Hi folks, and welcome to another edition of Box Art Brawl!
Last week, to celebrate the marvellously macabre Halloween season, we took a look at Silent Hill: Shattered Memories for the Wii, pitting North America and Europe against Japan. Although many appreciated the western design for the game, it was ultimately Japan that secured a win for the week with 66% of the vote - well done, Japan!
This week, we're going to check out one of the launch titles for the Game Boy Advance: F-Zero: Maximum Velocity. Undoubtedly one of the highlights of the console's launch line-up, Maximum Velocity was pure F-Zero, through and through, garnering critical acclaim from critics and fans alike.
The western box art for F-Zero Velocity is pretty much the same here, so North America and Europe are going to be teaming up once again to take on Japan's landscaped approach.
But enough chatter - on your marks, get set, GO!
Be sure to cast your votes in the poll below; but first, let's check out the box art designs themselves.
North America / Europe
The western approach for F-Zero: Maximum Velocity is, all told, very F-Zero. We've got a bunch of vehicles speeding towards the viewer, with Megan's Hot Violet front and centre. We particularly like how Hot Violet overlaps the Game Boy Advance logo on the left hand side, and overall, the design is pretty effective in its simplicity.
Will it be enough to secure a win for North America and Europe though..?
Japan
Japan's approach for the game is radically different, making full use of the landscape orientation once again. Hot Violet is the star of the show here, much like the western design, but we instead get a birds-eye view of the vehicle, almost like some sort of blueprint design. The background, featuring planets and stars, is not necessarily the most obvious thing you'd think about when someone mentions F-Zero, but we think it works remarkably well here.
Thanks for voting! We'll see you next time for another round of the Box Art Brawl.
Comments 32
The Japanese art does a better job of grabbing my attention, and to its benefit, it looks almost Metroid-like. The Western art looks far too generic for my liking with those cheap-looking 3D renderings.
Why are the European colors muted? The American box art is much more vibrant.
NA Europe for me. Japan's isn't bad but it's definitely not as good.
Rare Western W. The US/Euro box art actually depicts racing, showcasing the action that awaits.
Neither of them are particularly great. I'll take the European one as there is a feeling from the art that it is an actual race. The Jap. one seems as though they've just arranged the art in an odd way.
They both seem dull. The purple racer just isn't aesthetically pleasing enough to be the main focus, it's too generic
The green racer in the background looks like Bulbasaur
The NA/EU one immediately tells me that this is a racing game so it gets my vote (specifically the NA one since the colours look better). The Japanese one is way too ambigous, for all I know that game is about space exploration.
@Samuel-Flutter : Both were likely scanned on different equipment (and/or lighting conditions) and culled from disparate online sources.
Personally prefer the Japanese box art, and I love the Japanese GBA boxes they look cooler than the Euro, American counterparts.
Two dull covers, but the Western version is the duller of the two. The machine on the Japanese cover clearly says "Hot Violet," so bonus points for that.
The Japanese box appears to be selling a toy, plus it doesn't translate the speedy spirit of the game. American for this.
US for me this week. Just more dynamic (although the background is a little underwhelming). Still, Japanese box art sure knows how to be stylised!
To be honest, neither one is all that great, however, I voted for the North American/European box art this week.
Japanese art is more advanced looking. Super cool.
Liked Maximum Velocity more than GP Legends (never got to play Climax). Maximum Velocity was just racing no extras, which worked great for the GBA.
I feel like the Japanese box doesn’t convey the SPEED of F-Zero.
The Japan cover shows the excitement of being parked. The NA cover isn't perfect but at least there is a sense of movement.
Japanese GBA games always looked stylish AF. I wonder why Nintendo doesn't have many unique Japanese boxarts anymore? Everywhere seems to get the same ones for the most part.
The NA/Euro box is tacky af.
Japan is doing more but it doesn't capture the essence of F-Zero for me like the western box art does.
NA/Europe is trying to be dynamic without succeeding. Looks like toys on a kids desk. Japan is incongruous enough to appeal to me.
Japan’s isn’t particularly kinetic but it is at least a striking image. The western art looks like an okay-to-decent cover of an issue of Nintendo Power.
While the western cover's composition is super generic, it at least conveys the character of the game. The Japanese cover is so boring and so static and communicates so little. It could be a boring futuristic racing game, or a boring space shooter if the cover is anything to go by. Luckily the game is probably not boring(I played GP Legend), but the cover was hugely disappointing.
I feel like the Japanese box art should have ship specs that emphasize the speed aspect. I mean it looks kinda cool, but I have to go with the US/PAL boxart this time.
Japanese box art for me. The NA/Europe one seems to have cut out the Japanese logo and left the planet visible in the background that is part of the background of the Japanese cover.
What’s this game… F-Zero?
Oh they're both hideous, but the NA less so! 😂
Would help if you not show washed out scans for some boxarts
I'm digging both, but I'll go with NA/EU for this one, I like the way the speed is portrayed in it. I do really love the details on the JP one though.
NA by far, the JPN boxart is too cluttered and it trying too hard to look appealing.
The others keep it simple and it just works.
Box Art Brawls Current Total:
Europe: 42
Japan: 48
North America: 49
Australia and New Zealand: 1
Both of them are terrible, but I voted NA.
More importantly: why have I never played this game???
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