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.
