We’re back, back, back for another edition of Box Art Brawl!
Last week we looked at a trio of Contra: Hard Corps covers for the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive. Despite three pretty cute designs (to our eyes), the vote wasn’t even close. You nicely crowned the North American variant as the clear winner with 64% of the vote, leaving Japan and Europe to pick up the remaining 29% and 7% respectively.
This time we fly into the future as we merge two different covers for Astro Boy: Omega Factor on the GBA. This side-scrolling beat/shoot-em-up was released by SEGA (THQ in Europe) in 2003, 2004, and 2005 in Japan, North America, and Europe, respectively, to coincide with the TV anime’s premiere in the United States. It’s a treat for fans of Astro Boy and Osamu Tezuka’s wider work, with high-octane action and gorgeous pixel art.
Europe and North America have opted for the same design on this one, so we’ve got a good old-fashioned duel on our hands, with a shared design facing off against the Japanese variant. Let’s get into it…
Be sure to cast your votes in the poll below; but first, let’s look at the box designs themselves.
Europe / North America
The European and North American covers are all about the action. There’s no denying who this game is about as Astro Boy flies right at us, front and center. It’s certainly a pretty simple approach, but we respect the ‘nonsense’ of it all. You may not know what the game is about, but you sure know its star.
Japan
Now it’s something different! Using its wider regional frame design, the Japanese cover still puts Astro Boy in the foreground, but also saves some space for the villains with the Blue Knight, Atlas and Pluto standing menacingly above the title. With an animated TV series already popular in Japan, it makes sense that the design would show a little more than what’s on offer, although we can’t help but feel that this one looks a little busy compared to the simplicity of what we’ve seen before. Hmm.
Thanks for voting! See you next time for another round of Box Art Brawl.
