Metroid - Box Art Brawl
Image: Nintendo Life

Hello everyone, and welcome to a very special edition of Box Art Brawl!

Before we get cracking, let's see how things went down last time. We looked at Donkey Kong Jungle Beat for the GameCube, throwing North America, Europe, and Japan into the ring to do battle. Admittedly, all of the designs were a little similar to one another, but in the end, it was North America that took home the trophy with 60% of the vote. Europe came second with 21%, and Japan third with 19%.

So, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Metroid for the NES, we thought we'd look at every mainline entry in the series; so that's the original game and every direct sequel. So we've got Metroid, Metroid II: Return of Samus, Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion, and Metroid Dread.

Now, we've covered most of these individually already, with the exception of Return of Samus and Dread, simply because those entries have no regional differences. As for those that we have covered, we'll be using whichever box design won in their respective battles. So for the original game, for example, the North America - Classics Series design won comfortably with 48% of the vote, so that's the one that will be represented here. Make sense? Good.

So let's get cracking.

Metroid

Metroid - Classic Series
Image: Nintendo / Launchbox

You folks chose this as your winner for Metroid's Box Art Brawl back in January 2024, and it's easy to see why. The yellow background is striking, and Samus' Chozo Suit is just a lot more iconic than its alternatives. We're not super keen on the red banner at the top, but it's not massively egregious, to be fair.

Metroid II: Return of Samus

Metroid II
Image: Nintendo / Launchbox

We've not covered Metroid II before, but we can understand why every region opted for this design. The barren environment in which Samus finds herself is weirdly beautiful, and of course Samus is striking the same iconic pose seen in the above variant of Metroid. Everything works here – it's just cool, y'know?

Super Metroid

Super Metroid
Image: Nintendo / Launchbox

Super Metroid featured in our very first Box Art Brawl, and unsurprisingly, it was the Japanese variant that won the day with 89% of the vote. Just look at it! It's stunning, with plenty of action depicted in the artwork. This was arguably ruined for the western release, but there's only so much you can do with the comparatively smaller landscape orientation.

Metroid Fusion

Metroid Fusion
Image: Nintendo / Launchbox

Again, Japan won Fusion's Box Art Brawl, albeit not by much: 59% vs. 41% for North America and Europe. It's another banger though, with Samus rocking her Fusion suit with a bunch of enemies in the background and a whole bunch of blue goo seeping in from the side. Man, it's so good.

Metroid Dread

Metroid Dread
Image: Nintendo

Finally, we have Dread. We haven't covered this because, well, all regions have the same design. It features Samus in the foreground with the E.M.M.I looming menacingly in the background. The striking red and black contrast is wonderful, and we love the simplicity of the logo itself.

Which box art from the Metroid mainline series is the best?

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