Shots fired: Zero Time Dilemma's Japanese box art massacres its North American counterpart

While talking about Zero Time Dilemma's North American box art last week, I mentioned that I wouldn’t have minded if its designers had used another of artist Rui Tomono’s fascinatingly dark illustrations rather than the clichéd group shot seen here.

I also said "I would’ve even preferred if the folks at Aksys had gone with the gun-to-the-head art that helped introduce [the game] to the masses instead."

Fast forward to this morning, and what do I see while perusing one of my favorite Nintendo-focused sites (that would be japanesenintendo.com)? The following:



That imagery is going to greet folks who buy retail copies of the Japanese 3DS version of Zero Time Dilemma this summer, of course. (You can check out the very similar Vita iteration here, if you're curious.)

I don't know about you, but I much prefer the above to the North American cover. Do you feel the same way, or do you like the Western art better?

By the way, those of you who can't wait to start playing this third (and final) entry in the Zero Escape series of games may want to watch its second Japanese trailer.

See also: all of my posts about 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors

Let's chat about Zero Time Dilemma's cover art

Once I finally got around to playing it, I fell head over heels in love with 999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors.

I can't say the same for its sequel, Virtue's Last Reward, because, well, I haven't played it yet. I do own a copy of it (the Vita version), though, and my current plan is to find a way to play it before the series’ third and final entry, Zero Time Dilemma, hits store shelves in late June.

For now, fans of the Zero Escape series can do little more than chat about Zero Time Dilemma’s first screenshots and trailer or ogle its just-released box art.

Speaking of which, here’s the cover imagery that was created for North American copies of this highly anticipated visual novel.

As I’m sure you can guess, the 3DS version’s packaging will look very similar to its Vita counterpart. (Check it out here, if you’re curious.)

Will Zero Time Dilemma’s Japanese covers sport completely different art? I obviously don’t know, but I kind of hope they will.

Although I can’t say I dislike what Aksys Games’ designers conjured up for North American copies of this game, I wouldn’t have minded if they’d used another of artist Rui Tomono’s fascinatingly dark illustrations rather than the clichéd group shot seen above.

(I’m probably in the minority here, but I would’ve even preferred if the folks at Aksys had gone with the gun-to-the-head art that helped introduce Zero Time Dilemma to the masses instead.)

What do all of you think? Do you like Zero Time Dilemma’s North American 3DS and Vita box art?

Also, how does it compare in your minds to what was concocted for 999 (for a refresher, here are that DS game’s Japanese and North American covers) and Virtue’s Last Reward (3DS version here, Vita version here)?

See also: my #ADecadeofDS post about 999

Let's Play: 'Which Box Art is Better?' (Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward edition)

A little disclaimer before I continue on with this post: I'm really happy--ecstatic, even--that someone (Aksys) decided to bring Chunsoft's Extreme Escape Adventure: Good People Die to the North American market.

That said, I'm not as happy with the name they chose for this particular localization: Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward. (Pre-order the 3DS version here and the Vita version here.) A much more appealing one, in my humble opinion, would have been something like Zero Escape: Good People Die.

Another aspect of this localization that I'm far from ecstatic about: Its cover art. Why? Well, take a look at the game's North American box art:

And then compare it to the art that graced the cover of the Japanese iteration, which was released on Feb. 16:

As I said in this previous post, I consider the latter to be one of the best examples of 3DS cover art. The former? Not even in the same league--thanks in part to its scrunching of Kinu Nishimura's beautiful illustration and thanks in part to its use of, as the guys at tinycartridge.com call it, "the TurboGrafx-16 font."

All of the above is just my opinion, of course. What's yours?

See also: Previous 'Which Box Art is Better?' posts