
Roll up, roll up for Box Art Brawl, the contest where regionally different covers of the same game battle each other to see which one stands up to the scrutiny and discerning eyes of the modern era.
Last week 49% of you decreed that the Japanese cover of Banjo-Tooie was better than the rest, with the North American version coming in second with 29% and the European variant mopping up the remaining 21%. Congratulations to Banjo and Kazooie's Great Adventure 2, as it was known to our friends in the east.
This week we're heading back to the NES/Famicom days with Ninja Gaiden, or Shadow Warriors in Europe. That's right, just as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were renamed Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles over here, ninjas were deemed too violent or something so we originally knew Ryu Hayabusa's first outing by a different name. Don't worry, we call it Ninja Gaiden now.
But which one of these covers can stealthily deliver a killer blow to the others? Take a look at the Ryus below...
Japan

Kicking things off with the Famicom version, we get a rather fetching portrait cover with Ryu walking towards us away from the stone golem-y thing with the tribal tats behind him.
With his bulging blue... thighs, not to mention arms that may as well be made from the same material as the rock monster, you certainly wouldn't want to mess with this character.
Still, it's not exactly clear what the green stuff surrounding the figures is. Some sort of mossy spider's web? Overgrown ivy? A big pile of green silly string? It's ambiguous and although it makes the ninja himself stand out, it's arguably a bit too noisy. The rock thing and the title break out of the box into the surrounding black border, but for some reason the whole thing puts us in mind of a book cover. A pretty good book cover, but it's not screaming 'action'.
Perhaps that's the point. Let's see what the others have to offer...
North America

Hello! What the North American version lacks in subtlety it makes up for with knives, swords and flaming buildings. Our ninja is sporting similarly dangerous arms to his Japanese brethren but the only ambiguity here is exactly how the hell he's suspended above this flaming metropolis. We like to think he had been enjoying lunch while sitting on a construction beam like those chaps in that famous photo of New York when he suddenly realised something wasn't quite right.
Hardly the understated way of the ninja, then, but effective nonetheless.
Europe

Ah yes. While PAL A got a cover pretty much identical to the NA version, we've gone with the PAL B variant, nobly falling on our sword for the sake of variety. It takes the North American cover and turns everything down a notch. Taken in isolation, perhaps it wouldn't seem so muted, but after the biceps-out in-your-face-ness of the previous cover, this seems a little too soft, a little too safe, and unmasking the protagonist means this cover loses an air of mystery, too. The guy's still suspended over a flaming city with only a katana to fight the fire, but we're not 100% certain this ninja (sorry, shadow warrior) will make it out alive.
Gotta be honest - we don't hold out much hope for this. Still, you never know. Shadows are cool?
Those are the combatants this week - now it’s time to choose your favourite and click the 'Vote' button below:
That's all folks! Join us next week when we'll be returning with a fresh batch of fighters for another round of Box Art Brawl.
Comments 49
It's not very Ninja-ry, but I think the NA box art is probably the best.
To be honest they're all rather poor though.
NA is the only one that isn't absolute trash. Don't @ me.
These are fun, by the way. Thanks dudes!
The NA box art is easily the best of the bunch! It's a favourite cover of mine!
It's interesting how for NGII, the US box-art is very similar to the Japanese one, but it's still a redrawn picture.
The NA box art for Ninja gaiden, (It's guy den not gay den) is far from poor! It's the kinda box art that says BUY THIS GAME! It's freaking awesome! Heck the entire trilogy had awesome NA box art! It's the reason i bought it as a kid in the first place.
Well that and in the 90's i was seriously into ninjas for some reason. Probably the turtles. Speaking of attention grabbing box art how bout that game werewolf the last warrior? Anyone know what I'm talking about? A wolfman ripping his way out of the cartridge! Heck yeah! Game kinda sucks but man that box!
Odd, I’m in the UK, but I swear I had the US Ninja Gaiden box.
BTW, the thing on the Japanese box is actually a statue (one of two I think) that was central to the plot. Ryu is trying to keep it out of the hands of the bad guys.
I wouldn't mind the original ninja gaiden plus or other one's from xbox 360 & ps3
NA wins this one. I like Japan's artwork, as it reminds me of Japanese live-action shows like Super Sentai or Kamen Rider, but the NA box art throws subtlety out the window for a cover that grabs your attention and won't let go!
NA for me this week. It’s befitting of a vhs low budget 80s action film cover...and I love it!!
@ChessboardMan Same in France, we had the same version as the US one. I actually never saw that supposed European version until now.
Clear win for the US cover this time. The Japanese cover is interesting but it's lacking something while the PAL cover is terrible, that guy and that awkward pose just doesn't fit there. Oddly enough, some parts of Europe had the same exact cover art as the US and the name was Shadow Warriors - Ninja Gaiden.
Actually quite like the Japanese one. The NA one’s very fitting of an 80s action movie though.
NA all the way. So... Ryu Hayabusa in Smash when? I won't stop campaigning until Sakurai does the right thing and lets him in.
@rrice64
Im Atting you cause I agree
Especially the European one is utter garbage.
That NA box is one of the NES greats.
This is the box art I remember
Yes i'm the A hole who does exactly what you ask me not to do @rrice64.
I don’t know why NA is leading this morning when the Japanese cover kicks so much ass!
I voted for the US version this week, by far the coolest. I can’t understand why us europeans never got ninjas?! I remember Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was renamed Hero Turtles here. Ninjas are way cooler than heroes!
@Maccish
The UK had a huge issue with ninja's for some reason.
They also hated nunchucks.
In UK versions of Way Of the Dragon the chucks are edited out.
( or were edited out they may have changed their stance on that )
Headbutts are also very much NEIN, a very infamous example is the UK cut of Episode II, where Jango headbutts Obi Wan.
In the UK cut Obi Wan just lands on his ass out of nowhere.
@Maccish Another mystery of the Ninja Turtles which only the UK censors could answer. Why were Michelangelo's nunchaku deemed too violent, when Raphael's sais and Leonardo's katana were not?
@The_Mysteron
Apparantly because they were made illegal in 1988, in the UK
from the wiki
>>In England and Wales, public possession of nunchaku is heavily restricted by the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 and the Criminal Justice Act 1988. However nunchaku are not included in list of weapons whose sale and manufacture prohibited by Schedule 1 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) Order 1988 and are traded openly (subject to age restrictions).
In Scotland laws restricting offensive weapons is similar to that of England and Wales. However in 2010 Glasgow Sheriff Court refused to accept a defence submission that nunchaku where not prohibited weapons under Scottish law although the defendants were acquitted on other grounds[31].
The use of nunchaku was, in the 1990s, censored from UK rebroadcasts of American children's TV shows such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoons and films.[32] The UK version of the Soul Blade video game was also edited, replacing the character Li Long's nunchaku with a three-sectioned staff. In Hong Kong, it is illegal to possess metal or wooden nunchaku connected by a chain, though one can obtain a license from the police as a martial arts instructor, and rubber nunchaku are still allowed. Possession of nunchaku in mainland China is legal<<
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nunchaku
North America
Box Art Brawls Current Total:
Europe: 4
Japan: 8
North America: 5
My word, they’re all awful. I’ll abstain from a vote this week.
This one goes to North America.
NA looks like the poster to a terrible, unintentionally racist film. They're all lacking, but the Japanese one intrigues me... out of all of them, I'd probably pick that one up.
I only know these game by name and nothing else. So this is a pretty fair fight!
I'd choose the European one: looks like you can fire bend, and that sounds awesome!
@garfreek
BTW, your website link doesn't work
Might just be me.
I like the slightly more subtle tone and facial features of Shadow Warrior myself.
@The_Mysteron
A katana isn’t quite as deadly as a nunchuck 😂
The N.A. box art looks epic and Ryu looks intimating in the best way imaginable.
I will give credit to the Japanese box art for accurately depicting Ryu though.
NA gets the easy win this week.
NA wins this time
@The_Mysteron nunchaku were illegal in my region for a while too, supposedly a reaction to martial-arts movies in the '70s, though I don't know for sure. My understanding is the law was in the process of being changed here. It's a pretty dumb ban. One day, I was interested in picking some up which is how I learned of the law here. And that was the day I decided to buy a sword instead as that is legal here, because that makes sense somehow.
I choose NA despite the claim of it being "biggest arcade hit" which I don't believe for a second, and since the NES game is not a port of the arcade game anyway.
Wow the NA is so freaking American I couldn't make it up if I wanted lol
Shocked there's not more love for Japan. That cover is awesome. But NA is pretty sweet, too.
@graysoncharles
any games in mind ?
I thought these days most games have the same box art
Maybe a comparison of all the COD and Battlefield box art.
North America
If only we could compare the commercials as well.
The Japanese commercial is oddly entirely in English, for "Ninja Ryuukenden", an "incredible Famicom software from Tecmo".
But the US commercial for Ninja Guyden has the guy throwing his cart shuriken-like into his NES.
Not sure what sort of commerical Europe got, if they did.
Definitely the NA cover and it is not even close
Scrolling scrolling... UK box appears on the screen lol DERP 🤣
Here is my european boxart :
https://giantbomb1.cbsistatic.com/uploads/original/16/165930/2301265-ninjagaiden_shadowwarriors_ukv_front.jpg
So I vote for this one !
By the way, the japanese box is the nearest to the game because of the statue you can find in the game and the ninja is more like the ninja you play in the game as well.
So is there any reason why the US and EU always get such different covers? I mean, why not just use the same one?
And I know that the EU got the same one as the US in this instance, buit apparently there was another, lesser used one as well. Why?
I just don't get it.
I get why Japan would get a different one, but why are there so many huge differences in US and EU?
ps. Voted US.
Level 6-2 certain was "The Fight of Your Life". NA FTW here easily.
This is not the regular PAL cover, but the Scandinavian version. Rest of Europe had the same as USA, except the title Shadow Warriors.
PAL-A:
https://iheartoldgames.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/shadow-warriors.jpg
PAL-B:
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/7MAAAOSw-89ZP-hR/s-l300.jpg
None of the above
The cover from 'Merica makes me want play the game all over again, although I just about went insane finishing it the first time, and second time, and stupid THIRD time! Maybe I wasn't sane to begin with.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...