Five more favorites: Super Famicom box art

So, here I am again, blathering on about box art. Super Famicom box art, specifically.

Truthfully, I probably could publish five or even 10 posts about Super Famicom cover art, but I think two are plenty for now.

Anyway, as the header above states, here are five more of my favorite pieces of Super Famicom box art.

Gaia Gensouki--No joke: I'd actually like this particular piece of cover art more if the characters in the sky were removed and then replaced by the game's logo. That said, I'm pretty fond of it as is. This one was called Illusion of Gaia in North America and Illusion of Time in Australia and Europe, by the way. (Above scan was nabbed from the always fabulous gamengai.com, by the way.)



Rudra no Hihou--Talk about dramatic! I like every element of Rudra no Hihou's kaleidoscopic box art--especially the angrily orange backdrop (complete with a devilish pair of eyes). I also like the character designs, which aren't your typical JRPG fare.

Kiki Kaikai: Tukiyozoushi--This one's kind of a mess at first glance, but let things sink in a bit and you'll likely look at it as I do: as a near-masterpiece in the realm of Super Famicom box art. If only the protagonist's eyes were less freaky. Oh, well, it's still completely wonderful even with their presence.

Septentrion--The only Super Famicom game included in this post that I've yet to actually play in some form or fashion. I'm strongly considering it now, though, thanks to its striking cover art. I especially like the font the folks at developer (and publisher, in Japan) Human Entertainment used for its logo.

Super Mario World--If there's a piece of Super Famicom box art that can be called "iconic," it's the one seen above. (True story: I regularly attempted to recreate the central illustration using pencil and paper as a teen.) And what a brilliant idea to surround everything in bright orange and yellow, don't you think?

A few other contenders: Cotton 100%, Dark Half, Marvelous, Mother 2, Pop'n TwinBee, Romancing SaGa 3, Star Fox, Tales of Phantasia, Tenchi Sozouzou and Yoshi's Island

Mario doesn't call me a fag ...

New Zealand-based artist and blogger SUIKA recently showcased the piece of art below on his blog, IDC (I Don't Care).

What prompted SUIKA to produce this acrylic-on-canvas painting that combines a saucy bit of text and a blown-up sprite taken from that 16-bit classic, Super Mario World?



According to the man himself, the piece is "half a response to the question, Why do you like video games so much? Well, Mario's not gonna' complain about the state of the economy, or call me an abomination and tell me who I can't marry or criticize the way I dress. So, how could I not prefer video games to real life?"

I can't say I disagree.

To take a better look at this creation--which SUIKA calls "Super Mario Fag"--check out the artist's deviantart gallery here. (A similarly cool and uplifting piece, which includes a sprite pulled from Pokémon Silver, can be seen here.)

Another day, another Nintendo-inspired t-shirt design (or two)

There are a lot of things I'd blow my money on if I ever won the lottery. A PC Engine LT would be one such thing; a copy of All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros. would be another.

Also, I'd buy every game-inspired t-shirt that caught my eye--with t-shirts bearing the designs below (created by artist Glen Brogan) being among my first post-lottery purchases.

The top design is called "Bottled Fairy," by the way, while the bottom one is called "Great Shelled Dragon."

If you've already won the lottery and you'd like to add either or both of the above-mentioned shirts to your wardrobe, pay a visit to Brogan's Split Reason store.

Prepare to have your mind blown

Actually, the "mind blowing" the headline above alludes to is a two-part affair. Part one is the following (admittedly ancient) video:



Part two is this essay, which details how the tool-assisted Kaiso Mario World playthrough highlighted in the video above dovetails with the "Many Worlds Interpretation” of quantum physics.

(Via auntiepixelante.com)

'Foret et Fleur'

How would Super Mario World have looked if it had been made by Claude Monet? Artist Mikaël "Orioto" Aguirre believes it would have looked something like this:



For more information on Aguirre's latest piece of digital art, created to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., check out his deviantart gallery.

See also: 'I hear a harp above my head'