Welcome everyone, to another edition of ‘Box Art Brawl’!
Last week saw the classic N64 title Pilotwings 64 Fight it for the supremacy of box art. The honest results were a bit closer than we expected, but nevertheless, the Japanese vertical design took the highest share of votes with 60%. Unfortunately, North America and Europe – your design isn’t bad, but it’s not Great.
This week we are going back to the world of Capcom Mega Man with the fourth NES title: Mega Man 4. Released back in 1991, it received a strong critical reception, although many were quick to note that it had little difference from earlier entries in the series. Franchise fatigue was already starting to happen, though not before Capcom released two other sequels to the NES before eventually moving to the Super NES.
This week will be a three-way brawl – the way we like it – due to the key differences in art design between North America and Europe. But enough said, let’s get started right away!
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Be sure to cast your vote in the poll below; But first, let’s check out the box art designs.
North America
The North American design for Mega Man 4 is… exciting, to say the least. There are hints here that the art style is moving away from the admittedly hellish approach in previous titles, but there’s still something rather odd about Mega Man itself. Why are his cheeks so pink? Why does he look so… well, real? At least, realistic compared to the more stylish approach taken with other regional variations.
Europe
Interestingly, the European design for Mega Man 4 chooses the same layout as its North American counterpart, but swaps out the art style for Mega Man itself for something arguably more traditional. The background is identical, but Mega Man’s face looks less unsettling, in keeping with the existing visual style in Japanese box art design.
Japan
Speaking of which, the Japanese box art design uses an art style that is still used to depict Mega Man to this day. It also makes strong use of the landscape orientation, adding in some Robot Masters for a slightly busier composition. Mega Man herself looks pretty awesome here, too, enveloped in flames and about to exit what we’ve only assumed to be a charged shot.
Thanks for voting! We’ll see you next time in another round of Box Art Brawl.
