When Japanese box art is the worst

[Obiwanshinobi]

Right now, I can think of two duds: Spartan: Total Warrior



and Lufia: the Legend Returns.



Surely there must be more where it came from.

[Pretas]

The Spartan cover wouldn't be that bad if it didn't have the Barbie doll-proportioned female warrior awkwardly pirouetting on the side.

The Ooze (GEN/MD):

[Herr Schatten]

The Ooze (GEN/MD):

I actually like that one. It's not so much a bad cover than one that's trying something really different. While it's not particularly attractive to look at, it really stands out, which is probably all that was intended.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Looks like nobody's even trying to make games stand out on shelf anymore. The last striking boxart I saw in store was Ōkami for PS2 (you had to be there) and before that - SoulCalibur II PS2 PAL (better than US/C; except for the 'Cube version released here by Nintendo rather than Namco which looks basically the same as the American one).

Look at the iconic first WipEout PSX PAL cover, then PS3 PAL HD Fury and you can tell they are not trying hard anymore (I think gamers seek inspiration online rather than outside these days).
Could be the same reason why modern movie posters look so alike each other.

[Specineff]

Battlefield Earth called. It wants its Pyschlos back.

[Skykid]

Interesting topic. Looking forward to the examples because



The Japanese cover is still better than this.

[Ed Oscuro]

Barbie actually makes the cover for me. Minotaur's cool pose in the JP version is also much better than the statue-like characters on the US cover (and not in the good Harryhausen style, Minoman looks like a rubber suit). I agree with Herr Schatten about The Ooze, too. What are all those censor (?) circles though?

[Obiwanshinobi]

The Barbie's pose looks "written" like an icon, that I'm not sure what to make of. Eisenstein imitated that language in his movies, but there it was supposed to signify things. Here it just looks like the artist needs to see a model of flesh and blood in person (so does Kamitani, but I digress).

[Pretas]

What are all those censor (?) circles though?

I think it's supposed to look like a classified document. It's definitely the most striking box art on the MD, but it's obvious they did it because they didn't want to bother hiring an actual artist - The Ooze got an incredibly small print run in Japan.

[apatheticTurd]

Comix Zone

[Skykid]

^ way better than the western one.

Next.

[EmperorIng]

^ way better than the western one.

Next.

Crazy talk. While Comix Zone USA's art won't rock your world I'll take it over looking at those hideously misshapen heads.



Pretty patterns for Japan, but I'll take USA's stylish in-game poses.
(image is bigger than the embed)

EDIT:

While I'd probably rather play the Japanese version of Magical Doropie/The Krion Conquest (not like the game is a must-play anyway), the Famicom's not-particularly well-drawn "distressed anime girl #423" cover is not quite as memorable, interesting or enjoyable as the USA's "fuck it" weirdness.

Famicom:

Spoiler

THE KRION CONQUEST FEAR OUR CYBER SAMURAIS

Spoiler

[Ed Oscuro]

I'm pretty sure The Ooze, like Comix Zone, is by the (Western) Sega Technical Institute, which explains the box art. Oh, and a small print run once again.

North America got the best Killer7 version, no contest. For the other games in the Capcom Five (Four), PN 03 doesn't seem to have any real variants other than the UK one, VJ is colorfully crazy everywhere, and Resident Evil 4's somewhat crappy US cover wasn't really offset by the GameStop preorder tin, and then Capcom proceeded to create a bewildering array of variants for later ports and reissues, where once again the arguably most boring one was the default US PS2 release - third time's the charm, though, with the US Wii getting perhaps the best cover of all the releases. The US got okay covers for REmake and Zero, while the mansion front stairs cover for the Japanese slipcover of REmake seems to have become the default design for the HD remake's port's cover representation on storefronts like Steam, and a version with the cast thrown over that is shown elsewhere.

[Obiwanshinobi]

My favourite VJ box art it the PAL PS2 one. This is what I call "well drawn".

[mamboFoxtrot]

Very mild example, but I find the JP box art for Star Fox Adventures to be a bit bland compared to the US/PAL version.

US/PAL

Spoiler

JP

Spoiler

[Specineff]

Look at the covers of Castlevania IV and Contra III for examples of superior western art. No contest.

[BrianC]

I like the US box art for Ninja Gaiden Shadow better than the JP art. Tough looking Ryu in flaming city vs awkward Ryu in odd pose in what could be a burning city.

[Ed Oscuro]

Look at the covers of Castlevania IV and Contra III for examples of superior western art. No contest.

Castlevania III is another one, and there's a similar style in many of their other releases as well. Whoever Konami had doing their Western covers was one of the best game artists of all time.

[Skykid]

Look at the covers of Castlevania IV and Contra III for examples of superior western art. No contest.

Castlevania III is another one, and there's a similar style in many of their other releases as well. Whoever Konami had doing their Western covers was one of the best game artists of all time.

Some of Konami's stuff really rocked. Contra III is really awesome, but I'm still quite fond of the Schwarzenegger-moulded movie poster on the Japanese box.

[dingsbums]

I love the PC Engine (in fact it's my favourite console) but it's library contains THE worst cover of all.

Image

Mod Edit: Huge Image.

[Immryr]

^what's so bad about that?

North America got the best Killer7 version, no contest.

I much prefer the eu one personally.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

^what's so bad about that?

It's not an awful cover (it's a Mahjong game). The sequel had a much better one though (Sherlock Holmes is in it?!):

I much prefer the eu one personally.

Yeah, the NA one isn't bad per se, but the EU one is more interesting.

[Skykid]

North America got the best Killer7 version, no contest.

I much prefer the eu one personally.

They're all shit.

[Some-Mist]

I love the PC Engine (in fact it's my favourite console) but it's library contains THE worst cover of all.

Image

I unironically love both of these and I probably wouldn't ever play it.

Looks like nobody's even trying to make games stand out on shelf anymore. The last striking boxart I saw in store was Ōkami for PS2 (you had to be there) and before that - SoulCalibur II PS2 PAL (better than US/C; except for the 'Cube version released here by Nintendo rather than Namco which looks basically the same as the American one).

Spoiler

[Obiwanshinobi]

I didn't see S&P2 in a brick and mortar shop, but whenever I browse through my Wii games, it doesn't do much for me (the US DC Sega Bass Fishing is way more attention-grabbing, although I've seen it only on pictures).
The go-go boots dude looks as tacked on as the female on that Spartan: Total Warrior Japanese cover.

Speaking of this "look at me!" demeanor, the winner amongst Wii games is, oddly enough, Tetris Party Deluxe (neither a knockout, nor even my favourite Tetris box art). Its lucidity does it for me.

[pestro87]

These comes to mind for me:

Exile (GEN) / Exile (MD)

Spoiler

Spoiler

On the Ball (SNES) / Cameltry (SFC)

[Some-Mist]

I didn't see S&P2 in a brick and mortar shop, but whenever I browse through my Wii games, it doesn't do much for me (the US DC Sega Bass Fishing is way more attention-grabbing, although I've seen it only on pictures).
The go-go boots dude looks as tacked on as the female on that Spartan: Total Warrior Japanese cover.

Speaking of this "look at me!" demeanor, the winner amongst Wii games is, oddly enough, Tetris Party Deluxe (neither a knockout, nor even my favourite Tetris box art). Its lucidity does it for me.

I bought mine from best buy in the US, but dang bro.. cut down one of my favorite boxarts :[
lol

actually a bigger fan of DeS than DS, but this one too..

Spoiler

Exile (GEN) / Exile (MD)

Spoiler

holy shit, actually like this one too. If anything, this thread has convinced me I have bad taste.

Spoiler

that's bad though. does he have a sucker in his mouth?

[evil_ash_xero]

Looks like nobody's even trying to make games stand out on shelf anymore. The last striking boxart I saw in store was Ōkami for PS2

I thought Wonderful 101's box art was pretty great.
I prefer hand drawn, but this looks like a nice Pixar movie poster.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/7 ... L1000_.jpg

[Obiwanshinobi]

actually a bigger fan of DeS than DS, but this one too..

Spoiler

Demon's Souls box art did as little for me as its title! By the cover, it seemed as indistinctive as it gets.
My favourite illustrations of the sort are those two:



Obviously, Arx Fatalis refers to Ultima Underworld in more ways than one.

Exile (GEN) / Exile (MD)

Spoiler

holy shit, actually like this one too. If anything, this thread has convinced me I have bad taste.

I understood he liked it better than the Japanese one. Same with On the Ball/Cameltry.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Bump 'cause I want y'all to see it:


.

If these were inviting you to different cosplay parties, which one would you choose? Assuming for some reason you'd rather not turn down both invitations.