Summary
- Box art covers are crucial but could mislead: iconic like Super Metroid or atrocious like Pro Wrestling’s confusing images.
- Unusual box art can deviate from gameplay: Phalanx’s old man and Glover’s bizarre cover misrepresent their games.
- Box art from popular games like Mega Man can be underwhelming, showcasing the importance of not judging a game by its cover.
Box art covers are probably the first thing you see in a video game. Or at least, that’s how things used to work. There was a time when all we had to go on was the box art, so kids had to decide which they wanted to buy based only on the cover.
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Of course, there are games with iconic box art covers, like Super Metroid, Castlevania, Final Fantasy 7, and Super Mario Bros. 3, but there are also a lot of games with… unappealing covers, to say the least.
8
Lowca Glow
L.K. Avalon
Lowca Glow is a Polish platformer game launched on the Amiga in 1996. Apparently, you take the role of a hunter (Lowca Glow is Polish for headhunter), and are supposed to venture into a jungle and exterminate the mutant reptilian wildlife that inhabits the place.
Now, that description might be overselling the gameplay a little bit, but you certainly can’t deny the mutant reptile on the cover… sort of. The 1990s and early 2000s had a reputation for bad 3D graphics in both gameplay and cover art, abusing some poorly made 3D models. Lowca Glow was no exception to the rule.
7
Pro Wrestling
Sega
Alright, Pro Wrestling is actually a pretty decent game, for a tag-team wrestling simulator from 1986. It’s actually the home-console counterpart to a Sega arcade game called Body Slam, and it got some pretty decent scores at the time. If you’re into retro games and wrestling, it might be worth a look.
The box art, on the other hand, is atrocious. First, it has the classic Sega Master System template of the white grid background, which, on its own, is enough to make a designer cry. But on top of that, there’s a drawing of two people wrestling… maybe? It’s not clear if a headless wrestler is grabbing someone by the neck, or maybe it’s his own head. You can be the judge.
6
Phalanx
ZOOM Inc.
Phalanx
- Released
-
1991
- ESRB
-
e
- Developer(s)
-
ZOOM Inc.
Phalanx has probably the most infamous strange box art. Opposed to what you might think by looking at its box art, the game is a scrolling spaceship shooter. If you are thinking ‘that has absolutely nothing to do with the cover’, you’re absolutely right.
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We still don’t know what Phalanx is, but we all know that legendary cover.
Why did they go for an old man with a beard, a fedora, and overalls sitting with a banjo and a spaceship flying towards him? Apparently, the market at the time was saturated with spaceship-themed games, so they wanted to stand out and make something original. It looks like they achieved it, just not in a good way.
5
Glover
Hasbro Interactive
Glover
- Released
-
November 16, 1998
- ESRB
-
E For Everyone
- Developer(s)
-
Piko Interactive
- Publisher(s)
-
Piko Interactive
- Steam Deck Compatibility
-
Unsupported
- PC Release Date
-
April 20, 2022
During the 1990s, thanks to the boom in 3D graphics, and the ground-breaking success of Super Mario 64, many games wanted a piece of the 3D-mascot-fronter-platformer. We had games like Bubsy 3D, Gex, and, of course, Glover. No relation to Danny or Donald Glover, mind you. Glover is a game about a four-fingered glove who has to retrieve lost crystals to restore the Crystal Kingdom.
Now, its cover really isn’t doing a bad job at showcasing the game; it’s just that the premise of the game itself might not be that good. The box art does have a little too much with an erupting volcano, an angry giant bee, an exploding castle and a live treasure chest with fangs. Wait, did Dark Souls rip off Glover?
4
Mega Man
Capcom
Mega Man
- Released
-
December 17, 1987
- ESRB
-
e
- Engine
-
MT Framework
Of course, Mega Man needs no introduction. We all know it’s a hit and a legend among video games. The issue here is, the Japanese box art cover is just fine, not the best, not the worst. The European box art is absolutely mind-blowing. What happened with the American cover?
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It really is a mystery how Mega Man became such a hit with that drawing standing on shelves. Of course, at the time, covers were supposed to fill in the gaps that the graphics couldn’t portray, and that’s understandable. One way or the other, Mega Man is a prime example of not having to judge a book by its cover.
3
Cheggers Party Quiz
Oxygen Games
Cheggers Party Quiz
- Released
-
October 26, 2007
We won’t blame you if you’ve never heard of Chegger’s Party Quiz before. It’s part of the huge catalog of horrendous shovelware games that infested the Wii and PS2 era. It’s a party game similar to a game show, where you’re supposed to answer music, TV, and movie-related questions.
The titular Chegger is a CGI version of a British kids TV host from the ’70s, Keith Chegwin. Of course, the CGI rendition is just horrible. The game itself isn’t good at all, and was probably just rushed to cash-in using the Cheggers name.
2
Ninja Golf
BlueSky Software
Well, you can’t say this box art doesn’t portray exactly what the title of the name says. It really doesn’t get much more literal than this. Ninja Golf is a 1990 game for the Atari 7800, and it mixes a beat ‘em up where you play as a ninja with —you guessed it— a golf sim. Talk about original premises for video games, right?
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The box art is just that. In the crudest, most realistic way possible. We see the titular ninja, holding what seems to be a cutlass instead of a more accurate katana, also equipped with his trusty golf balls, tees, and this golf bag full of clubs. All under a beautiful night sky on the golf court.
1
Bust A Move 2: Arcade Edition
Taito
Remember the cute little dinosaur from Bubble Bobble? Well, he has a couple of spin-off games called Puzzle Bobble and Puzzle Bobble 2. These are tile-matching video games, where you’re supposed to shoot tiny colored bubbles and match their colors to make them pop. Pretty standard stuff.
Things get weird when you — once again — look at the American version of the game, renamed Bust A Move 2. The box art has human heads trapped inside the bubbles, with their eyes forced open by sticks, apparently screaming in agony, and a very weird catchphrase: “so addictive… it should be illegal”. Why do these things keep happening with American box art? That’s anyone’s best guess.
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