Strap in, because it's time for another edition of Box Art Brawl!

Last time, we put the GameCube curio Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest into the ring, with a 1v1 match-up between North America and Japan. While the latter put up a pretty good fight, it was NA that walked away with 63% of the vote and the win.

This week, as the catchily titled DRAGON QUEST XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition launches on Switch 2, we thought we'd go back to one of the series' earlier releases and take a look at Dragon Quest II (or Dragon Warrior II, if you'd prefer).

Once again, there's no European cover to speak of this week, so we've got another duel on our hands.

North America

Ohh, we're talking classic fantasy for the North American cover. It might look a little dated by today's standards, but the design is really rather charming, with a trio of hand-drawn heroes facing off against scaly foes. Combining the dragon, the action poses, and the mysterious figure in the background, this is certainly a cover that'd draw us in if we saw it on a store shelf.

Japan

The Japanese design swings for something different, but man, there's really no knocking the late-great Akira Toriyama, is there? This design does away with the realism of the North American variant in favour of Toriyama's signature squishy stylings, and it really is a looker. We particularly like the central hero's sword extending outside the frame.

Which region got the best Dragon Quest II box art?

North America

Japan

Which region got the best Dragon Quest II box art? (185 votes)

1. 
   North America26%
2. 
   Japan74%

Thank you for voting! We'll see you next week for another edition of Box Art Brawl!