Box Art Brawl: Handsome Joe
Hey guys, welcome to another edition of Box Art Brawl!
For last week’s brawl, we took a look at one of several Virtual Boy games (and one that many of you may have forgotten even existed): Panic Bomber. It was not a particularly tight race: Japan won comfortably with 71% of the vote. Well done Japan!
This week we return to the GameCube era to check out one of Hideki Kamiya’s best games: Viewtiful Joe! This time we have different cover designs for all three main regions, so it’s going to be a real three-member brawl. Beautiful.
Launched back in 2003, Viewtiful Joe was released exclusively for the GameCube as part of the Capcom Five; five (well, technically four) games that Capcom committed to making specifically for the GameCube to boost hardware sales and showcase strong third-party support, including the legendary Resident Evil 4. Of course, most of us already know how it all ended up. of the four games have made it to other platforms, with only PN03 remaining a GameCube exclusive.
Nevertheless, Viewtiful Joe was a critical success, even if it was not particularly commercial. It spawned a direct sequel and a couple of spin-off games, and frankly, we’re just aching for Capcom to bring it to the Switch!
Be sure to vote in the poll below; but first let’s look at the design of the box itself.
North America
Viewtiful Joe’s North American design is probably the most “traditional” of the options, as it simply features the protagonist against a rather busy backdrop filled to the brim with the game’s various enemies. It’s absolutely gorgeous, shimmering in color from corner to corner, with a nice and bold logo at the top. Beautiful!
Europe
Hm? Dooooo?!
Yeah. In Europe, two variants of the Handsome Joe box art appeared, the difference between them is only in color: one is yellow and the other is pink. TA-dah! Otherwise, we have the protagonist himself, taking the same pose as in the North American version, and both drawings have the same background. Why were there two options? They just were! This writer remembers being carried around with pink and being rather disappointed, but looking back now..? Yes, they are both very cute.
Japan
The Japanese design is quite interesting as it is the only one of the many that features the game’s signature film reel at the top. Our protagonist takes a different (albeit perhaps more iconic) pose from the western design, and we have a really lovely pink gradient in the background, including some beautiful flower petals surrounding Joe. This is an overall great design!
Thanks for voting! See you next time for another round of Box Art Brawl.
