Zentanith

Although considered one of the worst, if not, the worst game or collection of games ever created for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Action52 and the Cheetahmen is still a great part of me today.

Some would ask, "Why even associate yourself with the failed project?", "Why not begin anew and erase the past?". Most people that have heard of the infamous Action52 and the Cheetahmen, have heard very little about the inspirational story that lead to its creation. Most bring up Vince Perri as the man behind the cartridge and the mystery. Vince Perri was just an ambitious wheeler and dealer that saw an opportunity to make lots of money. Money was the primary motivation for Vince. Yet stories of men full of greed that end in disaster are very common and can be found day in and day out.

The true story, or I should say the rare and unbelievable tale, is about four college kids with zero experience in making games, convincing Vince Perri that they were the guys for the job. In doing so, these four college kids somehow found themselves with the most unbelievable opportunity; to make 52 games for the best console out at that time.

I can't speak for the other three, but to describe them briefly, Javier was a record collector and wannabe DJ, Ray was about music production, and Albert did some programming and enjoyed PC gaming. I can honestly say, that of the four of us, I was the wannabe game designer. I would also be the first to approach Vince Perri and sell him on me and my friends.

My yearning to design games began at age 14, when I convinced my father to buy me the Atari 400 home computer with a Basic Language cartridge. The moment I saw the sky blue screen with the message "Ready", I knew that an unlimited universe of possibilities were at my finger tips. I started making text adventures, then quickly discovered how to use graphics and sound. I created a virtual pet, a simulated starship console, and an air balloon fighter game just to mention some things I remember. The first time I got paid, was for doing an intro screen for an entomologist program that had bees fly across the screen and reveal the title. On those days, I would rarely leave my room.

Needless to say, when I over heard Vince talking about his idea to create a non-pirated multi-cart for Nintendo, I jumped right in. This happened while I was working part-time at a recording studio that Vince used to use as a make shift office. I told him that I design games and that I had a few friends that could program and do art. I remembered that Javier was sometimes dabbling with DPaint or some other graphics program on his Amiga 500.

Vince wasn't totally convinced, so he asked us to make him a game to show off to potential investors. I got the guys together, convinced them to do it, and we created a Tetris clone for the Amiga. Vince was impressed by the graphics and sound, but by his inexperience with games and technology, he failed to realize that this could never be reproduced on an NES.

Vince sent us on an all-expense paid, week long trip to Salt Lake City, Utah, to receive training on a Nintendo Entertainment System Developers Kit. When we returned, Vince hit us with a 3 month deadline to create all 52 games. I went home, grabbed my pen and notebook and just started brainstorming ideas. My creative mind went into full throttle.

To be Continued...