It also produced a pretty wonderful catalog of cover art--including the five showcased in this post, which I currently consider to be my favorites.
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance--Although this game didn't click with me like its PlayStation-based predecessor, the same can't be said for its box art, which is colorful, elegant and even a bit wistful. (I'd like it to be known, by the way, that this post--and this cover art, in particular--has prompted me to give this game another shot sometime soon.)
Mr. Driller A--I'm sure some of you will question the inclusion of this piece of cover art, and I completely understand that. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I should include it myself. In the end, though, I decided it deserved a spot on the list because of its bold use of color (pink for the win!) and its adorably cheerful (and kind of retro) art style.
Ōgon no Taiyō: Ushinawareshi Toki (aka Golden Sun: The Lost Age)--True story: the box art above is my favorite of the bunch. I love that it's so stark, yet also dramatic. It certainly isn't the kind of cover art the folks at Nintendo produce every day. The question is (to those of you who've played it or its predecessor): does the game itself stack up to its beautiful box art?
Tomato Adventure--Clearly I like colorful cover art, especially when it comes to handheld games. As such, it should go without saying that I'm completely in love with Tomato Adventure's packaging, which seemingly includes every hue imaginable. Oh, and it gets bonus points for sporting an awesome logo, too.
Slime Morimori Dragon Quest--This beautiful piece of box art earned a spot in this post due in large part to the smiling slime that serves as its focus. It features plenty of other appealing elements, too, though--like Don Clawleone's shadowy presence in the background. (I'm also quite fond of this game's logo, which is a lot less busy than the ones that have been used for the Dragon Quest Monsters series.)
Honorable mentions: Final Fantasy V Advance, Guru Logi Champ, Klonoa: Empire of Dreams, Zelda no Densetsu: Fushigi no Bōshi (aka The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap)
See also: five favorite pieces of European DS box art, Japanese DS box art, North American DS box art, Japanese PSP box art and Japanese Wii box art
12 comments:
Wow, there's colorful covers and there's Colorful Covers! Tomato Adventure is radiant!
I really like the wide format of Japanese GBA boxes, I guess it's not that different from Famicom but a lot of games really seem to have taken advantage of the format. On my own shelf I think the Japanese GBA box I like best is Wario Land Advance, which I have to admit is a game I love to bits anyway. I know you don't like a box with a lot of excess logos (the main logo is also great, I love the stoney lettering) but you have to give this one credit for including one in the shape of a turd. :)
http://www.emuparadise.me/GBA/boxart/0090.jpg
Ha! Yes, Michael, the Tomato Adventure one definitely is radiant :)
Also, i considered including Wario Land here, but decided against it in the end. Still, I like it a lot!
The japanese GBA boxes were great and even better than the ones for DS & 3DS.
The one that I love the most is from Densetsu no Starfy.
http://static3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090505154431/nintendo/en/images/5/56/DensetsunoStarfy.jpg
Of course Wario Land is also a great box, and golden stickers are included as far as I know (have to check my collection :-)
Gold stickers? How interesting! I may have to check it out myself sooner or later :)
Oh, yes, I considered including this one, too. It's actually my favorite of all of the Stafy/Starfy boxes. Also, I really need to buy a copy of it someday!
Well you know I love to talk about GBA box art, Bryan! Mr. Driller A is definitely one of my favorites, too. Collecting complete GBA games is definitely my favorite thing these days ;)
If you're unaware, having FFTA in the GBA slot will unlock the clan ability Libra when you start a new game in A2.
Ah, I didn't know that! Thanks for the info, Terry :)
Ah, so does this mean you're going to have new GBA games to talk about soon, Anne? I hope so!
I do indeed! There are two on their way over from Japan right now, haha
Oh hey, there ARE stickers in there, I'd completely forgotten, and mis-read the label as "Wario's Gold 'Seal' Included," as a quality indicator, not that there were "seals" inside the box. I also have no memory of actually looking at the manual, and it's not bad either. (By today's standards just about any manual is incredible!)
I wonder what else is hanging around in my Japanese GBA boxes that I haven't looked inside of in years?
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