Action 52 Question

Hello. I have been fascinated by the story of Action 52 since seeing the AVGN episode about it and recently picked up a copy of my own. I do have some questions however. I acquired a black board variant, which I understand is slightly rarer and more valuable. Is it true that these were the first version of the game, and production was then switched to the green board? My version has a playable version of "Alfred and the Fettuc", which was unplayable and caused the game to crash in the earliest released Action 52 carts. Are the cart's with an unplayable version of this game limited to the black boards, or are there also green board variants with an unplayable version of Alfred?



While i I was in the market to purchase, I noticed a lot of the cartridges didn't have the warning label on the back. There were so many without this sticker I figured it couldn't just be due to them falling off, and also seemed limited to the green board cartridges. Were there some variants released without this sticker, or have they simply fallen off these carts? Does the presence of the sticker affect the value at all?



On a related note, I am currently very much in the market for a copy of Cheetahmen II and have not seen one pop up on eBay since I've been looking. If anyone has a copy they are looking to sell I would be interested. 



I have been lurking for a while but finally registered an account to ask these questions. I love that there is such a dedicated community to discuss questions about such an obscure item. I originally was an SNES collector and have about half a full set, but about a year ago shifted my attention to the NES. I am going for a complete NES collection and am currently at 148 games, so a long way to go. 



Thank you!

Comments

  • The black copies were the first run and I dont think Alfred works on any of them. The protos are black and obviously the first run games are more sought after. Look through old topics on action 52 and its variants in old threads. There is tons of info in the NA threads on thos topic. Great add to your collection!
  • i think the alfred game works in the earliest releases and is broken in later releases (along with another game).
  • I've had 3 copies pass through my hands. All were rev. B, 2 were green boards and one was a black board.

    All had working Alfredo and Jigsaw, and none had the sticker on the back
  • There is a page somewhere online that has all the details of each board. Black, green, blue etc with all the info you need to know about them.
  • My understanding is the Rev B version is the one that has most of the games working. I didn't think there were black board Rev B carts, but Vectrex has indicated that there are. So I learned something new here too.  
  • I noticed on the Wikipedia page, it says that Ooze... "The game was reported to crash on level 2, making this prize impossible to win"



    I've played this game, and beaten Ooze.



    Has anyone else had problems with beating Ooze, or is the Wikipedia page wrong?
  • Originally posted by: dougeff



    I noticed on the Wikipedia page, it says that Ooze... "The game was reported to crash on level 2, making this prize impossible to win"



    I've played this game, and beaten Ooze.



    Has anyone else had problems with beating Ooze, or is the Wikipedia page wrong?

    If you beat all the levels of Ooze, you should get this page:

    image



    But so far only hex editors have been able to access it.

    edit: I've read some of the rev B fixed the crash issue, but the screen still doesn't show up.

     
  • I have heard that even if Ooze is legitimately beaten, that Congratulations page will not show up. I also believe that the "personal code" is the same for all carts. Something tells me they never intended to pay up on that $52,000 prize...



    How can I tell if my black board copy is var 1 or 2? On the green board carts I see where this is indicated at the top of the cart, but don't see this anywhere on my cart.
  • I don't understand why Action 52 is so valuable. I have 76-in-1 and 82-in-1 cartridges which are rarer but they're not worth half as much. It's just another multi-game cartridge, I don't get it.
  • probably because those are shitty pirate carts and A52 is a rare legit release, even if it's broken/the games are terrible.
  • Plus, it had aspirations about the Cheetahmen being the next Ninja Turtles.
  • Originally posted by: Lincoln



    probably because those are shitty pirate carts and A52 is a rare legit release, even if it's broken/the games are terrible.



    They're all legitimate releases, the other cartridges are also all unique games that also suck. There isn't any difference between the 3.

     
  • Originally posted by: bootload

     
    Originally posted by: Lincoln



    probably because those are shitty pirate carts and A52 is a rare legit release, even if it's broken/the games are terrible.



    They're all legitimate releases, the other cartridges are also all unique games that also suck. There isn't any difference between the 3.

     

    We know the history of Action 52, Cheetahmen II, and Active Enterprises. We know who programmed the games, who was financing it all, etc.



    Pirate carts we know next to nothing about them.



     
  • Originally posted by: bootload

     
    Originally posted by: Lincoln



    probably because those are shitty pirate carts and A52 is a rare legit release, even if it's broken/the games are terrible.



    They're all legitimate releases, the other cartridges are also all unique games that also suck. There isn't any difference between the 3.

     



    Sure there is.  







    Action 52 was advertised like crazy in print mags, so people knew about it.  Most of your multicarts are using pirated games, Action 52 games were made for that release. 



    Edit: You sure about the "the other cartridges are also all unique games that also suck" part? The only 76-in-1 I know of is the Tsang Hai one, and the only 82 in 1 I saw, first two games listed are tetris.  Got pics of these carts?

     
  • Originally posted by: bootload

     
    Originally posted by: Lincoln



    probably because those are shitty pirate carts and A52 is a rare legit release, even if it's broken/the games are terrible.



    They're all legitimate releases, the other cartridges are also all unique games that also suck. There isn't any difference between the 3.

     





    orly? can you post some pics? i'd be fascinated to find out about 150 new nes games.
  • I've got Action 53, an unlicensed release with 1 more new game than A52, plus it's much rarer and it's only worth $30. What a rip.
  • Originally posted by: Lincoln

     
    Originally posted by: bootload

     
    Originally posted by: Lincoln



    probably because those are shitty pirate carts and A52 is a rare legit release, even if it's broken/the games are terrible.



    They're all legitimate releases, the other cartridges are also all unique games that also suck. There isn't any difference between the 3.

     





    orly? can you post some pics? i'd be fascinated to find out about 150 new nes games.

    My guess is 150 hacked NES games, like replacing Mario with an ocelot or something.



     
  • Originally posted by: arnpoly



    My understanding is the Rev B version is the one that has most of the games working. I didn't think there were black board Rev B carts, but Vectrex has indicated that there are. So I learned something new here too.  





    Actually I checked on pictures of that Action 52 cart and it didn't have REV-B printed on it. It also had the back sticker, even though I said it didn't. Can't remember all of the details I guess.

    However, Alfredo and Jigsaw did work on this cart.



    Also, fun fact: I traded this exact cart for Dragon Fighter and Sword Master, which would be a steal nowadays
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