I really like these recent examples of Japanese 3DS box art

I don't think there's ever been a time in my life when I wasn't interested in game box art.

OK, so I obviously wasn't all that into it before I started playing games (all the way back in the mid-1980s), but it didn't take long for that interest to set in once the introductions were out of the way.

In fact, I remember being more than a bit intrigued--some would say obsessed--with a good number of NES box covers, including Castlevania, Crystalis, Dragon Warrior, The Legend of Zelda, Little Nemo and Super Mario Bros. 3.

Fast forward to the present, and there's no question that I've become a full-on "box art nut." Sure, most of the stuff that's produced today can't hold a candle to the wonderful cover illustrations that were conjured up during my teen years, but that doesn't mean none of it is worth ogling.

Take the following five, recent-ish examples of Japanese 3DS box art. I'm guessing some of you will take issue with at least a few of them, but I myself find all of them pretty appealing.

The cover art above was made for an RPG I can only imagine is aimed at the Pokemon (or maybe I should say Yokai Watch) set, called Minarai Majo to MokoMoko Friends.

Honestly, I consider the overall image to be a snooze, but I think the assertive use of pastels, the whimsical logo and the surprisingly adroit character designs make up for it.

Next up, we have New Atelier Rorona, above. Yes, it's true that almost any piece of box art that includes a lot of pink is going to catch my eye, but that's not why I'm including it here. No, I'm including it here because I'm fond of the image that appears in front of all of that pink, too.

I'd definitely agree with anyone who chose to describe this game's logo as being a few steps past "overboard," but I guess it could be worse.

By the way, I'm genuinely interested in this game's content, too--to the point that I really hope Koei Tecmo announces its North American release soon. And if they don't? I may have to consider picking up the Japanese version.

I had a really hard time deciding if I should include this iteration of Fire Emblem If's cover art here or the other one, which is darker and features a lot of purple.

Both are marvelous, if you ask me, but for whatever reason the one above is doing more for me then the other at the moment.

Despite the fact that I made room for this game's box art in this post, I really debated with myself as to whether or not it belonged.

On the one hand, I like how aggressively colorful it is, but on the other, I consider it to be more than a bit cliche in terms of its design. (How many Japanese games sport cover illustrations that are little more than a messy collage of all, or at least most, of their characters? Far too many, in my opinion.)

To wash the above out of our mouths, let's take in the subtle beauty of PoPoLoCrois Bokujou Monogatari's box art. 

Strangely, the only thing I don't love about it is the pairing that serves as its centerpiece. Aside from that, though, I like the use of perspective, the classy logo and the almost delicate shading and use of color. 

This is another Japanese 3DS title that I hope makes its way across the pond, by the way. Come on, Xseed, make it so I don't have to import this sucker as well as New Atelier Rorona (and Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus and probably a handful of others). 

What do all of you think of the pieces of box art showcased in this post? Also, if you like any recent-ish examples of Japanese 3DS cover imagery that aren't included here, please let me know about them in the comments section below.

A few thoughts on this morning's Japanese and North American Nintendo Direct broadcasts

Let's get this out of the way right at the beginning: Nintendo revealed during this morning's Nintendo Direct broadcast (watch it here) that it's finally bringing the New 3DS to North America on Feb. 13.

Unfortunately, it appears the company's only giving us the XL version of this stopgap system, as the smaller New 3DS--the one that can be personalized with all sorts of fun and colorful "cover plates"--was completely ignored.

I'm hopeful we'll get the non-XL New 3DS eventually, but I'm not sure I care one way or the other at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to own one of the smaller New 3DSes some day, but I'm plenty happy with my pink-and-white XL and I'm not in any particular hurry to replace it (or my red OG 3DS)--especially since I have yet to buy a Vita.



Anyway, four New 3DS XLs will hit North American store shelves on Feb. 13: a black one, a red one and two special editions (one of which is gold and features a Majora's Mask design and the other of which is silver and features a Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate design).

Oh, and speaking of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, both of those 3DS games will launch alongside the New 3DS XL in North America. Sounds good to me.

A few other 3DS games were revealed during this morning's North American Nintendo Direct, namely the New 3DS port of Xenoblade Chronicles (due out in this region in April), Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition (coming in May) and a new entry in the Fire Emblem series (see screenshot below) that's being called Fire Emblem If in Japan and supposedly will see the light of day sometime between now and the end of 2015.



I'll be picking up the latter two titles, no question, although I'll very likely pass on Xenoblade Chronicles 3D even if I change my mind and pick up a New 3DS XL at some point down the road. (I liked what I played of the Wii version of Xenoblade Chronicles a year or two ago, but I don't have much interest in revisiting the experience.)

The Japanese Nintendo Direct (watch it here) was far more thrilling for me thanks to a single announcement--that being that a new Rhythm Tengoku game will be released for the 3DS this year.

As far as I can tell, it doesn't yet have an official name or a solid release date. What is known is that it will feature more than 100 mini-games, with around 70 of them being taken from earlier Rhythm Tengoku titles and 30 of them being new (including the one seen below).



I'll be pre-ordering this sucker as soon as amiami.com allows me to do so, of course.

Another interesting 3DS-related announcement made during the Japanese Nintendo Direct revolved around the Girls Mode series, known as Style Savvy in North America. Specifically, the 3DS' home region will be getting Girls Mode 3 on April 16.

It's been a while since I played my copy of Style Savvy: Trendsetters (the North American version of the second Girls Mode), so I can't really say what's new about this entry, but it looks interesting all the same, so fingers crossed that it somehow makes its way to our shores in the coming months.

Other than the above, I continue to be impressed by a trio of upcoming Wii U games--Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Splatoon and Xenoblade Chronicles X--that were shown as part of the North American Nintendo Direct.

All three look absolutely marvelous, although I have no idea when I'll actually get to experience any of them myself, as my home remains a Wii U-free environment. Who knows, maybe that finally will change later this year.

Now that I've had my say, what did all of you think about this morning's broadcasts? Did they satisfy you? Anger you? Or maybe they made you feel some other emotion entirely?