Poll: Box Art Brawl - Duel: Harvest Moon 64

If I lived in one of those countries and had this game as a kid, I think I'd be more nostalgic for the Japanese cover, so I picked that one

The Western cover is way too busy with all the various logos and ads hogging up so much space. And since the image itself is "zoomed" so close to the characters, it has no breathing space, just a cluttered mess. The Japanese cover looks much better, with the generous green space giving the cover a more relaxed and peaceful vibe, fitting for a simulation like this.

Obviously,the US one is nice, but I voted for the japanese for two reasons : 1/ pissed off american way to make a badass hero face while the original is full of serenity, and 2/ the US composition is too much generic. A boy running with its dog ? Could have been "countryside RPG", it reminds me Illusion of Time/Gaia with a dog instead the pig.

I don't like how the image of the NA one is cut off by the logos at the side. If not for that, I would prefer that one. The Japanese one is simply cute, I guess.

The Japanese one is adorable. I don't care for the angry face on the US cover... They American Kirby'd him

Japan’s initially repulsed me until I realized it was like clay and handicrafts, then I appreciated it. The US one is just generic.

US is adorable, JP is... something. The face is offputting for me.

Both are nice to behold but the dog on the NA box art is simply the best good boy.

NA is the clear winner here. The Japanese one just looks like a stock profile image. Though I do like the dog there.

Well... NA one looks nice. And, it's art style reminds of Yoshi's Island. JP one looks too much simple. So... NA one for me this week.

This isn't Fashion Dreamer (Switch)! I need to rant!

Also, I swear Harvest Moon 64 had a PAL release. I remember talking to a friend about Advance Wars, and he asked if he could try it out. So he borrowed Advance Wars 1, and I borrowed his copy of Harvest Moon 64 (my console was PAL, so it had to be the PAL version).

I found Harvest Moon 64 to be very boring, so gave it back, and he returned Advanc Wars 1 (I believe he bought his own copy).

To be fair, maybe I am thinking of a different farm N64 game? Or maybe my PAL N64 found a way to play the NTSC version? Or the PAL version is very rare?

Gotta be careful that Japanese box will get yah

Box Art Brawls Current Total:

Europe: 68

Japan: 68

North America: 75

Australia and New Zealand: 1

@RadioShadow
99% sure your friend got a repro cart that has the PAL lockout chip

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32858365919.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.13.5e7671c8hPpRv0&algo_pvid=fd026c29-2793-46ae-8e48-46a292c408f1&algo_exp_id=fd026c29-2793-46ae-8e48-46a292c408f1-6&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21GBP%2141.59%2141.59%21%21%2150.85%21%21%402103854617022148953071449ef856%2112000036480201041%21sea%21UK%210%21AB&curPageLogUid=yJd3TV0gJo8n

Definitely prefer the illustration on the NA cover.

They’re both a bit bad, design wise, aren’t they?

But they do both capture the whimsical spirit of the game really well! Overall I’d say NA does the best job at that.

@olliemar28 Just a heads up that all US N64 box art had that red band on the right side, often transparent. So it’s nothing out of the ordinary for the HM64 cover.

@RadioShadow Apparently it did have a EU... edit: never mind, I was mistaken.

Now this is a duel to shake the foundations of the industry! One of the most iconic games of all times, with two absolutely different, splendind covers.

The Japanese has this innocent, childish vibe, the one that would send you right back to your memories of spending that one holiday on a farm (even if you've never been on a farm).

The US is, of course, that iconinc one that everybody has. The whole map of the town, the seaside, it invites you, urges you to dip once more into the peaceful world. To watch the waves for a while, spot a funny shaped cloud, watch the pink petals fall. Pete and his dog going on another adventure in a hurry might spoil it a bit though. Why do you look so unhappy, as if you had to do another chore? Find happiness in the small things. As Snuffkin once said, "I let little things happen to me and I think they are tremendous."

I think US wins by a blade of grass, or by lack of kinda weird looking grass in the background of JP cover

(ps yes I do like Harvest Moon games)

NA and it’s not even close.

The NA one is great. The only thing from making it a 10 out of 10 is the guy is frowning/determined. But the happy doggie makes up for it.

Voted for the NA region cover.

And don't forget to bring a henway to the hoedown on the farm tonight!

NA is easily the winner for me.

Also it would be interesting if we got Harvest Moon game fully in the art style that the Japan cover has. Would be neat.

Both are terrible. Japan's cover is boring and I don't like the art style. The US one is a different, infuriating kind of terrible. The drawing itself is nice. The composition is awful with the game logo and developer logo taking all the breathing room. I have consistently pointed out that the design of US N64 boxes are among the worst. This shows why. The red logo strip is always bad, and this is one of the worst ones as it cuts off the main character, regardless of it being translucent. The stupid corner peel also interferes with the art and was always a bad idea that never should have been approved. It's so amateurish. The standard US box layout just ruins the whole thing. I voted for Japan without hesitation.

US one has more to it.
But where is the PAL one? A right, we didn't get it

I like the idea of the Japanese cover, it's just... that face does NOT work for me.

I'm more partial to the NA one, but being fair it's also the one I grew up with.

Related note I don't think anything will ever confuse me more than the western and Japanese Back to Nature covers and how for no apparent reason they flipped the art.

The American one is just a classic

Gotta go with NA for this one. Love how they show off the setting of the game with the shot of the farm and all that and honestly it just reminds me of me. Me running somewhere looking angry and my little beagle buddy snoopy running behind with a smile.

they are both soo good this time

@Daniel36 It was never originally released on the N64 in EU. Are you referring to its eventual Wii U Virtual Console release in EU?

Aww they're both cute.

The Morse code dialogue drives me nuts. I would try this game if it didn't have that. 😞

The Japan box art is gross.

The votes for this one is overwhelming. The North American variant takes the cake for good reason. The image quality is sharper and has almost all of the same features as the Japanese variant, but in a more controlled, concise structure. I voted for that variant as well.

@TheMenaceToSociety Nope. I simply mistook an ali express page selling HM64 PAL as legitimate.

My bad.

It's amusing the love of americans for angry people.

@syrupdash
This was in 2004, and I don't think N64 Repros could be bought back then. But the fact there is a repro you can buy that works on PAL N64s makes me think a PAL version did get released.