Sonic 35th - BAB
Image: Nintendo Life

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

Before we get into the weeds with this one, let's see how last week's brawl concluded. We looked at Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D to celebrate the announcement of the upcoming remake, and we honestly weren't quite sure how this one would pan out.

In the end, however, it seems most folks are over the whole 'gold box art' aesthetic of Zelda games, so Europe / Japan won the day with 64% of the vote.

This week, we're doing a one-off special in which we check out every Sonic game available physically on the Switch. The blue blur is celebrating his 35th anniversary this weekend, so we thought we'd ditch the usual regional battles and see which title on Nintendo's best-selling console is the finest of them all.

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We just sticking to standard box arts for this one, so no special editions, steelbooks, or lenticular shenanigans here. We've also stuck to the ESRB North American versions purely for consistency. So with that out of the way, cast aside your feelings on the games themselves and focus purely on the box art.

Ready? Let's go.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

Sonic Olympic
Image: SEGA

There's still a certain novelty about seeing Mario and Sonic standing side-by-side, and that's what makes this box art pretty special. It's simple, yet with the massive stadium in the background, you know exactly what it's all about.

Sonic Colors Ultimate

Sonic Colors
Image: SEGA

Speaking of simple, the design for Sonic Colors Ultimate is really lovely, and it stands out in the crowd thanks to the, well, colours! Granted, the glow around Sonic looks like something we'd knock up here on Nintendo Life, but it's pretty cool.

Sonic Superstars

Sonic Superstars
Image: SEGA

Oof, this one's nice. Bar Sonic Origins, it's the only game that features Amy, and it's lovely to see the four characters share some space. Of course, Sonic is taking up most of said space, almost like he's saying "no, don't look at them, I'm right here!".

Sonic Origins Plus

Sonic Origins
Image: SEGA

Mmmm. Oh yeah. The obvious callback to the Mega Drive / Genesis with the background here is excellent, and the sheer number of characters showcased feels like a real celebration of the series' inception. Lovely stuff.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds

CrossWorlds
Image: SEGA

Man, there's a lot going on here, and we're not even sure we noticed the dinosaur over on the left until we inspected the box art for this very brawl. It's cool stuff though, and clearly conveys the core mechanic of crossing over into different tracks.

Sonic x Shadow Generations

Sonic X Shadow
Image: SEGA

Shadow. Enough said.

Sonic Mania Plus

Sonic Mania
Image: SEGA

There's something about that yellow background, huh? It's absolutely gorgeous. The simple combination of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles feels pretty iconic too, while the focus on the more classic character designs reminds us of simpler times. Yeah, this is a good one.

Team Sonic Racing

Team Sonic Racing
Image: SEGA

Look this isn't bad, it's just... okay yeah, it's kind bad. It's just lacking that oomph that you want from a Sonic racing game, and we're not sure why Sega decided to go with those hazy character close-ups. Focusing on the action seen in the lower portion of the design would have been much better.

Sonic Frontiers

Sonic Frontiers
Image: SEGA

Whatever you might think about Sonic Frontiers, there's no denying that it's box art is absolutely stellar. The action shot showing Sonic grinding along a rail has become pretty iconic for the character's modern age, and the logo design is really nice too.

Which Sonic game on Switch has the best box art?

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