Umbrella Chronicles - Box Art Brawl
Image: Nintendo Life

Hello chums, and welcome to another edition of Box Art Brawl!

Before we get stuck in with this week's three-way battle, let's take a look at how last week's brawl went down. It was Kirby's Adventure's time to shine, with box art from North America and Europe going up against Japan in a classic duel. Rather surprisingly, in this humble writer's opinion, the Western design won by a sizeable margin, taking in 69% of the vote over Japan. Both designs are pretty great, mind.

So this week, we're fast-forwarding to 2007 when Capcom launched Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles on the Wii. We don't know if you've seen it yet, but there are reports coming out that yet another Resident Evil film is in the works with Paul W.S. Anderson in the producer's seat (LORD HELP US). It's currently going by the name Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles and we thought "Hey, that's a game with box art!", and so here we are.

Taking inspiration from the likes of House of the Dead, The Umbrella Chronicles is an on-rails shooter that chronicles (wahey) the events of Resident Evil 0, Resident Evil, and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, with a bonus scenario showcasing series veterans Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine as they infiltrate Umbrella's final stronghold in Russia. The events of Resident Evil 2 and Code Veronica would later be retold in Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles.

That's enough background information though - let's fight!

Be sure to cast your votes in the poll below; but first, let's check out the box art designs themselves.

North America

The Umbrella Chronicles - NA
Image: Capcom

All three variants of the Umbrella Chronicles box art share two commonalities: Albert Wesker and the Umbrella logo. The latter is particularly prominent in the North American version, slapped front and centre just below the game's title. It's also somewhat fractured, broken on the right-hand side with blood covering its red and white pattern; a sign, perhaps, of Umbrella's impending demise. Wesker is also looking suitably menacing at the top of the image, with his signature cat-like eyes from Code Veronica shining out from the darkness.

Europe

The Umbrella Chronicles - EU
Image: Capcom

Once again, we've got Albert Wesker at the top of the European design. It's the exact same image that can be found on the North American variant, but much more zoomed in, and a lot darker. In fact, this whole image is very dark in comparison, which works quite well when you look at the zombies in the bottom half, but arguably diminishes the inclusion of Wesker and the Umbrella logo. Still, it's a really nice composition overall.

Japan

The Umbrella Chronicles - Japan
Image: Capcom

Hi, Wesker! Yes, the long-time antagonist once again features prominently on the Japanese variant of Umbrella Chronicles, but this time he's got his back to us, and his head is turned just enough for us to glimpse that eerie red eye. Down in the bottom half of the image, Capcom has deemed it necessary to include all the main characters from the title's various scenarios, including Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Rebecca Chambers, Billy Coen, and Carlos Oliveira. It's a great design, to be honest, but we're not keen on the red triangle warning in the top left. Get that gone.


Which region got the best Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles box art? (1,695 votes)

  1. North America
    North America27%
  2. Europe
    Europe47%
  3. Japan
    Japan26%

Thanks for voting! We'll see you next time for another round of the Box Art Brawl.