*beep beep, beep beep*
Snake: This is Snake. Colonel, can you hear me?
Campbell: Loud and clear. What's the situation, Snake?
Snake: I've arrived in a sort of digital space. Hard to know exactly what's going on, but I'm in a blank room, and the words 'Nintendo Life' and 'Box Art Brawl' appear to be materialising in front of me.
Campbell: What?! Okay, you'll have to make your way out, somehow. But make sure nobody sees you.
Snake: There's something else. There's a leaderboard in the back of the room; apparently last week's Box Art Brawl featured something called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time. Colonel, what's going on?
Campbell: I have no idea. What else does it say?
Snake: It says that North America and Europe won the vote with 76%, with Japan trailing at 24%. Is this the work of FoxHound?
Campbell: FoxHound disbanded after the Shadow Moses incident, Snake. You should know this.
Snake: Hrrrrm. Wait - there's something else. The leaderboard has changed. It's now displaying something called 'Metal Gear: Ghost Babel'... Metal Gearrr?! Colonel, is there a new Metal Gear prototype I'm not aware of?!
Campbell: It's a possibility. We might have to wait and see what the vote is on this one to determine our next move. Who are the participants?
Snake: North America, Europe, and Japan. It's a three-way battle.
Campbell: I see. Okay, stay where you are for now, Snake. If you need to, you can contact me on Codec. The frequency is 140.85. When you want to use the Codec, push the select button. When we need to contact you, the Codec will beep. When you hear that noise, press the select button. The Codec's receiver directly stimulates the small bones of your ear. No one but you will be able to hear it.
Snake: Got it. Okay, I'm ready to vote.
*boop*
Be sure to cast your votes in the poll below; but first, let's check out the box art designs themselves.
North America
*beep beep, beep beep*
Snake: Colonel, I'm in front of the North American box art.
Campbell: Excellent, Snake. Age hasn't slowed you down one bit. Now what do you see?
Snake: I see, uhh... me.
Campbell: Are you sure this isn't another clone of Big Boss?
Snake: No, this is me. I look far too handsome to be anyone else. Looking at the design, it appears to have been drawn by an artist known as Yoji Shinkawa. He's captured my features pretty well; maybe his skills have been boosted by nanomachines.
Campbell: Could be. I like this design too, but we need to see the others to make an informed decision.
Snake: Got it.
*boop*
Europe
*beep beep, beep beep*
Liquid Snake: BROTHERRRRRR!
Snake: Liquid!
Liquid Snake: It's been too long, brother! I just happened to drop in; I wanted to share my thoughts on this particular design here from Europe. I must say, despite it showcasing a clearly inferior clone of Big Boss, I rather like it, all told! Who's that woman with you though?
Snake: Sergeant Christine Jenner. 'Chris' for short. She helped me out during the Galuade incident in Metal Gear: Ghost Babel.
Liquid Snake: Ghost Babel? Ridiculous - is that even canon?
Snake: No, but I wouldn't expect you to understand anyway. It was made for a system called the Game Boy Color.
Liquid Snake: Very interesting Snake, but have I ever told you about the 'Les Infants Terribles' project?
Snake: I'm going.
Liquid Snake: Not yet, Snake! It's not over yet!
Snake: I'm gone.
Liquid: Wait-
*boop*
Japan
*beep beep, beep beep*
Campbell: I hear it's amazing when the famous purple stuffed worm in flap-jaw space with the tuning fork does a raw blink on Hara-Kiri Rock. I need scissors! 61!
Snake: What..? Colonel, are you okay?
*boop*
*beep beep, beep beep*
Campbell: An anemone or clematis plant's juice can cause a rash. When pruning them, its a good idea to wear gloves.
Snake: Colonel, snap out of it!
*boop*
*beep beep, beep beep*
Campbell: Raiden, something happened to me last Thursday when I was driving home. I had a couple of miles to go; I looked up and saw a glowing orange object in the sky, to the east! It was moving very irregularly... Suddenly there was intense light all around me, and when I came to, I was home. What do you think happened to me?
Snake: RAIDEN ISN'T HERE!
*boop*
*beep beep, beep beep*
Snake: Go away, Colonel. Everybody out there, make sure you vote for your favourite box art and get me out of here!
*boop*
Thanks for taking part in Box Art Brawl once again, and to all our friends in the States, have a great Labor Day!
Thanks for voting! We'll see you next time for another round of the Box Art Brawl.
Comments 48
NA all the way, just solid snake.....solidly being snake
NA one looks kinda lame. PAL and Japanese ones are better, but... JP one have some ad with... Bubsy!? While PAL one don't have this type of thing. Also, that sucks that they removed "Ghost Babel" from the title. How it's usual for localizers to shorten game's titles... And lengthen them too! I hate it!
That’s a real tough one. But I gotta go with NA, I mean I just love how dynamic he looks!
** beep beep beep beep **
I’m voting for Europe, but the real winner here is Ollie Reynolds. Bravo, sir.
** boop boop **
@Slowdive Ha, I see... Necky the Fox. Thanks for the info!
I voted Japan, because I like the “duo” art better and that “Famitsu - Award-winning software” sticker had to have been just a sticker on the shrink wrap, or else added to later releases’ covers, right?
All are cool but NA if I had to pick one....
I can't vote in this poll because I'm too busy clapping for the incredibile presentation of it.
Amazing.
I had to give my vote to the European box art this week.
Had to read it in their voices..not even on purpose but it just came out that way in my head haha... NA because its a badass drawing of Snake almost picked the European one
had to go with Japan on this, Ghost Babel makes so much sense. People who have played Metal Gear Solid on the Playstation (and who hasn't?) wouldn't want to play a downgraded port and reading the US and EU boxart as just "Metal Gear Solid" "only for Gameboy Color" it sounds like that's all it is. Putting Ghost Babel on the cover, that indicates that it's a sequel, which it is.
NA is the most pleasing to the eye. The logo and the background art blend better.
I've never been so torn on a vote, I yolo'd into NA but I love them all.
All three are pretty ugly.
Necky the Fox watch put for Fox Die!
This is the only time I've seen the bigger Japanese box look more cluttered than the international ones.
I'm not too familiar with the metal gear series, but the European one appeals to me more. Can't put my finger on why. I just like it better than the rest.
Definitely Europe. More characters = better. And color is usually always better. The Japanese version goes too far, too busy.
I think Japan’s is the coolest. It has slightly better colouring than the Europe one, in my opinion.
Japan - It (and Europe) feature the better artwork, but it's composed better on the JPN box. The Famitsu advertisement either a sticker or added to later print runs, and it sucks that NL chose an image with it, because it'll probably rob it of the win.
EASY win for PAL
@Vyacheslav333
Yeah, i would have voted for Japan, because the Picture is bigger, but what the demons? Bubsy haha?
Naa, Europe wins.
@Krull ❤️
@Nintendo_Thumb That was what happened to me when it released. I was like 12 and I LOVED Metal Gear Solid. I skipped the GBC game because I thought it was a watered down port. I wish I knew better.
Also I love the CODEC chatter. This is great, haha.
Europe wins this, don't know why Japan has that weird sticker on it...
NA. Europe and Japan look like they’re posing for a military fashion magazine.
@RR529
This is most definitely the superior box art, and the one I personally use in my NES Classic build.
NA is better, with that iconic image of Solid Snake. But the art of the JP/EU one is great as well. In the case they release a new MGS collection on Switch, they should include Ghost Babel, the best of the 2D MG games, and the best Game Boy Color game.
I voted Japan. That is definitely a sticker in the bottom right, so that takes the cover above Europe's for me. I don't dislike any of the art, but none of them make the best covers, with the US one bing the poorest fit for a game cover to me.
@Vyacheslav333 Bubsy wishes he were that famous.
If it weren't for the fact the North American version calls it Metal Gear Solid, I'd vote for that. As it is, I'm going with the Japanese version.
The images of the three box arts are nice, though.
All three are a bit pants tbh.
Ah yes: Metal Gear Ghost Baby, my favourite game in the series.
Out of these, I must say I like all of them. That classic MGS style is so iconic nowadays and for damn good reason: it's some of the grittiest art ever created for a game and still holds up incredibly well to this day. I'm going for EU myself since it has the best art and isn't covered up by unnecessary ads JAPAN, but they're all pretty good.
Japan or Europe. I hate art that neglects female protagonists to focus on Gruff McGritty because Americans are afraid to support a game with female protagonists unless she is showing skin. Also likely why I ignored that game when it came out. I was already getting tired of dudebro marketing.
I love essentially both (all three), but if I had to pick one... I'd say who are you to tell me what I have to do?
Great read. I am not a military fan but Metal Gear Solid just makes everything so sexy. I voted for NA.
I'm not familiar with the Metal Gear series but I enjoyed the comedy dialogue in the article. It took me back to the good old days of Nintendo Official Magazine, when this kind of thing would appear on a monthly basis and regularly have me laughing out loud. I still remember some of the features and gags to this day.
I loved the Snake and Colonel banter. 👍🏻
Japan's is obviously ruined by the Famitsu promotion, and I feel like EU and NA are a toss-up. I do like the Ghost Babel subtitle, though. It's very Kojima-esque, in that it is two unrelated words that make no sense but sound kind of cool anyway.
I prefer NA this time around. Simple, but leaves an impression.
The Japanese/European art makes it look like a buddy cop affair, which I doubt is reflective of the game.
Honestly, I like the NA version with the style, and how Snake is dead center. But i like the EU version with the other character and in color. That ad on the Japanese version ruins it for me.
@RR529
Thank you for validating my choice with the proper Japanese box art! The Famitsu sticker is quite the handicap…
NA, the other two are too cartoonish.
North America for me, more reminiscent of MGS on PS1.
The north American one looks the most like a "console game" to me. I'd feel I'd get the Playstation once, but portable, and that's cool on gba!
This was awesome to read, very entertaining. I kept reading it with their voices in my mind, it was so funny. GG @Olliemar28 thank you so very much for such wonderful entertainment, I loved it! 🤣👍🏼
That was a really fun read. Thanks NL
@Chibi_Manny Thanks so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed it.
Have there been other instances of regional box art being done by the same artist or illustrator, but with the artwork being different? The only other titles I can think of are Final Fantasy 4 and 6 for the GBA (FF1&2 have faded Yoshitaka artwork on the US/EU versions while the JP version is just the wording and crystal, and FF5 has identical artwork, but different cropping and sizing).
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