot be reproduced or
redistributed for commercial usage under any circumstances. No portions of
this guide may be reprinted, in part or in entirety, without the expressed,
written consent of the authors. If you would like to use any part of this
guide in your FAQ or on your website, we will probably give you permission if
you ask, but you must ask first (Email:
[email protected] or
[email protected]). The Action 52 title and all characters, games, and
contents within are copyright of Active Enterprises, 1991.
=============================================================================
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S ACT0B
=============================================================================
To jump to any section of this guide quickly, click the Edit option on the
toolbar, then go to Find and type in the index number listed in the right
column. You can also press Ctrl+F to bring up the search box in most
browsers and text editors. The index codes for all game are ACT## where ##
is the number of the game. Codes for all other sections, including the
games, can be found below.
INTRODUCTION
DISCLAIMER..............................................................ACT0A
TABLE OF CONTENTS.......................................................ACT0B
HISTORY.................................................................ACT0C
EMULATORS...............................................................ACT0D
GAMES BY GENRE..........................................................ACT0E
GAME WALKTHROUGHS.......................................................ACT00
1. FIRE BREATHER........................................................ACT01
2. STAREVIL.............................................................ACT02
3. ILLUMINATOR..........................................................ACT03
4. G-FORCE..............................................................ACT04
5. OOZE.................................................................ACT05
6. SILVER SWORD.........................................................ACT06
7. CRITICAL BYPASS......................................................ACT07
8. JUPITER SCOPE........................................................ACT08
9. ALFREDO..............................................................ACT09
10. OPERATION FULL MOON.................................................ACT10
11. DAM BUSTERS.........................................................ACT11
12. THRUSTERS...........................................................ACT12
13. HAUNTED HILL........................................................ACT13
14. CHILL OUT...........................................................ACT14
15. SHARKS..............................................................ACT15
16. MEGALONIA...........................................................ACT16
17. FRENCH BAKER........................................................ACT17
18. ATMOS QUAKE.........................................................ACT18
19. MEONG...............................................................ACT19
20. SPACE DREAMS........................................................ACT20
21. STREEMERZ...........................................................ACT21
22. SPREAD FIRE.........................................................ACT22
23. BUBBLEGUM ROSY......................................................ACT23
24. MICRO MIKE..........................................................ACT24
25. UNDERGROUND.........................................................ACT25
26. ROCKET JOCKEY.......................................................ACT26
27. NON HUMAN...........................................................ACT27
28. CRY BABY............................................................ACT28
29. SLASHERS............................................................ACT29
30. CRAZY SHUFFLE.......................................................ACT30
31. FUZZ POWER..........................................................ACT31
32. SHOOTING GALLERY....................................................ACT32
33. LOLLIPOPS...........................................................ACT33
34. EVIL EMPIRE.........................................................ACT34
35. SOMBREROS...........................................................ACT35
36. STORM OVER THE DESERT...............................................ACT36
37. MASH MAN............................................................ACT37
38. THEY CAME...........................................................ACT38
39. LAZER LEAGUE........................................................ACT39
40. BILLY BOB...........................................................ACT40
41. CITY OF DOOM........................................................ACT41
42. BITS AND PIECES.....................................................ACT42
43. BEEPS AND BLIPS.....................................................ACT43
44. MANCHESTER BEAT.....................................................ACT44
45. BOSS................................................................ACT45
46. DEDANT..............................................................ACT46
47. HAMBOS ADVENTURES...................................................ACT47
48. TIME WARP...........................................................ACT48
49. JIGSAW..............................................................ACT49
50. NINJA ASSAULT.......................................................ACT50
51. ROBBIE ROBOT........................................................ACT51
52. CHEETAHMEN..........................................................ACT52
ACTION 52 DRINKING GAME.................................................ACT0E
CONTACT INFORMATION.....................................................ACT0F
REVISION HISTORY........................................................ACT0G
CREDITS.................................................................ACT0H
=============================================================================
H I S T O R Y ACT0C
=============================================================================
The following history of Active Enterprises and Action 52 has been furnished
by Andrew "Mike Sanders" Harris, who has spent considerable time researching
this history and trying to track down the remnants of Active Enterprises.
Andrew likely knows more about this topic than anyone short of the company’s
founders.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Active Enterprises Ltd. was formed in 1989. The company was born with the
intention of developing a multi-game cartridge, Action 52, for the Nintendo
Entertainment System. The company, founded by Vince Perri and Raul Gomila,
was based out of Florida but headquartered in Nassau, Bahamas.
In 1991, Active released their first video game title, Action 52 for the NES.
Judging from its overall rarity, most would assume that the cart sold poorly.
In early 1991, Active trademarked two of its creations, Action 52 and
Cheetahmen. The company seemed to have plans to trademark Cygore and Doctor
Morbis, both villains from the Cheetahmen series, but this never happened. By
1993, Active had contracted California-based company FarSight Technologies
(now FarSight Studios) to create Action 52 for the Sega Genesis and Super
Nintendo. FarSight was also hired to start work on Active's upcoming multi-
platform sports title, Sports 5.
In June 1993, Active published their first and only Sega Genesis cartridge,
also titled Action 52. While the game shared the same name as its NES
counterpart, it was in fact a completely different game and not a simple
port. The release of Action 52 for the Super Nintendo likely would have
provided a similar game to the Genesis version, but it never saw release.
Also never released was either version of Active's Sports 5 title, a game
which had only barely entered development before being canceled.
During this time period, Active worked on their own portable game system.
Titled the Action Gamemaster, it was planned to be a hand-held unit that
would play Active's own games, as well as NES, SNES, and Genesis games with
the use of adapters. According to October 1992s Video Business, the system
was to be unveiled at the 1993 Consumer Electronics Show. All that was
revealed at the show however, was a single page showing a rendering of the
planned system. How far the system actually got into development is anyone's
guess, but early estimates were that the system would be very unwieldy and
would cost at least five hundred dollars.
As 1994 rolled around, Active soon left the video game market. What happened
to Active Enterprises following this is largely unknown. What is known is
that they merged with Ivan Koulakovski's company, Voice Technologies, and
that Vince Perri left the company a short time afterward. The last word of
Perri's location is that he is running a casino in the Dominican Republic,
though the associate that provided this information isn't speaking anymore.
Raul Gomila, the other half of the team? He managed a Jacksonville, Florida
car dealership, then promptly disappeared soon after claiming that he was in
negotiations to bring the Cheetahmen back in cartoon form.
=============================================================================
E M U L A T O R S ACT0D
=============================================================================
Action 52 performs very differently on many emulators. Some will not run
Action 52 at all, some will not run all the games, and some run the games
with limited performance. For technical reference, Action 52 uses Mapper
228, and any emulator which does not support this one cannot load the game.
Please note that this guide does not provide links to any ROM images of
Action 52, nor will such files be provided if you contact the authors. This
guide assumes that you own the cart and are playing the ROM legally from an
image you flashed yourself.
The following section includes a list of which emulators best play this game,
based on the most recent versions at the time of this guide's completion. If
we have excluded any worthwhile emulators or new releases which handle this
game differently, please contact us.
NESten (v0.61, with v1.2 Mappers): This was the only emulator we found that
could run all games on the ROM flawlessly, even ones that the actual cart
couldn't load. This includes Alfredo and Jigsaw. The graphics and audio
performance are not as good as Nestopia, RockNES or a few other emulators,
but they are more than sufficient. It also does not have a true full-
screen mode, which doesn't help. The main drawback of this emulator is
that save stage reloads are sometimes glitched. You can still play, but
the graphics are garbled. This problem will be fixed if you lose a life,
complete the current stage, or switch games. Our advice is to use this
emulator to see Alfredo and Jigsaw but a different emulator for everything
else.
Nestopia (v 1.37): This is the best performing emulator we found. It plays
all the games except Alfredo and Jigsaw. It has some incredible graphical
options that let you utilize different rendering modes. This makes the
game look much better visually. Saving states is somewhat annoying, but
this is a fine choice otherwise. While the authors were not able to test
it, we were told that Nestopia for Max OSX has support for Alfredo and
Jigsaw.
VirtuaNES (v0.97): Runs all the games except Alfredo and Jigsaw. Has some
very useful features, like easy memory editing tools and a fast-
forward/slow motion ability. Save states are also very easy to use.
FCE Ultra (v 0.98.12): This is another great emulator, but it does not play
Alfredo or Jigsaw. It also crashes after stage 1 of Shooting Gallery.
Otherwise, performance is very good.
RockNESX (v2.0): Performance-wise, this is a very good emulator. It has near
flawless graphics and sound emulation, controller support, easy to use save
state features, and options that allow you to adjust the graphics, sound,
and color palette to best suit your tastes. The only downside is that this
emulator, like many, will not play Alfredo or Jigsaw.
NNNesterJ (v0.23): Good emulator with multiple graphics options that allow
for smoothing, which is noticeable in most Action 52 titles. Controller
support and sound emulation are also very good, but this emulator cannot
play Alfredo or Jigsaw.
FCE Ultra (v0.81): This emulator has decent performance with good sound
emulation, but the graphics settings get lost in the transition to full-
screen mode and become jagged. This emulator also has the common issue of
being unable to play Alfredo and Jigsaw.
Nester (v2001.01.27): Cannot run Action 52
NESticle (vx.xx): Cannot run Action 52
JNES (v0.50 Beta 1): Cannot run Action 52
=============================================================================
G A M E S B Y G E N R E ACT0E
=============================================================================
New to Action 52 and not sure where to start? Thankfully, so many of the 52
games are clones of one another and can be easily classified. Lucky you!
Refer to the list below. It sorts all 52 games by genre. Games are listed
in the order they appear on the game menu. Descriptions for each genre are
found below the list.
o--------------------------------------------------------------------o
| SIDE SCROLLING | VERTICAL SCROLLING | STATIONARY |
| ACTION | ACTION | SHOOTER |
o----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|
| Ooze | Silver Sword | Fire Breather |
| Alfredo | Streemerz | Jupiter Scope |
| Dam Busters | Sombreros | Sharks |
| Haunted Hill | City of Doom | Spread Fire |
| Bubblegum Rosy | | Crazy Shuffle |
| Non Human | | Shooting Gallery |
| Fuzz Power | | Storm Over the Desert|
| Lollipops | | They Came |
| Mash Man | | Beeps and Blips |
| Billy Bob | | Dedant |
| Bits And Pieces | | |
| Manchester Beat | | |
| Boss | | |
| Time Warp | | |
| Jigsaw | | |
| Robbie Robot | | |
| Cheetahmen | | |
o--------------------------------------------------------------------o
O--------------------------------------------------------------------O
| SIDE SCROLLING | VERTICAL SCROLLING | PLATFORMER |
| SHOOTER | SHOOTER | |
O----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|
| G-Force | Starevil | Illuminator |
| Critical Bypass | Operation Full Moon | Chill Out |
| Megalonia | Thrusters | French Baker |
| Micro Mike | Atmos Quake | Cry Baby |
| Rocket Jockey | Space Dreams | Evil Empire |
| Lazer League | | Hambo's Adventures |
o--------------------------------------------------------------------o
o---------------------------------------------o
| FIGHTING | PUZZLE |
o----------------------|----------------------|
| Slashers | Meong |
| Ninja Assault | Underground |
o---------------------------------------------o
1. SIDE SCROLLING ACTION: You control a character and move horizontally
across the screen. The screen scroll is controlled by you. Other games
that use this format are Super Mario Bros. and Contra.
2. VERTICAL SCROLLING ACTION: You also control a character and the screen
scroll, but this variety is done from an overhead perspective (usually)
where the screen moves vertically. This is similar to a game like Ikari
Warriors or the first stage of Kid Icarus.
3. STATIONARY SHOOTER: In these games, you remain on a single screen and have
to kill any enemies that appear. In some you have a limited range of
motion, like Galaga and Space Invaders. In others, you can move anywhere
on the screen, like Asteroids.
4. SIDE SCROLLING SHOOTER: In these games, the screen scrolls horizontally
and you maneuver around, killing enemies as they appear. You do not
control the speed of the scroll. This is similar to games like Gradius
and R-Type.
5. VERTICAL SCROLLING SHOOTER: This is the format of typical "shoot 'em ups"
or SHMUPS. The screen scrolls vertically on its own and you kill enemies
as they appear. Other games following this format are Star Force and
Zanac.
6. PLATFORMER: Plaformers are single screen games where the goal is to reach
the top of a series of platforms, through some combination of jumping and
climbing. This is similar to games like Donkey Kong or the original (pre-
NES) Mario Bros.
7. FIGHTING: In these games, you engage enemies and punch or kick them
numerous times to win the battle. This is the format used by games like
Double Dragon.
8. PUZZLE: These games feature some type of strategy and do not fall into the
other genres.
=============================================================================
G A M E W A L K T H R O U G H S ACT00
=============================================================================
The following sections give full descriptions or walkthroughs for all 52
games on the Action 52 cart. Each section gives the game's description from
the instruction manual, a general overview, controls listing, tips and
strategies, tactics for facing enemies and obstacles, and a discussion of
some of the bugs and glitches.
Some of the more complex games include stage overviews or walkthroughs,
depending on the level of detail. These instructions and strategies will
hopefully guide you through any problematic sections of the game (or let you
know if this is even possible). If you spot any errors or areas you think
could be improved, please contact the authors. Good luck in your Action 52
endeavors!
=============================================================================
01. F I R E B R E A T H E R ACT01
=============================================================================
"It's the last of the dragon wars. You must kill the dragon riders in the
midnight skies and bring victory to the kingdom."
OVERVIEW
--------
Fire Breather is the only game on the Action 52 cart than two people can play
simultaneously. It puts both players in the control of a giant Dragon, and
the goal is to knock the opposition from the sky by pelting his Dragon with
fireballs. Remember, that the levels allow for wrapping around provided no
obstacles block the path. The first Player to get more victories out of the
eight matches will be the champion of the Fire Breather duels! Action 52
starts off with this surprisingly playable title, but that isn't saying very
much.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your Dragon up and down.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your Dragon left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots fireballs from your Dragon's mouth.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. FIREBALLS: After enough time, Fireballs will appear and will spin in
place, waiting for someone to run into them. They inflict 1 unit of
damage. They can be removed with a fireball of your own.
2. ORBS: Red and black orbs will appear and try to hunt your Dragon down.
They inflict 1 unit of damage. They can be removed with a fireball of
your own.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Due to the screen wrap around, you can position your Dragon so that half
of it appears on each side of the screen. When done on the left and right
sides of the screen, you will not be able to completely move up and down.
Your movement returns to normal once you fly back into the main field.
2. When experiencing the same wrap around as described above, shots fired at
the Dragon will occasionally go right through him, not inflicting damage.
This is a cheap way to avoid damage.
OBJECTIVE
---------
The main goal is to deplete the opponent's life before he depletes yours.
Each player has 7 units of life per level. There are eight stages and the
score is displayed after each stage. After completing all 8 stages, the game
returns to the menu screen.
STAGE OVERVIEW
--------------
Stage 1: The first level is wide open, with one castle blocking off part of
the top right quadrant.
Stage 2: The second level is another wide open level, but it has one castle
blocking off the top left quadrant.
Stage 3: The third level is a completely wide open level.
Stage 4: The fourth level is spacious, but it does have a castle in the
bottom right quadrant.
Stage 5: The fifth level has a lot of open room, with a castle in the
bottom right quadrant.
Stage 6: The sixth level is a completely wide open level.
Stage 7: The seventh level has many small blocks strewn about that try to cut
off your flight paths.
Stage 8: The eighth level has a windy wall all along the bottom of the
screen, as well as large thick wall on the left half of the screen.
=============================================================================
02. S T A R E V I L ACT02
=============================================================================
"The star gets brighter until there is no night. Then the fire creatures
come out to rule and defeat you, but kill them all and bring back the
night."
OVERVIEW
--------
The game's description makes no sense at all, but Starevil is a typical space
shooter. You control a pod-like ship that fires projectile "bars" at enemies
as you fly through three vertically scrolling stages. The graphics and play
control are actually decent by Action 52 standards, but, as you'd expect, the
gameplay is pretty limited.
Most enemies look like your ship or some variation of your ship via a little
uninspired palette swapping. The AI is also close to non-existent, as the
enemies don't do much more than fly forward, occasionally moving in some
direction diagonally. Nothing shoots at you or really presents much of an
obstacle. The biggest roadblock is trying to avoid crashing into walls or
dying from the horrid hit detection.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your ship forwards and backwards.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your ship left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots projectiles from the ship. Holding down the A-Button
will fire a constant projectile screen, but not as fast as you
could by tapping the button yourself.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. SHIPS (100-500 PTS): This game has an assortment of green and red enemy
ships that attack you. There isn't really much difference between any of
them, except that some move a little faster and some can veer left or
right. Most will just fly straight at you and then right on past you.
None of the ships fire projectiles of any kind.
2. BOSS SHIP (1000 PTS PER HIT): Large, red ship that guards the end of each
stage. It moves quickly around the screen in straight lines, seemingly
independent of where you are (ah, the amazing AI at work). This foe takes
22 hits to dispatch, but is hardly much of a threat if you stay near the
middle of the screen and avoid contact. It also does not fire any
projectiles.
3. WALLS AND BLOCKS: These include the blocks and obstacles scattered around
the screen, as well as the edges of the screen. Touching any of these
will likely kill you.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. At the start of each stage, there is a block directly in front of your
ship that will typically kill you within a second. Be prepared to fly
left or right to dodge it, or you'll be in for a quick game (like this
would be a bad thing...).
2. The vertical hit detection is extremely poor. If there is a block or wall
even half a ship length in front of or behind you, you will hit it and
most likely be killed. Keep this in mind when flying. The horizontal hit
detection (side-to-side) seems to be much more accurate.
3. You actually have a life bar in this game –- found on the lower-left side
of the screen. It helps protect you from enemy collisions and *slight*
touches against walls and blocks.
4. It makes sense to stay against the bottom of the screen at all times.
This gives you the most time to react to obstacles, and there is no fear
of anything coming from behind and killing you.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. You can be killed by blocks/walls that you don't even touch. This only
seems to happen when you get close to obstacles directly in front of or
behind you.
2. For some reason, the end stage bosses will occasionally fail to appear.
This seems most common is stage 1 and especially stage 3. When this
occurs, the scrolling will stop and enemies just keep appearing on the
screen. The only way to correct this is to die and try again.
3. If you have a turbo controller, you can prevent any enemies from appearing
on the screen. Just hold the fire button and shoot continuously. Due to
sprite limitations, enemy ships will never appear.
4. Stage 4 is unplayable. The game will display a loading screen, but, once
the stage begins, the screen will be blank and the sounds will be slowed
down. It does seem like pressing the buttons has some effect, but you
cannot do anything. If you leave the game running long enough, you will
eventually be killed by something and the stage will reload, only to be
glitched again. You need to exit the game at this point.
OBJECTIVE
---------
Make your way through three scrolling space stages, defeating the boss at the
end of each one. You have 4 lives to complete this game, and dying sends you
back to the start of the stage. You also have a life bar that offers you a
slight bit of protection from enemies and obstacles. After stage 3, a fourth
stage will load, but it is unplayable. Exit to the main menu by pressing
Start + Select.
STAGE OVERVIEW
--------------
Stage 1: Gold, red, and blue background. As soon as you begin, move your
ship to the right. There is a block just before the start of the
stage that will kill you otherwise (nice way of Action 52 to "add" a
challenge). After this point, the level is pretty easy. You can
more or less remain in the center of the screen and continuously
fire. Enemies do their part to stay away from you, so they
shouldn't pose much threat. There is a boss at the end of the stage
that is moderately difficult. It will fly forward and try to make
contact with you, and it moves about somewhat erratically. Try to
stay near the center of the screen and keep your distance from the
boss. It takes 22 hits to destroy. If you patiently wait for your
opening to fire, the fight should be over in about 30 seconds.
Stage 2: Red, white, and blue background. Same cheap trick as at the start
of stage 1, only more annoying. You'll need to be holding LEFT as
soon as the level starts, otherwise your ship will smash into a pair
of blocks. This level has a series of "block traps" scattered
throughout, which are arrangements of blocks that you will need to
zigzag between. The end boss is the same as in stage 1. Again, try
to stay near the middle of the screen and fire when given the
opportunity. It's more important to keep your space and stay alive
than to get a few extra hits off, so try to remain patient.
Stage 3: Brown, red, and blue background. Another cheap trick at the start,
though this one gives you some time to react. Overall, this level
is probably easier to navigate than the previous one, as the
passages are more open and the blocks are farther apart. The
enemies, however, are noticeably quicker. Still, not a threat. The
end stage boss is also a bit easier as you have more space to
maneuver. Deliver 22 hits and the ship will be destroyed.
Stage 4: As you would expect, Starevil's major glitch takes effect here. The
loading screen will appear, but the stage will be blank once it
begins. You can move around and press buttons on the controller
(you will hear shooting sounds), but nothing happens. The sound is
also slightly slower and glitched. Eventually you will die and he
loading or Game Over screens will appear.. No matter what you do,
you can never advance beyond this point. Even if you cheat to get
to the next level (through Game Genie or hacking), there is nothing
programmed. Starevil was never meant to go beyond stage 3. Too
bad. This game was verging on only "poor," but this glitch bumps it
back down to "terrible."
=============================================================================
03. I L L U M I N A T O R ACT03
=============================================================================
"The Illuminator must find his sister in the dark. He must also find
batteries if his get weak and can use a special spotlight to kill the
enemies. Can also get additional flashlights, but he must be careful of
enemies like shadows, vampires and others."
OVERVIEW
--------
One of Action 52's innovative games, you play a character who runs around
multi-floored levels attempting to zap any enemies he can find. The catch is
that the levels are dark except for when you burn an enemy to a crisp, which
lights the screen for about a second or two. You will use ladders to move up
and down to get your enemies, with only the floors and enemies being visible
most of the time. This creates a real challenge in figuring where the
enemies are by following their shadows and timing your movement just
perfectly to avoid them. Clunky controls and the appearance of the obscenely
difficult bats ruin this game in the later stages, but it is otherwise one of
the more playable titles on this cart.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your character up and down ladders.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your character left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots an electrical charge at the enemies.
B-BUTTON: Causes a jump when your character is stuck in the floor.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. VAMPIRES (50 PTS): Vampires move back and forth across the floor trying to
run you down. They become faster as the stages advance.
2. SHADOW VAMPIRES (50 PTS): Similar to vampires except they are completely
black and move slightly faster.
3. BATS (50 PTS): Bats are the most difficult enemy in the game and will
relentlessly hunt you. The best way to get rid of them is to go to the
side of the screen, where you begin to wrap around. The Bats will
disappear when they near this area without harming you. They can be shot,
but this is exceptionally hard to time. If you attempt it, you are better
off jumping while standing on the bottom level and trying to shoot them in
mid-air.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Use the silhouette of enemies as they pass by ladders to determine their
location in the dark. Plan your move to different floors when enemies are
at a safe distance.
2. Stick to guarding one or two floors at all times until you have to go get
the other floors when enemy stocks are running low.
4. Keep a sharp eye out for Bats as they can really hurt your progress with
their speed and ability to home directly in on you.
4. In stages that wrap around on the sides (most of them), you will be
invincible to all enemies while you are partially off the screen. This
offers you a safe spot to wait when you are not moving between floors.
Use this to your advantage, especially in later levels, as it is an
excellent way to avoid the bats.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. It's possible to walk within the floor. When you are almost up a ladder,
push left or right and you begin walking through the ground. You can
correct this by jumping or climbing back up/down a ladder.
2. Sometimes Shadow Vampires will get stuck and just vibrate within a small
area.
3. After completing the tenth stage, the game just sends you back to the
first one. There is no ending or other acknowledgement that you've
completed the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You begin with 4 lives and have to complete ten stages. As the levels
advance, the enemies become quicker. Here is the listing of how many enemies
are required to advance past the given stage.
Level 1: 12 enemies
Level 2: 16 enemies
Level 3: 18 enemies
Level 4: 22 enemies
Level 5: 22 enemies
Level 6: 12 enemies
Level 7: 16 enemies
Level 8: 18 enemies
Level 9: 22 enemies
Level 10: 22 enemies (back to level 1)
STAGE OVERVIEW
--------------
=========
Level One
=========
||| |||
||| |||
||| |||
||| |||
|||------+--+--------------------------------------------------|||
|||------+--+--------------------------------------------------|||
||| +--+ |||
||| +--+ |||
||| +--+ |||
||| +--+ |||
|||------+--+----------------------------------------+--+------|||
|||--------------------------------------------------+--+------|||
||| +--+ |||
||| +--+ |||
||| +--+ |||
||| +--+ |||
|||------+--+----------------------------------------+--+------|||
|||------+--+--------------------------------------------------|||
||| +--+ |||
||| +--+ |||
||| +--+ |||
||| +--+ |||
|||------+--+------------------+--+----------------------------|||
|||----------------------------+--+----------------------------|||
||| +--+ |||
||| +--+ |||
||| +--+ |||
||| +--+ |||
-------------------------------+--+-------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------
- Just watch the ladders to tell when it is safe to climb up to next level
to make a kill.
- Walls prevent you from wrapping around.
- You must defeat 12 enemies to advance to the next stage.
=========
Level Two
=========
---------------------------------------------+--+-------------------
---------------------------------------------+--+-------------------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
------+--+-----------------------------------+--+-------------------
------+--+----------------------------------------------------------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
------+--+------------------+--+------------------------------------
----------------------------+--+------------------------------------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
----------------------------+--+--------------------------+--+------
----------------------------------------------------------+--+------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
----------------------------------------------------------+--+------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
- No walls mean you can wrap around to the far side of the screen.
- You must defeat 16 enemies to advance to the next stage.
===========
Level Three
===========
||| |||
||| |||
||| |||
||| |||
|||------+--+------------------+--+----------------------------|||
|||------+--+------------------+--+----------------------------|||
||| +--+ +--+ |||
||| +--+ +--+ |||
||| +--+ +--+ |||
||| +--+ +--+ |||
|||------+--+----------+--+----+--+----- ---------+--+------|||
|||--------------------+--+------------- ---------+--+------|||
||| +--+ +--+ |||
||| +--+ +--+ |||
||| +--+ +--+ |||
||| +--+ +--+ |||
|||-----------+--+-----+--+--------+--+--------------+--+------|||
|||-----------+--+-----------------+--+------------------------|||
||| +--+ +--+ |||
||| +--+ +--+ |||
||| +--+ +--+ |||
||| +--+ +--+ |||
|||------- +--+-----+--+--------+--+----------+--+----------|||
|||------- ---------+--+----------------------+--+----------|||
||| +--+ +--+ |||
||| +--+ +--+ |||
||| +--+ +--+ |||
||| +--+ +--+ |||
|||--------------------+--+----------------------+--+----------|||
|||------------------------------------------------------------|||
- Falling through a hole will result in your death, so be sure to avoid the
holes at all costs.
- Walls prevent you from wrapping around.
- You must defeat 18 enemies to advance to the next stage.
==========
Level Four
==========
------------ --------------- ---------------------+--+------
------------ --------------- ---------------------+--+------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+---------------------------------- --------------+--+------
+--+---------------------------------- ------------------------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+--------------------+--+----------------- -----------------
------------------------+--+----------------- -----------------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
---------- ----------+--+----------------------------+--+------
---------- ------------------------------------------+--+------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
--------------------------------------------------------+--+------
------------------------------------------------------------------
- Falling through a hole will result in your death, so be sure to avoid the
holes at all costs.
- No walls mean you can wrap around to the far side of the screen.
- The background of this stage is actually quite helpful, as it helps reveal
enemies when your flashlight is out
- You must defeat 22 enemies to advance to the next stage.
==========
Level Five
==========
--------------- ------------------ ------------ ------+--+
--------------- ------------------ ------------ ------+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+----------- ---------------------- ------------------+--+
+--+----------- ---------------------- ----------------------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+----------------------------- --------------------------+--+
--------------------------------- --------------------------+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
--------------- ------+--+---------------- --------------+--+
--------------- ------+--+---------------- ------------------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
-------------------------+--+--------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
- Falling through a hole will result in your death, so be sure to avoid the
holes at all costs.
- No walls mean you can wrap around to the far side of the screen.
- You will need to use your mini-hop on this level.
- You must defeat 22 enemies to advance to the next stage.
=========
Level Six
=========
---------------------------------------+--+------------------------
---------------------------------------+--+------------------------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+-----------------------------------+--+------------------------
+--+---------------------------------------------------------------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+-----------------------------------+--+------------------------
---------------------------------------+--+------------------------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+-----------------------------------+--+------------------------
+--+---------------------------------------------------------------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+---------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
- No walls mean you can wrap around to the far side of the screen.
- You can collect the batteries strewn about the level, but they don't seem
to do anything.
- Move to the side of the screen to avoid death from the bats. Bats often
appear as soon as the stage begins, so move immediately.
- You must defeat 12 enemies to advance to the next stage.
===========
Level Seven
===========
------ ------+--+---------- ------+--+-----------------------
------ ------+--+---------- ------+--+-----------------------
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
------ ------+--+--- --+--+-- --+--+-----------------------
------ ------------- --+--+-- -----------------------------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
-------------------- ----+--+-- ----------------+--+---------
-------------------- ---------- ----------------+--+---------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
----------------+--+------ --------+--+------------+--+---------
----------------+--+------ --------+--+-------------------------
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
----------------+--+------ --------+--+-------------------------
-------------------------- -------------------------------------
- Just watch the ladders to tell when it is safe to climb up to next level
to make a kill.
- Falling through a hole will result in your death, so be sure to avoid the
holes at all costs.
- No walls mean you can wrap around to the far side of the screen.
- You will need to use your mini-hop on this level.
- You must defeat 16 enemies to advance to the next stage.
===========
Level Eight
===========
------------- -------------------- -----------------+--+------
------------- -------------------- -----------------+--+------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
---+--+------------------- -------------- ----------+--+------
---+--+------------------- -------------- --------------------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
---+--+---------- ----------------------- ----------+--+------
----------------- ----------------------- ----------+--+------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
---+--+----------------------- ------------------------+--+------
---+--+----------------------- ----------------------------------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
---+--+--------------------------------- ------------------------
---------------------------------------- ------------------------
- Just watch the ladders to tell when it is safe to climb up to next level
to make a kill.
- Falling through a hole will result in your death, so be sure to avoid the
holes at all costs.
- No walls mean you can wrap around to the far side of the screen.
- You must defeat 18 enemies to advance to the next stage.
==========
Level Nine
==========
---------------+--+-------------------------------------------------
---------------+--+-------------------------------------------------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
---+--+--------+--+-------------------------------------------------
---+--+-------------------------------------------------------------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
---+--+--------------------------+--+-------------------------------
---------------------------------+--+-------------------------------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
---------------------------------+--+--------------------+--+-------
---------------------------------------------------------+--+-------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
---------------------------------------------------------+--+-------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
- No walls mean you can wrap around to the far side of the screen.
- Stay on the side of the screen the entire time unless you are moving
between floors. This will protect you from random bat appearances and
still allows you to kill all the enemies that appear on the floor.
- It is a good idea to remain on the bottom two floors until no more enemies
appear. Most of the time, you can just stand at the side of the screen and
safely pick off enemies on the floor as they spawn. Once no more enemies
appear, move to the top to levels and defeat the final foes.
- You must defeat 22 enemies to advance to the next stage.
=========
Level Ten
=========
---------------------------------+--+------------------+--+---------
---------------------------------+--+------------------+--+---------
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
---+--+--------------------------+--+------------------+--+---------
---+--+-------------------------------------------------------------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
---+--+------------------------------------------------------+--+---
-------------------------------------------------------------+--+---
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
---------------------------------+--+------------------------+--+---
---------------------------------+--+-------------------------------
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
---------------------------------+--+-------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
- No walls mean you can wrap around to the far side of the screen.
- Bats often appear as soon as the stag begins. Move immediately to the side
to survive.
- It is a good idea to remain between floors two and three. Again, stay near
the side of the screen and you can safely pick off enemies. Use the ladder
on the far right side of the screen to move between levels.
- You must defeat 22 enemies to advance to the next stage.
- After completing this stage, you are sent back to stage 1.
=============================================================================
04. G - F O R C E F I G H T E R ACT04
=============================================================================
"Watch your fuel level. Use it wisely and escape the force that holds you.
The enemies are strong but the G-Force of the planet will take us as we get
powerless."
OVERVIEW
--------
G-Force Fighter is another generic side-scrolling space shooter among half a
dozen or so on the cart. It's a completely unmemorable title. You fly your
Fighter Jet through the narrow corridor as you fight off enemies, none of
which do anything except appear and fly directly forward. There is no AI of
any kind and zero challenge whatsoever, as you can make it through the entire
game without any danger just by hiding at the bottom of the screen. In fact,
if there is one interesting reason to play this game, it is to see how few
buttons you can press and still beat it. You may even be able to do it
blind-folded. Good luck!
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your Ship up and down.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your Ship left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots ammunition rounds from your Ship's cannon.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
Nearly every enemy below is identical. All of them will just fly straight
forward from wherever they appear, and none can maneuver vertically. Some
enemies will attempt to fire a bullet at you if they fly past you.
1. Green Fighter (250 PTS)
2. Purple Wing (400 PTS)
3. Green Starship (250 PTS)
4. Blue Walker (350 PTS)
5. Blue Fighter (300 PTS)
6. Blue Starship (250 PTS)
7. Blue Pod (450 PTS)
8. Purple Flyer (400 PTS)
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Only shoot when you have an enemy lined up. Since your Fighter Jet is
limited to one bullet on the screen at a time, you do not want to have
stray shots prohibiting you from shooting the approaching group of enemy
fighters.
2. You have a green life bar in the bottom left corner of the screen, which
allows you to take 4 hits from enemies before dying.
3. If you are past mid screen, enemies will fire bullets at you as they pass.
While the bullets usually miss or fizzle out, you can avoid them all
together by staying as far left as possible.
4. Stay as far near the bottom of the screen. This makes it almost
impossible to die so long as you keep pressing the A button. Unlike other
spots, enemies will not hit you here.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. After completing the third stage, the game just sends you back to the
first one. There is no ending or other acknowledgement that you've
completed the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 4 lives to complete three levels. There is no boss at the end of
any of the stages. Once you have flown far enough, you just advance to the
next level.
STAGE OVERVIEW
--------------
Stage 1: Blue ceiling and floor lined by antennae. This level features green
fighters and starships as well as purple wings. If you move to the
very bottom of the screen and stay as far left as you can, you will
never be hit by an enemy. In fact, you complete this stage without
ever firing a shot.
Stage 2: Pink and gray floor and ceiling. This stage features all blue
enemies – the fighter, starship, walker, and pod. As with the last
stage, you can avoid every getting hit or needing to fire by staying
against the bottom of the screen.
Stage 3: Pink and brown/orange background. This stage features slightly
faster versions of all the stage 2 enemies plus the Purple Flyer.
As with the other two stages, stay at the bottom of the screen. In
this stage, you must actually fire in order to avoid damage. Just
mindlessly press the A-button and you will kill the Blue Walkers as
they appear. Once this stage is over, you are sent back to stage 1.
In all, I think this title sets the Action 52 record for "fewest
button presses required to complete a game," logging just under 10
in total.
=============================================================================
05. O O Z E ACT05
=============================================================================
"Avoid the green ooze."
OVERVIEW
--------
Active Enterprises must have had some big plans for Ooze, as it is one of
only 3 games with a unique title screen. However, it looks like most of the
work went into designing that art work, as the game itself is extremely
underwhelming in quality.
This is a typical side-scroller where you play as a small, green, Mohawk-
sporting tough guy who has a slime wrecking gun in his holster. You must
make your way through the various worlds killing off enemies and making sure
to avoid the Ooze. Even with a one word title and four word description,
this game still fails to deliver. The Ooze is not green (it's a blue puddle
that bounces around) and it only appears in the first stage. If you are
badass enough to slug it through the second level, you are rewarded with a
wonder, game ending crash. So much for this title's potential. The game's
description says to avoid the green ooze. Do yourself a favor and avoid the
game itself as well.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Not used.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your character left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots bullets from your sidearm.
B-BUTTON: Causes your character to jump.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. SLIME (50 PTS): There are two versions of this enemy. One sits in place,
firing shots at you occasionally, and the other bounds back and forth
while popping off the odd shot.
2. GREEN ACID: Green Acid occasionally fall from the ceiling in stage 1.
They fall quite slowly and can usually be avoided simply by moving left or
right. They are generally easy to avoid but can be a problem if you are
also dodging Slimes or Oozes.
3. OOZE: Oozes are large blue puddles will bounce their way across the screen
These foes are invulnerable, so you will have to jump over them when they
approach or stand atop a platform that is out of their reach..
4. RED ACID (100 PTS): Acid drops fall from the ceiling and will kill you if
touched. Red Acid fall often and sometimes in sheets, but they can be
destroyed. There is usually a delay between when the acid appear at the
top of the screen and when they fall, so move quickly to avoid them..
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Shoot as many Slimes as you go across the screen. This will lessen the
amount of projectiles you will need to dodge.
2. If you see the Ooze coming after you, try to get onto a bubble platform.
If you can do this, you will be able to dodge the Ooze's deadly charge.
3. The best way to jump over an Ooze when there is no platform is to let it
come to you, jump straight up, the hold the D-Pad to glide down past it.
This is much more effective than attempting a running jump, as you usually
land on the Ooze that way.
4. Oozes do not always spawn from the same place. If you use save states,
you can often change the spawning location of the Ooze simply by
reloading. This is useful if an Ooze happens to appear on a screen with
no platforms.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Sometimes the Slimes will be hopping back and forth along their patrol
routes, which will cause a problem as the Slimes will often hit your guy
with a projectile of their own.
2. If you jump and press the D-Pad in the opposite direction you are facing,
you will shoot from your back once back on the ground. This corrects
itself once you begin walking forward again.
3. At the end of stage 2, the game crashes. You will be forced to reset.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to complete two stages. There is no boss at the end of
either stage. Once you walk far enough, the advance to next level. Getting
hit by anything will send you back to the beginning of the stage.
STAGE OVERVIEW
--------------
Stage 1: This stage has a green floor and ceiling with blue bubble platforms.
The first part of this stage has a few Slimes and some pits. Just
shoot any Slimes on the other side of pits and avoid the bullets
that some of them shoot. After a half dozen pits, you will come
across an Ooze, which is a bluish, water-like object that bounces
along the floor. There are several bubble platforms scattered
around the level that are low enough for you to jump on. When on
one, you are safe from the Ooze, so make use of these whenever
possible. It is even worthwhile to nudge forward and try to lure
an Ooze onto the screen if a platform is visible. If you don't have
any such platform, you will need to jump over the Ooze, which is not
easy. Wait for it to approach, then jump straight up and press
forward on the D-Pad. If your timing is right, you will land on the
other side of the Ooze safely. The spawning of Oozes is somewhat
random, so they will not always appear in the same spot each time.
Eventually, you will walk far enough that the stage ends.
Stage 2: This stage has a purple floor with purple bricks in the background
and red bubble platforms. The main enemy in this stage is the
falling Red Acid. Red Acids will often fall several at a time and
sometimes in waves. There is usually a delay between when the acids
appear at the top of the screen and when they fall, so if you remain
moving constantly, you should be in better shape than if you stop
and advance cautiously. There are no Oozes in this stage and only a
few Slimes that don't seem to do anything. Overall this is a much
easier stage than the first. Once you have walked far enough, the
game will crash. The screen turns black and you will be forced to
reset.
=============================================================================
06. S I L V E R S W O R D ACT06
=============================================================================
"Mutants in the forest and the must be fought off."
OVERVIEW
--------
How could this cart be complete without an Ikari Warriors rip off? Silver
Sword is a horizontal scroller that puts you in command of some supposedly
brave knight in a long forgotten kingdom. His mission, oddly, is to rid the
world of the terrible mutants that dwell within the forests. He does this by
throwing a seemingly inexhaustible supply of Silver Swords, but this never
seems to quell the mutant population. The enemies will show up in groups of
up to six at a time in the later levels, which can make some portions next to
impossible. This is another unremarkable title, so don't feel you need more
than a couple minutes to experience it to the fullest.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your character up and down.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your character left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots your Silver Swords at the mutant in the forests.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. KNIGHT (25 PTS): Who knows what this really is. Could also be a tank.
Regardless, Knights move about the screen and attempt to collide with you.
They do not fire any projectiles. They come in rust, purple, and pink
colors.
2. CENTIPEDE (25 PTS): These are large, pink enemies that scurry around the
screen. They are fairly easy to kill and do no fire projectiles.
3. WIZARD (25, 50 PTS): This is a relatively small foe that moves about the
screen and fires pink, flowerlike projectiles. Wizards can be very
dangerous if combined with other enemies. They come in rust, purple, and
pink colors. The Pink ones appear in stage 3 and do not fire projectiles.
3. SNAKE (50 PTS): Snakes a small, slithery creatures that move around
quickly and fire multiple projectiles at once. Snakes are one of the
hardest enemy in the game.
5. S-BOX (50 PTS): No clue what these are supposed to be, but they have an S
on them. These are non-projectile enemies similar to knights. Usually
they will appear and disappear harmlessly from the screen.
6. SLIME (50 PTS): Slimes only appear in stage 3. They move along the screen
quickly and fire projectiles. Slimes are fairly large, which makes them a
bit easier to kill than Wizards.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. You have an invisible life bar in this game. It protects you from two
hits (either projectile or contact) before you are killed. Your life bar
refills when you begin a new stage.
2. If you are facing a projectile enemy, try to pick it off from a distance.
It lessens your chance of getting hit.
3. On Level Two, stand one character distance from either the left or right
side of the screen, then run forward at top speed while firing your Silver
Swords off as fast as you can. This will allow you to cover large parts
of the level with minimal attacks from enemies.
4. You can often scroll enemies off the screen if they are near the bottom.
This will rid you of the enemy threats periodically.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. It is possible to partially walk through some of the trees and rocks in
this game (usually from behind). You will notice the enemies moving into
these areas (and sometimes getting stuck) quite often.
2. When walking near the very edges of the screen (especially in stage 2),
you will sometime be stopped by invisible obstacles. Move away from the
edge slightly and continue progressing.
3. For some reason, you receive 10 points for completing stage 2.
4. After completing the third stage, the game just sends you back to the
first one. There is no ending or other acknowledgement that you've
completed the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to complete three vertical stages. You also have two free
hits per life before you are killed. If you lose a life, you restart at the
beginning of the stage. Stages are completed when you walk far enough
(usually there will be a visible dead end). There are no stage bosses.
STAGE OVERVIEW
--------------
Stage 1: The first stage is mostly a forest with a few scattered boulders.
More than half the enemies will be non-projectile enemies, but the
area you can walk in is quite limited. Stay near the middle of the
screen and advance at a decent pace. Often it is better to walk
past enemies than to stay and attempt to kill them. In general,
unless an enemy if in front of you, keep moving and avoid it.
Stage 2: Level two is a rock-filled pass with a few sections of heavy boulder
walls bottle-necking the passable areas. The enemies are similar to
those in stage 1, with an even mix of projectile and non-projectile.
This stage has a couple of relative safe zones. Go to the edge of
either the right or left side of the screen. Now, move one
character's distance away. From this position, keep firing the
sword and you should be able to move safely for large chunks of the
stage, having to move only a couple times when boulders block your
way. If you are in the right spot, your sword will usually kill
foes as soon as they spawn. Overall, this stage is easier than the
first.
Stage 3: Level three is a mix of the first two levels. The area begins with
heavy amounts of non-projectile enemies rushing you (up to 6 at a
time). These foes are much faster than the ones in the previous
level and come in relentless waves. There are a lot of stones and
trees that you can use for cover during this portion. Eventually,
projectile enemies make their way into the mix, but enemy numbers
thin slightly. Try to speed things up here rather than stopping to
kill all the foes. Projectile enemies have significant advantages
in large numbers. After walking far enough, the stage ends and
sends you back to stage 1.
=============================================================================
07. C R I T I C A L B Y P A S S ACT07
=============================================================================
"You have got to land with your valuable cargo, but the intense gravitational
pull on this planet is treacherous. You must initiate landing procedures
defeat this gravity problem and save your cargo."
OVERVIEW
--------
It's never a good start when a game has a spelling mistake in it's title
("Crytical Bypass), but then again, it's not good to load Action 52 in the
first place. Crytical Bypass is an overhead, horizontally scrolling shooter.
Unlike other games that mix it up with 7 or 8 identically bland enemies, this
game cuts to the chase and just presents you with two. And of those, only
one the asteroids are even mobile. Still, despite these limitations, this
game is quite playable. You will at least need to but in some effort to
evade and destroy the asteroids. Also, while the controls are not good, they
certainly do not ruin the game outright like many others. However, don't
confuse playability with fun. There is nothing that really separates this
title from any of the other scrollers, so it will likely be forgotten moments
after it's over.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your ship up and down.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your ship left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots your ammunition rounds out of your Ship's Cannons. Your
ship will fire in the last direction you pressed the D-Pad.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. BLOCKS (25 PTS): Blue and gold blocks remain stationary, but will inflict
if you collide with them.
2. ASTEROIDS (50 PTS): Blue and gold asteroids will appear on the screen and
pursue you.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Stay near the bottom of the screen during most of the stage. This cuts
off a possible attack angle and gives you ample room for maneuvering.
When asteroids near, move up one ship length to kill them, then retreat
back to the edge.
2. Your ship moves quite fast – much faster than the enemies – but you will
still have a hard time outrunning them. However, this can be a lifesaver
in some situations where you get swamped. Flying in circles when multiple
enemies are pursuing can help you shake one or two of them. However, for
the most part, focus on destroying Asteroids rather than dodging them when
there is only one or two.
3. Blocks can generally be avoided. Do not go out of your way to destroy
them, as this will likely leave you vulnerable when an asteroid appears.
4. All the stages start off with 2-3 Asteroids that attack immediately.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Your shots have a slight delay to them. This makes it exceptionally
difficult to take out closing targets with any degree of accuracy.
2. Occasionally, the game will allow your ship to hit a block in your path
and remain in flight (this should destroy your ship).
3. After completing stage 3, the game just sends you back to the
first one. There is no ending or other acknowledgement that you've
completed the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to make it through three side scrolling stages. You are
allowed four hits per life before dying, and dying sends you back to the
beginning of the stage. When you each stage stops scrolling, enter the
circular object in the middle to advance.
STAGE OVERVIEW
--------------
All Stages: All stages in this game are essentially the same. As you
progress, enemy speed increases somewhat, but variety and attack
pattern remains constant. In all stages, remain near the bottom
of the screen and move up slightly when Asteroids near to defeat
them. When the screen stops scrolling, enter the large,
spherical object in the middle to advance to the next stage. Do
no wait around too long, as Asteroids will begin appearing.
After completing stage 3, you are returned to stage 1.
=============================================================================
08. J U P I T E R S C O P E ACT08
=============================================================================
"At first we saw one or two fall and thought nothing of it, never thinking it
could result in a Meteor shower. Using the "Star-Zap" Laser we shoot them
out of the sky, before they collide with things, but the meteor shower gets
more intense."
OVERVIEW
--------
There is a meteor shower that apparently only drops meteors within a one
screen area, and it's your job to destroy them all or else... well, or else
nothing. You don't actually need to destroy the meteors, nor are you
penalized for any that get by.
Jupiter Scope is a stationary shooter, and your goal is to destroy the
meteors that fall down onto the city. These meteors move slow enough that
they present hardly any threat, and only the lethargic movement of your
"Star-Zap" Laser adds any challenge. While the meteors do move faster at
later stages, the tedium remains quite constant throughout.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your Laser forwards and backwards.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your Laser left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots projectiles from the Laser. Holding down the A-Button
will fire a constant projectile screen, but not as fast as you
could by tapping the button yourself.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. FALLING METEOR (100 PTS): The meteors are your only obstacle in this game.
They appear randomly in the sky and fall straight down, with speeds
varying by stage.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Not really anything tricky about this game. Just don't go too far out of
your way to blast a meteor, or you end up hitting it instead. The Star-
Zap Laser isn't very maneuverable.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. After completing the seventh stage, the game just sends you back to the
first one. There is no ending or other acknowledgement that you've
completed the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to defeat as many meteors as you can an progress through the
stages. You move to the next stage after defeating a set number of meteors
without dying. As the levels advance, the meteors become quicker. Here is
the listing of how many "kills" are required to advance past the given stage.
Level 1: 20 kills
Level 2: 30 kills
Level 3: 40 kills
Level 4: 50 kills
Level 5: 60 kills
Level 6: 50 kills
Level 7: 60 kills (back to stage 1)
This count resets when you die. Also, when you go from stage 8 to stage 1,
your point total remains intact but the levels are identical otherwise.
=============================================================================
09. A L F R E D O ACT09
=============================================================================
"The pasta has gotten out of control, and you've got to race the clock and
get the spaghetti, linguine and other pasta back into the pot where it
belongs."
OVERVIEW
--------
Most likely, you won't even get far enough to experience the culinary joy
that is Alfredo. This game only seems to load on one emulator, at least as
of the date this guide was written. See the "Emulators" section for more
details.
If you can get it started, Alfredo (a.k.a. Alfredo and the Fettuccini's) is a
typical side-scroller with decent graphics and the usually poor play control.
You play as a stereotypically Italian chef, whose objective is to "flatten"
all the various pasta that have escaped with some sort of cooking ladle.
Unlike the game's description says, there is no clock to race against and no
pot in which to put the pasta. To make up for it, the game treats you to all
sorts of delicious bugs and glitches, such as the "invisible block" bug, the
"fall into pits and don't die" feature, and the delectable "random freeze in
stage 3" glitch. Get your palate ready for the best damn pasta-based
scroller ever created by Active Enterprises!
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Not used
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves the character left and right. You can also move while
jumping in mid-air.
A-BUTTON: Pounds the ground with your chef's ladle. Repeatedly pressing
the A-Button as you fall lets you "glide" down from your jumps.
B-BUTTON: Used to jump. While in mid-air, you can press LEFT or RIGHT to
glide down in that direction.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
Note that these are not the official names of these enemies.
1. FETTUCCINI: (100 PTS): Small, noodle-like pasta that run back and forth
through the first two stages. They can be pretty difficult to avoid, and
require a well timed attack to flatten.
2. RAVIOLI (50 PTS): Small, square-like pasta found in stages 2 and 3.
Ravioli does nothing except remain stationary. Just pound it and move
along.
3. LINGUINE (50 PTS): Has a Z-like shape and moves across the ground at
blazing speeds. These stage 3 enemies are extremely deadly and require a
well timed pounding to flatten.
4. SPAGHETTI (50 PTS): Snake like pasta that doesn't move. Unlike the
Ravioli, this enemy is too large to jump over. You will sometimes find
Spaghetti guarding the edges of pits, so be mindful to flatten them before
jumping.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Some of the pasta come racing towards you once they appear on the screen,
and it's very likely that you won't have much time to react. You can
improve your chances by "nudging" forward instead of walking continuously.
2. Some enemies guard the opposite side of pits blocking your way. In a few
cases, these enemies are too far away to hit, yet do not allow you enough
room to cross the pit to kill them. One cheap solution is to hit them
while falling into the pit, then use the pit glitch (number 4 above) to
survive.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. The game doesn't start on the cart or in most emulators. See the
"Emulators" section for a list of which emulators can run this game.
2. Facing backwards and pressing the A-button will still cause you to attack
forwards.
3. Many of the blocks that are supposed to be impassible can be walked
through, as though they aren't there. This occurs mainly when there are
adjacent raised blocks.
4. There is a cool glitch that let's you fall down pits and come flying down
from the ceiling. As soon as you fall, start pressing the A-button as
fast as you can. When you drop off the bottom of the screen, you will
then reappear from the top, and "glide" down. You need to keep pressing
the A-button, otherwise you will die in mid-air. Very nice glitch,
indeed.
5. Near the end of stage 3, there are some pits that should kill you.
Instead, you are able to stand on top of them as though there is a block
underneath.
6. When dying near the middle to end of stage 3, the game may freeze.
7. After stage 3, the screen turns gray and the game freezes. You will need
to reset it at this point.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have only 2 lives to make it through 3 kitchen stages and flatten all the
various pasta that come your way. Getting hit by anything will cost you a
life, and you are returned to the beginning of the stage when killed. There
are no end stage bosses of any kind. You just have to walk far enough and
the next level will begin.
==============
STAGE OVERVIEW
==============
Stage 1: This first stage consists mainly of Fettuccini enemies who rush
towards you as soon as they appear. Spend some time near the
beginning to get the timing of your ladle down. There is a
noticeably long delay before attacking, and timing is often critical
to surviving. It will benefit you a lot to advance slowly through
stage 1, as to ensure you have enough time to respond to the
enemies. Aside from this, the level doesn't have much else to
offer.
Stage 2: Not too different from stage 1. This level also introduces Ravioli
enemies, which essentially do nothing. They don't move or attack
you, but are often placed in annoying locations. The Fettuccini's
have returned, and are interspersed with the Ravioli. Overall, this
level is probably a little easier than the previous one, though also
slightly longer.
Stage 3: Stage 3 is tough, and not just because the game may randomly freeze
when you die. The two enemies occupying this level are Linguine and
Spaghetti. Linguine are blazingly fast versions of the Fettuccini
from the previous stages. You often have no room for error when
attacking them, as even a slight delay will mean your demise. There
are also the Spaghetti enemies laying about, very similar to the
Raviolis. These foes are slightly larger than their stage 2
counterparts, and seem to be situated at very inconvenient
locations. This level also sports more jumping obstacles than the
previous ones do, but these aren't more than moderate challenges
(especially given the pit bug). Stage 3 always ends with a frozen
screen, which puts an abrupt end to any "fun" you may have been
having. Time to reset and move on.
=============================================================================
10. O P E R A T I O N F U L L M O O N ACT10
=============================================================================
"Mission: Assault Luna Base 1; Drive your dune buggy through enemy territory,
destroying all terrible occupants and establishments. Better look around
real good and leave no moon-stone unturned."
OVERVIEW
--------
Operation Full Moon (OFM) is another vertical-scrolling shooter, though this
one has an extremely imaginative twist: instead of flying aimlessly through
space, you now drive aimlessly across the moon in a dune buggy! The levels
are very realistic, too, with moonscapes going from tropical green to bright
fuchsia.
The description makes it seem like this game is an all out raid on some enemy
moon base, but it's anything but. The only thing you'll encounter are turret
guns that fire horizontally, offering no challenge whatsoever. Like with
most games, the biggest obstacle in OFM is coping with the poor play control
and trying not to hit the walls and platforms.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your buggy forwards and backwards.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your buggy left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots projectiles from the buggy. Holding down the A-Button
will fire a constant projectile stream, but not as fast as you
could by tapping the button yourself.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. TURRET GUNS (100 PTS): Turret guns are the only enemy you'll encounter on
your trip across the lunar surface. They sit on top of platforms and fire
bullets horizontally. Bullet speed increases with level.
2. WALLS AND BLOCKS: These include the blocks and obstacles scattered around
the screen, as well as the edges of the screen. Touching one of these is
truly the only threat in the game.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. You have a hidden health bar in this game. You are allowed 3 hits from
enemies and obstacles before dying. This includes hits from bullets and
turrets, as well as *slight* contact with blocks and walls. This isn't
as useful as it might sound, however, since nearly all of the danger comes
from hitting blocks and walls.
2. If you have a turbo controller, you can use it to fire rapidly and
eliminate any bullets from turrets. This is due to a limitation on the
number of sprites on the screen at once.
3. A few of the stages have cheap traps at the start of the level. Be alert,
or else you'll have lost a life before the stage screen even fades out.
4. Try to stay back as far as you can in this game. There is no penalty for
doing so, and it allows you more time to respond to the terrain.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. After completing the eighth stage, the game just sends you back to the
first one. There is no ending or other acknowledgement that you've
completed the game.
2. The music seems to glitch when the game is paused, even more so than in
other games. After unpausing, the foreground theme will disappear or the
music will shut off completely.
OBJECTIVE
---------
Make your way through the 8 stages of the lunar surface on 4 lives. You have
an invisible health bar that allows you to take up to 3 hits worth of damage
from bullets and turrets. As always, dying sends you back to the beginning
of the stage.
==============
STAGE OVERVIEW
==============
There isn't really too much variety in the levels. The main differences are
that the background colors change and the turrets’ bullets speed up. Some
areas have difficult block layouts and cheap surprises, and these are noted
below. Remember, you can eliminate any turret bullets if you have a turbo
controller and are continuously firing.
Stage 1: Light green background. Nothing much to say here. Take out the
turrets on the sides of the screen, if you want. The block
arrangement isn't too tricky, so it shouldn't be very tough to avoid
them.
Stage 2: Light blue background. Nearly identical to the first stage. The
turrets are still laid out more or less along the sides of the
screen, and they still pose little, if any, threat. The middle area
of this level has a step-like block arrangement that can very rather
tricky. Just move all the way to the left and try to squeeze
through the opening near the last block.
Stage 3: Orange background. This stage has a really cheap obstacle just
after you start. As soon as the new stage screen fades out, move
left or right immediately, otherwise you'll run right into a block
and die. I guess this was the closest the programmers could come to
emulating a challenge. Aside from this, Stage 3 does have a few
tricky block arrangements. All such obstacles are best passed on
the left side of the screen.
Stage 4: Yellowish-brown background. Yet another very cheap trick to start
the level. There is a stair-like arrangement of blocks that you
will smack into unless you start the stage by moving all the way to
the left. This level is probably the toughest one you will face in
this game. There are several sequences of stair-like block layouts,
which are probably the hardest type to pass. You will also notice,
by now, that the enemy bullets have gotten considerably faster.
Still, these pose only a marginal threat at best.
Stage 5: Tropical green background. There is no cheap trick at the start of
this stage, nor really much else, for that matter. This level seems
far easier and shorter than the last few.
Stage 6: Light purple background. Not much different from the previous
stage. The bullets are now quick enough that you need to actively
time your way past them, however.
Stage 7: Hot pink background. More of the same. The last stage was copied
and the color palette was changed. It seems like the programmers
stopped putting in any effort (if you can even call it that) after
the fourth stage.
Stage 8: Light blue background. Very anti-climactic finish. Same as the
previous level, with only a few obstacles modified slightly. Once
you reach the end of this stage, you are returned to stage 1. Your
point total is kept, but the game remains identical otherwise.
=============================================================================
11. D A M B U S T E R S ACT11
=============================================================================
"They are destroying everything and the only way to save the wildlife is to
break the dam and let the water free."
OVERVIEW
--------
Dam Busters went for the "cute and cuddy" feel, putting you in control of an
adorable teddy bear-type creature as you navigate through a couple of
overhead stages. Other wildlife creatures (and seemingly penguins too) seem
determined to keep the dam intact and will stop at nothing to defeat you.
Well, "nothing" may be too strong of a term. Unless you wait around for
numerous creatures to appear, the enemies pose little threat and can be
almost totally ignored, making this game incredibly easy.
Your goal, ironically, is to break a dam open to save the wildlife... I
guess by flooding it into non-existence. Unfortunately for the wildlife and
fortunately for you, you never make it far enough to get to any dam. Enjoy
this game for the 5 minutes or so it will last and move on to another crummy
title.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your character up and down.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your character left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots a pellet. You can only have one pellet on the screen at
a time.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. BEARS (100 PTS): No clue what these are, but lets assume they're bears.
They come in colors flavors: green, red, and white (could be a penguin);
and two types: mobile and immobile. All enemies are capable of firing
shots at you and all are taken out with a single pellet shot of your own.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Move quickly through the level as you fight. If you linger in an area too
long, enemies on the screen will home in on you quickly with their shots,
and randomly spawned enemies will appear to make you miserable.
2. Enemies will throw projectiles at you, whether they are stationary or
mobile. They can fire multiple shots at a time, so finish them off
quickly or move past them.
3. Never go out of your way to kill an enemy. Shoot a pellet at one if it
stands in your way, but ignore enemies otherwise.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. When you fire a shot up or down, it will lose its line of fire if you
move to the LEFT or to the RIGHT. This occurs because of the game reads
the bullets location as on a vertical path on the screen, instead of a
specific spot in the level as a whole.
2. After completing the second stage, the game just sends you back to the
first one. There is no ending or other acknowledgement that you've
completed the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to make it through two overhead, horizontally scrolling
staged. You are allowed one free hit before dying. Dying sends you back to
start of the level. Complete each stage by finding an exit ramp, located in
the bottom right side of the screen.
STAGE OVERVIEW
--------------
Stage 1: You begin on a bridge and must navigate your way through a few
obstacles to the end of the stage. Remember, you are allowed one
free hit before dying. The best strategy is to move through the
stage and ignore all enemies unless directly in front of you. If
you wait around too long, enemies will begin spawning and will make
it very difficult to advance. About halfway through the stage, you
will come across a bear portrait that can be collected. This does
nothing (no points, lives, hits), so ignore it. You can exit the
stage at a ramp in the bottom right corner.
Stage 2: This stage begins with a windy passage, but the challenge and
enemies are fairly similar to the first stage. Avoid enemies as
much as you can. Again, this stage ends by taking a ramp in the
bottom right corner. Back to stage 1 from here.
=============================================================================
12. T H R U S T E R S ACT12
=============================================================================
"You have right and left thrusters. Hit full speed and use laser canons to
avoid the alien invasions in the galaxy."
OVERVIEW
--------
Yet another space shooter. Yet another substandard title. Thrusters is
hardly a memorable game and offers little variety from the dozens of other
identical shooters on the Action 52 cart. You command a ship and... you
fight a lot of enemies to... oh, who the hell knows. The game has no plot
and crashes well before you can even get into things. You won't get more
than half way into stage 2 before the game becomes unplayable, and the one
and half stages you can play are virtually pointless. The enemies can
literally be ignored with no consequence at all. Even if you do try
attacking, your shots will likely go right through the enemies and have no
effect. If you want a quick 2 minutes of gaming, Thrusters is the title of
choice for you.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your ship forwards and backwards.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your ship left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots projectiles from the ship. Holding down the A-Button
will fire a constant projectile stream, but not as fast as you
could by tapping the button yourself.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. SHIPS (25-200 PTS): This game has a series of ships that all fly at you
and fire bullets as they pass. Some are different sizes, but all are
essentially the same. None of them pose much threat, and the different
point awards are assigned for unexplainable reasons.
2. EDGES AND BLOCKS: These include the blocks scattered around the screen, as
well as the edges of the screen. These aren't nearly as big of a threat
as in other games.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Ignore the enemies. Really, that's all you need to do. Don't worry about
killing them, as you probably won't hit them even if you try. Avoiding
them lets you focus on avoiding the bullets and obstacles.
2. If you have a turbo controller, you can use it to fire rapidly and
eliminate any enemies from appearing. This is due to a limitation on the
number of sprites on the screen at once.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Hit detection when shooting enemies is very poor. Your bullets will
occasionally pass right through other ships, causing no damage.
2. Nice Action 52-style glitch in Stage 2. After about a minute or so into
the level, the screen begins to flash like a disco rave. During this
time, enemies stop appearing, the music ends, control of your ship becomes
staggered, you cannot fire a projectile more than a ship length away, and
things that otherwise killed you (like blocks) don't hurt you. If you
happen to die (by touching the side of the screen), you reappear as this
fragment of pieces, seemingly invincible.
3. Above glitch also happens randomly on some emulators just when dying.
4. Due to Stage 2 glitch, game is unplayable beyond that point. Very nice 2-
minute title in this one.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 4 lives to make it through the first two stages, until the game
glitches. Getting hit by enemies or blocks or touching the edges of the
screen will kill you. You return to the beginning of the level when killed
in stage 1, and you crash the game when killed in stage 2.
==============
STAGE OVERVIEW
==============
Stage 1: Blue stars, blue blocks. There is nothing especially challenging
about this level. The enemies do fire projectiles at you, but they
move slow enough to avoid quite easily. You can realistically go
the entire course of this stage without killing an enemy, and that
may occur even if you aren't trying to do so, given the terrible hit
detection. Stay on the far left side of the screen and you never
even have to move. Also, if you use a turbo fire setting, you can
litter the screen with bullets and prevent any enemies from
appearing.
Stage 2: Red stars, purple horseshoes (all you need are green clovers for a
complete box of Lucky Charms). Take stage one, alter some of the
colors, return the exact same enemies, and add an assload of
glitches. You now have stage 2. There's really nothing different
about this stage, except the bugs. Dying will often cause you to
reappear as a mass of fragments, unable to do anything. Even
without dying, you eventually reach a point where the screen starts
to flash and the game becomes unplayable. This game is a strong
contender for the "Acty" award of "Shortest Play Time Before a Major
Glitch." Good luck, Thrusters!
=============================================================================
13. H A U N T E D H I L L ACT13
=============================================================================
"Ghosts and ghoulies are running loose in the cemetery. Get them all back to
where they belong and end the chaos in the Halls of Wentworth."
OVERVIEW
--------
Enter the large-breasted heroine, who dares to defeat the undead creatures
within the dungeon halls. You can tell Active Enterprises was going for sex
appeal with this title. Haunted Hill (though there is no Hill, so it was
probably going to be "Haunted Halls") is actually one of the more playable
titles in Action 52. You defeat enemies by hurling miniature crucifixes at
them as you journey through three side-scrolling levels (nice religious
motif).
As usual, this game is plagued by poor play control, so enemies will
frequently appear from angles in which you cannot kill them (though they, of
course, can kill you). Don't feel guilty at all about abusing the save state
feature on this one -- the levels are ridiculously long, and the game always
sends you to the start when you die. There is bound to be a glitch that
kills you along the way, so save yourself the frustration.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Not used
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves the character left and right. You can also move while
jumping in mid-air, and this is necessary to make it across
certain areas.
A-BUTTON: Shoot a crucifix projectile at enemies, which travels across the
screen. You can also fire while in mid-air. Your character
cannot shoot any lower than her waist, so keep in mind that
enemies traveling from below cannot be targeted.
B-BUTTON: Used to jump. While in mid-air, you can press LEFT or RIGHT to
glide down in that direction.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Your character has zero ability to survive falls. NEVER jump off a
platform onto a lower level. Always fall off by walking horizontally.
2. If you see an enemy approaching from below, try jumping up a few times.
The targeting AI will tell the enemy to move up at this same point,
possibly allowing you to kill it with the crucifix.
3. In sections with spiders, you can often make your life easier by waiting a
few moments after they first appear. Usually, several of the spiders will
disappear off the screen, making it safer to pass.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Due to poor enemy placement (spider spawning location, enemy starting
point), some areas of the game are impossible to pass without dying.
Luckily, enemy appearance locations are randomly chosen each time you
enter a screen.
2. After completing the third stage, the game just sends you back to the
first one. There is no ending or other acknowledgement that you've
completed the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
Make your way past the ghouls and ghosts and defeat the giant Spider boss
guarding each of the game's three levels. After defeating the boss of stage
3, the game just sends you back to stage 1. You have 3 lives to beat the
game. Getting hit by anything –- ghosts, "lava" floors, ceiling chains,
spiders -– will kill you, sending you back to the start of the level.
========================
HAUNTED HILL WALKTHROUGH
========================
Stage 1
-------
The first stage is pretty basic. For some unexplained reason, you begin in a
blue-stoned dungeon and are attacked by ghosts, skulls, and red and white
ghouls. From the start, just walk forward normally, jumping over the
pitfalls and stopping to kill anything that might be chasing you. Ghosts
that appear above eye-level are easier to take out by jumping and shooting,
so you might want to use this approach. When you get to the part of the
dungeon with overhead chains, be careful to avoid jumping into them. They
will kill you, of course, since we all know that hanging chains are extremely
lethal. Right near the end of the first stage, a patch of pink bubbles will
appear on the floor. This is probably supposed to be lava or something, but
just keep in mind that it will kill you if you walk onto it.
Just after this pink patch, a giant spider boss will appear. Jump back over
the pink bubbles and stand beneath the cob webs on the ceiling. From here,
you can hit the giant spider without fear of being damaged. The spider can
be either at an eye-level or an elevated position. When it's down, you can
hit it by simply firing crucifixes across the screen. When it's up, you'll
need to jump and fire from the peak of the jump to hit it. Most of the time,
the spider will just sit there doing nothing, so don't anticipate any sort of
challenge. It will take about 48 hits to end the fight, so get ready to
spend a few minutes annoyingly tapping the A-button.
Stage 2
-------
The second stage is much more annoying than the first. Most of the level is
filled with vertically moving spiders, which make it next to impossible to
pass by. You can't kill the spiders, but they will often disappear on their
own if you wait long enough. The spiders' appearances are entirely random
each time the screen loads, and it's very possible to get a pattern that
makes it impossible to pass (what a shock). Just prepare to be frustrated in
advance. This level also introduces platforms, which you will need to jump
between in order to cross vast areas of "lava." Be warned that you can never
jump onto a lower platform and survive –- you will die in mid-air if you try
to do this. Just fall onto lower ones by walking off the higher ones.
The key to making it through this level is patience. Watch the patterns of
the spiders and figure when the best time to go is, as well as if it makes
more sense to go under them or jump over them. Not far from the start of
stage, there is a bridge made of platforms that's covered in spiders and
hanging chains. It's *extremely* difficult to make the jump onto the
platforms with the chains without hitting your head and dying. To do this,
you'll need to jump straight up and then hold RIGHT to glide underneath the
chain. This is, of course, assuming there isn't a spider there to kill you.
Also, if you see an enemy appear from below while you're waiting to jump,
consider yourself dead. You can try to jump up and down a couple of times to
bring it to your height, but most likely it will hit you from below and cost
you a life.
This stage has two large lava areas covered by platforms, then a few smaller
lava pits with one or two platforms, then finally another long lava area
before the boss. At the end, another giant spider awaits, just as before.
Stand on the left side of the screen and use the same strategy as last time.
It will be dead after a few minutes, and you can then bask in the effort and
originality that went into this creature.
Stage 3
-------
This final level is pretty similar to the Stage 2, with one enormous
difference: the lava in this stage is green! The spiders and platforms have
also returned in full glory. Shortly after the stage begins, three ghosts
will appear from the right side of the screen. Try jumping a few times and
possibly moving back left to get them low enough to kill. You will need to
time it well (or be lucky) to kill them all without dying. The rest of the
section across the green lava should be about the same as what you've already
seen. Ghouls and Skulls do seem to appear more often in this stage, however,
so keep an eye on the left side of the screen.
After the first section, the pink lava returns and you will need to cross yet
another platform bridge. Once you hit the end of the bridge, three ghosts
will appear from the right side of the screen, making it extremely difficult
to survive. You can try moving back up and left after they appear, giving
you a better chance to kill them. You can also kill them from your standing
spot, if you time it right, but either way is tough. After this, the green
lava returns. Be sure, once again, to walk off the platforms and not to
jump. It may look like you will fall in the lava if you walk off, but you
can clear it. When you get to a section where the floor tiles contain dozens
of crosses, you're about 2/3 of the way through the stage. The remainder is
a series of jumps over lava pits, all of which you've seen before.
The Stage 3 boss is... *drum roll*... another giant spider! Unlike the
previous ones, however, this one can only be hit when it's elevated, as the
down position puts it within a rock. No problem. Stand beneath the first or
second chain and continuously fire crucifixes. After 48 hits, the giant
spider will once again be dispatched. Your amazing reward for having cleared
Haunted Hill is... getting sent back to stage 1! You do keep your score,
however. Yippee! Don't forget that START + SELECT will take you back to the
main menu.
=============================================================================
14. C H I L L O U T ACT14
=============================================================================
"Old man winter is at the top and is your goal, but it keeps snowing and
he's blowing. You must reach the top before you get snowed under."
OVERVIEW
--------
He’s blowing, all right. With such a great build-up as this, how can this
game not be the best!?! Actually, this game is rather similar to Illuminator
in the killing of enemies on multi-floored levels, but it does not have the
uniqueness that an Illuminator-style game can offer. An alright game that is
done better elsewhere on the cartridge.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your character up and down ladders.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your character left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots a snowball at the opposition.
B-BUTTON: Causes a jump from your character.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. SNOWBALL MEN (50, 100 PTS): Snowball Men march back and forth along a
platform and throw snowballs at you (though only in one direction). They
are generally easy to take out unless they occupy a small platform right
above a ladder. In this case, you will need to take damage to defeat
them.
2. ICE BALL (57 PTS): Ice Balls are found in Stages 4 and 5. Most of them
are stationary an harmless. Some move back and forth similar to Snowball
Men, but do not emit projectiles. Note the odd point total for this
enemy.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. You have three free hits before losing a life. Save these for the times
when Snowball Men are guarding small platforms and you have no time to get
off a shot.
2. Stick to guarding one or two floors at all times until you have to go get
the other floors when enemy stocks are running low.
3. Partially climb a ladder when you have to get up/down to the floor with an
enemy with a small route to patrol so you will have better chance of
killing instead of being badly damaged or killed.
4. You don't have to climb all the way up a ladder to fire and defeat an
enemy. Move about halfway up and you will be high enough for your shots
to hit any foes. This is very useful when climbing onto small platforms
occupied by enemies.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Sometimes you will jump over a hole in the floor to land on the far ledge,
only to find that you’ve been killed. The game somehow thinks that you
are falling, though you do make it to the next ledge (this should not kill
you).
2. You can walk through some blocks at the edge of the screen as if they are
not there. This is usually the case on the lowest floor.
3. Somewhat to your advantage, but you can jump in midair while falling if
you time it correctly. As soon as you begin dropping, press the B-button
immediately.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You begin with 4 lives and have to complete 5 stages. You have a health bar
and are allowed 3 hits per life before dying. As the levels advance, the
enemies become quicker. Here is the listing of how many enemies are required
to advance past the given stage.
Level 1: 7 enemies
Level 2: 10 enemies
Level 3: 10 enemies
Level 4: 15 enemies
Level 5: 20 enemies (back to level 1)
STAGE OVERVIEW
--------------
=========
Level One
=========
+--+ +--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--++--+ +--+
| | | |+--+| || || | | || || || || || | | |
+--+ +--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--++--+ +--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+ +--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--++--+ +--+
| | | || || || || | | || || |+--+| || | | |
+--+ +--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--++--+ +--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+ +--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--++--+ +--+
| | | |+--+| || || | | || || || || || | | |
+--+ +--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--++--+ +--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+ +--+ +--+
| | +--+ | |
+--+ +--+ +--+
+--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--+
| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || |
+--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--+
- Black and purple background with blue blocks.
- Just watch the ladders to tell when it is safe to climb up to the next
level to make a kill.
- Falling through a hole will result in your death, so be sure to avoid the
holes at all costs.
- No walls mean you can wrap around to the far side of the screen.
- All enemies are Snowball Men. Two enemies can now appear per screen.
- You must defeat 7 enemies to advance to the next stage.
=========
Level Two
=========
+--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--+
| || || | | |+--+| || || || || | | || || || |
+--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--++--++--+ +--++--++--+ +--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--+
| |+--+| | | || || | | || || | | || |+--+| |
+--++--++--+ +--++--++--+ +--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--+
| || || | | || || |+--+| || || | | || || || |
+--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+ +--+ +--+
| | +--+ | |
+--+ +--+ +--+
+--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--+
| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || |
+--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--+
- Black and purple background with blue blocks.
- Just watch the ladders to tell when it is safe to climb up to the next
Level to make a kill.
- Falling through a hole will result in your death, so be sure to avoid the
holes at all costs.
- No walls mean you can wrap around to the far side of the screen.
- All enemies are Snowball Men. Two enemies can now appear per screen.
- You must defeat 10 enemies to advance to the next stage.
===========
Level Three
===========
+--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--+
| || | | || || || || || || || || | | || |+--+
+--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--++--++--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--+
| |+--+| || || || || | | || || || | | || |+--+
+--++--++--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--+
| |+--+| || || | | || || || || || | | |+--+| |
+--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+ +--++--+
| | +--+| |
+--+ +--++--+
+--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--+
| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || |
+--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--+
- Black and purple background with red blocks
- Just watch the ladders to tell when it is safe to climb up to the next
level to make a kill.
- Falling through a hole will result in your death, so be sure to avoid the
holes at all costs.
- No walls mean you can wrap around to the far side of the screen.
- Ladders extend through floor, so do not climb too far down or you will die
from falling too far.
- All enemies are Snowball Men. Three enemies can now appear per screen.
- You must defeat 10 enemies to advance to the next stage.
==========
Level Four
==========
+--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--+
| || | | || |+--+| || || || || || || || |+--+| |
+--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--++--+ +--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--+
+--+| | | || || || | | || || || || | | || |
+--++--+ +--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--+
| || | | || || || || || || || || || || |+--+| |
+--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+ +--++--+
| | +--+| |
+--+ +--++--+
+--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--+
| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || |
+--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--+
- Black and purple background with red blocks
- Just watch the ladders to tell when it is safe to climb up to the next
Level to make a kill.
- Falling through a hole will result in your death, so be sure to avoid the
holes at all costs.
- No walls mean you can wrap around to the far side of the screen.
- Only enemy is Ice Balls. Three enemies can now appear per screen.
- You must defeat 15 enemies to advance to the next stage.
==========
Level Five
==========
+--++--++--++--+ +--++--+ +--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--+
| || |+--+| | | || | | || || | | || || || |
+--++--++--++--+ +--++--+ +--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+ +--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--+
| | | || || || || | | || || || || |+--+| || |
+--+ +--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--++--++--++--+ +--++--+ +--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--+
| |+--+| || | | || | | || || | | || || || |
+--++--++--++--+ +--++--+ +--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--++--+ +--+
| |+--+ | |
+--++--+ +--+
+--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--+
| || || || | | || || || || || | | || || || |
+--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--++--++--+ +--++--++--++--+
- Black background with red and blue blocks
- Just watch the ladders to tell when it is safe to climb up to the next
Level to make a kill.
- Falling through a hole will result in your death, so be sure to avoid the
holes at all costs.
- No walls mean you can wrap around to the far side of the screen.
- Enemies are a mix of Ice Balls and Snowball Men. Three enemies can now
appear per screen.
- You must defeat 20 enemies to advance to the next stage (back to stage 1).
=============================================================================
15. S H A R K S ACT15
=============================================================================
"You are a Frogman and must collect rare marine creatures and recover lost
treasures at the bottom of the sea. You have your stun-gun and can always
retreat into your electromagnetic base that repels sharks and the rest of
the enemies. Your diving suit can only survive a few shark bites and is
useless against the deadly jelly fish."
OVERVIEW
--------
Electromagnetic base? Right, and supermodels are emailing me for dates left
and right after writing this guide. It was clear that Active Enterprises at
least has some big dreams. Too bad they didn't also have a competent design
team.
Anyway, Sharks is a single screen shooter where you kill sharks that swim
from one side of the screen to another. Almost everything else in the
description is wrong. There is no base, no treasure, no shark repellent,
you're not at the bottom of the sea, and you cannot survive even a single
bite. This game also manages to have the dual quality of being laughably
easy in the first level to nearly impossible in the third and beyond. And
for some odd reason, right in the middle of the game, the designers thought
it might be fun to replace sharks with extremely fast jellyfish that only
appear on the screen for half a second. Clear your afternoon and say your
prayers if you want to try that one. Overall, Sharks is one of the least
interesting games on the cart. It's probably less painful being bitten by an
actual shark than it is to sit through this game for more than a minute.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your character up and down.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your character left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots your Stun-Gun at the vicious Sharks.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. GREY SHARKS (20, 40 PTS): These are the first type of shark you will face.
They seem to randomly be worth either 20 or 40 PTS. They appear stages 1,
2, 4, and 5.
2. WHITE SHARK (50 PTS): These sharks identical to the grey sharks but are
colored white. They appear on stages 2, 4, and 5.
3. JELLYFISH (80 PTS): Jelly fish are extremely annoying, fast moving foes.
Unlike sharks, they appear from random parts of the screen, move in zigzag
patterns, and disappear quite abruptly. Killing them is a real chore and
require move patience and luck than anything else. They only appear on
the third stage.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Try to remain in the middle of the open area of the sea. This allows you
more options for you when you come under attack. This will also make it
less likely the enemy will trap you.
2. Try to attack sharks as they swim away from you rather than as they
approach you. This greatly enhances your chances for survival.
3. Avoid the Jellyfish at all costs. Even if this means you must get bit by
a Shark to do so, you will have the chance of living through the Shark
bite instead of the instant death alternative of the gelatinous enemy.
4. Be wary of new Sharks with every level that you clear. The higher the
level, the faster the Shark you may encounter. The same holds true for
seeing more Jellyfish per level.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. After the first level, the seafloor will become uneven, apparently cutting
your area to swim in to a lower percentage. However, you can swim in this
rocky area to your hearts content as the physical boundaries were not
programmed into the game.
2. Sharks sometime disappear before they reach the edge of the screen.
3. After completing the third stage, you are thrown to the Game Over screen.
This might be a bug or glitch in most games, but was probably intentional
here.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 4 lives to complete five underwater stages. Any contact with a
shark or jellyfish is fatal. You move to the next stage after defeating a
set number of sharks without dying. Here is the listing of how many "kills"
are required to advance past the given stage.
Level 1: 12 enemies
Level 2: 16 enemies
Level 3: 18 enemies
Level 4: 22 enemies
Level 5: 26 enemies (then Game Over)
STAGE OVERVIEW
--------------
Stage 1: Do not worry if you wait for a while after the screen loads and
nothing happens. It may take several seconds for sharks to appear.
Eventually they will begin swimming across the screen in a straight
line, paying no attention to you. Stay in the middle and let them
swim by you. Attack as they are moving away, as this is much safer
than attempting combat head on. Grey Sharks are the only enemies in
this level, and you must kill 12 to advance to the next level.
Stage 2: This level has a bit of a hill on the sea floor, but you can pass
through it. The sharks also get a slight speed boost, but the
overall strategy is the same as the last stage. This stage also
introduces Great Whites, which are the same as the regular Grey
Sharks. The level requires 16 Shark Kills on a single life to
advance to the next level.
Stage 3: Let the frustration begin. The sharks have all been replaced with
Jellyfish, who quickly appear and dart off the screen. These
enemies are extremely difficult to kill due to the random nature of
where they appear. This stage probably requires at least 20 minutes
to beat (even using save states), and is in almost all cases not
worth your time. Unless you are a masochist, just exit now.
Stage 4: The jellyfish are gone! Stage 4 is similar to stage 2, except
that the sharks now move much faster. This makes it a lot more
difficult to get the required 22 kills. Remain patient and try to
only cover a small band of water near the middle of the screen.
Stage 5: All sharks again, but this time they are blazingly fast. They move
much faster than your character and only slightly slower than your
stun gun. You will need to alter strategies from the previous
stages to succeed here. Instead of remaining in the middle, stay
all the way to one side or another. This is riskier, but it is
relatively safe if you aren't moving around much. Also, you should
now try to attack the sharks head on, as there is almost no way of
killing them as they swim away from you. If you can endure the
grind and kill 26 sharks, your reward is... a Game Over. Seriously?
Oh well, this is the closet thing to an ending you are going to get
with Action 52.
=============================================================================
16. M E G A L O N I A ACT16
=============================================================================
"She comes out of no where with her evil armies. You must defend against the
wave after wave of enemies and they will attack until only the Empress
Machine "Megalonia" remains."
OVERVIEW
--------
There's no empress machine any kind. Instead, what you have is another
horizontally scrolling space shooter. However, of all the numerous side
scrolling clones, this one is probably the best. This game is quite
challenging and has a unique twist. The enemies you defeat during the stage
actually weaken the end stage boss. In fact, if you kill enough enemies, you
can skip the boss all together. This adds an element of strategy that none
of the other games on this cart have. While you can take the cheap path
through many stages by hiding in the corner, you are penalized for doing so,
as the boss will be much tougher. You get to determine how much risk you're
willing to take in fighting regular enemies. Yes, your brain gets used in
the process, which is a stunning achievement.
Now, after having sung this games praises a bit, I should probably point out
that the connection between enemies defeated and boss life is probably a bug.
However, it's a bug that makes this game much more playable, so enjoy it. If
you have to play one side scrolling shooter, give this one a shot. It's
still not fun, but it's a lot more fun that most of the other games.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your ship up and down ladders.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your ship left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots your ship's blaster at the vicious attack ships.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. REGULAR SHIPS (25, 50 PTS): Regular ships are oddly shaped fighters that
fly from the right side of the screen towards the left side of the screen.
They will fire bullets either straight or at a slight angle when passing
by, but these are not usually a great threat. Despite their different
appearances, these ships are pretty much identical. They become
increasingly faster as the stages progress.
2. BOSS SHIP (1000 PTS Per Hit): Boss Ships look like giant, sideways
menorahs. They can move in all directions and usually remain around the
edges of the screen.. They shoot large groups of bullets in any direction
as they go, which are very dangerous. Aim near the center of the foe to
ensure you deliver damage. The Boss Ships hit points will be
determined by the number of enemies you defeated in the stage.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Keep your ship close to the left side of the screen. This allows for
maximum reaction time to the enemies attacks.
2. With the above point in mind, keep a small space between your ship and the
left side of the screen. This will make it harder for enemy attackers to
shoot you as they pass overhead.
3. When fighting a Boss Ship, try to be patient. Since there is no clock
to race, you can take your time to be sure that you do not get hit by the
multitude of shots you face.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Occasionally, the stage boss will not appear when the scrolling stops.
This seems to happen randomly and cannot be duplicated on a consistent
basis. Your only option at this point is to press START + SELECT.
2. Sometimes enemy bullet will hit you but no cause damage.
3. It's arguable whether this is a glitch or not, but killing enemies reduces
the hit points of the stage boss. In fact, killing enough enemies takes
you right to the next stage, completely bypassing the boss. This is due
to lazy programming – the memory address that records enemy kills is the
same one used to record damage to the boss. Were this any other cart I'd
say it was a cool addition, but A52 does not get the benefit of the doubt.
4. After completing the fifth stage, you are thrown to the Game Over screen.
This might be a bug or glitch in most games, but was probably intentional
here.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to complete five horizontally scrolling stages. You also
have a health bar and can take 3 hits before losing a life. You can complete
each stage in one of two ways. Either you can kill a certain number of
enemies or you can defeat the stage boss. If you do not kill enough enemies,
the stage boss will appear when the scrolling stops. Below are the required
number of kills for each level:
Level 1: 12 enemies
Level 2: 16 enemies
Level 3: 18 enemies
Level 4: 22 enemies
Level 5: 22 enemies (back to level 1)
STAGE OVERVIEW
--------------
Stage 1: There are two tactics you can take in this stage. The first is to
be aggressive and kill as many ships as possible. This is the
preferred method. An easy way to do this is to fly on the area
where the green rocks meet the black space. Enemies will constantly
fly straight forward from here, so just keep shooting to kill them.
When the background shifts, reposition yourself to be on top of the
red arches and use the same strategy. You may have to dodge some
forward bullets, so prepare to move out of the way when needed.
Once you have killed either 12 ships, you will advance to the next
stage. Note that "kills" are counted even if you collide with a
ship and lose health, even though you receive no points.
The second tactic is to move to the bottom left corner of the
screen. From here, you will never take any damage and can let the
stage scroll all the way to the Boss Ship (stage boss). The
Boss Ship's life will be equal to 12 less the number of ships
killed in the stage. So, if you took the cheap way and killed no
enemies, you will be forced to hit the ship 12 times, which is no
easy feat. You are better off targeting the slow moving ships.
Either way, if you are forced to fight the Boss Ship, stay near
the middle of the screen and watch its patterns. You will see that
it travels along the edges and occasionally moves forward and
backward. This is when you want to attack. Just focus on avoiding
its cluster of bullets at all other times.
Stage 2: Stage 2 is much faster moving than the previous one. You must kill
16 enemies to avoid the boss fight this time. It is possible to do
so by maneuvering aggressively. The bottom of the screen is the
most dangerous, so stay near the middle. The absolute safest way is
to stay against the very top and continuously fire. You will not
take any damage from here, and will kill 4-5 enemies before the
boss. It's up to you to pick the safest method. The Boss Ship is
not too difficult yet, so you may wish to fight it rather than take
risky gambles with the regular enemies.
Stage 3: Stage 3 is arguably the toughest one in the game. Start moving up
as soon as the stage begins. The purple blocks will cause damage
when touched. This limits you to only the upper quarter of the
screen or so. From the very top, you are probably pretty safe
again. However, you will only be able to kill 4-5 enemies from
here. As you need to kill 18 ships to avoid the boss, you will most
likely be facing the Boss Ship. Taking on this foe with only
half the screen to maneuver is not an easy task. Try to stay near
the middle and take it very slowly. Focus on dodging the bullets
and be happy when you can get even a single shot in. Occasionally
you can score 2-3 hits when the ship moves along the top of the
screen, but do not risk damage to land these hits. With extreme
patience, you will defeat the boss.
Stage 4: Stage 4 opens up the entire screen again, which is a nice change.
You can rattle off a huge number of kills by watching the two
enemies that appear on and just above the spot where the yellow,
rocky crags touch the black space. Shoot the top enemy first, then
move quickly down and shoot the bottom one. Move back up to repeat
the pattern. There is some risk in this strategy, but it allows you
to get a ton of kills. Once you get the hang of it, you can
actually begin firing shots before the enemy even appears on screen.
Eventually red and green blocks will show up. Move towards the top
of the screen and see if you can safely kill another 2-3 enemies.
You need 22 to advance to the next stage, and you may be able to
score enough here. Even if you fall short, you should reach the
Boss Ship with 18-20 kills in the bag, making for an easy fight.
Stage 5: Stage 5 has no easy pattern like the previous stage for safe enemy
kills. The stage alternates between background blocks that are
harmless (like at the start) and those that are fatal (begin once
the section with arches ends). Aggressive fighting can probably net
you a dozen kills or so, but this is well short of the 22 you need.
You may just want to conserve life instead. Stay in the top left
corner and you will be invincible to all damage. The Boss Ship
at the end of the stage is very tough, but you have a full screen to
work with and (hopefully) all your life remaining. Stay in the
center of the screen and focus on bullet dodging. Use a
conservative approach and the ship will eventually fall. After all
your hard work, you're returned to stage 1. Ah, enjoy the victory.
This is about as polished a game as Action 52 has to offer.
=============================================================================
17. F R E N C H B A K E R ACT17
=============================================================================
"You may try to keep the cookie patterns pounding, and the bread rising but
it's not as easy as it sounds."
OVERVIEW
--------
Being a French Baker, you must try to get the rebelling food and furniture to
stop going crazy so you can work at your job as a chef. Armed only with a
rolling pin, you must quell such universal menaces as birthday cakes and hot
dogs. Another Illuminator-style game, but this one is rather bland in
graphics as well as in design of enemy balance and control. I will map three
level for you as this game is of too poor quality to deserve any more than
that.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your character up and down ladders.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your character left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots your Rolling Pins at the enemies.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
All enemies are essentially the same. They simply patrol various platforms
and wander about mindlessly. They do not fire any projectiles.
1. CROISSANTS are worth 25 points.
2. HOT DOGS are worth 50 points.
3. GRILLS (Purple) are worth 75 points.
4. SERVING CARTS (Orange) are worth 100 points.
5. FILING CABINETS are worth 100 points.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Stick to guarding one or two floors at all times. When you need to go get
the other floors, do so only when enemy stocks are running low.
2. Partially climb a ladder when you have to get up/down to the floor with an
enemy guarding a small route above or below. This will give you a better
chance of surviving.
3. Remember that you can stop on any point on a ladder to throw Rolling
Pins at enemies on ledges to your left or right. This is a great way to
clear platforms that would be difficult to clear otherwise.
4. Falling through a hole will result in your death, so be sure to avoid the
holes at all costs.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Every now and then one of your rolling pins will pass through an enemy for
no apparent reason.
2. You can walk on air and pass large distances with no floor when moving
between a platform and ladder. A good example of this is just to the left
of the starting point in stage 1.
3. Once you complete stage 4, you are sent back to stage 1. There is no
indication or acknowledgement of any kind that you have completed the
game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You begin with 2 lives and have to complete four stages. As the levels
advance, the enemies become quicker. Here is the listing of how many enemies
are required to advance past the given stage.
Level 1: 20 enemies
Level 2: 30 enemies
Level 3: 40 enemies
Level 4: 60 enemies (back to stage 1)
STAGE OVERVIEW
--------------
=========
Level One
=========
================================================================
++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++
++ ==================================== ++
++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++
========================== ==========================
++ ++
++ ++
++ ++
++ ++
================================================================
================================================================
================================================================
- Falling off of a ladder of ledge will result in instant death for your
French Baker, so be wary of this problem.
- Up to five enemies can be on screen at one time, and they can appear almost
on top of you, so be ready for that attack as well.
- There are NO WRAP AROUND rules here, so try to remember that as you flee
From the enemies.
- You must defeat 20 enemies to advance to the next stage.
=========
Level Two
=========
================================================
++ ++
++ ++
++ ++
++ ++
=============================== ===============================
++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++
============ ==================== ============
++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++
================================================================
================================================================
================================================================
- Falling off of a ladder of ledge will result in instant death for your
French Baker, so be wary of this problem.
- Up to five enemies can be on screen at one time, and they can appear almost
on top of you, so be ready for that attack as well.
- There are NO WRAP AROUND rules here, so try to remember that as you flee
from the enemies.
- The small hole between the second highest set of floors is not really a
Hole. Both you and then enemy can walk across it safely.
- You must defeat 30 enemies to advance to the next stage.
===========
Level Three
===========
========================== ======== ==========================
++ ++ ++++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++++ ++ ++
++ ++ ======== ++ ++
++ ++ ++++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++++ ++ ++
++ ==================================== ++
++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++
================================================================
================================================================
================================================================
- Falling off of a ladder of ledge will result in instant death for your
French Baker, so be wary of this problem.
- Up to five enemies can be on screen at one time, and they can appear almost
on top of you, so be ready for that attack as well.
- There are NO WRAP AROUND rules here, so try to remember that as you flee
from the enemies.
- The small hole between the highest set of floors is not really a hole.
Both you and then enemy can walk across it safely.
- You can use the long ladders as safe spots. Hang from them and shoot at
the enemies on the two middle platforms.
- You must defeat 40 enemies to advance to the next stage.
==========
Level Four
==========
====================================================
++ ++ ++++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++++ ++ ++
++ ++ ======== ++ ++
++ ++ ++++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++++ ++ ++
======== ++ ==================== ++ ========
++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++
================================================================
================================================================
================================================================
- Falling off of a ladder of ledge will result in instant death for your
French Baker, so be wary of this problem.
- Up to five enemies can be on screen at one time, and they can appear almost
on top of you, so be ready for that attack as well.
- There are NO WRAP AROUND rules here, so try to remember that as you flee
from the enemies.
- You can use the long ladders as safe spots. Hang from them and shoot at
the enemies on the two middle platforms.
- You must defeat 60 enemies to advance to the next stage (back to stage 1).
=============================================================================
18. A T M O S Q U A K E ACT18
=============================================================================
"The legions of space pirates are causing solar flares and sending shock
waves to destroy your planet. You must fly in and arrest them all."
OVERVIEW
--------
Atmos Quake is a space shooter, having a grand total of five levels before
ultimately crashing. This is another unmemorable title, offering very little
over the other shooters in the game. The ship's handling and firing rate are
identical to previous titles, though the enemies do fire projectiles as they
pass, making them slightly harder than in most A52 shooters. You are
supposedly fighting against a band of space pirates who are threatening your
planet, but the story may as well be anything. These "pirates" all fly the
same type of ship, which just happens to come in four different colors. The
enemies do become trickier in later stages, which is at least one novel point
in favor of Atmos Quake. Aside from this, you'll have a difficult time
remembering this title over the rest of the crap that came before it.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your ship forwards and backwards.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your ship left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots projectiles from the ship. Holding down the A-Button
will fire a constant projectile stream, but not as fast as you
could by tapping the button yourself.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. SHIPS (100-200 PTS): Ship come in white, yellow, aqua, and green. For the
first three stages, their main method attack is to fly straight forward
and hope that you happen to be in the way. Starting at Stage 4, the green
ships leave trails of small bullets as they fly by, making it difficult to
quickly maneuver through the screen. Also, as the levels increase, the
speed of the ships also increases.
2. BLOCKS: Purple in stage 1, Green in stage 2, spiked ledges in stages 3 and
4. The blocks are placed in various positions to impede your flying.
Touching them is sure death, so stay back and plan your path around them.
3. ANTENNA AND "ROOTS:" These are found hanging off the ledges and walls in
the early stages. Like other static obstacles, just don't get too close
and hit them.
4. WALLS AND SPIKES: Some of the biggest obstacles in the game. Walls align
the sides of the screen, and, in later stages, are covered with spikes.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. The enemies increase in speed and difficulty as the stages advance. One
trick to taking out as many as you can is just to fire continuously as you
move. This will often kill enemies just as they appear, and seems to be
more effective than waiting to fire on a target.
2. It makes sense to stay as far back as you can, unless trying to squeeze
between a tight area in front of you. There is no penalty for doing so,
and this usually gives you more time to react to the enemies and
obstacles.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Stage 5 is extremely glitchy, to the point of being unplayable. Your ship
begins to explode all over the screen for no apparent reason, and it's
literally impossible to advance for more than a few seconds at a time.
2. Because of the stage 5 bug, this game has no ending. You will either die
or be forced to reset.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 2 lives to make it through five vertically scrolling levels. Dying
sends you back to the start of the level. There is no boss or guardian at
the end of the stages, and you simply move on to the next one once you've
flown far enough. Your main objective is to avoid hitting the different non-
moving obstacles and tight passageways, until the game finally glitches at
the start of stage 5.
==============
STAGE OVERVIEW
==============
Stage 1: Blue and green background. The stage layout is pretty wide open
and simple to navigate. A few sections near the end of the stage
have some cramped passageways, so enemies are slightly more
threatening there. Also, watch out for the antennae and roots (or
whatever they are) jutting from the ledges.
Stage 2: Purple background. This level has a much tighter layout than the
previous one. Also, the walls and ledges are laced with spikes, so
be careful when nearing them.
Stage 3: Purple and blue background. More open than the previous stage, but
blocks and ledges have been replaced by long, spiked platforms
arranged across the screen. The layout of these also makes it
difficult to move in some areas, but this stage is still probably
easier to navigate than the last.
Stage 4: Purple and green background. This stage is pretty tough. The
spiked platforms have returned, and now the walls narrow in many
parts to an uncomfortably small space. As if the maneuvering
weren't bad enough, the enemy speed has become noticeably faster.
Also, the green ships now leave bullets as they pass by, resulting
in yet another obstacle to avoid.
Stage 5: Blue and green background. Let the nightmares begin. Atmos Quake
has been pretty playable until this stage, but you now experience
the joy of the "randomly die at unexpected places" bug. Yes, you
can navigate for a few moments, but will always die at some
unexpected point without fail. You can abuse the save states and
find some areas to traverse that let you survive for a minute or so
into the stage, but this really accomplishes nothing. You won't get
through, and will only get frustrated by trying. Even if you cheat
to move beyond this stage (via Game Genie or hacking), the
subsequent levels are unplayable. Oh well. This is Action 52 we're
playing, so no real surprise here.
=============================================================================
19. M E O N G ACT19
=============================================================================
"Board game of strategy and skill. Try to get places from starting line to
goal. Watch out for hidden traps. Harder than it sounds."
OVERVIEW
--------
Meong might have been impressive were it released for the Atari or Commodore
64 systems nearly a decade earlier. As it is, Meong is the laughing stock of
Action 52, and it's the game people tell you to play when they're trying to
convince you that this is the worst cart ever made.
Meong is a unique puzzle game in which you control a piece that looks like a
triangular "A52." You navigate the "A52" over a board with hidden traps and
bombs that will often kill you before you can see them. Many people think
this game has a "die randomly" bug, but this actually isn't true. If you
wait long enough, you will always be able to see the traps in advance.
Still, even with this amazing secret revealed, Meong will probably only hold
your interest until the title screen fades. Save yourself the pain of
playing through all four levels. It really never gets any better.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your "A52" piece forwards and backwards on the board.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your "A52" piece left and right on the board.
A-BUTTON: Not used.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. TIME. That's right, time is against you. Standing still for too long
will cause your "A52" to explode. You'll need to keep constantly moving
to survive, even if this motion is simply between the same two tiles,
repeatedly.
2. PITS. Flying into black pits will cause the "A52" to explode.
3. HIDDEN TRAPS. Most people think this game has a "die randomly" feature,
but it's really the hidden traps. If you stay on a screen for long
enough, they will begin to open and close. Much of the strategy in this
game is "biding your time" to see which tiles are safe to cross.
4. BOMBS. In stage 3, you'll notice "bomb" tiles that appear throughout the
board. Unlike other traps, these will kill you both on the tile where
they lay AND the tile above that one. Tiles underneath are still safe,
however.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Meong is pretty simple once you realize how the game works. The easiest
way to pass through the levels is to proceed forward very slowly and
deliberately. At this pace, any hidden traps should reveal themselves
before you get to them. You can also bide you time by moving back and
forth over two tiles, waiting for hidden traps to appear. Either way,
just don't rush into things.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Surprisingly, the only real glitch is the fact that stage 4 sends you back
to stage 1 when completed. There is no indication or acknowledgement of
any kind that you have completed the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to pass your "A52" piece safely through the 4 mazes that
make up the Meong board. The only objective is to survive and complete the
stage without dying. Getting killed by either a pit, trap, or bomb will send
you back to the start of the level.
=================
MEONG WALKTHROUGH
=================
STAGE 1
-------
Below is one set of directions to pass through stage 1. There are certainly
other ways to make it across the board, but this one is fairly straight
forward. For the most part, it hugs the right-hand wall.
1. RIGHT: 6
2. UP: 39
3. LEFT: 2
4. UP: 3
5. RIGHT: 2
6. UP: 38
7. LEFT: 1
8. UP: 4
9. LEFT: 1
10. UP: 3
11. RIGHT: 1
12. UP: 7
13. RIGHT: 1
14. UP: 42
15. LEFT: 1
16. UP: 2
17. RIGHT: 1
18. UP: 19
STAGE 2
-------
Below is one set of directions to pass through stage 2. There are certainly
easier paths to take, but this one gets the job done. Once again, it mainly
involves hugging the right-hand wall.
1. RIGHT: 6
2. UP: 25
3. LEFT: 1
4. UP: 2
5. RIGHT: 1
6. UP: 10
7. LEFT: 2
8. UP: 3
9. RIGHT: 2
10. UP: 9
11. LEFT: 2
12. UP: 2
13. RIGHT: 2
14. UP: 27
15. LEFT: 2
16. UP: 3
17. RIGHT: 2
18. UP: 18
19. LEFT: 1
20. UP: 2
21. RIGHT: 1
22. UP: 33
23. LEFT: 2
24. UP: 4
25. RIGHT: 2
26. UP: 2
27. LEFT: 1
28. UP: 13
29. RIGHT: 1
30. UP: 4
STAGE 3
-------
Below is a set of directions to pass through stage 3. Again, it is one of
many possible combinations, but this route involves very few changes in
direction.
1. RIGHT: 6
2. UP: 39
3. LEFT: 3
4. UP: 5
5. RIGHT: 3
6. UP: 18
7. LEFT: 1
8. UP: 3
9. RIGHT: 1
10. UP: 30
11. LEFT: 3
12. UP: 6
13. RIGHT: 3
14. UP: 56
STAGE 4
-------
Below is a set of directions to pass through stage 4. Despite being the last
level, stage 4 is actually less challenging than stage 3. Once you cross the
finish line, you return to the first level.
1. RIGHT: 6
2. UP: 28
3. LEFT: 1
4. UP: 8
5. LEFT: 1
6. UP: 3
7. RIGHT: 1
8. UP: 6
9. RIGHT: 1
10. UP: 27
11. LEFT: 1
12. UP: 2
13. RIGHT: 1
14. UP: 13
15. LEFT: 1
16. UP: 2
17. RIGHT: 1
18. UP: 30
19. LEFT: 2
20. UP: 3
21. RIGHT: 2
22. UP: 35
=============================================================================
20. S P A C E D R E A M S ACT20
=============================================================================
"There is a black hole and on the other side are all your space dreams. You
must get past all of the obstacles to enter the hole and realize your
dreams."
OVERVIEW
--------
You control a baby's pacifier trying to manage its way through a cartoon-like
space zone filled with toys and other kiddy trinkets. Yes, the game is
really this stupid. The description doesn't seem to have any bearing at all
on what actually happens. You are probably playing from a baby's
perspective, and the game sure does a good job of treating you this way.
As far as Action 52 space shooters go, Space Dreams has to rank near the
bottom. Who really thought this would be a good idea? You face such
menacing opponents as "Clothes Pins" and "Yellow Rubber Duckies." Every
level of the game is identical, and the challenge is really non-existent in
the first 8 or 9 stages. This game might be worth playing for a good laugh,
but don't expect too much aside from this.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your pacifier forwards and backwards.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your pacifier left and right.
A-BUTTON: Fires some projectile from the tip of your pacifier. Only one
projectile can be on the screen at a time.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
Nearly every enemy below is identical. All of them will just fly straight
down from wherever they appear, and none can maneuver horizontally. If you
are generally in front of them when they appear on the screen, most will fire
a bullet at you. Some enemies don't appear until the later stages, and this
is also listed below.
1. Teddy Bear (75 PTS)
2. Red-Haired Doll (100 PTS)
3. Clothes Pin (100 PTS)
4. "Number 1" (40 PTS)
5. "Letter A" (90 PTS)
6. Hanger (50 PTS)
7. Balloons (75 PTS)
8. Blocks (70 PTS)
9. Baby Rattle (25 PTS): First appears in stage 7
10. Race Car (45 PTS): First appears in stage 9
11. Lawn Chair (150 PTS): First appears in stage 10
12. Rocking Horse (50 PTS): First appears in stage 11
13. Rubber Ducky (100 PTS): First appears in stage 12
14. Sun Spots: These enemies appear in all stages, and are stationary spots
on the screen that kill you when touched. They are maroon/purple with a
yellow lining, and are hard, at first, to distinguish from the
background.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. In the first few stages, you hardly need to move from the starting spot.
Just continue to shoot and most enemies appearing in front of you will be
killed. You may need to move slightly left or right if an enemy is not
aligned exactly.
2. In the later stages, the easiest way to survive is by dodging enemies,
rather than attacking them. Enemies will be appearing quickly, so just
move aside and let them pass right by.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Once you complete stage 12, you are sent back to stage 1. There is no
indication or acknowledgement of any kind that you have completed the
game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to fly through 12 identical space stages. Getting hit by
anything will take a life away, and you will be sent back to the start of the
level. There is no end boss or indication that a current stage is ending –
this will just happen after you've flown far enough.
==============
STAGE OVERVIEW
==============
All stages: Every stage in this game is identical in terms of layout. There
are stars and other symbols in the background that may look
dangerous but can be flown over freely. Most of the stage is
wide open space and a complete joke in terms if challenge. You
hardly need to move at all to survive, and can literally get away
with never killing an enemy. All of the enemies, in fact, are
identical. They all fly straight down and will fire bullets if
you're in the way. None pursue you or exhibit any type of AI
whatsoever. About 2/3 of the way through any level, sun spots
will being to show up. These are static, purple bubbles with
yellow outlines. They make navigating a little more tricky, but
likely won't make things that much harder. Once the area of sun
spots is over, you know the stage ending is nearby.
As you move in to later stages, the enemies begin moving faster
and some new foes show up. Still, these are no different from
all the others. Once you complete stage 12, you are simply sent
back to stage 1. Your score remains intact, but the game plays
identically apart from this.
=============================================================================
21. S T R E E M E R Z ACT21
=============================================================================
"Try climbing to the top of this one by throwing steamers and climbing them.
On your way up you better watch out for the various pie throwing clowns,
burning candles and bouncing balls, because if they get you, you'll die a
little each time."
OVERVIEW
--------
You'll die a little each time you play this game, too. Actually, Streemerz
is a fairly unique game and one of the most playable ones on the cart. It's
basically a Bionic Commando rip-off with the main character being a chipmunk
clown. If this weren't idiotic enough, the enemies are all party favorites
or (my favorite) money bags. You climb the towers in various stages for no
discernable reason. The game is relatively easy, save for the enemies that
are placed in location that require you to take a hit (excellent level design
once more). Overall, despite the stupid and pointless premise, this game is
surprisingly fun. Make sure you check it out on your rounds through this
cart.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Not used.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your character left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots your Streamer at on a 45 degree angle
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. MONEY BAG: Counterintuitive as it may seem, money bags hurt you in this
game. Ignore the blatant communist overtones and just pass by these
stationary objects.
2. RABBIT IN HAT: Another stationary object. Just avoid it with some careful
streamer placement.
3. BAD CLOWN: The Bad Clown has a blue suit and green nose. He paces back
and forth over platforms and is one of the most annoying threats. Careful
timing is needed to avoid damage. In many situations, there is no way to
pass by this enemy without getting hit.
4. BAD MAN: Bed Men wear brownish clothing and bear an uncanny resemblance to
Hitler. They are thinner than Bad Clowns but move similarly.
5. MAGIC WAND: Another stationary enemy. The Magic Wand has a bad habit of
appearing in spots where you cannot avoid it, resulting in guaranteed
damage.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. If you feel an enemy is going to hit you, run off the platform. In this
game, you can fall as far as you want to without dying.
2. Every fourth hit you take will kill you. Try to conserve hits as you
climb because you will occasionally be forced to take a hit by enemies
blocking your path with no way around.
3. Try to time your ascension to an enemy platform when the enemy just
starts to turn away from your location. This allows the maximum amount
of time for your character to ascend to the next platform before the enemy
returns to hurt you.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Occasionally your streamer will pass through the level above your
character to attach to the one above that one. However, this is rarely a
good thing as the game just throws your clown clear of the floors to fall
down (possibly into an enemy).
2. Enemies will sometimes appear in areas where you cannot bypass them,
requiring you to take a necessary but annoying hit.
3. Due to poor object detection, you can usually latch onto the space just
off the edge of a platform. This has some useful applications when trying
to pass an enemy. Conversely, steamers sometime go through platforms and
fail to latch on. You will need to reposition your character to pass
these areas.
4. The game has a score counter, but there is no way to earn points as you
cannot defeat any enemies.
5. Once you complete stage 4, you are sent back to stage 1. There is no
indication or acknowledgement of any kind that you have completed the
game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 4 lives to climb to complete four stages. In each stage, you must
climb to the top of the tower using your steamers, which work as a diagonal
grappling hooks. You have an invisible health bar that allows three free
hits from enemies before dying. You are not damaged by falls but will be
killed if you fall off the bottom of the screen. You will be transported to
subsequent stages once you reach the top of a tower and "walk" of the highest
platform.
==============
STAGE OVERVIEW
==============
Stage 1: This stage has a pink background and blue bricks. Your goal is
basically to use the streamers to climb the platforms. Unlike most
other A52 games, you do not die when falling in this one, so you can
be a bit careless if it means avoiding a hit. There is at least one
and sometimes two spots where you must take damage due to bad enemy
placement. Because of this, you will want to try your best NOT to
get hit by the Bad Clowns and Bad Men, who move back and forth and
are very tough to avoid. Generally, wait until they just turn and
begin moving in another direction before you move. With careful
timing, speed, and some luck, you can bypass these opponents. When
you reach the final platform and it seems like you can't go anywhere
else, walk right, as if you're trying to fall off the edge. You
will mysteriously be transported to stage 2.
Stage 2: This stage has a flowery pink and blue background with yellow
lightning bolts on blue for the platforms. It's similar to the
first stage, except Bad Men and Bad Clowns move faster. There are
a few junctures where you get to choose whether you want to climb
the left or right sides. At the first juncture, choose the right
side (with the money bag). After this, stay on the left. This
allows you to avoid a money bag on the right and is the only viable
passage. While on the left side, you eventually come to a rabbit in
a hat on the edge of the screen. If you use the streamer directly
below this foe, you will actually come out on top of it but not be
damaged. At the top platform, walk to the left and you will be
transported to stage 3.
Stage 3: This is an odd looking stage with a white background and purple
steel platforms. The enemies are faster still than the previous
stage. At the first juncture, opt to go right and you will avoid a
Bad Man (and guaranteed hit). Shortly thereafter is a Bad Man
patrolling a small platform that cannot be bypassed (guaranteed
hit). All the remaining enemies can be avoided with careful
climbing. When you reach the top platform, walk to the left to go
to stage 4.
Stage 4: This stage features a light blue background against dark blue
platforms. Take a hit at the first Bad Man, then go left at the
juncture shortly after. After a series of scattered platforms, you
reach a small gap that has no overhead platform or apparent way to
pass. Simply try walking over the opening. You will fall into the
middle of platform on the other side of the pit. When you come to
a platform with a Magic Wand on the right side of the screen, it
looks as though you will need to take another hit. However, you can
actually swing from small platform left of this point to the small
platform on top of the Wand. The stage will end with a final
juncture. It does not matter which way you take. Just walk off the
end of either platform going towards the middle. You will be
transported back to stage 1 and get to start the excitement all over
again.
=============================================================================
22. S P R E A D F I R E ACT22
=============================================================================
"You may have some great weapons, in fact the best. You will need them to
fight off the tremendous enemies that seem to multiply."
OVERVIEW
--------
The description gives no hint as to what this game is about, nor what your
ship is and why enemies keep attacking. That is assuming you are even
controlling a ship. It may very well be a giant lobster or a large insect.
Spread Fire is another stationary shooter, which has the feel of a poor man's
Galaga. You basically move back and forth and try to shoot enemies before
they hit you. Unlike other shooters, this one actually has enemies that
target you, as well as a decent challenge as the levels increase. Still, the
hit detection is bad and the kill counter is bugged, meaning your success is
more determined by luck than skill. This game also has 19 stages, which is a
record for any Action 52 title. Mind you, these stages aren't fun, but
there's still 19 of them.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Not used.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your "ship" left and right on the board.
A-BUTTON: Shoots projectiles from the ship. Holding down the A-Button
will fire a constant projectile screen, but not as fast as you
could by tapping the button yourself.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
The enemies are very non-descript and have no official names, so bear with
the following descriptions.
1. ORANGE THING (50 PTS): Not sure what it is, but it's the only orange foe
in the game. This enemy moves in straight lines and will pursue you,
though not ardently. Probably a medium threat.
2. BLUE THING (50 PTS): Same sprite as Orange Thing, only it's blue. Same
exact movement and attack patterns, also.
3. COCOON/MOTH (100 PTS): This enemy changes between a cocoon and either a
moth or butterfly. You cannot kill this enemy when in moth form. It
generally flutters near the top of the stage and leaves you alone, though
will occasionally move down and attempt to hit you. This enemy is light
threat.
4. WHITE LINES (400 PTS): This enemy looks like a set of dual white/gray
lines with red balls scattered within. You'll know it when you see it.
This foe moves quickly across the screen and frequently attempts to hit
you. Consider it a pretty immediate threat.
5. BLUE LINES (200 PTS): Definitely the most challenging opponent in the
game. Blue Lines looks just like white lines, only blue (obviously).
Once this enemy appears on the screen, it will immediately target you and
fly at any angle to hit you. It also moves quite fast, so you'll need to
forget what you're doing and pursue it. This enemy is an urgent threat.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Learn the enemies' patterns of attack. This will often help you decide
which foes you should go after first, and which are relatively harmless.
2. If an enemy reaches the bottom level where you are, you can move away from
it in hopes that it will take back to the air space above. Alternately,
if avoiding this enemy may cause too many enemies to reach your level,
then take the hit as you remove the more serious threats.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. The hit detection is very bad in this game. You shots will often pass
right through the enemy and not phase it at all.
2. The game's kill counter is bugged. You typically need to defeat 12
enemies to advance in levels (this is the programmed total), but the game
keeps track of kills in a weird way, crediting you for kills you don't
make or not counting ones that you do. As a rule of thumb, expect the
required kills to be off by up to 2 each level.
3. Once you complete stage 19, the game sends you back to stage 1. Your score
remains intact, but the levels are identical otherwise. After stage 19,
there is no indication or acknowledgement of any kind that you have
completed the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to make it through 19 stages. You advance to the next stage
once you kill 12 consecutive enemies without dying. Enemies become faster
with each passing level. You are allowed one free hit from enemies per life,
and, after that, any hits will kill you.
=============================================================================
23. B U B B L E G U M R O S Y ACT23
=============================================================================
"Rosie is looking for her gum, but so are a lot of other gum-starved
critters. Help her get her gum back but be careful the critters don't get
you first."
OVERVIEW
--------
The main character's name is spelled three different ways between the menu
screens and manual –- Rosy, Rosie, and Rossie (referred to as "Rosy" from
here on). This just illustrates the kind of meticulous detail that went into
this title. While the concept is not terrible, the execution and end product
certainly are.
Bubblegum Rosy is a side-scroller in which you help a little girl navigate
through an alien planet to find bubble gum. Yes, that really is the story.
Even though Rosy is just a kid, she manages to get her driver's license in
time for stage 2, where she is suddenly has access to car (must have brought
it in the spaceship). Stage 3 then shifts to the beach, so it looks like
Rosy gave up on finding her bubble gum. Overall, this is a fun little game
with a catchy theme. The controls are horrible, but you should give it a
shot anyway.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Not used.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves Rosy left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots bubbles. Rosy can only have one bubble on the screen at
a time.
B-BUTTON: Used to jump. Rosy can also move left or right while in mid-
air, and this is often needed to make certain jumps.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. BOUNCING STICKS: This is the main enemy in stage 1. It remains relatively
stationary and hops up and down. Rosy has no way of defeating it, so
you'll either need to jump over it or run underneath it.
2. BEACH BALLS: Beach Balls race along the ground at Rosy. Again, she has no
way to defeat them, so just hop over or avoid them.
3. BLUE ALIENS (30 PTS): These big eyed buggers appear in a few places in
stage 1 and don't really do anything. Your bubbles actually hurt these
creatures, so just fire away from afar.
4. BAT (30 PTS): Small orange creatures that move quickly and fly after you.
These could be birds also, but let's assume they're bats. Bats are a big
pain. Just wait for it to swoop down, then shoot it quickly.
5. WATER DROP (30 PTS): Water Drops appear near mid screen and then drop down
when you are approach. They are relatively harmless, so let them fall
before moving forward.
6. JELLYFISH: Jellyfish appear in stage 2 and move around the screen. Since
you have no way to defeat them, just ignore them.
7. FLYING BEACH BALL (40 PTS): Looks the same as the beach ball that rolls
along the floor, but this variety can be defeated. Follows a similar
flight path as the bats.
8. SPIKES: Spikes line the insides of some pits, and are supposed to
hurt/kill you when touched. However, most of the spikes in the game are
bugged and do nothing. Since some of them still hurt you, it's still best
to avoid stepping on them.
9 ROAD OBSTACLES: These include columns, yellow shapes, candy canes, and red
oil slicks. All appear in stage 2 and are fatal if you collide with them.
10. PIRANHA PLANTS: Completely ripped from Super Mario Brothers, these plants
line the ground in the later part of stage 3. Like the spikes, they do
not harm you when you when you land on them from directly above, but are
fatal if you move left or right into them.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. This game is handicapped by controls perhaps more than any other. The
game cannot accept commands form multiple buttons at once. For example,
if you press the A button jump and want to move right, the game will not
register the motion until you release the B button, which is very much
unlike the way most games handle. When jumping in this game, always TAP
the B button. Knowing this will be essential to completing the game and
successfully making many of the jumps.
2. The best strategy for talking on most of the Bouncing Stick enemies is to
run underneath them. Just wait a couple of seconds and time your movement
accordingly.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Most spikes in stage 1 do not hurt you. In fact, only pits with more than
two spikes will harm you.. All the others can all be safely crossed with
no fear of death. In stage 3, spikes do not hurt you if they are landed
on from above, but will cause harm if you walk left or right into them.
You can use this glitch to successfully jump across any spike pit in that
stage.
2. There is a bug that let's you jump and remain within platforms. Just jump
through one from the bottom that you don't clear entirely. Given all the
other problems in the game, this one is hardly an issue.
3. Due to bug #1 above, it is possible to fall into some deep spike pits,
live, and have no way to get out or die. This basically ends the game for
you. Press Start + Select.
4. After completing stage 3, you are simply returned to the first level.
There is no acknowledgement whatsoever that you have completed the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 2 loves to make it through three alien world stages to find Rosy's
bubble gum (which, of course, never happens). Rosy is allowed 1 free hit
from enemies, and any hit after that will kill her. You advance to the next
stage once you have walked (or in stage 2, driven) far enough.
==========================
BUBBLEGUM ROSY WALKTHROUGH
==========================
STAGE 1
-------
Stage 1 can be taken pretty deliberately, as the enemies do not tend to
overwhelm you at any point. The main opponent is the Bouncing Sticks, and
it's best to just run underneath these enemies and move on. While on the
ground, Beach Balls will occasionally come rolling at you, so you'll need to
stay alert. Scattered throughout are blue, bug-like aliens that show up can
be killed with a bubble. None of these foes should really present a huge
challenge if you move slowly.
About a minute into the stage, Rosy comes to a ledge too high to jump over.
You'll know this spot when you see it. This jump can be impossible to make
without using the controls properly. The thing to remember is that this game
cannot receive inputs from more than one button at a time. So, for example,
if you press A to jump and then forward to move, the game will not respond to
the movement if the B button is still pressed. To make this jump, stand on
the farthest part of the ledge, then TAP the A button to jump and immediately
press right on the D-Pad. This jump can be made every single time once you
have a feel for how the controls respond.
The second half of the stage introduces bats, which fly all around and are
very annoying. Try to kill them before moving on, as they are much tougher
when paired with other enemies. Just remember that you cannot survive
extremely far drops, and there are a few high platforms that are fatal if you
jump off them (but safe if you just drop off them). You know the stage is
about to end once you see Water Drops appearing near the middle of the
screen.
STAGE 2
-------
This stage is radically different from the first. The perspective switches
to an overhead view and Rosy is driving a red car in a vertically scrolling
stage. As soon as the level loads, press left or right to avoid the column.
The goal for the remainder of this level is to avoid the various objects
scattered throughout. Everything is fatal except the yellow puddles and tiny
yellow golf balls near the end. This include the sides of the screen, so be
careful. Since you have no weapon, concentrate solely on evasion. One hit
from anything will kill you. You advance to next stage once you drive far
enough, which is about 30 seconds into this level.
STAGE 3
-------
Back to the side scrolling perspective of stage 1. Rosy is now at the beach!
This level is a clear Super Mario Brothers rip-off, as you will see once the
yellow mushroom platforms with red dots appear. Unlike stage 1, this level
is much harder. The main foes at bats, and you will frequently have up to
four of them on the screen at once. During the sections with the mushroom
platforms, you can race by the bats and probably be pretty successful. Once
the narrow platforms start, you should slow things down and try to kill them.
The best bet is just to stand still and be patient. You are much more likely
to be hit by bats when moving. A cheap trip for getting rid of them is to
wait until they are near the very left side of the screen, then press the
right button to "throw" them off. This works extremely well when you have
one or two bats remaining.
If you happen to fall between two mushroom platforms that are too high to
jump over, jumping "into" one of them, then jumping again. This is a glitch,
but it comes in handy. Similarly, if you fall on top of the spikes, you will
not die. However, you will die if moving left or right while in the spike
area. You can escape by jumping, pressing right in midair, and then falling
back down. So long as you only hit the spikes from above, you will survive.
Around the halfway point, you will come to a long pit of piranha plants with
small platforms above. There are numerous Flying Beach Balls overhead as
well. You can either deal with the beach balls on the top route, or try to
jump through the piranha pit by exploiting a glitch. The bottom route is
probably easier (though riskier) since the enemies tend to stay at the top,
but you need to make sure you always land on the plants from directly above.
Any lateral movement will kill you. To get out of the pit at the end, you
will need to jump into the second to last mushroom platform, then jump again
to freedom.
The game has another sequence of spikes over small platforms, then a final
sequence with piranha plants again. After jumping past the eighth mushroom
platform (whether on it or below it), the stage ends and you go back to stage
1. Guess Rosy will have to keep searching for her bubble gum...
=============================================================================
24. M I C R O M I K E ACT24
=============================================================================
"He's only the size of a flea, and it's difficult getting from here to there
when your smaller than the strand of hair. It seems like your in the land
of the giants."
OVERVIEW
--------
It's no small feat to actually earn the title of "Worst Game on the Action 52
Cart." You can't simply rely on bugs and glitches. All the games have
those. Crappy controls? Ditto. Pointless story, blatant copy of another
game, and hideous graphics? Check, check, and check. No, to be the worst of
the worst, it takes a truly special game. It takes the perfect storm of
incompetent design and pathetic execution. It takes a game that makes Meong
look like Super Mario Brothers 3. It takes a game that literally cannot be
played for more than three seconds. It is without further ado that I
present... Micro Mike.
You play as something named Mike. There is some debate over whether Mike
looks most like a fetus, a worm, or a shriveled penis, but it doesn’t matter.
This game is supposed to be another side-scroller with the twist that you're
some kind of midget in a giant world, a la "Honey I Shrunk the Kids."
Unfortunately, far more thought went into the premise than the game itself.
Shortly after the game loads, the screen begins scrolling at Mach 3 and will
likely kill you within 2 seconds (literally). Even after 100 tries, you are
probably not going to improve on that 2 second survival time by much. Of all
the games on this cart that can be completed, Micro Mike is the closest one
to impossible, even with cheating.
When I envision hell, I imagine being locked in a room with nothing to do for
all eternity but play this game. It is seriously that bad. If you still
choose to play it at this point, don't ever say you weren't warned.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves Mike up and down.
LEFT/RIGHT: Not used.
A-BUTTON: Shoots your laser weapon at the enemies.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. SHIPS (50-200 PTS): Ships appear on the stage in semi-random locations and
occasionally fire a bullet or two. They can be killed with a single laser
shot. Often times, so many ships appear in the same area that you cannot
kill or avoid them. This results in an unfortunate death.
2. BOSS SHIP (100 PTS per hit): The Boss Ship guards the end of each
stage. It moves up and down along the back edge of the screen and
occasionally moves forward. Watch its timing relative to your shots and
try to hit it once as it passes by each time. It takes about 10-14 hits
to defeat. Also, note that the bullets it fires can be destroyed, and
these sometimes appear from locations other than the ship itself.
3. WALLS: Walls are the biggest obstacle. 99% of the time, you will be
Crushed by walls as the game scrolls within a few seconds. Typical Action
52-quality here.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Fire your weapon continually. Do not worry about where the enemies are,
as you will have precious little time to line up any shots.
2. Taking the above into account, spend ALL of your time trying to dodge the
incoming pillars by going through their small openings. Enemy hits hurt
you, but getting crushed is an automatic kill.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. The combination of stage layout, scroll speed, and enemy placement can
make this can impossible to beat on any attempt, even if you do everything
perfectly. This may not be a bug as much as design flaw, but it clearly
ruins all playability.
2. Micro Mike can occasionally (very rarely) slip through a wall when he is
not in the opening of the wall.
3. Graphical glitches happen randomly, where sprites from the columns and
walls will appear in the middle of the screen. This makes it nearly
impossible to proceed.
4. After completing stage 3, you are simply returned to the first level.
There is no acknowledgement whatsoever that you have completed the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 5 lives to make it through three blazingly fast side-scrolling
stages. You have an invisible health bar that allows you 2 free hits before
dying. You can also be killed by being stuck behind walls as the screen
scrolls forward, and this is the primary danger. Each stage has an end boss
that must be defeated in order to advance.
======================
MICRO MIKE WALKTHROUGH
======================
First off, keep in mind that this game is next to impossible to beat. Save
states and most typical emulator features do not help at all. The game moves
so blazingly fast that only memorization of the entire level and some luck
will prevent you from being crushed. If that wasn't bad enough, the stage is
littered with enemies. There are some instances, such as when three enemies
appear directly in a narrow passage, where you cannot possibly survive (your
laser does not fire fast enough to kill more than one). Tough luck.
There are two cheats which will help a lot. The first is to enter a code for
infinite health. The memory address for this is $0334 if you're playing on
an emulator which allows easy editing like the VirtuaNES. The second cheat
is to use the emulators frame slow function (again, supported by VirtuaNES).
Slowing this game to 20 or 30 FPS will make it much more playable. Short of
these cheats, there is really no reason to waste your time. Your odds are
better playing the lottery.
STAGE 1
-------
This stage has a green background with blue tiles. It is definitely the
hardest stage in the game. The game gives you almost zero time to react to
walls and move accordingly. You start off at about the one-third mark on the
screen and will be pushed back if you into walls. If you get caught behind a
wall, you're toast. The sadistic thing about this game is that any "push
back" makes it impossible to pass by a later obstacle. This stage can be
divided into six sub-areas. The first two have pillars with small gaps that
you must fly between. The target here is no to get pushed back at all. The
third area has an opening at the bottom then a huge wall that stretches all
the way to the top of the screen. You must immediately begin moving up as
soon as the opening is available. If you are all the way against the back of
the screen, you will always die here. You need to pass this part with your
ship still some distance away from the left side of the screen. The next
three areas are duplicates of the first three. There is another huge wall at
the final stretch of the stage. Use the same tactics as above an hope you
have enough space to clear it.
As if the stage itself wasn't bad enough, there is an end boss as well (this
is the time to save state on an emulator). The scrolling stops and the Boss
Ship appears. It moves up and down along the back edge of the screen and
occasionally moves left and right. It cannot touch you. It does fire
bullets, but these can be destroyed. Get a feeling for how long it takes for
your shots to reach the back wall and you can land hits on the Boss Ship
pretty consistently. Also, when it moves forward, use this time to unleash
as many shots as you can. The Boss Ship takes about 10 hits to destroy.
STAGE 2
-------
This stage has a dark green background with light green foreground. This
stage is much easier and shorter than the first and can actually be beaten on
normal speeds without cheating. Just zigzag up and down to avoid the walls.
Nothing more difficult than that, and it will be a cake walk after the first
stage. There is another Boss Ship at the end of the stage that takes 12 hits
to eliminate. Use the same strategy as the previous stage.
STAGE 3
-------
This stage has a light green background with dark green blocks. It is a
little harder than stage 2 due to the narrow passages, but still MUCH easier
than stage 1. The landmark feature of this stage is an open room with an
odd, multi-edge platform in the middle. There are two of these, and the
stage is almost over after you reach the second one. At the end is another
Boss Ship. Due to your limited area of movement, you cannot hit the ship
during its forward movement, so must carefully time your shots to hit it was
it moves up and down. This one has takes 14 hits.
If have actually managed to get to this point, you are either a serious
glutton for punishment, a mental ward, or an FAQ writer. Regardless, you get
to enjoy a trip back to stage 1 for a repeat performance! What a treat! You
can go to sleep tonight knowing you played the worst title within the worst
game ever made.
=============================================================================
25. U N D E R G R O U N D ACT25
=============================================================================
"Tunnel this way and that in order to find the gold. Be careful of the other
strange creatures you find here."
OVERVIEW
--------
Shoot away at the enemies as you wander around the tunnels underground
aimlessly. This is what the game is. I never saw any gold, but that is just
me I guess. I also never once got to "tunnel", since I could only use the
pre-dug ones in the game. So there ya have it, and now I suggest ya don't
play it...
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your character up and down ladders.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your character left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots your bullets from your gun.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. RED DIAMOND, WHITE DIAMOND, RED PARROT (50 PTS): Again, no idea what these
enemies are supposed to be. They are all identical and just move back and
forth on the platform where they spawn. Their spawn location is
determined randomly, and they reappear after they are killed. These
enemies move faster as the stages progress.
2. SPIKES: Spikes are yellow and will kill you if you walk into them from the
side, but, oddly, they are harmless if you fall on them from above.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Enemies only spawn on certain floors, and usually only 2-4 floors per
stage. All others are safe. When each stage loads, get a feel fro where
enemies appear and what spots are safe.
2. Shoot through walls. This is something that I can not stress enough as it
is a great way to rid yourself of enemies on crowded floors. Keep this up
until you have thinned out enemies to your liking. The best strategy is
to try to get enemies to spawn on floors that you have already passed or
which you do not need to cross.
3. This game has terrible clipping that allows you to walk through numerous
walls, often to your advantage. Always try this, especially on thin walls
and when climbing ladders, as it creates many shortcuts.
4. You are not harmed by lengthy falls, so do not worry about jumping off a
height. Also, you are not harmed when you fall on spikes (only when you
walk into them), so use this as a shortcut or method to avoid using
ladders.
5. If you are standing on a large platform with enemies, do not stop shooting
once they are killed. Enemies will often respawn right in front of you.
Keep firing until you reach a ladder or safe platform.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. This stage has some serious clipping issues. When climbing ladders, it is
usually possible to press right and walk into the cave walls.
Occasionally, you can even climb while within the walls. You can also
walk through most thin walls in the game (usually when pressing right).
Most of the time this works to your advantage and allows you to bypass
enemies and take shortcuts, however, sometimes it lets enemies kill you in
spots where you should be safe.
2. Spikes do not harm you when you fall onto them from above. They only harm
you when you walk into them from the side. This makes no sense
whatsoever, but it's typical A52 quality.
3. Enemy placement can make it impossible to pass certain areas (without
exploiting some other glitch to bypass this). This happens when 4 or 5
enemies appear on a relatively small platform.
4. Your shots will occasionally pass right through the enemies instead of
killing them.
5. After completing stage 6, you are simply returned to the first level.
There is no acknowledgement whatsoever that you have completed the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to complete six maze-like stages. Getting hit by anything
or falling on spikes will kill you. You advance to the next level when you
reach the end of the maze, although there is no designation as to where this
spot is (however, it's usually pretty obvious).
=======================
UNDERGROUND WALKTHROUGH
=======================
STAGE 1
-------
Stage 1 is probably the toughest just due to enemy placement. As
soon as the stage begins and you are falling, try to shoot to the right to
thin out the platforms on the upper right part of the screen. If there are
three or four enemies on these floors, you will have a very difficult time
passing. Fall to the bottom and climb all the way around to the right again.
When on the second to last ladder, press right to walk into the wall
(clipping error), the press left again to face the ladder. Make sure when
you fire, your shots head left. Now, time your climb so that there is an
opening between the enemies and press the A-button to fire off shots as rapid
as possible. Remember, you can fire while climbing or still partially on the
ladder, but only in the direction you were facing when you started climbing
the ladder. For the top platform, you can press right when on the ladder and
move into the wall, then climb from within the wall. This will actually let
you reach the top of the platform on the far right side where the enemies
cannot hit you. Hit them quickly and move left to advance to the next stage.
STAGE 2
-------
Start by climbing down the ladders on the left. If you see that any platform
on the right is very heavily concentrated with enemies, fire through the rock
to thin it out. Having 2-3 enemies per platform is okay, but 4-5 is almost
impossible to pass without some serious luck. Ideally, you want to get as
many enemies on the bottom floor as possible. You can bypass this floor
entirely by pressing right after the first long ladder and heading down the
small hallway. Due to a glitch, you can walk through the rock and onto
another ladder. Simply clear the next two platforms, making sure to keep
firing even after the foes are defeated, and advance.
STAGE 3
-------
This is of the easier stages given the size of the platforms. Dodge the
first bout and climb down the long ladder. Kill the enemies and continue
firing in case any reappear. The only potential danger is if more than two
enemies appear on the middle floor. If this is the case, you can go back to
the long ladder to thin them out. The final floor is large enough that you
should be able to pass it with 4 or even 5 enemies patrolling.
STAGE 4
-------
This is the easiest stage in the game due to clipping issues. Fall down the
initial cave parts on the left, climb the first ladder, then hold right. You
will on top of the spikes (harmless) and will pass through the wall with the
full screen ladder. Keep walking and take the rightmost ladder. You can now
climb the remaining set without ever encountering an enemy. The exit is the
ladder in the top right corner.
STAGE 5
-------
Stage 5 has a cheap trick at the start, so you can die almost immediately if
you're not careful. As soon as the stage begins, hold the down button. This
takes you out of the enemies' path. The best strategy is to now use the
large ladder on the left to help you take out all the enemies until all 5 are
on the top platform. Whether you leave foes or not, head to the second
platform on the right and fall on top of the spikes. From here then head
left. If enemies are patrolling the small platform on the top left, climb
the ladders here and remove them, as this is a very tough spot to pass.
Otherwise, head down, left, then climb back up.
STAGE 6
-------
The final stage. The enemies move extremely fast here, so the key is using
the large ladder to help you thin out the numbers. If you 3-4 enemies on any
floor, kill some of them so that no floor has more than 2. It will take a
fair amount of luck as you climb on the left side. You will need to hope
that enemies respawn below you rather than overhead. If things get too
cluttered, you can always head back down and use the ladder again. More than
any other stage, it is vitally important that you keep firing as you walk
along a platform after clearing enemies. It is certainly possible to die
about 5 steps from the exit by a new enemy, and this is really frustrating.
After stage 6, it's back to the first.
=============================================================================
26. R O C K E T J O C K E Y ACT26
=============================================================================
"Futuristic cowboy straddles a rocket attempting to lasso various
robo-cattle. The lasso gains power as it glows brighter, but gets dimmer
and loses power as the bad guys shoot and hit."
OVERVIEW
--------
I hope you guys wanted another side-scrolling shooter with terrible
backgrounds, uninspired enemies, and a slow to shoot weapon, because this one
delivers that in spades! You are a space cowboy after the robo-cattle, and
you can already see that the ideas were running thin by the time the
programmers got to this one.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your character up and down.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your character left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots a laser from your rocket
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. ROCKET MAN (100 PTS): Like you, these are interstellar cowboys riding on a
rocket. They will fire bullets when close and can veer slightly up and
down to get you. However, they are a minimal threat at best.
2. BULLS (50 PTS): Bulls come in three colors, but they are all the same.
They just appear on the screen and move forward.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Move to the stop of the screen as soon as each stage begins. That's it.
You can beat both stages (and the game) by touching the controller just
twice.
2. If you actually want to fight enemies, just stay near the middle and fire
continuously. You may have to move slightly up or down to incept a Rocket
Man, but the Bulls don't pose a threat.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. The hit detection on your character is larger than the area
representing him graphically on the screen. This is just poor programming
once again.
2. After completing stage 2, you are simply returned to the first level.
There is no acknowledgement whatsoever that you have completed the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to complete two side-scrolling stages. One hit from
anything will kill you. You advance to the next level once you have flown
far enough.
==============
STAGE OVERVIEW
==============
All stages: Both stages of this game are basically the same, although the
enemies move slightly faster in the second. You can beat both
stages by either flying to the top of the screen, where no
enemies will hurt you, or but just staying in the middle and
firing continuously. Either method will complete this game in
under 2 minutes. There is no game play value here whatsoever, so
choose whichever method is the least painful and move on.
=============================================================================
27. N O N H U M A N ACT27
=============================================================================
"They're not human. They have a mind of their own. They are hungry and they
want you as their next meal. Get them before they get you."
OVERVIEW
--------
Non Human borders on being non playable. It's another side-scrolling title,
only this time you play some hideously deformed beast who is wandering around
in a Twilight Zone of other hideously deformed beasts. Really, there is no
point. The game has only one stage, and it consists primarily of jumping
puzzles and horribly placed monsters. The usual Action 52 play control means
that you'll likely be unable to make most of the many annoying jumps or
defeat a lot of the enemies. You'll want to abuse the save state feature
quite extensively to make it through this one. Your reward for making it
past stage 1: you get to do it all over again! It's very ironic that only a
non-human could ever find enjoyment in this game.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Not used.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves the demon left and right. You can also move while
jumping in mid-air, and this is necessary to make it across
many areas.
A-BUTTON: Shoot a projectile at enemies, which travels across the
screen. You can also fire while in mid-air. You cannot shoot
more than one projectile at a time.
B-BUTTON: Used to jump. While in mid-air, you can press LEFT or RIGHT to
move in that direction.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. RED FLYING EYE (50 PTS): Looks like a floating red blob with a huge eye
and a pair of arms. This enemy appears and flies at you, slowly moving
upward and out of your range of fire. Make sure to defeat them while they
are still low, otherwise you will almost certainly be out a life.
2. WHITE FLYING EYE (50 PTS): Same as the Red Flying Eye, only white.
3. BLUE FLYING EYE (50 PTS): Same as the Red Flying Eye, only blue.
4. CHATTERING LIPS (50 PTS): Easier than the flying eyes, as these foes
remain on the ground. Hurl a projectile at them as soon as they come your
way.
5. PINK DEMON (50 PTS): Almost identical to the Chattering Lips, the Pink
Demon only moves along the ground and is roughly the same size. You will
find it near the end of the level.
6. SILVER SNAKE: Slithers along the ground before appearing, hunching up, and
firing a projectile at you. This enemy cannot be killed, nor can you stop
its projectile attack. Once it shoots, you'll need to perform a forward
jump over its projectile. This is no small task, given how unresponsive
the controls are. This foe can be brutally troublesome.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Use save states often. This game has an annoying amount of jumps and
simply horrid control to accompany this. No matter what you do, you
*will* die at some point just due to the bad handling.
2. Shoot enemies as soon as they appear. Several of your opponents have a
nasty habit of flying upward and out of your attacking range once they
enter the screen. Dispatch them as quickly as you can, otherwise they
become much more bothersome.
3. Be careful when jumping vertically. Your demon has a terrible resistance
to falls. Any drops more than the height of his body are fatal. This
means that jumping off higher platforms onto lowers ones will mean sure
death. In these cases, just walk off.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. The game only has one complete stage. Finishing it just takes you back to
the start. There is no acknowledgement saying that you've completed the
game, or that you should only expect one level.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to take your demon through the only stage this game offers.
Getting hit by an enemy or falling into a pit will kill you, sending you back
to the start of the level. After completing the first stage, you are simply
returned back to the start of it. Your points remain the same, but the level
is unchanged otherwise.
=====================
NON HUMAN WALKTHROUGH
=====================
Stage 1
-------
The only stage of the game is short but extremely annoying. Practice your
jumping abilities by crossing the first couple of pits that you come to. If
you fall into the purple area with the demon faces, you die. Nudge your
character forward slowly, and shoot at anything that pops on the screen.
After a short while, you will come to a path of blocks that lead up and to
the right. Jump on them, and move along on top. If you fall off or move too
far forward by taking the lower path, you'll be trapped and required to kill
yourself.
Navigating this platform bridge is probably the hardest and most frustrating
part of Non Human. The jumps are all long, and your handling abilities are
terrible. Try to jump while on the move, and make sure you wait as long as
you can before leaping. Keep your fingers crossed and hope you get lucky
over the dozen or so jumps you'll be making. Once you arrive near the end of
the bridge, hurry down off the blocks, but don't jump down (this will kill
you). Instead, fall down and shoot at the approaching Flying Eye. If you
stay on the bridge while this enemy appears, it will likely attack from some
unassailable angle.
After the bridge, the Silver Snakes appear, which are another troublesome
pest. These enemies crawl up near you and fire a projectile. You'll need to
stay far enough back and then jump forward over these bullets as soon as you
can. Only a forward jump -- and a well timed one, at that -- will allow you
to survive. After a while, the background will shift from light green to
purple. This means you're about 3/4 of the way through the game, and the
trip is easier from here. Get an early jump on the remaining enemies and
cross the last few jumps you come across. Rather abruptly, the stage will
end and send you back to the start. What a wonderful few minutes of playing
this must have been for you...
=============================================================================
28. C R Y B A B Y ACT28
=============================================================================
"Try to get cry baby back to his crib, but be careful to avoid open electric
sockets, poisons, fire in the stove. There are things to help along the way
such as cookies, lollipops, candy bars and pacifiers. If the baby meets any
bad guys trying to kidnap him he squeezes his bottle and shoots them."
OVERVIEW
--------
Well, let's see: kidnappers, siblings, and fires all try to hurt the baby
until it dies. So if you are big on child murder, this is the game for you!
An even poorer version of Illuminator that actually has an extended life bar
to allow the baby to take a few hits. However, a few actually means about
six or seven (what is the baby made out of... STEEL?!?), and this makes the
game laughably easy. I just wonder what happened to the "cookies, lollipops,
candy bars and pacifiers" to help you along? A decent title, but not worth a
lot of attention.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your character up and down ladders.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your character left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots your Milk Squirts from your bottle.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. BURGLAR (100 PTS): Burglars wear grey suits and hats. They wander back
and forth over a predetermined path (usually not the entire platform) and
attempt to touch the baby. They will take away a sliver of health if
touched, but can be taken out with a milk shot.
2. SIBLING (75 PTS): Siblings wear white shots and T-shirts and are smaller
than burglars. Other than this, their movement is identical. Use the
same strategy.
3. FIRES (20 PTS): Fire will spring up occasionally, and they will stay in
the same position, never moving or spreading. They too will remove part
of the baby's life meter if they come into contact with the child.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Climb the chairs, couches, desks, and dressers to move between floors.
Watch out for appliances, though, like ovens and refrigerators (blue).
The game will let you climb through the wall when above these objects, but
you will end up falling and losing a life.
2. Stick to guarding one or two floors at all times until you have to go get
the other floors when enemy stocks are running low.
3. Falling through a hole or off some furniture will result in your death, so
be sure to avoid the holes at all costs.
4. After completing stage 2, you are simply returned to the first level.
There is no acknowledgement whatsoever that you have completed the game.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Your milk shots will occasionally NOT extinguish a Fire due to poor hit
detection between the two in the programming.
2. After completing stage 6, you are simply returned to the first level.
There is no acknowledgement whatsoever that you have completed the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to complete six platform stages. You also have a health bar
that allows you 3 free hits before dying. Here is the listing of how many
enemies are required to advance past the given stage.
Level 1: 12 enemies
Level 2: 16 enemies
Level 3: 18 enemies
Level 4: 22 enemies
Level 5: 28 enemies
If you come into contact with an enemy (and lose some health), the enemy will
disappear and this will count as a kill.
=============================================================================
29. S L A S H E R S ACT29
=============================================================================
"They are everywhere. Mean guys with nails that are nine inch knives and
they like to slash everything that comes into their path. Don't get in
their way or your the next victim."
OVERVIEW
--------
You appear to be on the rooftop of a large building where faux Spidermen and
large breasted women are out to beat you up. About as fun as it sounds (it
is not fun in case you are confused), but it had potential to be good. Alas
it will never reach that level of goodness it could have...
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your character up and down.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your character left and right.
A-BUTTON: Causes your character to punch.
B-BUTTON: Causes your character to kick.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. FAUX SPIDERMAN (200 PTS): He wears blue spandex and red boots. Faux
Spiderman will and engage in combat, like all enemies do
2. BIG BREASTED WOMAN (200 PTS): Fighting a woman may not seem fair, but she
holds her own, despite her massive jugs. In fact, she is identical to all
the other enemies.
3. BAD ASS BIKER (200 PTS): Hairy Men wear black shirts and have massive
facial hair. They appear quite large but are identical to the other two
enemy types.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. While it may not really be the case, it seems to me that kicks are more
effective than punches, so rely on these exclusively.
2. It is important to attack the enemy at the right time and establish a
"good" pattern. To do this, pres the attack button when the enemy nears
so that your foot hits him or her in the face as soon as they are within
range. If the timing is right, you will win the fight without taking
damage.
3. There is also a "bad" pattern that you can fall in to, and if you take
more two hits, you are in it. If this happens, step back and regroup or
alter your attack pattern.
4. It's cheap, but you can scroll almost all the enemies off the screen
without even fighting them! Walk past an enemy and keep moving. The
screen will scroll and he or she will be defeated. The best way to do
this is to wait near the top of the screen. When the enemy approaches,
press down and then walk right. The enemy will never turn around and is
gone for good.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Occasionally you or your opponent will be unable to land any blows on the
other while getting hit repeatedly. This is not because of the proper
timing of one or another, but rather because the game puts the attacks
beyond the defenses of their opponent.
2. After completing stage 5, you receive a Game Over message. This was
probably intentional.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 4 lives to complete five stages. You also have a health bar that
allows you to receive 6 free hits before dying. Each stage consists of a
pre-determined number of enemy fights. Once you defeat an enemy, walk
forward and another will appear. Do this until you reach the end of the
stage. The number of fights you encounter in each stage are listed below:
Level 1: 21 enemies
Level 2: 15 enemies
Level 3: 21 enemies
Level 4: 23 enemies
Level 5: 24 enemies (then Game Over)
==============
STAGE OVERVIEW
==============
The enemies in all stages are the same. While the fights may seem random,
there is actually a strategy. For one, kicks seem to work much more
effectively than punches, so use those. Secondly, you can avoid damage if
you time your initial attack just right. When the enemy moves toward you,
throw a kick so that your character's foot hits the enemy's face as soon as
it is range and has not started attacking yet. This will often turn the
battle in your favor and allow you to escape unharmed. Conversely, if your
timing is off, you can get into a pattern where you take successive hits. If
this happens, step back and regroup, then try to move in an connect with a
kick to the face. You can also avoid fighting almost entirely just by
walking past an opponent. The screen will scroll forward and he or she will
disappear.
Stage 1: Rooftop stage, with gold and olive bricks. You fight Faux Spidermen
and Big Breasted Women. Kill 21 enemies to advance.
Stage 2: This is an underground subway stage. All three enemy types appear.
Kill 21 enemies to advance. Kill 15 enemies to advance. This stage
also has a warp to stage 3. When you see a garage opening near the
top of the screen (second one), walk just to the right of this point
and hold up. You will be transported to stage 3.
Stage 3: Rooftop stage, red bricks. All three enemy types appear. Kill 21
enemies to advance.
Stage 4: Another subway stage. All three enemy types appear. Kill 23 enemies
to advance.
Stage 5: Rooftop, mostly olive green bricks. All three enemy types appear.
Kill 24 enemies, the enjoy the Action 52 style "ending."
=============================================================================
30. C R A Z Y S H U F F L E ACT30
=============================================================================
"Educational puzzle game. Picture matching with many levels, game and
options. Tests memory and concentration skills."
OVERVIEW
--------
I'm still in shock that someone used the word "educational" to describe an
Action 52 game! Well, the description is total garbage. This is just
another overhead stationary shooter. You are a small orange thing that must
shoot the enemies as it collects blue pieces of a puzzle to find the next
level. Not overly exciting, and it does suffer from hard to hit enemies with
your razor thin projectiles, but overall it is at least playable. Play it
for a little bit to get some entertainment (just not a whole lot of it).
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your ship up and down.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your ship left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots bullets from your orange ship.
B-BUTTON: Not used..
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. ORANGE AND PURPLE BUGS (25 PTS): These are bight colored enemies that move
randomly around the maze trying to attack you. They die after a single
shot. Take them out from a distance.
2. LAVENDER BUGS (25 PTS per hit): These bugs cannot be killed, but each hit
you score on them does count towards the total that's needed to complete
the stage. Try to find spots where these bugs have a limited range of
movement and land as many hits as possible.
3. FLOWERS: Flowers are purple colored and nestled within the vines. They
will kill you on contact, so do not touch them.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. The flowers (colored swirls) that are stationed between the vines will
kill you. Avoid them.
2. You advance to subsequent stages once you have hit or killed a certain
number of bugs. Purple and Orange bugs are destroyed in a single shot,
but lavender ones cannot be killed. However, hits on Lavender Bugs DO
count towards the required kills for the stage. The easiest way to beat
each level is to focus on these Lavender Bugs to rack up as many hits as
possible.
3. Blue pieces will randomly appear (look like t's and F's). You do not get
anything if you collect these. However, having these pieces visible on
the screen limits the amount of bugs, since there can never be more than
five objects (bugs + pieces). Leave these objects in place to make your
life a little easier.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Sometimes when a just turned harmless being touches you character, you
will kill this enemy off of the screen.
2. In some places, you can move through vines or other objects that should be
solid.
3. After completing stage 6, you are simply returned to the first level.
There is no acknowledgement whatsoever that you have completed the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to complete 6 stages. One hit from anything will kill you.
Each stage is a single screen, and all screens are fairly similar (although
stage 6 has blue vines instead of green). You advance to next stage when you
hit or kill a certain number of enemies (listed below):
Level 1: 10 hits
Level 2: 15 hits
Level 3: 20 hits
Level 4: 22 hits
Level 5: 25 hits
Level 6: 30 hits (back to stage 1)
=============================================================================
31. F U Z Z P O W E R ACT31
=============================================================================
"Fuzzy must get to the land of Guru. He's got to avoid the walking brushes,
hair dryers, combs and other natural hair disasters, because if he losses
all of his hair he's bald and the game is over."
OVERVIEW
--------
Here's a game with a lot of thought put into it. You play a freakishly
deformed midget with a ton of hair named Fuzzy. Each time the enemies hit
Fuzzy, he loses some of his hair, until he is eventually bald. Once bald,
Fuzzy looks like a giant, shaved penis. There's no more tactful way of
putting it. All the enemies trying to "de-fur" him are hair care products
and appliance -- from brushes to combs to blow dryers.
As far as side-scrollers go, Fuzz Power has decent graphics and play control
by Action 52 standards. The praises stop there. Everything else about this
game is terrible. There is no point, the enemies are all equally bland and
unchallenging, and the game has an impassible point in stage 3. Couple this
with the "no score" bug and the "bald character is physically disgusting"
attribute, and you've got one really bad game. Fun in some odd, sick sort of
way, but still really, really bad.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: No use.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves Fuzzy left and right. You can also move while jumping in
mid-air, and this will help cross many of the pits in the game.
A-BUTTON: Rolls Fuzzy into a ball and attacks enemies. You must hit them
at the right time to inflict damage.
B-BUTTON: Used to jump. Fuzzy can move and attack while in mid-air. When
attacking, he will roll into a ball and damage the enemy as he's
falling.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. HAIR DRYER: One of the toughest enemies you'll encounter. These foes will
fire waves of hot air at you if given enough time. Get a jump on them by
attacking as soon as you can.
2. HAIR BRUSH: The Hair Brush walks back and forth aimlessly, hoping you'll
be dumb enough to run into it. They aren't much of a problem unless in a
group with other enemies.
3. COMB: A taller and slimmer version of the Hair Brush. Combs often appear
in groups with other enemies. A simple rolling attack will defeat them.
4. GREEN BRUSH: A green bush with legs scurries about the screen with the
other enemies. It is pretty much the same as the Brush and Comb.
5. BOMB: Found starting in stage 2, these enemies are pretty similar to all
others in the game. Take them out using whatever method is safest for
you.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Get a jump on enemies. For the most part, this game rewards action over
patience. Continue to move forward and take out the enemies before they
have a chance to kill you. In areas with lots of jumps and rocks, slow
down the pace and proceed a little more cautiously.
2. Attacking on the moving is the best way to defeat enemies. Don't just
stand still and press the A-Button, walk or jump and transition into your
attack from that.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. There is something displayed as a bunch of gray blocks in the top-left
corner of the screen. Whether this is supposed to be points or health,
who knows. It doesn't work in either case.
2. The game keeps a score value, but enemies don't give any points.
3. There is an impossible jump at stage 3, which will always force you to end
the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to guide Fuzzy through 3 stages infested with hair care
products (and other random enemies). You start off with a full head of hair,
and can take 2 hits before you are completely bald. Once bald, a single hit
will kill you, sending you back to start of the stage. Entering a new level
restores your hair to full. There is an impassible jump at stage 3, so the
game will always end at this spot.
==============
STAGE OVERVIEW
==============
Stage 1: Stage 1 is probably the toughest level you'll encounter. At the
start of the stage, it's best to walk quickly and make an early
attack on all the enemies you come across. This lets you get a jump
on the Hair Dryers, who become much harder is you give them time to
get into firing mode. Stay aggressive and move quickly until you
clear the forest and reach an area with a sky-blue background. You
can slow down here and take things more carefully. The enemies are
easier in this section, but make sure you don't get swamped by
enemies coming in a staggered order. The remainder of the stage is
pretty easy.
Stage 2: This level is similar to the second half of stage 1. You can
proceed at your own leisure, but this level is actually pretty easy
to complete if you are constantly holding RIGHT and quickly
attacking through most of it. You will encounter bomb enemies
starting at the mountain section straight-away, but they are no
different from all the other enemies. Be careful and a little more
deliberate near the ending, and you should pass this stage easily.
Stage 3: There isn't much to before the game has an impassible point (yes,
you must be shocked). Cross a few jumps and kill a few enemies, and
you will come to a small rocky region with a jump too high to make.
Even if you cheat to move to stage 4 using a Game Genie or by
hacking), it is unplayable. There is a programmed stage 5, but it
just seems like and extremely glitchy version of stage 2. So, the
programmers clearly didn't intend for you to play more than 3 stages
of Fuzz Power. Take a few moments to recover from this shocking
loss, then get ready to reset the game.
=============================================================================
32. S H O O T I N G G A L L E R Y ACT32
=============================================================================
"Seven different levels to test shooting skills. Skeet shooting, gallery
shooting, target shooting, quick-draw and a final shoot-out with bad guys
and all."
OVERVIEW
--------
Or, just the same old gallery with the exact same targets every time.
Shooting Gallery might have been a nice idea on paper, but it was given the
good old Action 52 treatment. You could probably play this game blind-folded
and would have a legitimate chance of beating it.
Shooting Gallery plays as a stationary shooter. There is no way for your
character to die until stage 3, and even then it's uncommon. You simply
target enemies that pop into the range and blast away. The challenge is
lessened by the fact that the enemies just stick around until killed, giving
neither an incentive nor penalty for speed. There's really no point at all
to this title. Ah, if only the shooting range had Action 52 cartridges for
you to target. I'd play this game all day...
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Not used.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your shooter left and right.
A-BUTTON: Used to shoot bullets from your rifle. Holding down the A-
Button will fire a constant projectile screen, but not as fast
as you could by tapping the button yourself.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
All enemies are basically the same. They appear in the shooting area and
move around, vertically and horizontally. You get a fixed amount of points
for killing each one, and there is no threat if you miss too many.
1. PINK RABBIT: (25 PTS)
2. WHITE DUCK: (50 PTS)
3. GREEN PHEASANT: (75 PTS)
4. HORSE: (100 PTS)
5. CROCODILE: (125 PTS)
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Long periods of time may go by with no targets on the screen. Just be
patient. I have noticed that firing your gun when the screen is empty
lengthens the time before a new enemy will appear, so just remain still.
2. If you have a turbo controller or setting on the emulator, this is a great
stage to use it.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. The game crashes once you complete the first stage or if you try to exit
on many emulators. See the "Emulators" section for more details.
2. After completing the seventh gallery, you are simply returned to the first
one. There is no acknowledgement whatsoever that you have completed the
game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives at the start of this game to complete seven gallery stages.
You cannot die in the first two stages, but, in stage 3 and beyond, enemies
can come down to the shooting area and kill you. Targets also speed up as
the stages advance. To complete a gallery, you must destroy the number of
targets listed below.
Gallery 1: 12 targets
Gallery 2: 16 targets
Gallery 3: 18 targets
Gallery 4: 22 targets
Gallery 5: 22 targets
Gallery 6: 22 targets
Gallery 7: 25 targets (back to gallery 1)
=============================================================================
33. L O L L I P O P S ACT33
=============================================================================
"The chocolate monsters have taken Lolli. You are Johnny Jawbreaker and must
try to rescue her."
OVERVIEW
--------
It's not hard to imagine the pitch while this game was being developed:
"Let's mix Metroid and Candyland, take out the fun, add a bunch of glitches,
bad control, and terrible music and graphics, and voila! Lollipop!" Yes,
someone really did think a good game could come from this idea. As if one
stupid, poorly executed rip-off wasn't enough in a single title, Lollipop
gives you TWO. It's almost unimaginable that anything could tarnish the
reputation of Candyland, but Lollipop succeeds with flying colors. Action 52
does not disappoint, yet again.
Lollipop plays as a side-scroller, with basically the same level of control
and challenge as the other scrollers (read: Poor and None). Supposedly,
chocolate monsters have captured some girl, and you, Johnny Jawbreaker, need
to save her (if that isn't a porno name, I don't know what is). Two problems
with that: 1.) there are no chocolate monsters in this game, and 2.) the game
crashes well before any "Lolli" is rescued. Guess the fudge and caramel
beasts will be having their way with Lolli tonight...
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Not used
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves the character left and right. You can also move while
jumping in mid-air.
A-BUTTON: Swings your lollipop and attacks enemies. You can "glide" down
from your jumps by repeatedly pressing the A-Button as you fall.
B-BUTTON: Used to jump. While in mid-air, you can press LEFT or RIGHT
while tapping the A-button to glide down in that direction.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. BLUE BUGS (200 PTS): Blue, bug-like creatures that are usually situated
atop and guarding the platforms in stage 1. It will take a well time
attack to take them out from this perch.
2. PINK GUM DROPS (200 PTS): Red smile faces with legs. They walk along the
floor and chase after you. A well timed attack will take them out easily.
3. RED FLUFF (200 PTS): Red blob that gets bigger and smaller as it moves
along. These foes scurry along the floor and come after you when near.
4. CANDY BAR (200 PTS): A blue candy bar with legs. In stage 2, it seems to
be able to walk over pitfalls to get at you. Otherwise, it's basically
the same as all the other enemies.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Your attack is not instantaneous, so get the timing down early on. When
enemies are a few steps away, start your swing.
2. The tip of your lollipop actually goes lower than your character if you
attack while in mid-air. This makes it possible, though very difficult,
to kill enemies as you land on them. You can use this as a strategy for
killing enemies across pits.
3. If Johnny falls far enough, he will be killed. It will take a pretty long
fall to do this, but it's not that unlikely in the first stage. You can
survive these falls by pressing the A-button as you drop. You will glide
down and always land safely.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Falling Player bug. This useful glitch allows you to survive far drops.
By pressing the A-Button as you're dropping, you will glide down and
survive any fall.
2. Pitfall bug. This is an extension of the falling player bug above. If
you fall into a pit, pressing the A-Button repeatedly will make you come
out on the top of the screen and glide down, surviving the drop. Very
useful in stage 2.
3. The stage 3 music is glitched. It will sound like beeps and crackles.
This bug persists when you die, reset this game, or leave the stage.
4. Stage 3 also shakes occasionally when you move. A minor bug, but it can
be disorienting.
5. Stage 3 has three doors that all lead back to stage 1. There is no way
to move beyond this stage, and the game gives no acknowledgement of any
sort that you've completed the game after stage 3.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to make it through 3 levels of Candy filled goodness.
Getting hit by anything will kill you, and you return to start of the level
when killed. Each stage ends with a green door, which takes you to the next
level.
====================
LOLLIPOP WALKTHROUGH
====================
Stage 1
-------
This level is made up of blue orbs and hanging bubbles. It might seem eerily
familiar to you *cough*MetroidRipOff*cough*. You'll get right into the
action fairly quickly. Take out enemies that approach you by hitting them
with your lollipop, but take into account the swinging delay. You'll need to
time you shot about half a second before the enemies would hit you. Take
some time and practice on these early enemies, which all appear alone and
make easy targets. Not too far into the stage, you'll notice that candy cane
ladders and platforms begin appearing. Ignore them all. The lower route is
much quicker and easier.
Eventually, just after you see the first Candy Bar enemy, you will come to a
small, pink wall that can't be jumped over. To cross it, you'll need to
climb the platform to the left of it, which has a Blue Bug at the top.
Killing this enemy without getting hit is quite a challenge in itself. To
climb the ladder, you basically "jump up" along it. Try to stay to the
extreme edge of the rungs, so that most of your body is off the ladder. Jump
up a couple of time, face the Blue Bug, wait until it's on the opposite side
of the platform, and jump, tapping the A-button as soon as you do. If you're
lucky, you will hit the enemy and kill it. Bad timing, of course, is certain
death.
Once on top of the platform, things get interesting. If you fall straight
down or blindly jump off, you will die. You have a few choices. First, you
can take the cheap approach and abuse the "falling player" bug. This bug
allows you to survive any pitfall so long as you constantly press the A-
button as you're falling. Works very well here. There is a also a
legitimate way to cross the wall, but it's much harder. You'll need to
execute a perfect jump from the very edge of the platform and land on the
ladder just over the wall. A well time jump will hit the third step from the
top, but this is pretty hard to do. Once across, stay along the ground and
enter the green block. This is the door exiting the stage.
Stage 2
-------
The second stage takes you outdoors underneath a starry night sky. The floor
is now covered with yellow orbs and pink stalks. The first thing you might
notice is how off the music is. The previous stage's theme was pretty action
oriented, but this level has an extremely somber tune, despite being filled
with candy drops and sweetness. Very odd.
For the most part, this level is just a straight away area, with enemies
coming onto the screen one at a time. The only danger comes when enemies are
on the opposite side of pitfalls, as it's hard to jump across and kill them
without being hit. You can always abuse the "pit fall" bug and kill them as
you fall into the pit, then reemerge at the top of the screen and "glide"
down. To do this, just make sure you're constantly pressing the A-button.
The stage has nothing special after this. Be careful when the hilly region
begins, as its easy to move down the slope quickly and fall too far. Take
those steps one at a time. Once you see a ladder, you're almost at the end.
The exit door is on the top platform.
Stage 3
-------
Let the glitching begin! The first thing you'll notice is that the music is
entirely screwed up. It consists of loud screeches and high pitched beeping.
VERY annoying. If you have any dogs in the room, expect them to start
howling. At this point, you may wish to mute the volume, or at least lower
the sound. The second glitch you'll observe is the shaking stage. As you
walk, the floor and screen begin to vibrate. No, this is definitely not
supposed to be happening.
Apart from this, stage 3 looks similar to stage 2, but has much more
difficult enemy arrangements. Foes now approach you in groups of 2 or 3, and
move much quicker than they did in the previous levels. Eventually, striped
platforms will appear. Try to stay on top of them, as you will eventually
get stuck if you don't. After a short while on top, you will come to a green
door, which leads back to stage 1. You can jump over it and continue if you
don't want the fun to end yet. Note that if you're underneath it at this
point, you're out of luck and won't be able to leave the level on this life.
A few jumps over is another green door, also going back to stage 1. You'll
know you're in the right spot by the X-Mas lights hanging between the
platforms. A bit farther down along the top is yet another green door
leading back to stage 1, the last you'll come to. If you keep going on after
this, you come to a ladder and dead end. You'll need to kill yourself (via
the Red Gum Drop on top) or reset. Nice run, but the journey ends here and
Lolli will never be rescued. There will be no joy in Candyland, as the great
Johnny Jawbreaker has struck out.
If you return to stage 1 via one of the green doors, the music will remain
permanently glitched. Your score will stay recorded, (like this is of
monumental importance to you), but everything else is the same. Save
yourself and your pets the headache and just exit this game.
=============================================================================
34. E V I L E M P I R E ACT34
=============================================================================
"Arabian desert has bad Arabians and genie's. Hasha, the warlord has stolen
the great genie. With it he will rule the land, unless you can defeat his
evil empire and save the genie."
OVERVIEW
--------
You appear to be a Ninja who is crusading on the side of good. However,
instead of having great abilities like most Ninjas, you get to have little
throwing stars and the ability to fall half a foot to your death. Anyway,
you must fight the Evil Empire, which is rotten to it's core, to save some
genie that never appears. To help you, the game generates a near infinite
number of 1-Ups that you can collect. In fact, it's more interesting to see
how glitched the characters can get on the loading screen when you get a
hundred 1-Ups than it is to play the actual game. Anyway, this is a
substandard platformer, so don't feel obligated to give it a play.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your character up and down ladders/ropes.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your character left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots your Throwing Stars at the Evil Empire enemies.
B-BUTTON: Causes your Ninja to jump.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. GREEN GHOSTS (50 PTS): Moves rapidly back and forth along a platform.
They are extremely quick, so you will need to time your movement carefully
to kill them if on the same platform.
2. YELLOW BIRDS (50 PTS): Birds move left, right, and up in a sort of
triangular pattern. They are annoying to kill but fairly safe if taken
out from a distance.
3. FLYING CARPETS (100 PTS): Flies back and forth at a speed slower than the
Green Ghost and slightly slower than the Ninjas. This is probably the
easiest foe to dispatch.
4. FIRE POTS (200 PTS): Fire Pots remain stationary and blow flames from
their tops. They also release flaming projectiles in your direction that
can hit you anywhere on the screen. In general, it's a good idea to take
out these does as soon as possible.
5. GREEN NINJAS (200 PTS):Move quickly back and forth along a platform.
Their speed is slightly slower than the Green Ghost.
6. PURPLE NINJA (400 PTS): Purple Ninjas move the same way Green Ninjas do,
except they also have a small, blue shuriken projectile that they can
throw in the direction they are moving. This is probably the most
difficult foe to kill, so use caution when approaching his level.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Remain on ladders and ropes whenever you can. This makes you safe from
everything except the Fire Pots projectiles. Climb up and down to reach
the appropriate level of the enemy.
2. You can fall pretty far, but extreme falls can still kill you. In
general, avoid dropping more than a quarter of the screen at once.
3. The purple orbs that randomly appear are 1-Ups. You can collect a ton in
this game. The best time to do so is when you only have one enemy
remaining on the screen. Keep collecting 1-Ups as they constantly
respawn.
4. Only 5 objects can appear on the screen at the same time (between enemies
and 1-Ups). It makes sense to leave 1-Ups uncollected as it reduces the
maximum number of enemies. Collect them once there is only a single foe
remaining.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Sometimes your Ninja will need jump to another platform that some stage
layouts (first time it appears is Level Two) require. You will be
killed for doing so despite the need to reach the platform.
2. The game has clipping issues that allows you to jump through platforms and
fall inside them when leaping. This usually works to your advantage.
3. Sometimes, your shots will pass right through enemies instead of killing
them.
4. Due to the abundance of extra lives, you can go above 9 extra lives. When
you have ten or more, they will not show up on the loading screen properly
on the loading screen (may be blank or appear as letters and other
characters), but the game will still keep track of them correctly.
2. After completing the stage 5, you are simply returned to the first
stage. There is no acknowledgement whatsoever that you have completed the
game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to complete five stages. One hit from anything will kill
you, as will falling too far. You advance to next stage once you have killed
a certain number of enemies in each stage (listed below):
Level 1: 10 enemies
Level 2: 20 enemies
Level 3: 25 enemies
Level 4: 30 enemies
Level 5: 40 enemies (back to level 1)
STAGE OVERVIEW
--------------
=========
Level One
=========
==============
++ ++
========== ++ ++ ==========
++ ++ ++ ++
++ ============== ++
++ ++ ++ ++
========== ++ ++ ==========
++ ++ ++ ++
++ ============== ++
++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++
===============================================================
- Stay on the ladders whenever possible, especially when there are less than
3 enemies and one is due to respawn. Ladders and ropes are safe from enemy
contact, although projectiles can still hit you.
- Stay on the middle set of ladders the entire stage. Use them to safely
move down to whatever level enemies are on and shoot while holding on.
- When there is only one enemy left, leave it alone and wait for as many
purple orbs (1-Ups) to appear as possible.
- Maximum of 3 enemies on the screen at once.
- You must defeat 10 enemies to advance to the next stage.
=========
Level Two
=========
==========
++
++
++
========== ++ ==========
\ ++ /
/ ++ \
\ ========== /
/ \
\ /
/ \
\ /
========== ========================== ==========
++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++
======================================================
- Stay on the ladders whenever possible, especially when there are less than
3 enemies and one is due to respawn. Ladders and ropes are safe from enemy
contact, although projectiles can still hit you.
- Remember that you need to take a leap of faith off of the ladder near the
top of the area where you start. You need to do this to go after the
enemies in other sections of the level.
- You can be really screwed if all the enemies appear on top of the two
platforms on the left and right. If this happens, climb about 2/3 up the
rope below on of them, and jump towards the center. Using the walk through
platforms glitch, you will land inside the middle platform and can advance
on top of it.
- When there is only one enemy left, wait around for purple orbs (1-Ups) to
appear and collect as many as you can.
- Maximum of 3 enemies on the screen at once.
- You must defeat 20 enemies to advance to the next stage.
===========
Level Three
===========
============================= =============================
++ ++
++ ++
++ ++
++ ========== ++
++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++
++ ========== ++ ++
++ \ ++ ++
++ / ========== ++
++ \ ++ ++
++ / ++ ++
++ \ ++ ++
==============================================================
- Remain on the long ladders on the left or right sides of the screen. Move
up and down to kill enemies in the appropriate level.
- When there is only one enemy left, wait around for purple orbs (1-Ups) to
appear and collect as many as you can.
- Maximum of 4 enemies on the screen at once.
- You must defeat 25 enemies to advance to the next stage.
==========
Level Four
==========
==============================================================
++ \ ++
++ / ++
++ \ ++
============================== / ===========================
++ \ ++
++ / ++
++ \ ++
============================== / ===========================
++ \ ++
++ / ++
++ \ ++
============================== / ===========================
++ \ ++
++ / ++
++ \ ++
==============================================================
- Remain on the rope in the middle of the screen. Move up and down to kill
enemies on the appropriate platform. If a platform becomes swarmed, move
to one of the side ladders, as this makes for a better attack position.
- Enemies can pass over the gap in the middle of the screen, so keep this in
mind when climbing the rope.
- When there is only one enemy left, wait around for purple orbs (1-Ups) to
appear and collect as many as you can.
- Maximum of 4 enemies on the screen at once.
- You must defeat 30 enemies to advance to the next stage.
==========
Level Five
==========
======================
++ ++ ++ ++
++ [] [] ++
++ [] [] ++
++ ++ ++ ++
============== ===============
++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++
=============== ++ ++ ===============
++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++
============== ++ ============== ++ =============
++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++
==============================================================
- The red ladders in the top middle of the stage are tricks. They cannot be
climbed and will cause death when you try to move left or right off them
(bug?). Just use the two outside ladders.
- Remain near the two ladders on the middle of the screen. Enemies move very
fast in this level, so try to avoid standing on any platforms with foes.
- The greatest danger is when multiple enemies appear on the top platform at
once. This is bound to happen during the course of the stage. You should
leave any foes that spawn there until the very end (no other enemies), as
this ensures that you only need to venture there once.
- Maximum of 4 enemies on the screen at once.
- You must defeat 40 enemies to advance to the next stage (stage 1).
=============================================================================
35. S O M B R E R O S ACT35
=============================================================================
"A Chivato (thief) has stolen all of the sombrero's. You must use your
pistola, take the law into your own hands and get them back."
OVERVIEW
--------
You are on a mission to get the "stolen" sombreros back. Well, the
criminals must be the dumbest people around as their stolen merchandise is
strewn about the countryside just waiting to be picked up. Avoid the
bandits and cars as you return the much needed sombreros to the populace to
become a Mexican Hero! However, be a bigger hero and just say no to crap
like this!
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your character up and down.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your character left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots your pistola. You shoot in the direction you are facing.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
ENEMIES
-------
1. CHIVATOS (40 PTS): Chivatos are a common threat to your character
throughout the game. They run around trying to hit you, so pop
them first with your pistola.
2. CARS (200 PTS): Cars will run you down if you wander into the middle of
the road. A single pistola shot will kill them, but you need to be fast.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Collecting a sombrero adds one (but only one) free hit to your character,
like a piece of armor. This is an extremely useful tip to keep in mind.
After taking the hit, you can collect another sombrero to restore it. After
collecting one sombrero, however, there is no benefit or point to collecting
any others unless you are hit again.
2. Take note that the screen scrolls slightly slower than your character can
move. If you stop moving in the direction of the scroll, you will notice
much faster movement in any other direction. This is probably a non-issue
during the game.
3. Sombreros will disappear if not collected after a certain amount of time.
Note that there is a second type of sombreros (looks like a sun hat), which
first appear in stage 2. It is the same as the regular type.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. In stage 2, the Chivatos can walk through some rocks that should be
impassable. You, however, are still stopped by them.
2. After completing the stage 3, you are simply returned to the first
stage. There is no acknowledgement whatsoever that you have completed the
game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to complete three vertically scrolling stages. You can
collect sombreros along the way, and the first one collected will add a free
hit to your reserve (like armor). You are only allowed to accumulate one
free hit at a time. In each stage, you advance by simply walking far enough.
==============
STAGE OVERVIEW
==============
Stage 1: This stage is a large highway. Your movement is restricted to a
narrow band that runs vertically up the center of the screen. Nab a
single sombrero, then stay on the very right side of the road.
Nothing will be able to hit you there, and you can simply walk to
end and complete the stage.
Stage 2: This stage is a desert and is wider open than the last. The only
enemies here are the Chivatos, who scurry around and try to hit you.
Remain in the middle, as this is the least troublesome place to
walk. If you are hit by a Chivato, immediately try to collect a
sombrero. They are quite plentiful on this stage, so you should be
fairly safe.
Stage 3: You begin in an old western town and make your way across road
segments and finally into the desert again. This stage now presents
two Chivatos at a time, and they are faster than in previous stages.
However, the strategy is still the same. Make sure to collect
sombreros whenever hit and you should be fine. About half way
through the level, cars will begin to show up again, but there are
infrequent. When you see a rock wall and a couple houses, you are
at the end.
=============================================================================
36. S T O R M O V E R T H E D E S E R T ACT36
=============================================================================
"Using your tanks you must avoid the mine fields set by the evil army of
Satan Hosain. The evil Satan's army of soldiers will kill you or die
trying."
OVERVIEW
--------
You know, if this game originated in Iraq, we might have been able to claim
that there were weapons of mass destruction there after all. This is a HUGE
dig at Saddam Hussein, in case you somehow missed it through a mental
breakdown on your part. You are fighting the army of "Satan Hosain", which
is comprised of foot soldiers, tanks and large robotic "Satan Hosains" (yeah
you read that correctly). All in all, just an abomination of a game that is
sad on so many levels I am just left without an adequate closer sentence to
this Overview...
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your tank up and down.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your tank left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots your tank rounds at the forces of "Satan Hosain."
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. FOOT SOLDIERS: These foes run through the screen firing off a lot of
shots. They are small and can be difficult to hit with your cannon.
2. PINK TANKS: The color of all Iraqi artillery, the pink tanks will attack
frequently with their turrets. They are an easier target than the Foot
Soldiers..
3. ROBOTIC SATAN HOSAINS: Saddam must have amassed quite an army from his
spider hole (if spiders actually lived in holes, that is). These
mechanized dictators will appear periodically to stomp through. They are
invulnerable, so just try to avoid them.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Stay in the middle of the screen. This will allow you to take out
multiple targets, and it will also allow you to defend yourself easier
(less chance the enemy can sneak up on you).
2. Your tank has armor that protects it from five hits. This is plenty in
the early levels but hardly useful in the later stages. After stage 4 or
5, focus more on evasion and armor conservation than offense.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Your Tank gets a lot of friendly hit detection decisions from the
programming. It usually requires a near perfectly directed blast to the
middle of your rear.
2. Once you complete stage 9, the game sends you back to stage 1. Your score
remains intact, but these levels are identical otherwise. After stage 3,
there is no indication or acknowledgement of any kind that you have
completed the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to complete nine stages of intense, single screen combat.
Your tank also has armor that protects from 5 free hits before you die. You
are damaged by running into any enemies or taking fire from bullets. You
advance to the next stage by killing a certain number of enemies (listed
below):
Level 1: 12 enemies
Level 2: 16 enemies
Level 3: 18 enemies
Level 4: 22 enemies
Level 5: 26 enemies
Level 6: 30 enemies
Level 7: 35 enemies
Level 8: 40 enemies
Level 9: 50 enemies (back to level 1)
=============================================================================
37. M A S H M A N ACT37
=============================================================================
"Your a funny looking dude with a little head and great big feet. You've got
to mash everything in sight before they somehow mash you."
OVERVIEW
--------
There are stupid games, and then there are STUPID games. Mash Man is one of
the latter, and is atrocious even by Action 52 standards. You control some
deranged guy with a size 72 shoe (which makes for an interesting pick up
line) who's wearing an outfit that would embarrass the World Bowler's League.
And this isn't even the bad part yet...
Mash Man plays as a side-scroller, but stops short of even the abysmal effort
put into the others. All you do is walk straight and either jump on or over
some stationary enemy. Nothing attacks you, so the whole game is just a
giant test of how well you can tolerate the pathetic controls. Terrible
beyond terrible. If you hate Action 52, you'll love this game.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: No use.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves the character left and right. You can also move while
jumping in mid-air.
A-BUTTON: Not used.
B-BUTTON: Used to jump. While in mid-air, you can press LEFT or RIGHT
while tapping the A-button to glide down in that direction.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. EYE ENEMIES (200 PTS): These are the small creatures with big eyes that
remain stationary and let you squash them at will. These are the
"harmless" enemies that do not damage you when stomped. They come in the
red, blue, and pink varieties.
2. SPIKES: Spikes look like upside-down triangles, and can be white or red.
They are "harmful" and always damage you when you touched. Just jump over
them.
3. TACK: Small, black, upside-down T. Likes spikes, Tacks always damage you
when touched. Jump over them.
4. SHARP ROCK: A pointy, white shaped object. Could be a rock, could be
anything, but let's just call it a rock. It's is also a "harmful" enemy
and damages you when touched.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Don't jump on sharp objects. This is about the only thing you need to
know for this basic game. You can safely jump on the Eye Enemies, but
need to leap over everything else.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. After completing stage 3, you are simply returned to the first level.
There is no acknowledgement whatsoever that you have completed the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 4 lives to make it through 3 stages of "harmful" and "harmless"
enemies. The harmful type include Tacks, Spikes, and Rocks, and these damage
you when touched. Your character has a hidden health bar and can take 3 free
hits before being killed. Dying takes you back to the start of the level. A
new stage begins when you walk far enough, and there is no end-stage boss or
indication that a new level is approaching.
==============
STAGE OVERVIEW
==============
All the stages are basically the same. They all consist of completely
straight-away areas with colored blocks in the background and enemies every
few steps. A greater proportion of the enemies become "harmful" as you
advance in stages, but nothing else really changes. If you look carefully at
the block formation in the background of third stage, you can just make out
the phrase "Kill Me Now" (I can dream, can't I?). After surviving the
excitement that is stage 3, you are returned to the first level. Your score
is kept intact, but the game plays through again without any changes. If you
are even tempted to go through these stages again, you are a mentally
unstable individual who needs to seek help immediately.
=============================================================================
38. T H E Y C A M E ACT38
=============================================================================
"Try killing all of the green-eyed monsters only to be attacked by their
leader."
OVERVIEW
--------
Well, you are in a purple ship that is attempting to fight off the attacks
of an aggressive group of warriors (sounds familiar to many other games on
the Action 52, eh?). Your ship has a little durability (the ability to
take a couple hits before exploding), unlike your enemies who are one hit
kills. Here is the real kicker though, this game freezes whenever you die or
kill enough enemies to advance to the next stage. Nice! Great 30 seconds of
play time here.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your ship up and down.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your ship left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots your ship's cannon at the opposition.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. PURPLE FLIERS: These enemies will fly generally simple patterns as they
fire off the occasional shot in your direction. These are the most common
enemy.
2. GREEN FLUTTERS: The Green Flutters will move quickly and erratically
around the screen in an attempt to ram your shuttle. Much more rare than
the more common Purple Flier.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. You begin the game with 4 free "hits" that you can take before dying. You
can add additional hits by picking up the purple pieces of armor plating
that appear the stage.
2. Try to not stray too far from the center of the screen. You will be in
the best position to shoot enemies as well as avoid being ambushed by
appearing enemies (they could crack some quick shots into you without
warning).
3. The pink vine objects in the top right and bottom left cause damage when
touched, even though there is no sound to indicate this. Do not touch
them.
4. It is possible to beat this game without firing a shot. Each time you ram
an enemy, you lose a piece of life but receive credit for a kill. If you
pick up enough armor plates (you will need at least 6), you can actually
win this game just by ramming and never using your gun. This is probably
the only challenge you can expect from the game.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. This game crashes every time you die or beat the level. Nice eff you from
Action 52.
2. You cannot exit this game by pressing Start + Select. That will crash it,
throwing you to a black screen.
3. While it is possible to select this as a two player game, due to the
crash, there is no way for player 2 to ever receive a turn.
OBJECTIVE
---------
The game says you have 4 lives to beat this game, but the game crashes
whenever you die. Therefore, you really only have 1 life. You beat the game
once you kill 10 enemies. Upon killing the tenth, the game also crashes. In
other words, once you select this game, there is no way you are playing
anything else without resetting.
=============================================================================
39. L A Z E R L E A G U E ACT39
=============================================================================
"You're trapped in a warp with only your laser. You must try to stay alive
collecting new weapons on the way and avoiding the traps they've set for
you, until you can be rescued by the laser-league."
OVERVIEW
--------
A side-scrolling shooter with your character armed with a lazer as he is
flies to the right. Enemies attack as you shoot them, and you will switch
levels when you defeat the large square boss (looks like a giant Pizza Box
or something like that). However, you get a whole TWO LEVELS to play (I
know that I am overwhelmed)! Anyway, still one of the best side-scrolling
shooters on Action 52, so give it a chance.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your character up and down.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your character left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots your Lazer at the enemies.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. FIREBIRD, BLOB, U.F.O., DARK LOBSTER (25 PTS): These enemies are all
identical. They appear on the screen and fly straight at you. They do
not move or veer off course to pursue you.
2. SCISSOR FLIERS AND SPACE FLOWERS (50 PTS): Identical to the other enemies,
but they give more points.
3. PIZZA BOX (50 PTS per hit): This is the end stage boss. It's supposed to
be some sort ship probably, but it looks more like something delivered to
your doorstep by Domino's. The Pizza Box moves along the edges of the
screen. You can damage it when on the left edge, but the best time is
when it is moving forward or backward. The Pizza Box takes 24 shots to
destroy.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Stay at the very bottom of the screen. You can make it to the stage boss
without ever being damaged or having to fire from there.
2. If you shoot at an enemy and miss, move out of the line of the enemy.
Since you can only have one shot on the screen at once, you will likely
not have enough time to shoot a second time (the enemy will reach you
before you can fire another one).
3. When the Boss Fight comes up, shoot at the Pizza Box continually while you
watch for its red bullet clusters. Since you have a red brick wall
as the background, you will need to watch the shots extra carefully as
they blend in. Also, avoid the very top of the screen. Due to placement
of the score counter, the screen will flicker and bullets will often not
be visible when you are there with the boss. This can result in death by
nearly invisible bullets.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Once you complete stage 2, the game sends you back to stage 1. Your score
remains intact, but these levels are identical otherwise. After stage 2,
there is no indication or acknowledgement of any kind that you have
completed the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to complete to complete two side-scrolling space levels.
One hit from anything will kill you. Both stages have end bosses that must
be defeated in order to advance.
STAGE OVERVIEW
--------------
Stage 1: The first stage has red bricks with open parts of space in the
background. The enemies seen here include: Firebirds, Blobs,
U.F.O.'s, Scissor Fliers, and Space Flowers. You can avoid any and
danger by moving to the very bottom of the screen. Nothing can
reach you there and you will arrive safely at the Pizza Box. When
fighting the boss, attack when it is on the right side of the screen
and especially when it moves forwards and backwards. After 24 hits,
you will eliminate this foe and advance to stage 2.
Stage 2: The second level has the same background as level one with the
exception being a blue outline on top of the red brick wall. The
enemies seen here include: Space Flowers, Dark Lobsters, Scissor
Fliers, and U.F.O.'s. As in stage 1, move to the very bottom of the
screen to avoid any possible damage. The boss of this stage is
another Pizza Box, and it is identical to the one from the first
level. After destroying it, you are sent back to stage 1 and get to
start the excitement all over again.
=============================================================================
40. B I L L Y B O B ACT40
=============================================================================
"Marylou has disappeared. The bad guys have her, but Billy-bob is stuck in
jail and must find his way out from deep within this prison in the desert by
traversing all of the levels and rescuing Marylou."
OVERVIEW
--------
Welcome to Prince of Persia with a redneck title. Billy Bob is a side-
scrolling adventure game with lots of jumping puzzles and mild problem
solving. Fans of the Prince of Persia series will be happy to see one of
their long-time favorites ripped off and urinated on. Still, Billy Bob is
actually one of the deepest and most playable games on the entire cart. That
is, if you can get past the first two rooms.
The quest for your sister/girlfriend, Marylou, takes place in abandoned ruins
and ancient caverns, all littered with hundreds of falling spear and boulder
traps to protect the absolutely nothing that lies within them (no wonder this
ancient culture is extinct... the people wasted all their time and resources
building traps for Billy Bob). Bad ass that he is, Billy Bob is armed with a
pistol that does virtually nothing except give the A-button a use. But oh,
wait till you see him jump...
This game actually had some potential, and it isn't often that you'll see
that written about any of the terrible games on this cart. If the play
controls weren't so horrid and the traps weren't so damn numerous or
impassible, this game might have been decent. "Might" being the keyword. As
it is, you will probably need to use the save states at every other screen or
so, as survival is based more on luck than on skill (what a shock). Still,
if you can figure out how to make it past the first couple of rooms, you may
actually derive a few seconds of pleasure from this title. And that is about
the greatest praise that any game from Action 52 could ever hope to get.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Pressing UP when at a ledge will cause Billy Bob to perform a
vertical leap. He will then grab the upper ledge and pull
himself up. The DOWN button does nothing.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves Billy Bob left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoot bullets from pistol. The only enemies vulnerable to gun
shots are Bats.
B-BUTTON: Used to perform horizontal jumps, but you need to be moving to
use this. In some cases, this requires a running start from a
previous screen.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
Note that none of the enemies give you any points.
1. SPEARS: Sharp spears appear randomly along the ceiling and drop down when
you pass underneath. They are rather narrow and can be avoided with some
quick maneuvering. There is also a bug that will eliminate all the spears
on the screen if you jump and hit your head on the ceiling. This can come
in very handy in some sections.
2. BLOCKS: Falling blocks will cause you problems throughout most of the
game. They also hang from the ceiling and drop as you pass underneath.
The main difference is that Blocks are wider and less nimble than spears,
making them a little more difficult. Always proceed slowly and try to
trigger any loose Blocks before moving on.
3. BATS: Bats are quite rare, but fly around a few rooms in the game and can
be slightly troublesome when trying to move. If they get close enough,
you can take them out with your pistol.
4. PITFALLS: Pitfalls are the main obstacle in the game, so get used to them.
Learning to jump over pits of all shapes and sizes will be very necessary.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Master the two types of jumps. Billy Bob has both a vertical and
horizontal jump in his arsenal, and he will need both to complete the
game. The vertical jump is triggered by pressing the UP-Button when below
a higher ledge. The horizontal jump can be performed by pressing the B-
Button while running. You may need to start running from a previous
screen to execute some of the horizontal jumps.
2. When in doubt, explore strange places. This includes falling down pits
that would seem to be fatal. Also, keep a close eye out for anything even
slightly out of place. The game hides secret passages and doors in some
very odd spots.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Nothing in this game gives you points, which is odd given the scoring
gauge.
2. In later stages, you can't leave the game. When you die or press Start +
Select, you are not given the chance to return to the main menu. You will
need to manually reset to leave the game.
3. After completing Stage 5, the ending doorway takes you back to Stage 4.
You can travel between these two levels forever, but will never move on.
The game has no ending, and you get no acknowledgment after stage 5 that
you have reached the end.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to navigate the traps and pitfalls of 5 side-scrolling
stages. Getting hit by anything or falling too far will kill you, sending
you back to the start of the stage. Each level has an ending door which
takes you to the next stage.
=====================
BILLY BOB WALKTHROUGH
=====================
Stage 1
-------
Interestingly, the toughest part of this entire game is likely the first few
rooms of stage 1. It will probably take a short while to get used to the
controls and feel of the game. Even after this point, you'll need at least
some measure of luck to survive certain areas. You begin inside a cage,
located within a larger, temple-like area. Even before moving, you should
see spears and ceiling blocks hanging from above. These objects fall down
once you pass underneath, so be very careful. You may need to move quickly
into and out of an area to "trigger" their falling before you can proceed.
Drop out of the cage and walk over the first wall. You can jump vertically
upward by pressing the UP button on the D-Pad. Do this for the first two
ledges, and hope that no spears or blocks decide to fall while you're
jumping. When you get to the end of the first screen, begin running onto the
next one. As soon as the next screen appears, press the B-button to jump and
hold the RIGHT button on the D-Pad. This *should* take you safely over the
pit. Now, this is a good point to discuss the two types of jumping. You can
leap and pull yourself up ledges by pressing the UP button at the right
places. You can also jump horizontally, but you must be in motion to do so.
If you don't have a controller, executing a lot of these maneuvers is next to
impossible.
From the second screen, proceed to the end of the platform. If there are
spears or blocks that look like they'll fall as you jump, walk down to the
two ledges instead, working your way up with vertical leaps. If not, make
the jump, but be careful not to go onto the next screen just yet. The third
screen has the same type of pitfall as the second. Get a running head start
in the small area, then press the B-Button as soon as you get to the next
screen. Follow the platform to the end now, dodging any falling objects.
The fourth screen has a small pit, which shouldn't be too hard to traverse.
Don't bother exploring the area below the pit, as it only leads to a dead
end. The fifth screen has two jumps and the sixth screen has three, with the
third jump taking you onto the next screen. This section is easier to cross
by running straight through, barring any falling objects. If timed right,
you should land on a platform on the seventh screen. Jump over it and move
on, running right through the eight screen (which has no pits).
In the middle of the ninth screen, there is a ledge that you'll need to get
to by vertically jumping. Be very careful of the spears when in this area.
You may need to walk under the ledge to trigger them before jumping. Once
you're up, start running and jump again as soon as the next screen appears.
You should now see a large, red door in front of you. Entering it will take
you to stage 2.
Stage 2
-------
The second stage looks basically the same as the first. Make your way past
the first screen and onto the second. From here, jump over the short pit and
continue heading right, but don't leave just yet. The third screen has an
extremely cheap trick, which will kill you as soon as you enter. To avoid
this, you have to be in mid-air as you enter the screen. So, before leaving
the second screen, make sure to jump. The third screen has three more pits,
with the third one connecting to the fourth screen. Simply cross over the
floor until the next screen appears. There will be two ledges stacked in
front of you that need to be climbed vertically. Again, trigger the spears
before jumping if you need to. Once you reach the top level, all the spears
will disappear. This actually happens every time your head touches the
ceiling, and this a useful trick to remember. The blocks do not disappear,
though, and can still kill you easily. Be wary of them, and head right and
onto the next screen.
The sixth screen has two pits over lava, which are slightly harder to make
given your height off the ground. Make sure there are no falling blocks, and
time your jumps carefully. If any spears appear, you can always make them
disappear by jumping into the ceiling. The seventh screen has a single pit
in the middle of the floor, and leads harmlessly into the eighth screen.
This section is tough. The room is pretty wide open, with ledges on each end
and two small platforms in the middle. Pray that no spears appear when
trying to cross from the second to third platforms, as there's nothing you
can do. Also, given the fact that the third platform is only one block wide,
it's easiest to keep moving and take care of the screen in one fluid attempt.
If this is impossible due to falling objects, you should by all means stop
and wait.
If you can make it to the ninth screen, you're nearly at the end. Walk to
the end of the screen and climb the ledge from the right side. This will pop
you up onto the tenth screen, which has a door on the right. At this point,
it will look like you're standing on nothing. Tap the RIGHT button a few
times, and, when close enough, leap vertically onto the platform with the
door.
Stage 3 (Says Stage 1 when the level loads)
-------
The third stage has gray blocks, and you begin in a bat infested room with
three stacked ledges on the right side. The bats can be killed with your gun
if they are in range (yes, the gun actually *does* have a use). Trigger the
overhead spears and climb the ledges using vertical leaps. Take out any bats
if they come too close. On the second screen, run off the starting ledge
onto the middle of three more stacked ledges, then just drop down and head
right.
The third screen has some water pits and even more ledges. Climb the first
two against the left wall, then turn right and make a vertical leap.
Remember, if there are lots of spears along the ceiling, you can get rid of
them by jumping. You will now have to cross three small pits, which is a
very tricky feat. Be careful not to over-jump, and try to stop after each
leap to adjust your position. You'll want to jump from the far side of the
blocks, so as not to overshoot your targets. After some practice, you should
make it through this room.
The fourth screen has a single jump shortly after you enter the room. You do
have a little space to run, so there's no need to jump immediately this time.
The fifth screen has another three jumps, all fairly easy. This is the first
curve ball the game throws you. The stage now spits, with one way being a
dead end and the other taking you to the exit. Once you get to the far right
side, try to climb up onto the overhead ledge. If you walk right onto the
next screen, you've gone the wrong way. The top path should take you out in
an open room with lots of single blocks. Make the four jumps going left,
then climb the two small blocks. From here, make the next 3-4 jumps heading
back right. Take your time and be very deliberate of the falling objects.
Climb the final block, and walk onto the seventh screen.
The seventh screen is very much like the second one in this level. Run right
off the starting ledge onto the middle platform, then drop down and head
right. The eighth screen has two easy jumps over water, and the ninth screen
has a huge pit. From here, you'll have to drop straight down. Don't worry,
this won't kill you. You should land on the tenth screen, which has a large
water pit in the middle. Leave the screen on the right, and keep going right
past the flat grounds of the eleventh screen. On the twelfth screen, make
the three jumps over the water pits and enter the blue door.
Stage 4 (Says Stage 1 when the level loads)
-------
This section takes place inside a green cavern, and it is much easier than
the previous three stages. There are no more spears, but a lot more falling
blocks now. Run right through the first screen, and make the small jump in
the second. The third and fourth screens are identical, and each have two
easy jumps evenly spaced out. The fifth screen has three stacked ledges,
which shouldn't be very hard to climb. The sixth screen has a single jump
near the entrance. Since you are at about the height as the ceiling, this
pit can be tricky, but no harder than the ones you've seen already. Be very
careful for the blocks here, as they are quite numerous. The seventh screen
has two pits going down, all of which can be crossed by running off the
ledges (no jumps required). The eight screen has another descending pitfall,
which again can walked over. Should be a nice breath of fresh air, right?
The ninth screen has only a single pit, and tenth screen has none. Again,
look out for the blocks, but you should be low enough now that they aren't
too menacing. On the eleventh screen, walk to the end and drop down the pit
(you won't die). This takes you out on the twelfth screen, which has a flat
area and three stacked ledges as you go downward. Take them one at a time,
and head left to the thirteenth screen, which has another single jump. The
fourteenth screen has two more jumps, and the fifteenth is a straight-away.
Just keep heading left. The sixteenth screen has a short single jump, the
seventeenth has a long single jump, and the eighteenth and nineteenth are
straight-away section. The twentieth screen has a long, single jump, the
twenty-first is a straight-away, and the twenty-second has another long jump.
This screen is another trick, however. Instead of jumping it, fall down into
the pit, and you will come to the door. If you jump the pit and keep going,
you'll come to a cliff. Dropping from it will kill you (very nice, A52).
Stage 5 (Says Stage 2 when the level loads)
-------
Another green cave, and this one devoid of falling blocks and spears
entirely. The first room has bats looming around the ceiling, but these can
be avoided entirely. The second screen has two jumps, the third is a
straight-away, and the fourth has a single jump. This is another trick.
Head down into the pit instead of going right. The fifth screen has steps
heading down, the sixth and seventh have single jumps, and the eighth through
tenth have identical, double jumps. The eleventh screen is a straight-away,
and the twelfth is a dead-end, with a pit you need to fall down. The
thirteenth section has descending steps. Head left onto the fourteenth
screen and down the pit again. When you land, walk right and you'll be on
the final screen, with a doorway. This door leads back to stage 4, but hey,
how much more could you ask for from Action 52? Five complete levels and
some measure of a playable challenge. It almost seems like this game is out
of place... Well, don't get too used to it. More crappage awaits in the
coming games.
=============================================================================
41. C I T Y O F D O O M ACT41
=============================================================================
"While scaling the city skyscrapers to rid the city of the evil insect
plague, you better shoot well and accurately because the fall is a long way
down."
OVERVIEW
--------
You know that crazy dude that you hear about on the news every few years?
The one who climbs the side of some large metropolitan building and thinks
he's Spider-Man? Well, Action 52 gave this guy his own game.
City of Doom is a vertically scrolling shooter in which your main goal is
stop the evil insect infestation plaguing the city. Of course, the city
consists of only three buildings and a typical can of Raid bug spray is your
only weapon. But don't let this ruin your fun. City of Doom is a fairly
unique idea that was ruined by poor execution. For one thing, the most
lethal opponent in the game is an apartment window. Touch any of them and
your life bar is virtually drained to nil. Secondly, the majority of the
obstacles are apple pies and bowling balls that are thrown from the building
windows. You don't need a degree in psychology to figure out the
functionality of those families... If you've come to expect nothing at all
in terms of gameplay or enjoyment from Action 52, City of Doom won't
disappoint.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your character up and down along the building walls.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your character left and right along the building walls.
A-BUTTON: Used to shoot aerosol projectiles. You can only fire one shot
at a time. Your character will fire projectiles in whatever
direction you last pushed the D-Pad, so use this to your
advantage.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. BOWLING BALLS (150 PTS): Randomly drop from the top of the screen as you
are climbing. A blast from your bug spray (for some reason) will destroy
them.
2. APPLE PIE (150 PTS): Like Bowling Balls, except these are dropped more
along the window line of the building. Once again, your omni-purpose bug
spray will do the trick.
3. RED HORNET (75 PTS): Red Hornets enter the screen flying horizontally,
then change directions at some point to either pursue you or exit the
screen. You can ignore them for the most part, but stop if they're flying
in your direction to spray them.
4. GREEN HORNET (100 PTS): Like the red Hornets, but a bit more agile. Green
Hornets only seem to appear in stage 1, but are rather tricky opponents to
take out. Try ignoring them, if you can, and only attack when they are
flying close to you.
5. YELLOW HORNET (100 PTS): Pretty similar to the Green Hornets. These pests
seem to hang out farther up the building than their colored brethren. Use
the same strategy to take them out.
6. WINDOWS: Yes, windows hurt you. Climbing over them will steadily deplete
your life. For this reason, it's best to stick to one side of the
building or the other and avoid the potential damage.
7. GIANT INSECT BOSS (2000 PTS per hit): The boss sitting high atop the
building at the end of each stage. See the walkthrough for details on
swatting them dead.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Positioning is everything. You really don't want to be moving left and
right as you climb, so try to find a spot that lets you avoid the falling
Apple Pies but always target the Bowling Balls. The walkthrough section
below has a recommendation for this location.
2. You can shoot bullets in 4 different directions. Your character will
instinctively shoot in whatever direction you last pushed the D-Pad.
Usually, you won't need to shoot in many directions other than UP, but
bosses are a different story. Shooting in multiple directions will be a
great asset in that situation.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. The enemies will occasionally vanish off the screen for no reason. This
happens mainly with the flying Hornets and occurs while you are also
moving. It may be a side-effect of bad programming related to the
scrolling.
2. The end stage bosses *should* always take four hits, but sometimes die in
3 (4 hits is the programmed life level). It's unknown what causes this
difference, but you lose out on the extra 2,000 points that the fourth hit
would typically give you.
3. Once you complete stage 3, the game sends you back to stage 1. Your score
remains intact, but these levels are identical otherwise. After stage 3,
there is no indication or acknowledgement of any kind that you have
completed the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to climb 3 different buildings and defeat the insect boss
perched on the top. You character can take 4 free hits, but the fifth one
will kill him (your life bar is located on the bottom-left part of the
screen). Dying will send you back to the start of the stage.
========================
CITY OF DOOM WALKTHROUGH
========================
Stage 1
-------
First off, stay away from the windows. For whatever reason, they cause some
major damage and will completely kill you after only a few moments. The
easiest thing to do is stay between the second and third windows. Edge to
the left side, so that there's a slight space between the character's left
hand and the windows. This position allows you the angle to shoot most
things as you climb. The stage will begin with falling pies and bowling
balls. Apparently, lots of overweight bowlers and bad cooks inhabit this
building. These two obstacles are easy enough to shoot as they drop. When
the Hornets fly across the screen horizontally, you should stop for a second
to blast them.
You are near the end of the stage once the blue skyline turns dark. At the
top, you'll run to the Giant Insect boss, who flies quickly all around you
and will probably take your life in a single hit. Stay near the middle of
the screen at a window intersection and shoot in different directions to hit
him. After 3-4 hits (which is harder to do than it sounds), you'll be sent
to stage 2. Note that you also get 2,000 points per hit, so taking out this
bugger is worth up to 8,000 in total.
Stage 2
-------
The second stage takes place on a blue colored building, but the window
layout and enemy types are identical to the first. The enemies move
noticeably faster in stage 2, so it will seem like far more things are
attacking you. The same place between the second and third windows will
again work well in this stage. The Red Hornets are the biggest threat while
climbing, since they now appear in groups of two and can swarm you. Still,
it's not something to worry about. Just continue to shoot as you climb.
This level seems to be slightly shorter than the previous one, but there is
the same Giant Insect boss at the top. This one moves slightly faster, but
takes the same 3-4 hits. Employ the same strategy as in the previous stage,
and it should fall without too much of a hassle.
Stage 3
-------
This final stage takes you up a brick-red building in the middle of night.
The enemies are even faster and more numerous here, so be alert and keep
moving. Slowing down is the worst thing to do, as you'll probably get
swamped. Staying in motion is the key to success. The end of the stage has
yet another Giant Insect Boss. This one is the hardest so far, and your
survival is very much in the hands of luck, as there is no way to react to
its movement. Just find a nice spot with some mobility and shoot.
Hopefully, the Giant Insect won't fly directly into you before you get your
shots off. After 3-4 hits, this final opponent is toast. You will be sent
back to stage 1. Your score is kept intact, but everything else plays as it
did the first time through.
=============================================================================
42. B I T S A N D P I E C E S ACT42
=============================================================================
"Try to make solid lines out of various sizes and shapes as they float down
to the bottom of the screen."
OVERVIEW
--------
WOW! You look at the above description, and then you play the game. You
expect a Tetris clone, and you get a Ghosts N’ Goblins clone. That's Action
52 for you.
Bits and Pieces is a lackluster scroller that takes place in a graveyard.
Credit to A52 for the novelty. The gameplay can be summarized into a single
description: you jump monsters as you head right to reach a certain point
where you will move to the next level. The controls are actually very good,
much better than most games, but the enjoyment is still about as dead as most
of the graveyard’s denizens.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Not used..
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your character left and right.
A-BUTTON: Not used.
B-BUTTON: Causes your ghoulish character to jump.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. SWAMP THINGS (100 PTS): Swamp Things are giant, green things that attack
from in front of your character. They are similar to werewolves.
2. WEREWOLVES (200 PTS): These hairy beasts are brown and they attack from in
front of your character. They move fairly slowly and are not dangerous
unless accompanied by 2 or 3 other foes.
3. PURPLE PEOPLE EATERS (200 PTS): These monsters are... well... PURPLE!
They will attack from behind your character. They are lot faster than
foes that approach from the front.
4. SKELETONS (300 PTS)are white, and they attack from in behind of your
character. Like Purple People Eaters, they are a lot faster than the
enemies that approach from the front.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Your character has great mobility to move around while in midair (unlike
any other Action 52 game). Make sure you take advantage of this when foes
are appearing from multiple directions.
2. It is probably easier to jump over enemies than try to land on them. Use
this method if you want to complete the stages quickly.
3. If any enemy appears from the back of the screen, stop moving and take
time to de
BUG AND GLITCHES
----------------
1. Due to pretty liberal hit detection, your character can take many more
hits than is normally possible. If you jump into the air and still touch
an enemy, provided it is anywhere on the opposite side of the body where
the claws are, the enemy will just disappear instead of shredding your
character into "Bits N Pieces."
2. Once you complete stage 3, the game sends you back to stage 1. Your score
remains intact, but these levels are identical otherwise. After stage 3,
there is no indication or acknowledgement of any kind that you have
completed the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 4 lives to complete three side scrolling stages. Enemies will
approach you from either side of the screen, and you take them out by jumping
on their heads. You can receive 3 free hits from enemies before losing a
life. You advance to next stage once you have walked far enough.
==============
STAGE OVERVIEW
==============
Stage 1: The setting is a cold, stone graveyard. You have two strategies you
can use to complete this game. The first is a "gung ho" approach
where you are moving forward almost constantly and jump over all the
enemies that appear. The key is to pretty much always be jumping,
even before the enemies appear on the screen. You can get into a
good groove and quickly pass over large portions of the stage. You
should still stop to take out foes that show up from behind, but,
for the most part, you are killing very few enemies. This lets you
clear each stage in about a minute. The more conservative approach
would be to slowly tap the forward button and kill each enemy as it
appears. This method guarantees fewer enemies at once, but it takes
a lot longer. Also, make sure not to linger, as enemies will still
appear if you are stationary. Regardless of approach, there is
nothing more to this stage than bypassing the enemies that appear.
Stage 2: This stage looks almost identical to the first, save for a few
tombstones and crosses in the background. The enemies are also
similar, except more will approach from the back, like 2 Purple
People Eaters at once. Use one of the strategies mentioned for
stage 1.
Stage 3: The background is different for this stage, as there is now green
grass on the ground. The enemies in this stage are noticeably
faster, but fewer come from the back than in previous levels.
Either approach mentioned for stage 1 will still work, but you need
to adjust to the enemy speed. If you take the more conservative
route, it's better to jump over the enemies than to try to land on
them. Try to remain moving forward as much as possible in either
scenario. Once you walk far enough, it's back to stage 1.
=============================================================================
43. B E E P S A N D B L I P S ACT43
=============================================================================
"Robots, microscopic and humungous. Here they come. Ready your weapons and
fire!"
OVERVIEW
--------
A space shooter that has a few twists to it, including building up your armor
and more aggressive enemies. A decent shooter, but it suffers from the same
flaws as some other shooters on the cartridge, including the VERY annoying
way that the last direction pressed is the aim of your weaponry at enemies.
This game also becomes nearly impossible at the later stages before
ultimately being too glitched too play. Overall, Beeps and Blips is probably
worth a shot.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your ship up and down.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your ship left and right.
A-BUTTON: Shoots your bullets in the last direction you pressed.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
Enemy movement is important in this game. The descriptions below designate
enemies that move in the cardinal directions (north, south, east, west only)
from those that can move diagonally or in any direction.
1. DONUT FIGHTERS (50 PTS): Look like half eaten donuts. They move slowly
And fire tiny projectiles. They can only move in the four cardinal
directions. These ships are found in stage 1.
2. BLUE BUSTERS (50 PTS): Silver colored, X-shaped enemies. They have an
interesting tendency of disappearing off the screen. They can move
diagonally in addition to the four cardinal directions, but they are very
slow. These ships are found in stage 1.
3. GREEN NAZI CROSS (200 PTS): Pulsating, green crosses. Their movement is
limited to the cardinal directions. These ships are found in stage 2.
4. GREEN CROSSHAIR (0 PTS): These enemies look similar to the Nazi crosses,
but they their edges are pointier. They also move much more slowly, but
make up for it by firing tiny pink projectiles. They are limited to the
cardinal directions. These ships are found in stage 2.
5. PEAHAT (0 PTS): Peahats (named for their similarity to Zelda foe) appear
and move right at you very quickly. They are the first real kamikaze
fighter. They can move in any direction to pursue you. These ships are
found in stage 3.
6. RED ORBS (0 PTS): The Red Orb moves in the cardinal directions and fires
projectiles. They are very difficult to hit so try to find an angle where
they approach head on and target them. It seems like only their dead
center is vulnerable. These ships are found in stage 3.
7. GREEN ORBS (0 PTS): Green Orbs are extremely fast, heat seeking enemies.
They move slightly faster than your ship, so you can never outrun them.
Try to kill them as soon as they appear, before getting too close. These
ships are found in stage 4.
8. RED CROSS (0 PTS): Red Crosses move in any direction and home in on you
like the Green Orbs do, although they move quite a bit slower. They also
fire projectiles, but usually in a random direction that is not a threat
to you. These ships are found in stage 4.
9. SPACE MINES (200 PTS): Space Mines are silver objects that do not move.
They do fire projectiles after enough time. These are the easiest foes in
the game. Just shoot it once. These ships are found in stage 5.
10. YELLOW FLOWER: Yellow Flowers move around in the cardinal directions at
medium speed. They tend to avoid you, but are impervious to your
weapons. The only way to kill them is with a collision. Make sure you
have some extra armor, then try to ram one. These ships are found in
stage 5.
11. SILVER SHIELD (200 PTS): Silver Shield are wide, heat seeking foes that
can move in any direction to get you. They are about as fast as Red
Crosses, so use caution when they appear. These ships are found in
stage 6.
12. V-CUTTER: These enemies move in the cardinal directions and do not attack
you. You must kill them through a collision, which is actually quite
difficult to do. Not much of an offensive threat, so stock up on armor
before tackling them. These ships are found in stage 6.
13. RED SKULLS (150 PTS): Red Skulls move blazingly fast and target you. You
have no ability to react to them, so stay moving and firing, hoping to
catch one with a stray shot as it appear. These ships are found in
stage 7.
14. YELLOW SUCKER: Yellow Suckers are slow moving and cannot be harmed by
your weapons. They are also extremely hard to kill, and do not pose any
threat. They also have a habit of flying off the screen a lot. Leave
them alone and focus on the Red Skulls. These ships are found in
stage 7.
15. TURRET GUARDIAN: These are the enemies (final boss?) of the glitchy
stage 8. No reliable way to destroy them that I could find, although it
is somehow possible to do so. Either way, there is no way past this
stage.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. The "1-Ups" that you collect do not give you extra lives, but rather add
additional armor to your ship. Each piece of armor allows you to survive
an enemy hit, and you can collect up to 4 at a time. Once you collect,
your ship will start pulsating in true badass style.
2. Additional 1-Ups will slowly appear over time. When the stage is down to
its last enemy, wait around for a while and stock on up 1-Ups. Try to
begin each new stage with 3 or 4 pieces of armor.
3. Some enemies in later levels cannot be killed by your weapons. The only
way to beat them is to hit them, wasting a piece of armor. Save these
enemies for last, and wait around for 1-Ups to appear so you pick up a
piece of armor for each that you lose.
4. In the later levels, enemies become extremely fast and home in on you.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Your shots will occasionally pass through enemies instead of hitting them.
2. Stage 8 is glitched. The graphics are distorted and it is possible for
your ship to turn into a mass of flying fragments. There are enemies that
appear here, but you cannot seem to kill them consistently. From hacking,
it does not seem like there is a stage after this that is playable, so it
is safe to assume that your game ends here.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to make it to the eighth level. Each level is a single
screen with numerous enemies that appear and attack you. You can pick up
additional armor (the pink 1-Up icons that appear) to protect you from
damage. Each 1-Up adds a small dot to the side of your ship, and you can
collect up to four. You advance to new stages by defeating a certain number
of enemies (listed below):
Level 1: 12 enemies
Level 2: 16 enemies
Level 3: 18 enemies
Level 4: 22 enemies
Level 5: 22 enemies
Level 6: 22 enemies
Level 7: 25 enemies
Level 8: ?? (glitch)
STAGE OVERVIEW
--------------
Stage 1: The first stage is wide open and features slow moving enemies. Try
to collect four 1-Ups here, as the enemies are still slow.
Stage 2: You cannot pass through the purple bricks in the background, which
are near the edges. The Nazi Crosses are the more difficult enemy,
so focus on them first.
Stage 3. This stages places purple barricades in the middle that impede your
movement. Try to stay still and focus on the Peahats (yellow
enemies), as they come at you quickly. The Red Orbs pretty much
ignore you, but are extremely hard to hit for some reason.
Stage 4: This is by far the hardest stage yet. It sports two types of fast,
heat seeking enemies. You will need to move around quickly and
focus on evasion. There are two purple blocks near the middle that
get in your way, but the rest of the stage is open. The Green Orbs
are the faster enemy, so focus on eliminating them first.
Stage 5: This stage is a lot easier than the previous one. It is virtually
wide open and sports immobile Space Mines. The other foe is the
Yellow Flowers, which cannot be killed by your weapons. You will to
crash your ship into them to inflict damage. Try to stock up on
1-Ups before doing this.
Stage 6: This stage is very annoying, as they purple blocks that cannot be
crossed blend into the background. For reference, they are placed
along the edges, so be careful. Enemies move extremely fast, and it
will take luck to survive.
Level 7: This stage is wide open again. Red Skulls move extremely fast and
are the primary threat. You will not be able to react to them, so
move around fire constantly. Hopefully you can kill them as soon as
they appear. Try to collect 1-Ups whenever you can. The Yellow
Suckers are very difficult to kill, even by ramming, but they
present almost no threat. Ignore them, as their presence limits the
number of Red Skulls that can appear.
Stage 8: Glitch city. The level loads, but the graphics are distorted. You
can move around, shoot, and attack the turrets, but you never get
anywhere. Even if you could, there are no playable stages after
this one. Time for the old Start + Select routine.
=============================================================================
44. M A N C H E S T E R B E A T ACT44
=============================================================================
"You must try to keep the rhythm but noisy little critters won't let you.
Roll the drums and they go away temporarily, but they'll be back."
OVERVIEW
--------
Finally, a game about weed! Why wasn't this the very first title on the
cart!!? You play as a stoned, struggling musician who, like us, has no idea
what he's doing in this game. He 's so baked that he hears annoying musical
notes every time he jumps. Basically, he wanders through the stages paranoid
that other hippies are trying to steal his weed. Occasionally they band
together and project their mental flower power his way.
We can see our character getting further stoned as this game carries on. The
first stage starts off quite subtle, which a red brick and music block
background. This is probably the character's apartment or something. The
next stage, however, is made up of peace signs and crazy swirls. The final
stage has Technicolor flowers and sunshines. By this time, our Manchester
friend is clearly gone.
The whole premise is ironic, because the only way you could ever enjoy this
game is by being stoned yourself. Seriously, it's terrible. Probably one of
the worst games on this cart, in fact. If you have an extra spliff around,
light 'er up and give this game a try. If not, save your brain cells and
play something else.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Not used.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your character left and right.
A-BUTTON: Causes your character to unleash some deadly punches.
B-BUTTON: Cause your character to jump.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. DIRTY HIPPY (52 PTS): Grey colored flower children. They wander about
aimlessly, not doing a whole, as though they don't know what's going on.
They wear a green, cannabis crown on their heads. They are worth 52
points each, in honor or the number of games on this wonderful car and
peace-loving hippies that made it. There are also Hippies without the
cannabis crown, but they are identical (though only worth 25 PTS).
2. FLOWER POWER (100 PTS): These are the Fireball-like objects that streak
across the screen on a straight line trying to bake your character. A
quick punch can make them disappear in a puff.
3. BONG FIRE: Someone knocked over their bong and it created a small fire.
This fire is stationary, so just jump over it and move on.
4. CRAZY TREE HUGGER (1000 PTS): The Crazy Tree Hugger is the end stage boss.
He is so passionate about his cause that he lit his hair on fire to make a
statement. Anyway, he takes quite a lot of punishment, but always moves
in a fixed, triangular pattern. Observe and find a safe place to attack
him from.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Advance slowly so only one Fireball will streak across the screen at a
time. This makes it easier to kill more of them for more points without
risking the combo hits required when a whole set come flying your way.
2. You can float by pressing the attack button rapidly as you fall. This
doesn't serve much purpose, but is cool to do when you're high.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. If you want to skip past most of the enemies in a level, when you find a
cliff that has a narrow hole, run forward off of the cliff to land
partially under the main ledge. You will be in the ground where you can
run past everything above you until you reach the Boss or you see more
holes in your path (you can just continue right through creative level
changing on your part).
2. With few exceptions, most pits do not seem to kill you in this game. If
you land in one, just jump out of it.
3. It's possible to kill the boss but not advance to the next stage. Bad
trip I guess. Just reset or die and try again.
4. Due to poor level design, there are a few areas where you will be
permanently stuck if you fall off blocks. These occur in stages 2 and 3.
You will need to reset at this point.
5. If you face left and attack, you attack will still occur to your right.
6. Once you complete stage 3, the game sends you back to stage 1. Your score
remains intact, but these levels are identical otherwise. There is no
indication or acknowledgement of any kind that you have completed the
game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to make it through three side-scrolling stages. One hit
from anything will kill you. You advance to the next stage by walking far
enough and defeating the end stage boss. Once you complete stage 3, you are
sent back to stage 1.
==============
STAGE OVERVIEW
==============
Stage 1: First off, mute the game to save some frustration from the
incredibly annoying jump sounds. This stage is filled with music
blocks and red bricks. There are only two main enemies for the
majority of this stage: Flower Power, which shoot across the screen,
usually in bunches; and Dirty Hippies, who stand around (stoned?)
and don't do much. As soon as you come to the first pit, you can
make your life a lot easier by dropping into it, then jumping up so
you are inside the floor. You can then walk for the duration of the
stage, underneath all remaining enemies.
You eventually get to the boss, the Crazy Tree Hugger. He's lit his
own hair on fire. He moves about the screen in a triangular
pattern, so spend a few seconds to observe. The time to hit this
boss is when he descends down the back edge of the screen. As soon
as he dips below the notes, jump and begin mashing the attack
button. You should float down and inflict enough damage to kill him
before you both land. This is somewhat risky, however. A safer,
but somewhat longer method, is to jump and attack the boss, then
walk left to the middle of the screen to avoid his movement. When
he circles back around to the right edge, repeat. The bosses life
is easier to measure by the score than anything else. It increases
like a cash register as he is hit. Once you have earned 950-1000
points, he is all burned out and you advance to stage 2.
Stage 2: This stage has green peace signs on the floor and ceiling and swirly
blocks throughout. Near the beginning, there is a set of step-like
blocks that lead up. Make sure you are on top of them. If you walk
too far forward (or fall) and cannot climb back up, you will likely
have to exit the game. There is another similar spot a bit later as
well, so always stay on top of the blocks. Shortly after these
blocks, there is a pit. Use it to get inside the floor and bypass
the rest of the stage. The end of stage has another Crazy Tree
Hugger. You can use the same "pounding against the wall strategy"
as stage 1, but this is riskier as you are vulnerable everywhere on
the stairs. There is a safe spot if you stand between the fourth
and fifth locks from the left, just near the stair edge. You can
get off 1-2 hits each time the Tree Hugger circles past, but he
cannot harm you.
Stage 3: This level consists of Technicolor flowers and sunshine blocks.
There is same platform glitch near the start as the last stage, so
get on top of the blocks and be careful. This stage has no enemies,
so there isn't much to do. You eventually come to a pit that is too
long to cross, so hold right and land inside the floor. Near the
very end of the stage, the pits do seem to kill, so avoid falling
into them. The boss again is another Tree Hugger. The safe spot
for this fight is underneath the sunshine bridge, on the area with
the adjacent blue and purple flowers. Stand about 2/3 on the blue
flower and you will be in position to safely get off a hit as the
boss passes. After defeating him, you go back to stage 1. Or do
you? I don't know man, I can't remember.
=============================================================================
45. B O S S ACT45
=============================================================================
"The Toad is the Mafia boss who uses salamander hit men. They're all out to
get you, but you can beat them as long as your partner, Spector keeps a good
eye out for those bad guys."
OVERVIEW
--------
You're a lizard with a bad ass attitude, hell bent on taking down the
nefarious Toad Mafia and all its goons. You live in an average city, whose
only inhabitants are gangster reptiles and munitions dealers with WAY too
many spare bombs. It's just you and Spector, whoever that is, against the
world. And that's the way you lizard thugs like it.
Boss is a poorly named side-scroller that was really scraping the bottom of
the barrel for new ideas. I know 52 separate games are hard to design, but
give me a break with this crap already. Virtually the entire game can be
completed by holding RIGHT and tapping the A-Button. Dumb idea, bad play
control, idiotic game.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Not used.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your lizard left and right on the screen. You can also
move while in mid-air by holding these buttons.
A-BUTTON: Fires bullets from your rifle. You can only have one bullet on
the screen at a time.
B-BUTTON: Used to jump. While in mid-air, you can shoot by pressing the
A-Button and move left or right by holding those buttons.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. SALAMANDER HITMAN (50 PTS): Tough guys who stand in the middle of the
screen and shoot bullets at you if given enough time. You can always take
them out by firing as soon as (if not before) they appear.
2. CHAMELEON RUNNER (50 PTS): Another hitman whose method of attack is
charging right at you. Once again, a preemptive shot will take care of
business.
3. BOMBS: Large hands and shady faces will drops bombs out of buildings and
windows. Pay attention to where the bombs hit the floor and run under
them when you spot an opening.
4. DON TOAD (50 PTS per hit): The mafia boss at the end of each stage. Stand
on the left side of the screen, and the Toad can never harm you. Hit it
with 15 shots and it's the good old cement shoe treatment for the
amphibious kingpin.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. As you're moving across the screen, never stop shooting. You should
always have a bullet on the screen, and press the A-button repeatedly as
you move. This will often take out enemies just as they enter the screen
and well before they can mount an attack.
2. Adjust your spacing when running under falling bombs, especially in the
city levels. The hands appear from windows and drop bombs, but the bombs
don't fall directly below the hand. Spend a few moments watching where
they drop, edge closer, and make a run for it as soon as you have an
opening.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Once you complete stage 6, the game sends you back to stage 1. Your score
remains intact, but these levels are identical otherwise. There is no
indication or acknowledgement of any kind that you have completed the
game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to pass through 6 stages of crime filled goodness. Each
stage ends a Don Toad boss, and getting hit by anything sends you back to the
start of the level. Once you complete stage 6, you are sent back to stage 1.
==============
STAGE OVERVIEW
==============
Stage 1: Here you are, just an average lizard gangster, hitting the streets
with all sorts of crazy amphibious thugs ready to put the smack
down. Can you say "excitement?" Anyway, this first stage takes
place in the city streets, and there are really only a couple
different types of obstacles. As you walk, just keep pressing the
A-Button to shoot. This will take out the Hitmen before they can
even get their guns loaded. The only other real threat is the
falling bombs. When you get to the areas where the giant hands are
dropping them, take your time and run as soon as a bomb hits the
ground. Note that the spot where the hand appears is not the spot
where the bombs will fall. At the end of the level, you'll come
across the dreaded (or not) Don Toad. As soon as he appears, move
to the left side of the screen as fast as you can. Now, take your
time and shoot the Toad. He won't move beyond the latter third of
the screen, so there is no threat. He'll be gone after 15 hits, and
you'll be sent to stage 2.
Stage 2: You're now inside the elegant, wooden confines of Ton Toad's
hangout. This stage is actually a lot easier than the previous.
All you really need to do is walk to the right and never stop
pressing the A-Button. The bombs are a smaller threat, so you don't
even need to stop that often, if at all. There is another Don Toad
at the end. Take him out the same way as you did in stage 1.
Stage 3: Back on the city streets. Nothing new, except that the bombs drop
faster, so be extra careful You may notice a few more Runners, but
these guys aren't a threat if you are constantly shooting. The end
of the stage has another Don Toad, who seems to appear quite
unexpectedly after a pair of bomb-dropping hands. Don't waste any
time in getting to the left side of the screen, then dispatch the
mafia boss at your leisure.
Stage 4: The hunt takes you into a brick warehouse now. Again, this stage is
easier than the previous. You can virtually walk uninterrupted if
you just keep firing. Take your time at any obstacles that seem
threatening, but don't expect much danger. Toad, as usual, is a
pasty.
Stage 5: One last march into the streets. The bombs drop even faster now,
and the enemies, especially the runners, are also more agile.
You'll need to be careful, as this stage is rather tough. If you
stick to the same game plan as you've been using, you should still
be able to pass this level without too much of a hassle. Say good
morning and good night to Mr. Toad when you see him.
Stage 6: You're in a blue-bricked warehouse. The enemies are the at
their quickest now, but this level is still easier than the previous
one. The Runners are the major threat, so don't stop firing
bullets. Your reaction time alone probably won't be enough to catch
these baddies. You'll eventually come to the final Don Toad, who
can be taken out the same as all the others. Well, your crime days
have been fun. Say goodbye to the cold-blooded (literally) world
you've come to embrace...
=============================================================================
46. D E D A N T ACT46
=============================================================================
"Help the ant protect the ant hill from intruder and protect the queen. Push
pebbles to close the hole against intruders, but it's not easy."
OVERVIEW
--------
Your ant colony is under attack, and it's up to you to ward off the invaders,
armed only with a stock of pebbles. Dedant is a stationary shooter with an
interesting premise, and it's one game that partially delivers on its
promise. The game is fairly playable and highly challenging, making it one
of the better shooters on the cart.
Dedant is not without its many flaws, however. There is a glitch that makes
you invincible if you exploit it, ruining much of the fun. The enemies on
the higher levels are so fast and numerous that it's nearly impossible to
survive without using that cheat anyway. Still, at least the intruders are
unique and have some semblance of AI controlling them. Don't confuse this
for a good game, but it does stand out amongst the gaming nightmare that is
Action 52.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Not used.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your ant left and right. You can move off one side of the
screen and reappear on the other.
A-BUTTON: Shoots a projectile from the tip of your ant. You can only fire
one projectile at a time.
B-BUTTON: Not used.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. GREEN ANT (25 PTS): The staple enemy and permanent denizen of the invading
ant colonies. Green Ants scurry about in straight lines, occasionally
firing pebbles at you and coming down to your level. It's best to take
them out when they're moving vertically upwards or downwards. Letting
them crawl all the way to the ground will cause all sorts of headaches, so
try to take them out before this.
2. BLUE ANT (25 PTS): Identical to the Green Ant, but the beneficiary of a
little palette swapping. Blue Ants aren't quite as common, but should be
dealt with in the same manner when they do appear.
3. WINGED GREEN ANT (50 PTS): The mature members of the colony, Winged Ants
first appear in stage 2. The green variety are more common. Their
movements are similar to the regular ants, but they are noticeably quicker
and more aggressive, meaning they'll likely come down to your level when
they can. Taking them out while they fly vertically will work well, as
will trying to attack them when they are still near the top of the screen.
4. WINGED BLUE ANT (50 PTS): Just like their green brethren, these arthropods
first greet you in stage 2. Don't let them get too close, and place a
high priority on them when more than 2 appear at the same time.
5. PINK SPIDER (75 PTS): Occasionally, ferocious predators of the ants will
enter the lair looking for an easy meal. The Pink Spider is one such
menace. The most aggressive type of foe you will encounter, these
arachnids will hone in on you and track you relentlessly, moving through
the walls and diving at any angle. Consider them extremely dangerous.
You can take refuge from them by exploiting the "side of the screen" bug,
and this is detailed below. Pink Spiders first appear in stage 2.
6. BLACK WIDOW (75 PTS): Truly the terror of the insect world, Black Widows
are the most aggressive and ferocious opponent you will face. They come
straight at you with blazing speed and extreme hostility from the moment
they appear on the screen. You will be forced to give them your immediate
attention when they appear, so always keep your eyes peeled. Black Widows
invade your colony in stage 3.
7. PINK LARVAE (25 PTS): These starving, infant ants and will scour the
colony in search of their first meal. They move in straight lines only,
but are much quicker than regular ants. Consider these newborns an
intermediate threat. They first appear in stage 4.
8. WINGED PINK ANT (50 PTS): Larvae grow up into Winged Pink Ants, and are
extremely fast and aggressive. These foes will fly over walls and other
obstacles to get a tasty bite from the nearest resident ant. They aren't
as dangerous as the spiders, but should still be considered a serious
threat. They first appear in stage 4.
9. BLUE SPIDER (75 PTS): Blue Spiders are much slower and more deliberate
than their colored brethren, but just as less hostile. These foes move in
zigzag patterns and creep down towards you, making them fairly difficult
to target. Don't let one of them get too close to you, or it's a sure
fire lights out. Blue Spiders make their debut in stage 4.
NOTE: In stage 5, all enemies except regular Blue and Green Ants will target
you and move through walls and obstacles to get to you. This is an all
out invasion of the colony, so you should be extremely cautious.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. You have the ability to wrap around from one side of the screen to the
other. This gives you an important tactical advantage when facing
opponents, and you should always be prepared to take this route when being
ambushed. You can also abuse this feature by exploiting the "side of
screen" bug mentioned below.
2. Your shots are slow and limited, so make them count. The best strategy
for taking out nearly all enemies is waiting until they are moving
vertically, then blasting them. Killing a horizontally moving foe
requires near-perfect timing or incredible luck.
3. In the latter stages, position yourself near the side of the screen, and
be prepared to scurry to the opposite side. The enemies' numbers and
speed of movement will quickly overwhelm you on the ground level
otherwise.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. There is small zone on invincibility formed when your ant is on the sides
of the screen. If you can arrange it so that half your body is on each
side, you are well within this area. Once here, enemies cannot harm you.
The opponents that can fly through obstacles (spiders, flying ants) will
also vanish when they enter this region. This is an extremely useful (and
cheap) way of surviving on the latter stages.
2. Once you rake up the required kills for passing stage 5, the game will
either freeze or dump you to the game over screen (it will even display
your Lives Remaining total correctly). There is no way to continue
playing, and no acknowledgement that you've completed the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 4 lives to repel wave after wave of insect invasion. This game has
5 stages, and you progress to the next one by killing a fixed number of
opponents without dying. Each stage has a somewhat different layout, and the
latter stages usher in new types on opponents. As the stages advance, all
enemies become quicker, and, at stage 5, the enemy attack patterns will
change. Still, the basic goal remains the same: take your time and eradicate
the invading insects.
The number of consecutive kills required to advance past the following stages
are:
Stage 1: 12 kills
Stage 2: 14 kills
Stage 3: 20 kills
Stage 4: 30 kills
Stage 5: 40 kills (game freezes or Game Over)
=============================================================================
47. H A M B O S A D V E N T U R E S ACT47
=============================================================================
"Donkey Kong type of game. Try to get Hambo to the top, and watch out for
the rolling balls."
OVERVIEW
--------
Well, a "Donkey Kong type" of game description is valid in that you climb
ladders and need to reach the highest platform to advance to the next stage.
However, the similarities end there, as anything fun, fair, or entertaining
is removed. You get something that is almost close to the steaming pile that
is Hambos Adventures. Horridly designed with TWO enemies being impossible
get past in most circumstances, a lousy jump, and NO EXTRA LIVES to call upon
(although 1-Ups can be collected). If that wasn't bad enough, your character
is a GOD DAMN PIG named Hambo. Avoid with extreme prejudice unless you are a
sado-masochist looking to punish yourself with a very brutal game.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your Hambo up and down ladders.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves Hambo left and right.
A-BUTTON: Not used.
B-BUTTON: Causes Hambo to jump.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. BEACH BALL (YELLOW/PINK/PURPLE): This beach ball rolls back and forth
along the platform. It is the slowest of the beach balls, and should be
fairly easy to jump.
2. BEACH BALL (GREEN/BLUE/ORANGE): Same as the beach ball above, but this one
is faster.
3. BOWLING BALL: This large black sphere could be an 8-Ball or something
else, but lets say it's a bowling ball. This is the fastest ball. This
ball contributes to many impossible combinations, so hope none show up.
4. DYNAMITE: This is probably supposed to be a Molotov cocktail, but let's
assume it's dynamite. This is the only stationary foe, and you are lucky
when it appears. You need to be careful when jumping. Get as close as
you can, jump straight up (tap the jump button), then hold the direction
you want to move.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Partially climb a ladder when you have to get up/down to the floor with an
enemy above or below. This will give you a better chance of slipping by
without being killed.
2. Try to slip by the Beach Balls by waiting until they pass over your
ladder, so you can climb up from underneath on the ladder to race past
them to the next ladder. Otherwise, you will need to die to reset the
enemy spawning locations.
3. While this game starts you off with no lives in reserve, a 1-Up will
appear in each stage if you wait long enough (but only one). In the
earlier stages especially, wait around until one appears. You will want
to stock up while the balls are still relatively slow.
4. Jumping straight up will seldom allow you to clear a rolling ball. You
will need to get in the bait of jumping and moving forward.
5. Don't jump over a ball if it is about to hit a ledge or wall and return.
It will almost always hit you on the return trip. Instead, wait for it to
go in the opposite direction.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. Enemies can spawn in certain locations or numbers that make it impossible
to pass. This is very common on the latter stages, when 2 moving enemies
will appear on one small platform. You will need to die an hope for
better placement on your next life (if you have any remaining).
2 The game records a score, but there is no way to receive any points.
3. Rarely, balls will spawn and be frozen in position. This is a godsend, so
the enjoy the glitch when you experience it.
4. Once you complete stage 10, the game sends you back to stage 1. There is
no indication or acknowledgement of any kind that you have completed the
game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 1 (yes one!) life to make it through 10 stages. The goal in each
stage is to climb the platforms and reach the door at the end. One hit from
any enemy will kill you. You can pick up 1-Ups along the way to make live a
lot easier.
STAGE OVERVIEW
--------------
=========
Level One
=========
___
|***|
|***|
|***|
|***|
====+--+========================================
====+--+========================================
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
========================================+--+====
========================================+--+====
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
====+--+========================================
====+--+========================================
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
================================================================
================================================================
================================================================
- Wait around for a 1-Up to appear before advancing. In these early levels,
it is imperative that you stock up.
=========
Level Two
=========
___
|***|
|***|
|***|
|***|
====+--+========================================
====+--+========================================
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
====================+--+========================
====================+--+========================
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
========================================+--+====
========================================+--+====
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
================================================================
================================================================
================================================================
- Move past Beach Balls when they are moving away from your location. As you
climb, move half way up the ladders and stay there until the balls are where
you want them to be.
- Wait around for a 1-Up to appear before advancing. In these early levels,
it is imperative that you stock up.
===========
Level Three
===========
___
|***|
|***|
|***|
|***|
============================+--+================================
============================+--+================================
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
========+--+========================================+--+========
========+--+========================================+--+========
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
============================+--+================================
============================+--+================================
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
================================================================
================================================================
================================================================
- As soon as the stage starts, quickly climb half way up the first ladder.
It is possible a Beach Balls may spawn right next to you.
- It is possible that two Beach Balls may appear on the top level. If one of
them is a Bowling Ball, wait for the two balls to get relatively in synch,
then move when both pass the ladder going left. Otherwise, just time it so
that at least one is moving away and prepare to jump the other.
- Wait around for a 1-Up to appear before advancing. In these early levels,
it is imperative that you stock up.
==========
Level Four
==========
___
|***|
|***|
|***|
|***|
========================================================+--+====
========================================================+--+====
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
============================+--+================================
============================+--+================================
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
========+--+====================================================
========+--+====================================================
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
================================================================
================================================================
================================================================
- As soon as the stage starts, quickly jump towards and climb half way up the
first ladder. It is possible a Beach Balls may spawn right next to you.
- The only troublesome combination is two Beach Balls on top level. Is this
is the case, wait for them to get in synch so you can jump over both at
once. You will want this jump to be near mid-screen, so the balls won't
have time to hit you on the rebound.
- Wait around for a 1-Up to appear before advancing. In these early levels,
it is imperative that you stock up.
==========
Level Five
==========
___
|***|
|***|
|***|
|***|
========+--+============================+--+====================
========+--+============================+--+====================
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
========================+--+============================+--+====
========================+--+============================+--+====
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
========+--+============================+--+====================
========+--+============================+--+====================
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
================================================================
================================================================
================================================================
- This is probably the easiest level. Immediately head to the ladder on the
right when the screen loads. Stay on the right side and advance
cautiously.
- Wait around for the 1-Up and see if it is easily accessible. If it appears
on the left side of the screen, consider if it's worth the risk.
=========
Level Six
=========
___
|***|
|***|
|***|
|***|
======================== ========+--+====================
======================== ========+--+====================
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
========+--+============================================ ====
========+--+============================================ ====
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
================================+--+============ ============
================================+--+============ ============
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
================================================================
================================================================
================================================================
- As soon as the screen loads, climb half way up the ladder right in front of
you.
- Only 3 enemies appear on this screen, as opposed to the usual 4.
- If a ball appears on the top right platform, climb half way up the ladder
and face left. Now, when the ball crosses the ladder moving right, jump up
and left, into the platform, then quickly jump again. If successful, you
should land right on the platform with the door.
- On the top platform with the door, there is a small spot near the right
side of the platform where you can stand and be safe from any balls. If
one does spawn there, wait on this spot for an opening to advance.
===========
Level Seven
===========
___
|***|
|***|
|***|
|***|
============+--+================ ============================
============+--+================ ============================
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
==== ========================+--+======== ================
==== ========================+--+======== ================
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
================ ====================================+--+====
================ ====================================+--+====
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
================================================================
================================================================
================================================================
- Move right as soon as the screen loads and jump onto the ladder, climbing
half way up.
- If there is a ball on the second or third platforms, prepare to jump as
soon as you climb up the ladder, then jump immediately again to the next
ladder.
- If a ball appears on the top left platform, climb half way up the ladder
and face right. Now, when the ball crosses the ladder moving left, jump
up and right, into the platform, then quickly jump again. If successful,
you should land right on the platform with the door.
===========
Level Eight
===========
___
|***|
|***|
|***|
|***|
========+--+================+--+======== ====================
========+--+================+--+======== ====================
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
============ ========================================+--+====
============ ========================================+--+====
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
========+--+============+--+======== ====+--+============
========+--+============+--+======== ====+--+============
+--+ +--+ +--+
+--+ +--+ +--+
+--+ +--+ +--+
+--+ +--+ +--+
================================================================
================================================================
================================================================
- Immediately move to the right and climb the first two ladders If you're
fast, you can make it to the second ladder before all the balls even spawn.
- Two balls on the third platform are probably impossible at this point. If
that is your draw, wait for the 1-Up and die. Hopefully the next reload
will be more favorable.
==========
Level Nine
==========
___
|***|
|***|
|***|
|***|
====+--+===================================== ===============
====+--+===================================== ===============
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
==================== ================================+--+====
==================== ================================+--+====
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
====+--+==================================== ================
====+--+==================================== ================
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
================================================================
================================================================
================================================================
- You MUST jump left as soon as the stage loads. About a quarter of the
time, a Bowling Ball will spawn and kill you if you’re on the ground.
- There are a few impossible combinations on this level. Two Beach Balls on
almost any of the large platforms cannot be passed. Wait for the 1-Up and
kill yourself.
- In all, this is probably the hardest stage in the game. You will need
combinations that have dynamite and only one ball on each platform. The
layout here just does not give you much ability to maneuver. Get used to
waiting for 1-Ups, dying, and keeping your fingers crossed.
=========
Level Ten
=========
___
|***|
|***|
|***|
|***|
======== ================+--+======== ====================
======== ================+--+======== ====================
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
====+--+============ ================================+--+====
====+--+============ ================================+--+====
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
+--+ +--+
============================+--+======== ====================
============================+--+======== ====================
+--+
+--+
+--+
+--+
================================================================
================================================================
================================================================
- As soon as the level starts, climb the first ladder, jump the pit, and jump
to the second ladder. You should be able to do all this before all the
enemies spawn.
- The only way to pass a Bowling Ball on the third level is to use the "jump
through platform" trick. Climb near the top of the ladder, face left, then
wait for the very second the ball passed you going left. Hold left and
jump twice in a row. With some luck, you should survive.
- On the top platform with the door, there is a small spot near the left side
of the platform where you can stand and be safe from any balls. If one
does spawn there, wait on this spot, then quickly press right and jump over
it onto the door.
- After completing this stage, you go back to level 1.
=============================================================================
48. T I M E W A R P ACT48
=============================================================================
"As the Ticker continues, you must stop the hour blasters and jump the time
warp to stop the Tickers."
OVERVIEW
--------
Welcome back to the 1950s, where nothing made sense and two fingers crawling
along the floor were the "groovy" thing. Or not. Time Warp is supposed to
be some nostalgic flashback that incorporates all sorts of symbols and themes
from the 50's. What it is, instead, is a piece of crap that transcends all
time and generational gaps.
Time Warp is a side-scroller, and the description for this game tells you
absolutely nothing about what really happens. You move around a pair of
fingers. That's right, a pair of fingers. It's sort of like "Thing" from
The Addams's Family, only a whole lot stupider. There's no plausible reason
why this is your character, it just is. You basically just walk it around
the stage and "flick" any old icon that comes your way. Mindless,
unintelligent, tedious garbage. Thankfully, this blast from the past expires
after two stages.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Not used.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your "fingers" left and right on the screen. You can also
move while in mid-air by holding these buttons.
A-BUTTON: Used to flick your finger at the enemies. There is a
significant attacking delay and cool down time between attacks.
Also, only the tip of your finger can damage enemies.
B-BUTTON: Used to jump. You can only jump while moving, however, so
you'll need to have the LEFT or RIGHT buttons depressed when you
tap the B-Button.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. BLUE EYE (50 PTS): Large blue eyes that scurry along the screen. They
are usually found in the air, but occasionally attack at ground level.
2. FLYING CLOCK (250 PTS): Small, circular clocks with the hands moving
around at rapid speed. These foes usually float through the air and well
away from you.
3. MICROPHONE (50 PTS): Microphones walk along the ground, mostly, and are a
pretty annoying threat. You'll need to time your "flick" attack just
right to hit them.
4. RED REFRIGERATOR (100 PTS): Small, red refrigerator with a big smile.
This appliance usually floats on overhead, but will come low enough to hit
you sometimes.
5. ROLLING WHEEL (150 PTS): Looks like a rotating ball with a stick coming
out of it. It could be just about anything, actually. Like most enemies,
this one sticks to the air.
6. SNAKE (500 PTS): Small snakes that wiggle across the floor and attack you.
These enemies are the most common ones that you'll likely face in the
game. Take them out with a well timed flick, and jump over them if there
are several in a row.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. For whatever reason, you cannot jump in this game from a standstill. If
you plan on doing so, make sure you tap LEFT or RIGHT just before pressing
the B-Button.
2. There are some points, during the second stage especially, when two
enemies will come at you, right after the other. When this happens, your
"flick" attack isn't fast enough to kill them both, due to the cool down
time and attacking delay. Your best alternative is to jump over them in
these cases.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. After completing stage 2, the game simply sends you back to the first
stage. There is no indication or acknowledgement that you have completed
the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to enjoy the nostalgia and defeat all the 1950s relics that
assault you over the only 2 stages of play. One hit from any enemy will kill
you and send you back to start of the level. Stages end when you have walked
far enough, as there is no end stage boss or checkpoint of any kind.
==============
STAGE OVERVIEW
==============
Stage 1: Welcome back to the glory age of Americana –- the 1950s. The black
and white checkered floors and jazzy background tunes should make
you feel nice and warm inside (or that might just be your lunch
making its way back up, thanks to A52). You will have to guide your
two fingers past the enemies in this stage, which will take a bit of
timing and effort. Your attack is unimpressive at best: a mere
finger flick. It's difficult to see exactly how it hits, but watch
carefully and get a feel for the timing by taking out the Snakes and
Microphones early on. You want the tip of your finger to make
contact with enemies after the attack, as this is the proverbial
sweet spot. For the most part, stage 1 is pretty uneventful. You
can stay on the ground nearly the entire time, but be sure to jump
if random foes approach you from behind or fly just a little too low
for comfort.
Stage 2: It's hard to tell that this is a different stage, save for the enemy
movements. The 50s relics move a lot quicker now, and come at you
in more challenging formations. The most threatening pattern is
probably the wave of Snakes, which occurs when two or more are
coming at you at once. When this happens, jump over them instead of
attacking. In fact, most enemies in Stage 2 are easier to jump over
than to kill. Single snakes on the ground are quite manageable, but
anything else might give you trouble. Outlast the blast from the
past for a minute or two, and you'll be going on to the next stage.
Well, you *should* be going on to the next stage, but Action 52
decided that any more excitement would be way too much, and just
sends you back to the first level again. This fits in really well
with the time warping motif, you know? It's also really cool how
this feature got incorporated into most other games on this cart.
Leave it to Action 52 to come up with the little, clever easter eggs
like that. There truly is no other video game quite like this one.
=============================================================================
49. J I G S A W ACT49
=============================================================================
"Challenging Jig Saw puzzles. Shows you picture then scrambles it and you
must put it back together. Finish one and they get more and more
difficult."
OVERVIEW
--------
Never has a game description been more inaccurate. Jigsaw has nothing to do
with puzzles. It's a side-scroller featuring a carpenter who's tools have
escaped the toolbox and gone nuts. This game wins the award for "fewest
colors in a single gaming title," coming in with some total between 8 and 10.
This game is also a serious contender for "buggiest title," though the
candidates for that award are far, far too numerous to list.
You may also be lucky enough to be playing A52 on an emulator (or cart) that
won't even load this game. In fact, nearly all emulators will crash after
the title screen. The "Emulators" section has a list of which ones play this
game, but save yourself the trouble. You're not missing much by passing up
on Jigsaw.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Not used
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves the character left and right. You can also move while
jumping in mid-air.
A-BUTTON: Shoots a nail from your nail gun.
B-BUTTON: Used to jump. While in mid-air, you can press LEFT or RIGHT to
glide down in that direction.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
Unless otherwise noted, all of the following enemies are identical as far as
movement goes. The only differences are the point values and sprites used.
1. SAW (10 PTS): One of your staple enemies that looks like an orange, hand-
held saw. Expect to see these guys quite often in all areas.
2. VICE (10 PTS): Another one of the more common opponents. The Vices look
like orange clamps that open and close as they walk.
3. PLIERS (20 PTS): A little less frequent that the previous tools, Pliers
are bright red and scurry about the floors on all levels.
4. CIRCULAR SAW (50 PTS): Probably the rarest of the tools, the circular saw
is only found on the lowest floor levels. They are also noticeably larger
than the other tools.
5. HAMMER (750 PTS): Hammers are red and purple, and are somewhat rarer than
the other tools. For some unknown reason (probably a programming error),
these enemies are worth 75 times as many points as some of the other
enemies you encounter. There's really no reason why this should be the
case. A single nail will take them out, and they are no more dangerous,
either.
6. SHARP FLOORS: There are a few pits that have spiked floors in them.
Landing on these is fatal.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Always give enemies the chance to kill themselves. They will often appear
on the screen and then disappear right off if given the space and time.
Use this to your advantage.
2. Be wary of floors. This game has a bug that lets enemies pass right
through some of the floors, killing you on what should be a safe spot.
Never take for granted that your elevated position provides you safety
from the tools below.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. This game doesn't load beyond the menu screen on the cart or in most
emulators. See the "Emulators" section for details on getting the game to
run.
2. Enemies will often disappear off the screen if given the chance. Leave a
space about 3-4 sprites wide and monsters will usually vanish
3. Enemies have a nasty habit of passing right through the floor to get to
you. There are specific block formations where this seems to occur
frequently, usually on the lower portions of the floor.
4. Your shots will occasionally pass right through enemies, leaving them
unharmed. Always be prepared to fire a second shot in case the first
"misses."
5. After completing stage 3, you are sent back to the first level. There is
no indication or acknowledgement that you have completed the game at this
point.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You are given 3 lives to take out the rogue tools in all 3 stages. Getting
hit by any tools will kill you instantly, sending you back to the start of
the level. When you have walked far enough, you are sent to the next stage.
There is no end boss or visible marker to let you know where this point is,
however.
==============
STAGE OVERVIEW
==============
Stage 1: Enter the carpenter in his workshop overrun with tools and poorly
drawn levels. Yes, the graphics are close to terrible, but the
music is quite catchy. That's about the only bright spot that this
title has to offer. Your biggest challenge in stage 1 will be
dealing with the glitches and bugs as you try to survive the waves
of poorly placed enemies. The places that are truly a challenge
occur when you're moving down, from higher floors to lower ones.
It's often very hard to drop to a lower level, place yourself, and
fire a shot in time to kill the enemy before it kills you. Also,
note that standing over a ledge with an enemy below is certain
death. If even the tip of your boots are touched, you're life is as
good as a piece of construction rubble. You should let enemies take
themselves out, which they will often do by vanishing from the side
of the screen. All they need is a little space and some time, and
most will walk right off and never return. Take advantage of this
wonderful "feature" and your trip through stage 1 should be
uneventful.
Stage 2: There's not even a trivial color change to let you know that this
stage is different. The enemies are a lot faster, but it's still
the same set of tools that are chasing after you. This level has
more difficult pit encounters, which is what happens when you try to
move to a lower area occupied by enemies. For the most past, it
will take timing and a great deal of luck. If you come to a small
pit area that has 2 or 3 enemies swarming, hope that you can
eliminate 1-2 of them using the "off the screen" bug. If not, it
will be impossible to pass, and you'll need to try again. Also,
there are several spots where enemies pass right through the floor
in pursuit of you. This mainly seems to happen on the lowest
floors, so always keep your distance and proceed carefully.
About 2/3 of the way through the level, you will come to spot where
the floor drops, like in the following illustration.
A
_________
| B C
|___ _________
| |
|^^|
You will be coming from point A, and enemies will be at points B and
C. Most likely, the Pliers will be stuck at B, and the only way to
pass is to jump over them. This often means you will be immediately
killed by the enemy at C. To cross this area, jump slightly over
the enemy at B so that you just clear the pit. As soon as you touch
down, start firing. If timed right, you'll kill the hammer before
it kills you.
Stage 3: More of the same from Stage 3. The "monster through the floor" bug
is back more than ever, and the enemies are much quicker than
before. Employ the same tricks are you've been using all along
and it shouldn't be too hard. Then just wait for the amazing ending
after stage 3! ... Still keeping a straight face? Who are we
kidding... You just get sent back to stage 1. About as much fun as
hitting yourself over the head with the one of the tools that's
chasing you.
=============================================================================
50. N I N J A A S S A U L T ACT50
=============================================================================
"The Master has given you the task to defeat the Zin-Zan evil ninja tribes.
Prove you are worthy, defeat the evil tribe while avoiding the Chinese
stars and other objects."
OVERVIEW
--------
Ninja Assault is probably the most innovative title on the entire Action 52
cart. Each stage is a unique type of experience, and it actually feels like
there is level progression. You begin in a Double Dragon-like fighting
environment where Ninjas and wile animals attack you. The second stage is a
battle arena where you fight the Ninja Master in a one-on-one showdown. The
third level switches to a river setting, and you need to jump from log to log
to cross. Finally, the fourth stage is a mountain on the other side of the
river that plays as a level out of Ninja Gaiden.
This game had real potential, but, of course, it was ruined like everything
else on the cart. The real problem is stage 3, which is extremely
frustrating due to the poor controls and location detection. Not to mention
the fourth stage is totally glitchy and impassable. Anyway, this game is
good enough that it deserves a few seconds of your time. Literally a few
seconds. And nothing more.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Moves your Ninja left and right.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your Ninja left and right.
A-BUTTON: Swings your Ninja's War Clubs.
B-BUTTON: Causes your Ninja to do a spinning jump.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. BLUE NINJA (100 PTS per hit): They appear and engage your Ninja in combat.
They take five hits to defeat. Press the A button as fast as you can as
soon as they appear.
2. RED NINJA (100 PTS per hit): These Ninjas are identical to the blue ones.
They also take five hits.
3. WHITE FALCON (100 PTS) Falcons are trained to attack any one that is not
of the Zin-Zan. These birds will swoop in from above to attack your Ninja
for a one hit kamikaze. They are killed when hitting your ninja (this
takes your life), but can be killed by a single hit of your own.
4. RABID DOGS (100 PTS) These hounds were purposely infected and mistreated
by the Zin-Zan. They will run through the area you occupy until they are
taken down on a single hit or a collision with your Ninja (the latter
takes away your life). Stay near the bottom of the screen as you walk to
avoid their initial charge.
5. NINJA MASTER (100 PTS per hit): This is the stage 2 boss. Fight him as
you do the regular Ninjas. This warrior takes 15 hits to kill.
6. EAGLES (200 PTS): Eagles appear, fly forward, and attack. They can be
taken out with a single strike. Just let them come to you.
7. WARTHOG (100 PTS per hit): It could be anything as its glitched and it a
dozen pieces, but let's say it's a giant Warthog. This is the stage 4
boss. It stays near the right side of the screen and moves forward, then
jumps back. It takes 25 hits to down this beast.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. In stage 1, stay near the bottom of the screen when walking between
fights. This protects you from the Rabid Dogs that come racing onto the
screen.
2. Be extremely patient during the log jump in stage 3, and try to walk off
logs whenever possible rather than jumping between them. This decreases
the chances on landing on a fatal one..
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. During combat in stage 1, it is possible to hit an enemy off one of the
screen and have him come out the other. This game does not support screen
wrapping, so this is a bug.
2. During the arena fight on stage 2, the mechanics of the battle are very
glitchy. The Ninja Master sometimes disappears when hit and reappears in
the middle of the screen. Your character also slides around sometimes
when moving (this may be intentional).
3. Occasionally, when you defeat the Ninja Master in stage 2, nothing will
happen. You will not advance to stage 3 and have no way to die. You will
need to reset.
4. Attacking during the log jump in stage 3 causes you to fall down to a
lower log for some reason. This can be fatal, so avoid it.
5. In stage 3, it is possible during some parts to walk on the water.
6. Stage 4 is glitched. Your characters and the enemies are distorted,
although you can move and fight as normal.
7. After defeating the boss at the end of stage 4, nothing happens. You will
need to die (and lose the rest of your lives) or reset.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 4 lives to make to the end of the fourth stage. Each stage in this
game is quite different, and each has its own objectives as listed in the
next section. You have a health bar that allows for 3 free hits before
dying.
==============
STAGE OVERVIEW
==============
Stage 1: The first stage is a Double Dragon/Ninja Gaiden hybrid. For
reference, you can walk on the grey and whites parts of the floor.
You walk from left to right and fight enemies along the way. Both
types of Ninjas take five hits and be killed by simply pressing the
attack button as fast as you can. The White Falcons can be killed
by standing still as soon as they appear, then attacking while
standing or (preferably) jumping as they near. Rabid Dogs are the
hardest. The best way to defeat them is to stay near the bottom of
the screen as you move. This will prevent them from hitting you
when they first appear.
Stage 2: The second stage is a single battle in an old Zin-Zan temple,
pitting you against the Ninja Master. Whether intentional or not,
your character will slide all over the place when moving, so find a
spot and just begin attacking. The Ninja Master will walk into you
and hurt himself. Hit him 15 times and he's down for the count.
Stage 3: Let the frustration begin. Stage 3 is a "jump across the river"
type level, where you must navigate (in two dimensions) between
river logs. For some reason, certain logs are electrocuted and will
kill you when touched. Due to the bad controls, this stage is
extremely tough. Keep a couple of things in mind. First, do not
jump between logs when they flash. Wait until all are the same
color. Touching flashing logs is fatal, and it is very to hit one
accidentally. Secondly, when moving onto nearby logs that are below
your position, try to walk down rather than jump. You will not fall
into the water between logs that are touching, so avoid jumping when
you can.
Stage 4: This stage is glitchy, but largely playable. It takes place on the
shore of some pristine mountain lake. Your character and the
enemies are fuzzy and made of pieces, but movement and combat are
normal. Defeat the Eagles and advance to the end. The stage ends
with a giant Warthog boss. He stays near the right side of the
screen, so get just close to hit it and slash away. After 25 hits,
the beast will fall. However, the game ends here. Looks like the
evil Zin-Zans will be winning this one.
=============================================================================
51. R O B B I E R O B O T ACT51
=============================================================================
"Robbie must lead his good robots against his evil brother Brainy. But Brainy
has his own robots and it's not going to be easy."
OVERVIEW
--------
You can tell the ideas were running thin by the time this game came along.
This sounds like it could be some great tale of robot wars, but don't kid
yourself. This is Action 52 you're playing. You control a robot that looks
like an overweight gamer and makes funny sounds when he walks. It's pretty
hard to tell that this guy is a robot, and it's even harder to figure out why
this game was ever created in the first place.
Robbie Robot is a side-scroller that you can certainly do without. The game
switches between mindlessly easy or frustrating beyond all hell. The
challenge, as always, comes from poor level layout, horrible control, and
terrible enemy placement. Honestly, unless you're a masochist, avoid this
game.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: Not used.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves Robbie left and right on the screen. You can also
move while in mid-air by holding these buttons.
A-BUTTON: Fires bullets from your gun. Holding the A-button will allow
you to shoot continuously, but not as quickly as you could fire
by pressing the button repeatedly.
B-BUTTON: Used to jump. While in mid-air, you can shoot by pressing the
A-Button and move left or right by holding those buttons.
OBSTACLES AND ENEMIES
---------------------
1. TURRET GUN (50 PTS): The most common enemy you'll come across. The
turrets fire bullets in rapid fire, making your life very unpleasant. The
best strategy is to run underneath them before they have a chance to open
fire.
2. FLYING TORSO ROBOT (50 PTS): Appears just above Robbie and chases him.
This is probably the most dangerous robot. Jump and shoot to defeat it.
2. WALKING ROBOT (50 PTS): Robots siding with your evil brother will come
after you with full force. These foes attack by running towards
you. You can get an early strike by continuously firing as you run.
4. STATIONARY ROBOT (325 PTS): These robots stand in one spot and fire
projectiles at you. A single shot will take them out.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Don't stop shooting as you run. You can often take out any approaching
robots before they have a chance to be of much danger.
2. If you have a turbo controller, you can use it to fire rapidly and
eliminate any bullets from turrets. This is due to a limitation on the
number of sprites on the screen at once.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. In stages 5 and 6, you can fall through the raised floors in many
locations if you walk into them. These floors are still safe to jump on
top of, however.
2. If you press backwards when you jump, you will fire backwards when you
land despite facing forward. It will appear as though bullets are coming
out of your character's back.
3. Once you complete stage 6, the game sends you back to stage 1. Your score
remains intact, but these levels are identical otherwise. After stage 3,
there is no indication or acknowledgement of any kind that you have
completed the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 3 lives to guide Robbie past the turrets and other robots in 6
stages. You have an invisible health bar and are allowed one free hit before
dying. There is no end of stage boss, and getting killed sends you back to
start of the level.
==============
STAGE OVERVIEW
==============
Stage 1: Ice Cave. Walk straight the entire time while using turbo fire. Do
not stop walking and do not release the firing button. That's
really it.
Stage 2: Fire Cave. This stage has jumps, so you will need to be a bit more
deliberate than the last stage. Still, while turrets are on the
screen, use the turbo fire. When you get to pits, move forward as
far as you can to make sure any robots right after are visible.
Overall, this is probably the toughest stage.
Stage 3: Green cave. Walk straight the entire time while using turbo fire.
Do not stop walking and do not release the firing button. That's
really it.
Stage 4: Purple ice cave. This stage has several annoying jumps, but keep
your finger on the turbo trigger at all times. This takes out the
turrets and makes things much easier.
Stage 5: Fire Cave. Watch out for the raised floors, as they are not solid.
You can fall through them and die, although jumping on top of them
is safe (and preferred). With that in mind, just keep the turbo
fire held the entire time. There are a few minor jumps, but nothing
too hard. You may wish to jump as you move forward, as this
successfully takes out the flying torso robots.
Stage 6: Green cave. Similar to stage 5. Do no walk into any of the raised
floors. Instead, jump on top of it. Just hold the turbo fire
button and you should be fine.
=============================================================================
52. C H E E T A H M E N ACT52
=============================================================================
"Boy gets dragged into the TV while playing video game, changes character
into one of three "CHEETAHMEN" and must fight off all of the bad guys
from the previous 51 games."
OVERVIEW
--------
At long last, you come to Cheetahmen, the ultimate game on the Action 52
cart. Yes, Cheetahmen is the flagship title of Active Enterprise's epic
masterpiece. It has its own fairly well-designed opening. It has a story.
It has characters with names. Hell, it even got its own sequel. You can see
that hours of effort and days of dreaming went into this game, which probably
foreshadowed entire lines of action figures, TV shows, and lunch boxes (a la
the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). Cheetahmen was highly ambitious,
tremendously deliberate, and invariably expensive to make. And still, it
fails to create a solid video game on every single level.
You can forgive Active Enterprises for the half-assed and badly rushed effort
that went that into the other 51 games, but not this one. Cheetahmen was
*supposed* to be good. It was supposed to be at least one partially
redeeming feature to this otherwise sham of a game. And yet, it comes to
epitomize the almost tragic quality of Action 52. You could write a
Promethean drama about the journey Active Enterprises took with their game,
all culminating with Cheetahmen. No programmer sets out to release crap.
Crap is the inevitable bi-product of too few resources or not enough time.
Whichever it was, Cheetahmen was crap that was never meant to be crap.
The game in itself isn't nearly as bad as the other titles. The play control
is more fluid, the game has somewhat of a purpose, and the graphics and music
are about on par with early NES games. Still, Cheetahmen is utter garbage
when you take it outside the warped Action 52 universe and compare it to any
other release. Everyone should give Cheetahmen a play through, and everyone
should realize that this, sadly, is the best that Action 52 has to offer.
CONTROLS
--------
UP/DOWN: In side-scrolling stages, it moves your Cheetahmen up and down
ladders. In 3D stages, it moves the Cheetahmen up and down
along the screen.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves the Cheetahmen left and right across the screen.
A-BUTTON: Used to attack. Each Cheetah has a separate attack, so the
effects of this button will vary depending on weapon.
B-BUTTON: Used to jump in side-scrolling stages. Some levels also have a
bug that lets you jump through the air repeatedly by jumping
just after you attack. This is noted in the appropriate
sections below.
TIPS AND STRATEGIES
-------------------
1. Several stages have a bug that lets you repeatedly jump by
attacking/jumping continuously. After jumping, press the A-Button, then
quickly press the B-Button to jump again. You can scale the entire height
of the screen this way, and actually "float" through whole levels. Note
that in some levels you will die if you jump off the screen from the top.
2. Stages 1 and 3 have secret warp zones near the start of the stage that
take you to a 1-UP and the next level. They make your life a lot easier,
and should be taken when you find them. The locations are listed below in
the Walkthrough.
BUGS AND GLITCHES
-----------------
1. At the end of stage 6, the game sends you back to the title screen. There
is no ending of other indication that you beat the game.
OBJECTIVE
---------
You have 4 lives to guide your three Cheetahmen through 6 stages. You
control a different Cheetah beginning every second stage, and the game
selects the appropriate one. Each Cheetah has a life bar that consists of 4
blocks. Once your life is expended or you fall into a pit, you lose one life
an return to the start of the level. There are stage bosses at the end of
every even numbered stage, and each Cheetah will end up fighting one of them.
==============
THE CHEETAHMEN
==============
ARIES: You have the joy of playing as Aries in stages 1 and 2. He wields
two clubs, and, if you press the A-button to attack with them fast
enough, it looks like he's dancing. Aries is actually one of the
easier to control Cheetahs. His range of hitting is quite good,
giving him the ability to take out most opponents from any angle.
HERCULES: The biggest and strongest Cheetah, Hercules will accompany you
through stages 3 and 4. He attacks with his bare hands and feet,
and has a hit range that spans his entire body. His attack and
movement are somewhat slower than Aries, but his vertical range is
greater. He's probably as good as, if not better than, Aries, so
enjoy his company while it lasts.
APOLLO: Apollo and his clumsy crossbow unfortunately accompany you through
stages 5 and 6, the toughest lot in the game. Apollo is rather
terrible, as his firing rate is slow, his range is narrow, and he
has virtually no chance of killing most enemies. You WILL be
annoyed with his lack of mobility and offense. Good luck trying to
use him, and pray that fortune is on your side, especially in stage
5.
======================
CHEETAHMEN WALKTHROUGH
======================
Cheetahman races into heart-pounding excitement with an opening cut scene of
your Cheetahs in action. Here is the game's story:
"The Action Gamemaster was at
home playing his video game.
When suddenly...
An arm reached out of the TV
and pulled him inside....
When he looked up he saw three
gigantic yellow bodies. It was
the Cheetahmen....
He began to explain.... The
Cheetahmen told of the enemies
Here in Game World. Don't worry
We will fight for you...
The Cheetahmen ran off....
...and now....
The Cheetahmen"
Stage 1
-------
You begin this level controlling Aries, the Cheetah who wields two clubs.
This stage has a 3D layout, so to speak, meaning you can move your character
up and down along the ground, as well as left and right. You begin in the
middle of the woods, and then work your way out through littered TV's
scattered along the dirt. The enemies come at you nearly one at a time, and
don't really present much of a challenge. You can take up to 3 hits from
enemies before being killed, though this shouldn't even be necessary. The
only consideration when fighting them should be alignment, which can be
difficult to judge from your angle. The main obstacle in this stage will be
avoiding the pit falls, which are rather easy to fall into if you're not
careful. Don't chance it by moving too close, and take your time when
walking between them.
Shortly after the start of the stage, there is a very useful shortcut. You
can enter the second waterfall near the top portion of the screen. This
comes about 30 seconds or less into the level. Once you touch this area,
you'll be warped to stage 9, which is a solitary room containing a 1-UP.
After leaving the room, you are sent to stage 2, skipping the remainder of
the first level.
If you don't take the shortcut, continue walking along the ground level until
you see a ladder. Don't climb it just yet, but continue walking as far along
the bottom as you can (the screen won't scroll up until you do this). Now,
head back over and take the ladder up. The top section begins with a series
of staggered pitfalls, which can be really tough to navigate. Again, take
your time. Move by tapping the D-Pad, and remember that this is Action 52,
so the pits will likely kill you even if you're not visibly touching them.
Shortly after the pits are over with, stay near the bottom of the screen.
The level will end soon after this.
Stage 2
-------
The second stage takes place in the ruins of some ancient civilization, and
you play, once again, as Aries. This level is a side scroller, and you now
jump by pressing the B-Button. You start atop a set of platforms and need to
drop down to begin the stage. Once you reach the floor, start moving right.
Jump over all the pits you see, but try to stay on ground to attack the
enemies. In fact, it helps if you nudge forward to trigger the enemies’
movement so you have more time to react. You will be attacked mainly from
the air by Spinning Spikes and from the ground by mini Saddam Hussein's (yes,
this is actually supposed to be Saddam Hussein, who also stars in Storm Over
the Desert. Leave it to A52 to set the bar for appropriateness).
Once you come to a section with ascending pillars, the end stage boss is
near. Be careful at this point and move forward slowly, as he appears out of
nowhere. Your opponent is the Jumping Salamander, whose only attack is
leaping high into the air as he moves across the screen. It's very easy to
run underneath while he is jumping, so the offensive threat is rather low.
The key to damaging him is to sneak up from behind and attack when he hits
the ground. Be very careful not to draw too close, however. After 5 hits
(which seems to vary), the Jumping Salamander is toast. Thank Aries for his
kind service, and prepare for stage 3.
Stage 3
-------
You now control Hercules, the largest of the Cheetahmen. Hercules has the
greatest area of attack -- being able to hit enemies at any level in front of
him –- so use this to your advantage. Stage 3 takes place in some secret
warehouse, filled with all sorts of enemies who are completely out of place.
Not far from the start, you will be bombarded by bullets from Turrets and
Blue Slugs. While some opponents may seem out of place, you can reach them
using the "jumping attack" bug. Basically, you can stay in the air forever
by pressing the B-Button right after attacking. Use this to reach far off
enemies or to escape danger.
The best way to handle the enemies early on is to run right by them. Many
times, you can pass by the Turrets before they even start to shoot. If
anything gets in front of you, don't hesitate to attack it. The background
changes once you cross the first pitfall. You will now have to deal with
Racing Cars and Hammers that attack you along the ground. You can defeat
these enemies by kicking them, so simply attack at the right moment to take
care of business.
The second pitfall is another secret shortcut. Falling down it will take you
out to Stage 9 again, which holds another 1-UP and a door leading to stage 4.
There's no reason not to take advantage of this secret.
If you choose to go on, continue to avoid the hazards that attack you along
the ground. When you come to the third pitfall, you will notice an amoeba
guarding the far side. You can take you chances by jumping and attacking, or
you can multi-jump by taking advantage of the bug. If you opt for the
latter, be careful of the missile that zooms by, as you may hit it. The
segments of the stage now begin to repeat exactly, but all the same tips
apply. When you get to areas with suspended Blue Slugs, always run under
them immediately. Once they start shooting, the task becomes a whole lot
harder.
Stage 4
-------
You're now in the sewer and get to see some weird disco action as you begin.
Also, your Cheetahman seems to have died his hair since the end of the last
stage, as he looks quite different. You will finally notice a life bar in
this stage, which can be found at the top-left corner of the screen. This
shows how many of the 4 hits you still have left. Stage 4 has a couple of
new obstacle: conveyer belts and waterfalls. These will pull you in one
direction or the other, and they either boost or impede your movement
depending on which direction they're flowing. Make your way across these
belts from the start of the stage, and be ready to attack any sailing Blue
Jets as you leap. It's best not to stay on the conveyer belts at all, so
just keep in the air as much as you can.
You will come to a ladder after a short walk. Climb up it and jump off when
you see a red block to the right. Be careful, as the first platform has a
Big-Breasted Red-Head who will probably hit you if you aren't expecting her
(if only real life were so easy...). Continue moving right, but be extra
careful when around the waterfalls. They move you off the platform in both
directions, so you don't have much time to adapt. Again, try to stay in the
air as much as you can. You will eventually come to a very difficult area
with conveyer belt platforms mixed in with waterfall platforms. Try to touch
the ground as little as possible, and always be ready for a Flying Shark or
Blue Jet attack as you jump. After a long waterfall platform, you can cross
over to a green, brick area. This is the home stretch. Watch out for the
Bombs, Microphones, and Donuts that will come charging at you quickly.
When you see a long, red window in the background, slow down the pace to
slight nudges. The boss, the Charging Rhinoceros, will appear out of nowhere
and attack. If you're off-guard, this means certain death, even with full
health. As soon as the Rhino appears, move all the way to the left side of
the screen. If you stand right by the edge, his charge attack won't hit you.
Any other place is nearly impossible to survive. Face right and VERY gently
tap the D-Pad that direction until your attacks will begin hurting him. The
only way to know this is by listening for the sound. The ideal spot occurs
when your foot is just past the end of the first green brick on the floor.
Any farther than this, and you will be hit. The Rhino takes 10 "full" hits
to kill. Full hits should occur each time and make two separate sounds. On
some occasions, this total may be higher.
Stage 5
-------
For the final two stages, you control Apollo, the Cheetah with a Crossbow.
While this sounds nice, Apollo sucks big time. He can only fire one slow-
moving "arrow" at a time, his jumping and moving abilities are the least
maneuverable of anyone, and he has an extremely hard time hitting most
enemies. It's not that difficult to make it to Stage 5 without losing any
lives, but it's almost impossible to leave stage 5 saying the same thing...
at least without cheating or massive save state usage.
From the start, jump over the first pit and start hopping along the purple
platforms (you can ignore the shifty eyes in the holes). After a few
platforms, a Green Skull will come homing in on you. You will have about one
shot to hit this enemy without taking damage, and the odds of doing so on
your first try are slim to none. Shortly after this, a Flying Diamond will
attack you in mid-air as you jump. Unless you shoot before jumping, there's
no way to avoid damage, once again. Two platforms after this is Green
Debris, which comes from the same angle. A few platforms over, you'll see a
Ravioli running around, which means a Flaming Skull is nearby. The Ravioli
can't be killed, but you can avoid the Skull by shooting as you jump. After
this, just dodge the Ravioli or kill it by falling down between the platforms
to the left and shooting. You should now see yellow bricks ahead of you.
Shortly after crossing, you'll come upon a Molotov Cocktail (firebomb)
sitting on the ground. As you jump over it, a Green Skull will come
charging, so prepare to shoot in mid-air. Also, get ready for a charging
Ravioli as soon as you touch down. It's really hard to avoid both of these
enemies, so take it as slowly as you can. After this, a Green Demon comes
walking towards you, and it can be avoided easily by jumping.
You will come to a pit with a Molotov Cocktail at the other side. This
begins the really annoying stretch of the stage. You'll need to position
yourself to land just before the cocktail, then jump over it again if you
survive. There is a Green Demon after this, and then another pitfall with
the same scenario.
You can jump down this second pit to take a secret shortcut. You will be
warped to Stage 9, which has a 1-UP and a door leading to Stage 10.
Unfortunately, stage 10 is almost completely unplayable, and may very well
freeze while moving around within it. You'll be forced to reset if you come
here, ending your glorious Cheetah playing days for good.
On the other side of this pit is a Molotov Cocktail and an incredibly
difficult sequence of events. As soon as you jump over the cocktail, a
Flaming Skull will charge. You'll need to shoot in mid-air and time it
perfectly to avoid damage. Shortly after this a Green Skull, which is next
to impossible to defeat. It starts low and comes at an angle that doesn't
allow you to attack. You can try to kill it by jumping to raise its level,
running left, then turning and attacking. If you are VERY lucky, you will
hit it. Most likely you won't, so it's good to have at least one spare
health bar in reserve at this point (much easier said than done). The
remaining enemies are Flying Diamonds, and they come as you are jumping along
the brick ledges. A few bars of health will help, but save states will help
a lot more. After a couple of these guys and some jumping, this nightmarish
level comes to an end.
Stage 6
-------
Finally, you get a break. Stage 6 is mainly open space, easy jumping
puzzles, and NO ENEMIES!!! From the start, move right and climb the ladders,
continuing to do this for 4-5 ladders. There is a trick ladder after the
fourth, so just keep going by it and the real one will appear. After 5-6
ladders, you will reach a final stretch made up of purple blocks. When you
see two layers of floor appear, you are just about at the boss. Position
yourself between the two layers, and walk forward. The Red Falcon will
appear.
For the final boss of the game, Red Falcon is quite easy. Stand on the left
side of the screen, just before where the upper platform begins. Jump and
fire shots at Red Falcon as he moves across the screen. If you hold your
position, he should never get close enough to touch you. He will be dead
after 20 shots, at which point the game throws you back to the title screen.
Nice work for a job well done. You get to play this terrific game once more.
If you were going through Action 52 by individual game, you have reached the
end of the boat. Or, more aptly, the tip of the sinking Titanic. If you
were playing this game as a sick fraternity pledging duty, think twice before
saying "thank you sir, may I have another." If you were playing this game
for fun... HAHAHAHA! Loser! You need to get out more :P
=============================================================================
A C T I O N 5 2 D R I N K I N G G A M E ACT0F
=============================================================================
In honor of the greatness of Action 52, the authors have come up with a
drinking game to make your experience more enjoyable (or perhaps more
tolerable). Feel free to add or change any rules, as well as alter the
amounts of alcohol per rule to suit your tolerance. If you have any
interesting additions that aren't included below, please feel free to contact
us.
Rule #1: Drink to the game's intro
Rule #2: Drink to the Cheetahmen intro
Rule #3: Drink every time someone dies within 3 seconds of beginning a game
Rule #4: Drink every time something should kill your character, but doesn't
Rule #5: Drink every time your character dies for no discernable reason
Rule #6: Drink every time your character dies as the result of falling in a
pit due to the horrible jumping controls
Rule #7: Drink every time you realize that the game being played is one of
the other 51 with different graphics
Rule #8: Drink every time someone presses START and SELECT to end a game,
and you have not yet drank to that game
Rule #9: Drink every time the game crashes or freezes and you need to reset.
Rule #10: Drink every time someone reaches a point in any game that is
unbeatable or impassable
Rule #11: Drink every time someone spends more than two minutes on any one
game
Rule #12 Drink every time someone spends more than two minutes searching the
title screen for a game that does not suck
Rule #13: Take two drinks for every comment made along the lines of: "There's
52 games here! There must be one good one at least!"
Rule #14: Take two drinks every time someone completes a stage
Rule #15: Chug when someone actually beats a game
Rule #16: Chug when someone says something along the lines of: "This game
isn't THAT bad!
=============================================================================
C O N T A C T I N F O R M A T I O N ACT0G
=============================================================================
Thank you for taking the time to read through this guide. We hope you found
it informative and useful in your adventures through Action 52. If you have
any comments on the guide, whether they be corrections, suggestions for
future revisions, spelling/grammar mistakes, formatting problems, additional
strategies, or any other type of feedback, please let us know.
CONTACT INFORMATION FOR BRIAN SULPHER:
If you would like to drop me a line on any of the things you have seen in
this FAQ, I am more than happy to answer you through the following e-mail:
[email protected]. I also use MSN periodically, so if you want to
speak person-to-person (as personal as the net gets anyway), then use my
e-mail to add me to your list and I will add you to my list.
CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE ADMIRAL:
I can be reached regularly at the following email address:
[email protected]. Please include "Action 52” or something along those
lines in the email subject heading if you can, so the email isn't
accidentally deleted. Any feedback or comments, positive or negative, are
always appreciated.
=============================================================================
R E V I S I O N H I S T O R Y ACT0H
=============================================================================
Version 1.0 – March 11, 2003
- Initial Release
Version 1.1 – August 12, 2004
- Added the "History" section about Action 52 and Active Enterprises
- Replaced the ASCII title at the start of the guide
- Corrected grammar, spelling, and formatting mistakes
Version 1.2 - October 27th, 2006
- It has been pointed out that Streemerz does in fact have four levels,
which is good news for a game that was ok to play (thanks to Vicious The
Katana Man and Glen Willey for the e-mails on this)
- Bubblegum Rosy corrections arrived as well (thanks to Glen Willey once
more, as he helped out here as well)
Version 2.0 – December 10, 2007
- Major overhaul of entire guide with a focus on completion, new
strategies, and layout conformity between games. Almost every game
received tweaking or additional content
- Revised "History" section (thanks to Mike Sanders for this)
- Update the "Emulators" section
- Added "Games by Genre" section
- Added, expanded, or corrected Obstacles and Enemies for: Fire Breathers,
Starevil, Illuminator, G-Force Fighter, Ooze, Silver Sword, Critical
Bypass, Dam Busters, Chill Out, Sharks, Megalonia, Streemerz, Bubblegum
Rosy, Micro Mike, Underground, Rocket Jockey, Cry Baby, Slashers, Crazy
Shuffle, Shooting Gallery, Evil Empire, Sombreros, Storm Over the Desert,
Lazer League, Bits and Pieces, Beeps and Blips, Manchester Beat, Hambo's
Adventures, Ninja Assault
- Added, expanded, or corrected Tips and Strategies section for: Fire
Breathers, Illuminator, G-Force Fighter, Ooze, Silver Sword, Critical
Bypass, Operation Full Moon, Dam Busters, Thrusters, Chill Out, Sharks,
Bubblegum Rosy, Underground, Rocket Jockey, Cry Baby, Slashers, Crazy
Shuffle, Shooting Gallery, Evil Empire, Sombreros, Storm Over the Desert,
They Came, Lazer League, Bits and Pieces, Beeps and Blips, Manchester
Beat, Hambo's Adventures, Ninja Assault
- Added, expanded, or corrected Bugs and Glitches section for: Fire
Breathers, Starevil, Illuminator, G Force Fighter, Ooze, Silver Sword,
Critical Bypass, Dam Busters, Chill Out, Sharks, Megalonia, French Baker,
Streemerz, Bubblegum Rosy, Micro Mike, Underground, Rocket Jockey, Cry
Baby, Slashers, Crazy Shuffle, Shooting Gallery, Evil Empire, Sombreros,
Storm Over the Desert, They Came, Lazer League, Bits and Pieces, Beeps
and Blips, Manchester Beat, Hambo's Adventures, and Ninja Assault
- Added Objective for: Fire Breathers, Starevil, Illuminator, G Force
Fighter, Ooze, Silver Sword, Critical Bypass, Dam Busters, Chill Out,
Sharks, Megalonia, French Baker, Streemerz, Bubblegum Rosy, Micro Mike,
Underground, Rocket Jockey, Cry Baby, Slashers, Crazy Shuffle, Shooting
Gallery, Evil Empire, Sombreros, Storm Over the Desert, They Came, Lazer
League, Bits and Pieces, Beeps and Blips, Manchester Beat, Hambo's
Adventures, and Ninja Assault
- Added Stage Overview or Walkthrough for: G Force, Ooze, Silver Sword,
Critical Bypass, Dam Busters, Sharks, Megalonia, Streemerz, Micro Mike,
Underground, Rocket Jockey, Slashers, Sombreros, Lazer League, Bits and
Pieces, Beeps and Blips, Manchester Beat, Ninja Assault
- Added map for stage 5 of Chill Out
- Added map for stage 4 of French Baker
- Added maps of stages 3 to 5 of Evil Empire
- Added maps for all 10 stages of Hambo's Adventures
- Corrected Starevil description that said there was no stage 3 boss
- Corrected Bubblegum Rosy to describe the jump in stage 1 and overviews of
stages 2 and 3
- Corrected Shooting Gallery claim that game had only one level
- Added cheap strategies for beating Operation Full Moon and Robbie Robot
- Replaced some extended ASCII characters that did not display properly in
some browsers
- Corrected grammar, spelling, and formatting mistakes
=============================================================================
C R E D I T S ACT0I
=============================================================================
Big thanks to everyone who helped us with this guide, especially the members
at the GameFAQs message boards – this guide would not have been possible
without your ongoing support. Particular thanks to the following:
BRIAN SULPHER:
- Well, I had never heard of this cartridge till early last month when a
fellow FAQ writer by the name of BTB (also known as "The Chad"), could not
believe I had never experienced the awfulness that is this cartridge. I
tried it out, was wowed by the god-awfulness of the whole mess, and then
found out Admiral here was planning to write on it. So I thought it would
be a good chuckle to write for these games and off we set.
- It has been a pleasure working with Admiral, and I hope this FAQ helps
someone with some aspect of the terrible thing called... ACTION 52!
- For Cougar, Howler, and Koonce. I miss you, and I hope you are living
it up in the afterlife as you did in this world. You will always be in my
memories, and you will never be forgotten.
THE ADMIRAL:
- Andrew "MikeSanders" Harris (
[email protected]): The Active
Enterprises guru. Thanks for all your help with putting together a
detailed history of the company and the game. Your zeal has inspired many
to look into this game, and we tip our hats to you for that.
- Caswin (
[email protected]): For lots on information and corrections for
Bubblegum Rosy, Slashers, Ninja Assault, and probably a few other games I
am missing. Those emails you sent two years ago were not in vein! Thanks
a ton for all your help!
- Enigma_07 (
[email protected]): For creating a Youtube video on how to
pass the jump in stage 1 of Bubblegum Rosy
- Cheez Wizz: Info on passing the stage 1 jump in Bubblegum Rosy
- Dave Allwein (
[email protected]): For info on stage 2 of Streemerz.
- Vicious The Katana Man (
[email protected]): Info on stage 2 of
Streemerz
- The Manx: For letting me know Shooting Gallery had more than one level and
supply the target requirement.
- Jaspertine: For information on the Nestopia emulator for Mac OSX being able
to play this game
- BTB: For all the encouragement, support, assistance, proofreading, and just
about everything else you helped us out with. Also, thanks a lot for
helping with the Drinking Game. This guide wouldn't have been possible
without you.
- djg40: For his interest and encouragement in Action 52 and the creation of
this guide. It really helped along the way.
- Action 52 manual: For game descriptions and pure amusement. Also, thanks
to
http://atarihq.com/tsr/manuals/, the site that provided the manual and
has become the best source on the net for NES gaming manuals.
- And, of course, Brian Sulpher: It's been a great experience working with
you on this project. Thanks a ton for everything.
================================END OF GUIDE=================================
