Hard Corps - BAB
Image: Nintendo Life

Hello everyone, and welcome back to another edition Box Art Brawl!

We had a doozy of a brawl last week as we looked at The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords for the GBA. You folks really surprised us with this one, though: we weren't too keen on the Japanese box art for this, deemed it to be fairly busy in comparison to the others, but your votes are the ones that matter, and so Japan won the day with 47% of the vote. Europe came in second place with 29%, and North America managed 25%.

This week, we're checking out the wonderful Contra: Hard Corps for the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive. Released in 1994, this one had a completely different title in Europe and was known as Probotector (much like the 1987 original), boasting a vastly different set of playable characters. Its gameplay remained relatively unchanged from prior entries, but its stunning visuals and exceptional boss design made it one of the more beloved titles in the franchise.

We've got three incredibly unique box art designs to look at this week, so we reckon it's gonna be a good one. Let's get started.

Be sure to cast your votes in the poll below; but first, let's check out the box art designs themselves.

North America

Hard Corps - NA
Image: Konami / Launch Box

This is badass, huh? Perhaps the most recognisable of the three designs, it features one of the game's protagonists, the blonde-haired Ray Poward, shooting toward a formidable enemy. It's a cool design, and you really get a sense of the gun's size from Ray's stance; almost like he's buckling under the sheer weight of the thing.

Europe

Probotector - EU
Image: Konami / Moby Games

Europe's is a bit of a more lighthearted affair. The group of robots showcased on the cover here look like they've come straight out of a Saturday morning cartoon; they're definitely lacking the attitude shown in the North American design, but it's a fun, colourful little composition regardless.

Japan

The Hard Corps - Japan
Image: Konami / Moby Games

Japan's version leans into a more anime aesthetic, depicting various characters from the game against a Blade Runner-inspired background. It's a cool, dynamic composition that makes good use of the space with some pretty badass poses from our protagonists, but it's still lacking some of that signature attitude from the North American version.

Which region got the best Contra: Hard Corps box art? (1,628 votes)

  1. North America
    North America64%
  2. Europe
    Europe7%
  3. Japan
    Japan29%

Thanks for voting! We'll see you next time for another round of Box Art Brawl.