BoxArtBrawlMain

And we're back! Welcome to the third edition of Box Art Brawl, the series where we ask you lovely people to decide which lucky territory got the best box art of a certain retro classic. Last week we looked at Contra (or Probotector as it was known in Europe) and it was decided that the North American muscle-bound variant was the pick of the bunch. The gun-toting robots of the European version picked up a respectable third of the vote with the Japanese original suffering an overwhelming defeat.

This week we're generation hopping once again, jumping from the NES all the way to the GameCube era for Capcom's hugely influential Resident Evil 4. A radical departure from the static camera gameplay of the previous survival horror games, RE4 would shape the third-person action genre for many years to come and cast a shadow in 2005 that the series had a hard time escaping from until very recently. Originally a Nintendo exclusive, it would famously make its way to every platform under the sun. We've included a few bonuses here for fun, but we'll be sticking to GameCube version for the actual poll.

So, sit down, take the weight off for a while and peruse the wares on offer...

Japan

JP

Beginning with the Japanese version this week, the cover reflects the dour greys and browns of the actual game nicely, although the information and warning labels at the bottom arguably detract from the mood. Placing the '4' before 'biohazard' might have confused players new to the series, but by 2005 Resident Evil / Biohazard was big enough to get away with it.

North America

NA

As with the Japanese version, we're once again in the cemetery outside the church, although this time there's a pinkish-red hue in the air and the graveyard's been filled with Ganados. Chainsaw Man and Leon are plonked in front with a little highlight around them, although we're not convinced by the perspective. Maybe Leon's hopped on a box or something.

Europe

EU

Chainsaw Man is back on the PAL cover, although here he's ominously silhouetted between trees against a blood red sky with crows flying overhead. The logo text is white to make it pop against all that darkness. It's certainly understated compared to the other two, with only the various logos at the bottom disturbing the mood.


Thanks to Capcom’s platform-hopping ways, there are a host of other box art variants out there which run the gamut in terms of quality. We're keeping the poll strictly to the GameCube release, but here's a look at the versions for the Wii and PS2 ports of the game:

RE Extra
Japanese on the left, North American in the centre and European on the right, with the PAL PS2 Limited Edition Steelbox as a cheeky bonus.

So, you've seen your three options this week (along with a host of bonus comparisons) and it's time to pick your favourite. Take a look below, click the pic you're down with and hit the 'Vote' button to exercise your democratic right:

Which region got the best Resident Evil 4 box art on GameCube? (738 votes)

  1. Japan
    Japan7%
  2. North America
    North America17%
  3. Europe
    Europe77%

Please login to vote in this poll.

That's all for this week. Feel free to chat about the variants - do you prefer any of the Wii or PlayStation 2 options? Did we miss any versions? Did you ever get that highly impractical but awesome chainsaw controller? Let us know below and we'll catch you again next week.