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#781
07-10-2018, 01:55 PM
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#782
07-11-2018, 03:10 PM
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LET'S LOOK AT THE OTHER BOXES YEAH I GOT SPEED BIG STUPID SPEED DUMB FUCKING SPEED #20 - SONIC & KNUCKLES PART TWO S3&K - PC - NORTH AMERICA  Well hey, there's Sonic, and there's Knuckles! And this box collects them together in one place! Simple, and descriptive! RANKING: C- S3&K - PC - PAL REGIONS  I already talked about how the logo is good! I'M NOT GONNA TALK ABOUT HOW THE LOGO IS GOOD AGAIN! RANKING: SONIC SCREENSAVER! S3&K - PC - UNITED KINGDOM  Is there anything better in life than limited-run budget re-printings of PC games by small publishing houses that always make it a point to take up half the box's cover with their name? No. No there is not. RANKING: XPLOSIV! S3&K - PC - UNITED KINGDOM AGAIN!  TURNS OUT YOU CAN IMPROVE ON PERFECTION! RANKING: XPLOSIV!!! S3&K - PC - JAPAN  I'm still not a huge fan of the WHITE BACKGROUND + RANDOM SHAPES design of the Japan Classic Sonic Boxes, but I kinda like this one's relatively restrained take on the concept. I'm a little surprised that this design got used for the PC collection, as it would have worked just fine for the Japanese Mega Drive release. Go figure. RANKING: B- S3&K - PC FRONT  BACK  Upon it's release, The Sonic & Garfield Pack was a universally beloved masterpiece, with critics heaping praise upon both of its stars. It wasn't until later that the public learned of the project's deeply troubled production. Irreconcilable creative differences between the two lead to near-daily arguments, and at least one on-set fistfight. When production finally wrapped, both had vowed to never work with eachother again. Sonic laid out his side of dispute in an incendiary Rolling Stone interview. Quote:
S3&K - PC... AGAIN  Thus the two stars went their separate ways. Sonic immediately made good on his promise to collaborate more with himself, resulting his first project as his own co-star: the Twin 2 Pack. Its relative success encouraged Sonic keep pulling that thread, resulting in one of the oddest phases of his career. As for Garfield, he was never seen on a team again. Over the next few months the legendary Fat Cat withdrew completely from the public eye. The months of absence turned into years, causing many to speculate that Garfield had died years ago, or worse, had never existed at all. RANKING:  S3&K - PC AGAIN AGAIN  Emboldened by the success of his first self-collaboration, Sonic's desire to surround himself with himself with went from a worrying trend to a dangerous fixation. Two Sonics was one thing, but four? How many Sonics would Sonic need to Sonic around with before he would be satisfied?! RANKING: SONIC PLEASE S3&K - PC AGAIN AGAIN AGAIN  It wasn't until the disastrous SEGA PC MEGAPACK when Sonic finally admitted he has a problem. "Yeah, the whole teaming up with a bunch of alternate versions of myself thing just got completely out of hand near the end" he related in a later interview with Entertainment Tonight. "I guess I'd be willing to come back to it eventually, but I'd have to keep it small, like just me and one other me from way back. And maybe only do it for big anniversaries". RANKING: SEGA BASS FISHING. S3&K - PLUG & PLAY CONSOLES - EUROPE  Lol look at these fuckin things. RANKING: F- S3&K - GAMECUBE  Little bit on the generic side. RANKING: C S3&K - PS2  Okay, better, but can we take it even further? RANKING: B S3&K - XBOX  I'm starting to really feel it now! We're almost there!! RANKING: A- S3&K - PS2 AGAIN  YES! PERFECT! FUCKING PERFECT! RANKING: A+++ S3&K - PS3 - NORTH AMERICA  So way back in part one, I mentioned that Sonic was subtly redesigned for western releases. This is what I'm talking about. instead of a whole bunch of quills all over his back, Sonic's got this Mowhawk thing going on. It's one of those dumb details that you don't really notice unless you're looking for it. It's on all the Genesis-era boxes, then disappears entirely for the rest of the franchise's history, save this one exception which is a deliberate throwback. Oh also the North American 360 Cover is the exact same whatever. RANKING: THROWBACK THURSDAY! S3&K - XBOX 360 - PAL REGIONS  The PAL region version of the game was renamed Ultimate MEGA DRIVE collection, and Sonic was cruelly robbed of his top billing! Unacceptable! RANKING: F--------- S3&K - DS - NORTH AMERICA  Sonic is good. Green hill is all pixely and blocky like I like! No complaints here! RANKING: B S3&K - DS - EUROPE  WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU ASSHOLES DO WITH MY PIXELY AND BLOCKY GREEN HILL?!?!?!?!?! RANKING: F------- Last edited by BEAT; 08-17-2018 at 07:06 PM. Reason: CLEANING UP TYPOS AND RE-WRITING BAD SENTENCES LKE A BOSS.
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#783
07-12-2018, 08:47 AM
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#784
07-12-2018, 09:20 AM
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TRUEFAX: I'M DISGUSTINGLY PROUD OF THE TALE OF HOLYWOOD BICKERING I SNUCK IN THERE.
I'M A HELPER!
Last edited by BEAT; 07-12-2018 at 09:21 AM. Reason: THERE IS SOMETHING INNATELY HILARIOUS TO ME ABOUT THE IDEA OF SONIC AND GARFIELD HAVING CO-STARRING ROLES IN A BIG MOVIE, TOTALLY HATING EACHOTHER IN IT, AND THEN BOTH TANKING THEIR CAREERS.
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#785
07-12-2018, 06:16 PM
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  #19 Final Fantasy VI (SNES, JP, 1994, Square) Created by Yoshitaka Amano Votes: 3 for 75 points Highest: Kirin (#4) A different Final Fantasy approaches! The series took a swing further into steampunk and science fiction than ever before with VI, and the Japanese box captures the new thematic elements beautifully. Terra, the first woman to lead the franchise, looms over a cityscape in her Magitek Armor, creating a splendid sense of intrigue for her narrative. I quite like it, as did our voters. This was Yoshitaka Amano's last major involvement handling character designs and illustrations for the series. And what a way to hand off the reins; this is by far some of his greatest work in my opinion. Here's a non-logo version: 
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#788
07-12-2018, 08:45 PM
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Yeah, this is (obviously) one of my faves, and yeah it’s partly nostalgia, FFVI being one of my all time favorite games, but also an aesthetic high point, with Amano stretching his steampunk muscles and designing a larger cast of characters than ever before. The cover is just super evocative and promises a FF with a lot of new excitement.
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#789
07-13-2018, 01:16 AM
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#790
07-13-2018, 07:31 AM
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I don't dislike it but I find myself wishing the composition for FFVI's cover was more in line with Amano's previous three FF covers--the up-close portrayed drama with stronger linework. It's still a good representative example of Square box art on the system, though.
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#791
07-15-2018, 06:17 PM
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  #18 The Legend of Zelda (NES, NA, 1987, Nintendo) Created by Timothy Girvin Votes: 3 for 77 points Highest: Torzelbaum (#5) The originator of the Legend of Zelda franchise marks the 3rd entry of the series on our list so far. And it's a very iconic example of early box art, with a bold gold aesthetic, the hole in the box to highlight the gold cartridge within, and a banged-up shield that emphasizes key elements of the game. It's very classy stuff. Girvin is an American-based brand designer who was commissioned to do something unique for Zelda's debut. He decided to reject a character based illustration to focus on the shield, font and, of course, that shiny cart within. This would not be the only time Girvin's company would work with Nintendo; turns out the firm also handled a lot of the packaging for the Game Boy, as seen here.
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#792
07-15-2018, 08:09 PM
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That shield might be banged up but it looks to be in a lot better shape than the weapons from the Final Fantasy 1 cover.
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#793
07-15-2018, 08:23 PM
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This art is faulty! It has a hole in it.
Also isn't it supposed to show the fourth symbol on the cart label, not the gold back? That's how I remember mine, even a little piece of styrofoam in there to raise it up so that works.
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#794
07-15-2018, 08:31 PM
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Sometimes a piece of art is defined by what it lacks instead of what it has.
The fourth symbol on the cart label is just a duplicate of the heart. Also, maybe yours is different but I think the cover normally shows the ridged vertical section of the cart (the section with the recessed part that you pinch to pull the cart out of the NES).
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#797
07-16-2018, 08:30 AM
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LET'S LOOK AT THE OTHER BOXES FOR FINAL FANTASY III #19 - FINAL FANTASY VI SUPER NINTENDO - NORTH AMERICA  I've never actually looked at this box before now, so I never realized that teddy bear thing HAS A KNIFE HOLY SHIT GET IN THE CAR. RANKING:  PLAYSTATION - NORTH AMERICA  Terra got top billing over the guys from Final Fantasy 5. On one hand, this was FF5's first US release and nobody knew who any of those dorks were. On the OTHER hand, this release was done back when we were all still calling it Final Fantasy 3, and nobody but the nerdiest of nerds was capable of recognizing the lady lounging on the robot ostrich thing as the lady with the green hair from their Super Nintendo. Hey, I bet you can't guess what I think of this art based on all the other posts I've made about how much I hate portraits copy-pasted on top of faded backdrops! What's that? You think I think it sucks? Lucky guess. RANKING: IT SUCKS. PLAYSTATION - EUROPE  To square's credit, the PAL release of Fantasy Anthology has a significantly nicer cover. I've never been a fan of the series traditional artwork that makes all it's character look like a bunch of emaciated ghosts, but the visual of them all hanging out on the front of a big boat is okay. RANKING: B- PLAYSTATION - PAL REGIONS  SQUARE EXECUTIVE 1: I just realized something! We never released Final Fantasy 6 on the SNES in any of the Pal Regions. SQUARE EXECUTIVE 2: Oh no! SE1: We should fix that, by selling it to them on the Playstation! SE2: As a part of FF anthology, right? SE1: No! All by itself! SE2: ... SE1: At full price! SE2: Uh. SE1: And we should make the box a Completely blank white mass, with nothing but the name in the middle of it! With like just a weird outline of a robot bird mech thing! SE2: But. SE1: And we'll release it in 2002! THREE FULL YEARS AFTER THE REST OF THE WORLD CAN PLAY IT ON THEIR PLAYSTATION! SE2: Oh my god... THAT'S THE MOST GENIUS IDEA I'VE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE! SE1: HOLY SHIT I KNOW RIGHT?! And then they did all of those things. RANKING: F----- PLAYSTATION - JAPAN  So they took not one, not two, but three of the most beloved Super Nintendo RPGs of all time, And they sold them in that. Somebody has got to be fucking kidding me here. RANKING: F GAME BOY ADVANCE  Do I really gotta tell you how much I dislike these bland-ass colorless boxes again? I mean, I'll do it. I'll absolutely do it again. RANKING: BUT LIKE, DO I REALLY HAVE TO? GAME BOY ADVANCE - JAPAN  I do, don't I? Fine. *Ahem* I don't much care for the all-white Final Fantasy boxes. They are bland and boring. The only reason they stand out is for how appallingly lazy they are. The monochrome blobs they stick between the two words are indistinguishable from each-other at a glance. The addition of a pencil sketch of an anime girl in the background does not fix any of these issues, it exacerbates them. These boxes make me want to play these games less. RANKING: F- OFFICIAL SOUNDTRACK  WU TANG CLAN AIN'T NUTHIN TA FUCK WITH WU TANG CLAN AIN'T NUTHIN TA FUCK WITH WU TANG CLAN AIN'T NUTHIN TA FUCK WITH WU TANG CLAN AIN'T NUTHIN TA FUCK WITH RANKING: BRING DA RUCKUS Last edited by BEAT; 07-28-2018 at 08:32 PM.
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#798
07-16-2018, 08:58 AM
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being the American that I am, I don't really know the FF6 box art that well. Really amazing work.
Having said that, I enjoy the FF3US box now that i'm looking at it more closely thanks to BEAT pointing out the Knife. I didn't vote for it, but I like the US box too. I didn't vote for LoZ either, but that gold cart fixated me as a kid.
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#799
07-16-2018, 11:24 AM
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LET'S LOOK AT THE OTHER BOXES TRIANGLE BOI WHO(M) DOES SORDS #18 - THE LEGEND OF ZELDA FAMICOM DISK SYSTEM - JAPAN  The thing that immediately catches my eye on this box is the Sword at the bottom of the Logo. It's some kinda weird Rapier deal, totally unlike the ones actually seen in any Zelda game. So that's a thing. RANKING: B- FAMICOM - JAPAN  The 1 on the box makes me think that this game's release as a Famicom cartridge release was late enough that they needed a way to let you know that you weren't buying ZELDA II, the adventure of Link. Neato. RANKING: B GAME BOY ADVANCE - NORTH AMERICA  Ah, so they made the gold part black, and the silver part gold! Shrewd, Nintendo! Very shrewd! RANKING: SHREWD GAME BOY ADVANCE - EUROPE  WHERE'S THE GIANT CURVED GAME BOY ADVANCE LOGO SIDE THINGY?! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHAT SYSTEM I'M BUYING THIS GAME FOR?!?! RANKING: HOW?! GAME BOY ADVANCE - JAPAN 
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RANKING: A+ GAME BOY COLOR  Surprise! There is no Game Boy Color Version of the first Legend of Zelda! Only a persistent rumor that the Oracle Games were originally meant to be a remake of the original Legend of Zelda! YOU HAVE FALLEN FOR MY CUNNING DECEPTION AHAHAHAHAHA! RANKING: TREMBLE BEFORE MY CUNNING TRICKERY! GAMECUBE  So you might already know that Animal Crossing contains a complete Rom of the Legend of Zelda, which is completely inaccessable in-game without a cheating device. What you might NOT know is that the NES piece of furniture for your Animals' little house is actually a fully functional emulator, that actually scans your gamecube Memory Card for ROMs to play! ROMs that would logically never be there of course, but still! RANKING: A WEIRD HACKER'S DREAM COME TRUE. Last edited by BEAT; 07-28-2018 at 08:36 PM.
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#800
07-16-2018, 02:13 PM
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I have no nostalgia for the first Zelda and that probably affects my appreciation of its cover. If anything, I associate its simplicity and generic look with how rudimentary and obsolete its graphics looked to me coming to the game like a decade late. The Famicom covers aren't amazing or anything, but they're a lot more functional with regards to giving the prospective player an idea of what they're getting into or for interpreting the simple 8-bit sprites/environment. I also really like the typography of the title in Japanese too. It's a SUPER 80s anime adventure thing going on in what it evokes. It belongs right next to Laputa or Nausicaa or Future Boy Conan.
Didn't Animal Crossing interact with those Nintendo collectable cards? You scanned the magnetic strip on them or something and it either unlocked or downloaded the rom off the strip, and let you play it in AC? Am I missremembering/hallucinating that feature? Also, TIL the Japanese name of Animal Crossing was Animal Forest. BEAT hating on FF6's myriad of covers harshes my vibe. I actually like the JPN Collections cover (the watery background) a lot as it reminds me of a lot of the kinds of covers you'd see printed for the Digicube soundtracks from that era. I also like the FF Collection cover (minus the puke-green Greatest Hits stripe obviously) a lot. "...nobody but the nerdiest of nerds was capable of recognizing the lady lounging on the robot ostrich thing..." Haha, but that's their target demo! And it clearly did well enough to merit reprints and a Greatest Hits edition so it obviously stopped nobody. Also, the drawing of Mog on the front of the NA cover, I always interpreted as an SD version of Mog balancing on a sword or something? And it's kinda trippy to realize it's only his top-half and he's like flexing and shit.
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#801
07-16-2018, 02:48 PM
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I should point out that in Japan, Nintendo went full out for the GBA NES Classic/Famicom Mini series, replicating the original packaging in miniature, complete with manuals and such. So what you're seeing here is a replica of the original Famicom Box in a clear case.
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#803
07-16-2018, 02:50 PM
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Also, Zelda totes uses a rapier in Twilight Princess (and Hyrule Warriors).
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#804
07-16-2018, 03:04 PM
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Play It Loud!
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#805
07-16-2018, 04:09 PM
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*unlike BEAT.
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#806
07-16-2018, 04:32 PM
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I also voted for the gold NES Zelda cover, which was kind of a nostalgia vote despite the fact that I didn't actually *own* it. Pretty sure I borrowed it from a friend and played it some, though I don't think I actually beat it at the time. But that enticing shiny gold cart man (and yeah, I think it normally shows the ribbed grip part of the cartridge, which makes an interesting texture in the shield window).
I do quite like the JP cover as well, the logo is aces, and the view of an expansive top-down world shows something we hadn't seen in any other home console game to that point. Meanwhile, the US FF3 box is pretty decent as well, nice typography, and Mog is always fun, even if the "play it loud" era ad campaign is slightly eye-rolling. And plenty of purple is always a good color scheme.
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#807
07-16-2018, 04:45 PM
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#808
07-16-2018, 06:48 PM
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Also, thanks Japan! I'd feel weird typing out "Zelda 1" if not for you.
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#809
07-16-2018, 07:40 PM
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#810
07-16-2018, 09:02 PM
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Ah! I was right. The Nintendo eReader! What a weird piece of history!
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| Tags |
| are game covers art? , box-rating simulator , don't copy that floppy , full bleed , keyboard vomit from beat , top 50 countdown |
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