This game's title is a mouthful, but I want it anyway (or, PoPoLoCrois Bokujou Monogatari is heading to North America later this year as Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale)

First, for those of you who don't know your PoPoLoCrois Bokujou Monogatari from your Ore no Shikabane wo Koete Yuke, the former is a 3DS title that curiously combines elements of two different game series, PoPoLoCrois Monogatari and Bokujou Monogatari.

I say "curiously" here because Bokujou Monogatari is what the ages-old Harvest Moon (now Story of Seasons) series of farming simulators is called in Japan, while PoPoLoCrois Monogatari is a rather well-loved series of role-playing games that previously were released for the original PlayStation, the PS2 and the PSP.

In other words, PoPoLoCrois Bokujou Monogatari--or Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale, as it will be known in North America--is going to be a 3DS cart that allows folks to do all of the things that traditionally go hand in hand with playing a Japanese RPG (traversing a sprawling overworld, challenging a variety of baddies to turn-based tussles) while also giving them an opportunity to lovingly tend to a farm in their spare time. (To get a glimpse of all of the above in action, check out this Japanese trailer.)



Anyway, I've had my eye on this sucker, which is being made by Marvelous and will be published in North America via Xseed, since it was first announced some time ago. I've hemmed and hawed in regards to pre-ordering it, though, due to the fact that I assumed the text in it would be too much for me at this point in time. (Plus, it'll hit store shelves in Japan on June 18, and the last thing I need right now is for another game to arrive on my doorstep that I won't be able to play for a month or more.)

So, the revelation that it's being localized as Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale--officially, it's Return to PopoloCrois: A STORY OF SEASONS Fairytale, but I refuse to support Xseed's all-caps abuse--but won't actually released until sometime this winter has me feeling pretty stoked.

Are any of you also looking forward to getting your hands on this 3DS game? If so, feel free to share the love in the comments section below.

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.