NES / Famicom Box Art thread

[Wayler]

Oh hi! Why haven't we done this here?`

 

I think the NES/FC era for box art was a fun wild west of ideas and designs. As the graphics could not always convey the full vision of the world created to the player, a fine crafted piece of box art could really help you imagine what could have been. Many risks were taken and crazy concepts put forth. Some successful and others not so. So come, let us explore the wonderful world of box art for the Nintendo Entertainment System and its Japanese counterpart, the Family Computer. We begin with one of my favorites:

 

Solstice

This is a touched up version of the US/PAL cover by the original painter himself, Mike Winterbauer. It's a striking painting on it's own but the box design is not the greatest. You can see that the original painting was made scarce on the top and left side so that text and other things could be added on the final product. It's a shame that they did use it fully as the dithering effect made on the box just looks bad but the addition of the wonderfully crafted title helps a lot. I have to say that Shadax, our hero wizard, looks like a frail old man in the intro but man, he is ripped in this one. Probably a side effect of that powerful potion. In addition to this wonderful cover, the player also got this cool poster included in the package, with a better visualization of elements found in the game. I like the uniform blueish, ominous background in both of them.

 

 

 

Japan also received this game, but with a different look:

 

This amazing image has been credited to Naoyuki Katoh (加藤 直之), who seems to be a pretty prolific scifi artist responsible for many great game covers and other works. Here's a taste of his style: https://halcyonrealms.com/books/naoyuki-katoh-sf-illustrations-art-book-review/

 

I have to say this one works better as a whole than the US/PAL version. I love the round lens vision the painting creates and the escher-style impossible looking stairs and rooms. It perfectly encapsulates what the game has to offer and the art is used from corner to corner. The japanese manual is also a thing of beauty with many illustrations of the items and enemies in the game. Shame though that it is designed in a folded poster format.

I'm still trying to hunt down the FC version for a decent price. The game is etched into my childhood and I still have the original PAL copy from that time. The game also contains the best song ever created for the system, the intro by Tim Follin. But everyone knows that.

 

 

One last thing, this is from the PAL/US manual. This is how you invite the player in, love it. There's also a four-page(!) backstory included as well.

[Wayler]

While searching for images inserted into my previous post, I came across this shrine:

Some dude just decided to collect anything and everything related to the game: https://www.facebook.com/StaffOfDemnos/

 

I think the only thing missing are those original paintings. If I understood correctly, they were privately sold off at some point. Still, pretty impressive stuff.

 

Although I question the dedication and time that he has put on this project. It's just one game. I can't imagine being so obsessed about one single subject that you would even advertise it in your avatar and online pers.............errm.

 

 

Cool shrine!

[Tanooki]

I think it was that old NintendoAge person Bronty or one of the other couple there that went out of the way for all the original art as at least for him I know he had a ton of original works from the original makers that were paid by the companies for their boxes etc.

[Wayler]

2 hours ago, Tanooki said:

I think it was that old NintendoAge person Bronty or one of the other couple there that went out of the way for all the original art

You are probably right. One of the resources on the shrine-guy's site links to a NintendoAge thread. That is a dead link now obviously but it would have been an interesting read I'm sure. What a waste. 

[Trinity]

Someone post the Mega Man 1 box art to get it over with.

[Dire 51]

Why not take a look at something else instead?

 

Uninvited

 

First, the NES cover.

 

Well. That's certainly an... interesting representation of "Scarlett O'Hara" there. Kinda goofy-looking ghost in the background, and random boa constrictor. On top of that, it's got the whole fisheye lens view going on.

 

Now the Famicom version, Akuma no Shoutaijou.

(good quality pictures of this box are hard to find)

 

Now this is more like it. There's a sense of foreboding here. A creepy old (seemingly abandoned) mansion, with lightning flashing in the sky above... you don't know what you're going to find inside. I could see where some might find this boring in comparison to the NES box art, but I like it a lot better.

 

Also, apparently Uninvited was never released elsewhere.

 

[Tanooki]

While this isn't the actual box itself, this is the art from the box.  A personal favorite, even have a CIB spare copy of this I picked up a few years ago or so cheap just because the box was in fantastic shape and I wanted to put it in a shadowbox.

[Wayler]

@Dire 51: I feel the opposite about Uninvited. The NES cover is so much fun and just pops out. A bit goofy yes but also a little scary, like Tales from the Crypt or Ghostbusters. The bony hand reaching at the viewer really sells it. The FC cover on the other hand feels like a bland and generic haunted mansion, with dreary coloring. And the red box destroys the layout.

 

@Tanooki: A classic. I hadn't realized it but the background really seals the deal. No sky should look or be colored like that but I guess that is the supernatural element of Dracula. But the painting as a whole just works so much better with it. With a "real" sky, the result would be something like Dracula Perfect Selection, a much more diluted experience:

 

 

 

8 hours ago, Trinity said:

Someone post the Mega Man 1 box art to get it over with.

Indeed. I call dibs on that one. But we should do 1,2,3 at the same time for all regions to get a handle on the madness.

 

 

And one last thing about Solstice

20 hours ago, Wayler said:

The game is etched into my childhood and I still have the original PAL copy from that time.

I lied. I totally did not remember that we sold all our NES stuff to get a couple of SNES games. It was a huge bummer when the nostalgia bug hit me around 2005. I had to painstakingly purchase all my beloved favorites back. The copy I have now is a bit rough around the edges but at least I have it. I guess there is some trauma at play because this did not immediately come to mind. Luckily we did not do the same for SNES.

 

[Wayler]

As said, it should be done. We will go in the order of FC and then side by side US/PAL, just because. This series gives us the best and the worst for NES art, for me at least.

 

Rockman I - III

There's a uniform cartoony look to all of the Famicom covers. They are fun and colorful but the small box size of FC games really hurts the art as everything is very cramped together. Still, I'm always a fan of the boss spread this series implemented, at least in Japan.

 

 

Mega Man

 

And here it is. Hard to say anything that hasn't already been said. Only that everyone was drunk or high at Capcom when this was allowed to be released. PAL region was sober and ordered that bitchin' painting. It is quite a humbling experience looking at them side by side. And the PAL art is the only one to get the gun hand right, even the FC version depicts Mega Man with real hands. But US got royally screwed here. I like the "State-of-the-Art", meaning this is the state that our art is in.

 

 

Mega Man II

 

US: Still hungover from the last time I see. You are slowly getting there I guess. But you'd think they learned from the first one that Mega Man's weapon of choice is not the Walther PPK. But PAL, what happened? You perfected it last time. Why is Mega Man the Silver Surfer all of a sudden? The picture is also so tiny and bland with little details. But weirdly enough, there's a second box cover for Germany only and it is brilliant. I just wish they would have put a different expression for our hero. He looks to be in a slapstick comedy now.

 

Mega Man III

 

US: Congratulations, finally Mega Man looks like Mega Man, almost. It is still worst of the regions but at least not painful to look at anymore. And talking about pain, Mega Man looks almost sadistically happy delivering that shot to the crotch. I do not like the implications of that. 

 

PAL: One of my favorite artworks for the NES and the best game on the system too. They took the boss spread of the FC version but amplified it to eleven. I guess the only drawback is the unnecessary blue triangle cluttering the view (same in the english PAL version) and the unfortunate positioning of Rush and Mega Man. He looks like the others interrupted him in the middle of....an act. Oh well, there's always some kink in our armor.

 

 

As a final note, no one really cared or checked which one is the gun-hand and which one is not. Every iteration of art seems to just pick one or the other. But come to think of it, the games don't make sense either in that regard. When Mega Man is facing left, the gun is the right hand. When he is facing right, the gun is in the left hand. So the correct answer is....both hands but not at the same time? Huh, kind of a revelation for me but I'm sure this is old news to people.

*****

 

 

Lastly a question for the US players. Here are the back covers for 1 and 2. What is this Captain Commando nonsense and why should I care about that when buying a Mega Man game?

The sales speech for the first game is just exquisite. Somehow every paragraph tells the same thing with ever increasing ludicrosity. WOW! indeed.

[Tanooki]

@Wayler Agreed totally with Dracula/Castlevania completely that did flatten it out in a cheap shadowy way losing those tones that made it pop.

Mega Man outside of maybe the last couple are a tragedy of utterly terrible mistake ridden art of the era, the bad idea tropes of crap people think of with 80s game box art which is a crime because the Rockman art isn't even quite anime so that's not even a concern, but it looks great, catches your eye, and feels fun while slightly menacing with all the baddies around him.  It surprises me at times I've yet in some lot not come across something Rockman for my FC collection, but I just see no reason to seek it out when I've had all 6 US copies for decades now.  Maybe I'll grab Rockman 2 for fun sometime, doesn't realy have any story elements to it that would go un-read or menus to suffer though buying perks with chips n stuff too.

 

Back on Castlevania though, I did eventually grab both the Dracula Best CD sets one of them has the GB stuff buried(art wise) behind the 4th games art, but the one shared here below has the main art sample they chose from the FC/NES titles and even here muted as it is in the smaller rectangle looks more sharp than that basically colorless original you shared.

 

Edited June 7 by Tanooki

[Dire 51]

8 hours ago, Wayler said:

I feel the opposite about Uninvited. The NES cover is so much fun and just pops out. A bit goofy yes but also a little scary, like Tales from the Crypt or Ghostbusters. The bony hand reaching at the viewer really sells it. The FC cover on the other hand feels like a bland and generic haunted mansion, with dreary coloring. And the red box destroys the layout.

I'll agree with you on the red box, but I just like the mysterious aspect of the haunted mansion more. I never cared for the NES cover from the first time I saw it. It's kind of like how I prefer the Japanese Splatterhouse Part 2 cover over the US/EU cover.

 

Regarding that whole Captain Commando thing, I just looked up some of the NES manuals from that era, and it seems to me like he was an early attempt at creating some kind of brand mascot for Capcom in the US. They apparently valued him so highly that they put his goofy original picture front and center on the covers of the manuals for Ghosts 'n Goblins, 1942 and Commando. I have some vague memory of there being a contest of some kind involving him, but I've found nothing to support that memory.

Here's some more info on him: https://capcom.fandom.com/wiki/Captain_Commando#Development

[Tanooki]

This thread despite them being cart art, I'm very tempted to put my full spread of licensed(and a few boots) I own of Famicom games in here as a discussion point.  I have an image from a month or so ago, but now it's out of date as I have a few more FC carts.

 

I will share those few extra as I think the art is worthy more or less.  They all have some intent with them and seem to fairly well fit.

The top ones are Joy Mech Fight and Juuouki(altered beast) and the other two are obvious.

 

Each has its own direction.  Nintendo went minimalist showing the starter bot you get, but little else, it it really points to what to expect in a fighter.  The other there the sega port that is shockingly very good and is a longer game wiht new stages even teases this with the simple cartoony art.  Many beast forms are put in clear view on tha tone with some nice but somewhat cartoony detail that kind of works.  You can see there where they've added content like that shark monster on the right, and it has its own new stage to see inside too.

 

The lower part are two interesting takes as well.  The left using the classic in game graphics approach with some nice highlights around which is a solid move with some nicely done added accents.  Then you have the US tv show game with some hand done art there, probably from some US piece of media from print magazines or whatever, it feels borrowed (and no it's better, hard, but not the acclaim trash game we got) and still uses the old airwolf print from the TV series/ad prints too from like comics given the red/blue usage.

[Wayler]

1 hour ago, Tanooki said:

 

If you hadn't clarified, I would have guessed the top right one to be the japanese release of Cheetahmen. 

Edited June 7 by Wayler

[Tanooki]

10 hours ago, Wayler said:

If you hadn't clarified, I would have guessed the top right one to be the japanese release of Cheetahmen. 

Hah, sad thing is, some Sega trolls would probably argue for that being what it should be because that would be better.   Funny enough though the game is quite good.

[Wayler]

I guess we should get all the classics out of the way first. It's-a me Mario!

 

Super Mario Bros.

The FC version is a fun and iconic image promising a weird world of excitement and I'm glad we got that in the PAL regions. I know the US was going for an unified look with their *insert genre* series of games, but never ever put game graphics on your box. It makes for a bland and uninspired product, be it 1st gen or now gen. You need to create something that grabs the attention and makes the imagination run wild. Imo of course. Another mark of a company still searching themselves is the box size, which also varies from region to region, or even within region. I never understood the point of releasing games with both smaller and bigger boxes. Pick one!

 

 

Super Mario Bros. 2

I think everyone knows the convoluted origins of SMB2 here in the west but while we got only one, Japan received a whopping 3 different versions of the "same" game. SMB2 also begins the trend of "let's just put Mario on the cover and it will sell millions" ho-hum on the art department. I like how the 1992 release of SMB USA is an asset rip version of the original Doki Doki Panic cover for the Disk System, just like the game itself. Another superior win for Japan.

 

 

Super Mario Bros. 3

The art for the FC version is yet again superior but I don't like that box design. The drab colored and checkered frame is unnecessary. They just should have used the whole image from corner to corner or picked a better frame. I feel it is also the worst of the covers as a whole as the image itself has too much dead spots and emptiness that could have been filled with more fun stuff. Given how the last game was handled, it's no surprise how the cover turned out here. The yellow background is certainly striking and will surely grab your attention from afar. And Mario himself is showing what is different this time around. Design-wise it is the best that we got.

 

But it could have been different. I found this blurry image for a prototype box displaying Mario flying high as a kite, supposedly shown at world of Nintendo 1990.

That would have been something.

[Tanooki]

I remembered this one was still on my computer, Super Mario USA and Space Invaders showed up today though in a little package I had out.  Super Mario USA and Space Invaders have the art you see online from the box or arcade game in the others case artfully done.  Super Mario USA is up there in the Wayler post above, it's offset on the cart to the right 45% of the sticker.

 

Now what you see below pops better when blown up, but a big pile of these the sticker is the box art or box art is in a box to one side.

 

We really did screwed on the SMB3 art, that iconic piece they used in Japan should have been global.

[Trinity]

1 hour ago, Tanooki said:

I remembered this one was still on my computer, Super Mario USA and Space Invaders showed up today though in a little package I had out.  Super Mario USA and Space Invaders have the art you see online from the box or arcade game in the others case artfully done.  Super Mario USA is up there in the Wayler post above, it's offset on the cart to the right 45% of the sticker.

 

Now what you see below pops better when blown up, but a big pile of these the sticker is the box art or box art is in a box to one side.

 

We really did screwed on the SMB3 art, that iconic piece they used in Japan should have been global.

Awesome!

 

 I need to just do it and order up Galaxian and Space Invaders. Been hedging for years.

[Wayler]

That's a nice gaggle of carts @Tanooki. Lots of familiar stuff and some not so. I picked my 3 favorites from that lot.

 

Gradius II

I have never been a fan of the Gradius series as games but I do admire their striking imagery. The ship design for Vic Viper especially is nice and sleek, like a mix of fighter jet and lamborghini, something that is built for speed and power. And every time you introduce great balls of fire to the picture, my like-meter goes up. 

 

Goonies

With a licensed product, it would be easy to go the safe route by using material already at hand but it's nice when companies go out of their way to create new art regardless. Perhaps a bit too sepia-toned that it drowns out all the nice little details. But I like the decision to go without a front title (there's one on the top label). Let the art speak for itself. 

 

SMB 3

This is what I was alluding to in my whining about the box. No borders here and the image is now cropped perfectly. I like the zig-zag pattern that now breaks the picture. Clearly a nice little nod to the level ending graphics in the game. 

 

But what is that purple cart in your collection that uses SMB3 art but with a distinct lack of Mario? 

[Tanooki]

@Wayler Well you have good taste.  Damn shame we got crapped out of Goonies for the damn near broken navigation of the sequel, I owned that in the day and it has aged so rotten, even with the old Original Nintendo Player's guide I have no interest in owning or playing it again, but the original has a nice balance that isn't a confusing hot mess.

The purple cart, that's easy.  Outside of Splatterhouse Wanpaku Graffiti in the bottom corner, that's every single bootleg and aftermarket I have.  Hungry Ghost and Mr Lee are done by fcgamer, they're modern titles and hungry ghost is a pretty solid release and good for a run now and again too.  That green one is SMB3 (J version) but it's done by a well loved era specific company called NTDEC.  They did the highest quality clone stuff, the inside of that cart has 5 big chips, 2 of them are utterly massive vertical across the board to help in their own reverse engineering way clone the MMC3 chip to run that beast on a rock solid board/chip from the era.  NTDEC second to honeybee made the best FC-NES adapter devices too.  The real obscenely rare period title though, that's the Sachen sketchy as all get out Rocman X (to skirt lawsuits out of the china-sphere it's called Thunderblastman.)  The fact I scored that int he US, sealed(I opened it to play) and for under $20 was absurd.

 

If any of it is confusing just ask and i'll point it out, some are not obvious like that Mario/Imagin 'Whirlwind Manu' cart, they did that without naming things annoyingly, but it's NAMCOTs Quest of Ki (sequel/prequel?) to Tower of Druaga.  Another a few above it is also fairly rare, that's Queen Bee V, better known otherwise as Insector X, Nitra hacked it with a new name/title, a few other minor odds and ends.

 

THe Sim City cart I had a member of VGS make me a 1:1 of that, it uses the MMC5 based first party Nintendo mahjong cart to run it since it had the right CHR/PRG space and save chip type/space too to run it, but it is their prototype and it's fantastic.

 

I can explain any of the legal, gray or not stuff there if you or anyone is curious, some are some real precursor gems that slipped through the cracks like Space Police Galivan for one (it's a metroid-vania done well.)

[CapitanClassic]

5 hours ago, Wayler said:

Goonies

With a licensed product, it would be easy to go the safe route by using material already at hand but it's nice when companies go out of their way to create new art regardless

Is putting a sepia filter over the movie poster "new" art though?

 

 

[Wayler]

49 minutes ago, CapitanClassic said:

Is putting a sepia filter over the movie poster "new" art though?

Good catch. That was totally just an assumption on my part that I didn't check. This just doesn't have the air of an official movie poster but looks like it is. Amazing in it's full glory.

[Wayler]

Time for a battle of continents! The belief in your product is strong when you have to change the art AND the name for a different region.

 

Final Mission - FC

In an interesting choice, the Japanese box has two sides that both could be considered as the front cover. The other one is a mishmash of elements and styles that just does not work and the yellow border just accentuates the mess further. I do like the design of that monster though, which seems to be a stylized version of the game's last boss. The other half is more more to my liking with great character art and quite a clever mix of screenshots embedded in a technical drawing. 

 

 

S.C.A.T. - Special Cybernetic Attack Team - US

So naturally all that effort goes (literally) to the shitter as the game arrives stateside. I know we had Scatman John and his skipidi-weebabba and the world was much more innocent but I don't think that name choice could fly today. And speaking of flying, looks like they hired Charles Bronson to do aerial acrobatics in this one. It's a nice cover with lots of action, but that name...oof that name.

 

 

Action in New York - PAL

Europe looked at the US version and wisely changed everything it. But for the better? Not really. I guess if you squint, you could image the first level happening in ruined New York. But after that, the game moves away from anything grounded in reality and becomes a straight scifi shooter. So why would you name it like that? Some sort of attempt to cash in on John Carpenter's Escape from New York? The cover itself is nothing special. Just a tried and true depiction of hero vs foe headshot with some added bits sprinkled in.

 

I think this example goes to show how nothing was set in stone back then. You could have tons of variation outside, even though the actual product aka the game stayed pretty much the same. As for the game itself, the player sprites are dudes but it's not a run&gun affair but rather a jetpack floating space shooter. Kind of a weird way to go about it but I guess they wanted more character to their sprites and not just a generic spacecraft. The effect feels cheap though as there is no movement to our heroes, they just float around the screen. But from what I read, it's a solid game if you are into this genre.

 

Edited June 12 by Wayler

[Tanooki]

Oof that's rough.  I don't mind the yellow border on the FC release, it pops a bit too much but the art on either side are better thought out and well done, especially against the west.  The US basically has the title use another four letter word for a four letter word that accurately describes the box art with mullet there clearly smelling something foul front n center trying to pinch a loaf while badly firing his pew pew laser.   And well the other...traditional nonsense god awful euro-art that makes no sense at all done by someone with half the skill required to do much of any of that art nicely, and you're likely right the title is trying to milk some money off a popular movie.

[CapitanClassic]

4 hours ago, Wayler said:

As for the game itself, the player sprites are dudes but it's not a run&gun affair but rather a jetpack floating space shooter. Kind of a weird way to go about it but I guess they wanted more character to their sprites and not just a generic spacecraft.

It is a great game. It probably is Natsume (Final Mission release date, June 22 1990) trying to cash in on Capcom's Forgotten Worlds (May 13, 1988)

 

[Wayler]

3 hours ago, CapitanClassic said:

Natsume (Final Mission release date, June 22 1990) trying to cash in on Capcom's Forgotten Worlds (May 13, 1988)

Yes, FW was mentioned in places regarding this game and it does look like a pretty blatant "homage" by Natsume. Another thing they borrowed are the main heroes, Arnold and Sigourney:

But for Europe they are Silver Man and Sparks (sigh....). How nice of you Infogrames to ruin a fun nod/joke, I guess we didn't need that here.