The Cheetahmen

The Cheetahmen
Sega Genesis title screen
Developer(s)Active Enterprises
Publisher(s)Active Enterprises
Platform(s)Sega Genesis, Nintendo Entertainment System

The Cheetahmen is a video game series created by Active Enterprises starring three anthropomorphic cheetahs. It was introduced in 1991, as part of the Action 52 multi-game cartridge for the NES. It is notable for its main theme, as it was later used as the overworld music in Cat Mario, as well as its extremely low quality, often being cited as one of the worst video games of all time. The Cheetahmen also appear in an unpublished sequel for the NES, Cheetahmen II, and a Sega Genesis title that was again called The Cheetahmen. Cheetahmen III was in development in 1994 for a prototype handheld console by Active Enterprises but is now considered vaporware.

It was likely made to be a franchise similar to ones such as Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, with which it shares elements: for example, the protagonists being mutated animals named after famous gods in Greek mythology is similar to how the latter has mutated turtles named after Italian Renaissance artists.