Poll: Box Art Brawl - Duel: Mario Kart 64

Both are great, they're like little masterpieces of the era. I remember it from my childhood, many games had this artstyle, it's so nostalgia inducing. I wish nowadays covers were half as good

Both are cool, just think Europe and NA capture the essence of Mario Kart more

Despite I don't play N64 games but I voted the USA cover for horizontal position.
But if I compared Mario Kart 64 with other racing games on PS1, I choose Chocobo Racing over than Mario Kart 64 for the Power Up gauge and stackable items into level 3, something that Mario Kart games still doesn't have yet.

The Japanese one doesn't have the ugly banner covering part of its art but that's about the only positive it has over the western version. Yeah, EU/US all the way on this one.

Not the first Mario Kart I played, but the first one I owned, I'd like to say the Western art is objectively better (I think it probably is) but truthfully there's a ton of nostalgia wrapped up in that imagery for me.

Japan's pretty good but going with the western one in this case, better conveys the general spirit of Mario Kart.

Neither are fantastic, but the Western art is the clear winner here.

International box for me. There really was something about that style of artwork on all of the N64 Mario games that just felt so magical and inviting back in the day.

The western cover wins. I remember being wowed as a kid, just by looking at the covers. They looked so fun and gave me this strong urge, that I need to play it.

On the japanese cover, Mario looks like he's got jaundice (too much chianti ?) and his weird position suggests he's letting one off...

The NA/EU box is better, shows more of the racers and it shows the track unlike the Japan one.

Both look great, but man, I have to give it to the North American/European box art this week.

Europe pal for the win. We also have the fantastic black border frame surrounding it. Still have my box copy with manual.

america wins , japan is too tryhard. the mario kart ds cover for example is what this japan cover tried to do, but done right.

Even as a kid I said DK has a stupid look on his face but overall it is far better then the Japanese version.

Maybe nostalgia bias but the NA/Europe boxart just captures that awesome epic 90’s cool radness the N64 embodied.

The European version actually differs a bit from the NA version. The EU doesn’t have a banner running across the art on the right side of the box, and it has a black frame around the image.

The difference is minimal, but still it would have been nice to see all the options.

@Olliemar28

"Mario Kart 64. The western design for this one is basically the same for both North America and Europe (with the addition of the border for European regions), so both will be teaming up to take on Japan."

The black border is not the only difference between the European and American box art. The European one shows more of Mario's gokart on the right and less of Wario on the left. The original American box has a red partially see through column that covers the right part of the art, around 1/5 of the total art. So some might prefer the European one.

Would perhaps also be more fitting to pick the original cover rather than the players choice version for the American version. The color of the column is different and the players choice emblem covers a bit more of the art.

The European version also has a players choice version.

Voted for NA/EU I was torn this one the NA version is the cover I remember seeing as a kid and still love it to this day. Meanwhile I like the simple aesthetics of the Japanese box art as well.

That's easy. The North American/European one. I think that cover, along with the Mario Kart cover on Nintendo Power and my parent's description of playing a demo of it at Target is what made me want to get a N64. I remember my dad telling me "the racers go woo-hoo and talk" while racing, which was a big deal at the time.

Sigh. . .the worst box art for the second worst Mariokart. . .

(Don't worry, I still enjoy battle mode)

The NA one is just iconic!

Box Art Brawls Current Total:

Europe: 92

Japan: 88

North America: 106

Australia and New Zealand: 1

It feels like yesterday I got this game and plugging it in my 64. Being amazed by the art of the title screen, and debating with friends Wich one is better, Mario Kart 64 or Diddy Kong Racing.

I voted Japan, I like the Mario art just a little more

North America because Wario.

I'd say both arts got the idea right, you have a race (displaying gameplay) on the Western one and "Mario on a Kart" (displaying what the game is about with that title).

However, I'm gonna vote the Western one, not for nostalgic reasons*, but because it's selling its gameplay on the cover.

There's also a Chinese version released in 2003 for the iQue Player. Unfortunately I cannot find a good image of its box art, which is based on the Japanese one.

Cartridge art
North America (shared with Europe)

Japan

*MK64 is my least favorite of the series. Having said that, I'm not gonna deny its legacy and I'm glad I own the Japanese version when the American version costs as much as some of the most expensive amiibo in Mexico and then some.

Neither look amazing, but NA/PAL definitely looks much more fun and appealing.

The US one. That’s an easy one.
@HammerGalladeBro Wait the iQue MK64 has a box art? I thought all the games for the iQue were digital only?

No hesitation for me, the western art is way better. I am not fond of the general design of N64 boxes with the side strip and corner peel(which the original release of this game has). Luckily, that's barely a factor here and the composition for the box art is excellent and takes that into account. Mario is the focal point and having his head right next to the strip was a great choice as it leaves plenty of room for the background characters, with plenty of breathing room so it doesn't feel cluttered. The low angle of the perspective works and makes it very dynamic. It's really well executed.

To be honest, I think the Japan one looks much cooler in my opinion

usa by a country mile. its also got the better voice lines.

@Anti-Matter I grew up w both and while I prefer 64, chocobo racing is still a top 5 game ever imo. check out gameplay of the ss invincible, thats my fav way to play.

@Greatluigi I know the iQue Player games were digital, but I don't know how their distribution worked. All of the iQue Player games have a box, except probably Doubutsu no Mori/Animal Crossing I haven't seen one.

All of the Chinese box arts seem to be based on the Japanese versions while using Chinese variants of the Western logos, as seen in Super Smash Bros. or Excitebike 64. Dr. Mario 64 seems to be an exception, as well as Ocarina of Time, which uses a completely different box art compared to its other cover arts.
The games themselves seem to be based on the Western versions, as seen in Super Smash Bros.

Speaking of Dr. Mario 64, here's its iQue box art, which is different to the western cover and probably based on the unreleased Japanese N64 version.

Stop calling Mario Kart for Switch 9 Mario Kart 9. It could have a totally different subtitle. If it's numbered Nintendo will consider Tour and call It Mario Kart 10 or Mario Kart X.

@Olliemar28 Missed opportunity by not opening with WELCOME TO MARIO KART!

@Paulo Mario Kart 8 wasn't even Mario Kart 8 anyways. That number already excluded the two Namco arcade games.

@HammerGalladeBro What I heard of the Chinese distribution model is that it was a DRM-locked memory card they'd have to take to a store to pay to have the game they wanted loaded (like the Japanese Nintendo Power carts).
I heard it was due to both piracy concerns and/or having to work around the ban on the Chinese definition of a console (I'd assume that having cartridges would most definitely be one of the defining features of a "game console").

@KingMike yes, but not published by Nintendo though. There is also Live Circuit, but that is more a toy than a videogame.

The Japanese one seems like it would be very unappealing for children.

The Western one takes you right into the game.

The US box art is a later reprint. Could you not use the original?

The European one is actually better than the US one, it should have been a separate option.
And the US one here is the players choice, as others have noted.

@Paulo It's just placeholder name. Not a big deal. This is pretty typical. Alot of games get teased without an offical title, so people just use the numerical naming system until then because it's easy.

It's much simpler to say "Mario Kart 9" than "Untitled Mario Kart for the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2".

I like them both, but the US box is absolutely classic.

US by far. The Japanese one is so empty. And while the circle tells us who else is in the game, the US one actually shows some of them in action.

The US version by a landslide so much I'm confident even Ray Charles would've agreed back in the day.

I will give a salute to the Japan version out of respect because the local game store at the time had it for sale. My brothers and I debated really hard about buying it (it was like $150 and it came WITH a N64 controller!). We knew we'd be forever legends with the neighborhood kids if we did but we ultimately decided just to wait the six months and get the US version. We were already worshipped enough being one of the first houses on the block with a N64

@DripDropCop146 Fire Emblem fans though... you gotta remember the entire release chronology if you want to talk to them, that includes the first entries and remakes.
I'd say once the franchise surpassed the SNES, it had enough entries that continuing to unofficially number games was silly.
I don't know of anyone who even called Ocarina of Time "Zelda V".

@KingMike I mean, Nintendo kept naming their spinoffs in numbers. Mario Party continued that tradition all the way up until Switch, and Mario Kart too. Is there a chance the New Mario Kart will have a new name? Sure, but there'a a 50/50 chance it will be either a new name or Mario Kart 9. It's not wrong to call it either way.

I don't like either. They're bland.

Japanese one looks like unfinished clipart.

Let’s not forget the majority of NL readers are NA so it’s easy to understand why the NA cover wins. That being said, I voted for NA/EU. Nostalgia is my undying friend. 😁

While I love the names going around in a circle for Japan I gotta go North America on this one. Anything with wario rules.

@Ryne-Gaia YOU PICK WAAARIO!