North America                                  Japan The official North American cover art for The Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass has been released. Personally, I find the Japanese cover art much more appealing. Which do you prefer?
North America                                  Japan
The official North American cover art for The Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass has been released. Personally, I find the Japanese cover art much more appealing.
Which do you prefer?
Share your perspective. Keep it thoughtful, welcoming and on topic.
This discussion is closed to new comments.
I would definitely have to agree with you, there is more brighter colors, which gives a nicer presentiation
Actually, I don't think I like either of them that much…but I still want the game really badly…..just hope I'll be able to put down Ninja Gaiden….
I like the colors on the Japanese cover better, but I like the composition in the iconic, emblematic U.S. cover better… They should combine both!
The NA version by far, it's more ominous. The Japanese cover makes it looks like a kid's game.
I think the characters in the NA version need to be larger. There's too much ground and not enough figure.
I am all about the spookiness of the NA version…I think the brown is very well suited.
I'll be FAIR and wait for the European, and the Aussie if they get one.
I agree with exolstice, the NA version is better and that the Japanese cover looks like a kids game.
NA. Makes the game appear like a serious, long, epic adventure.
As a mature gamer adult, I feel that I am being symbolically infantilized by your inclusion of the kiddie-hued Japanese cover. The bright coloring in the ocean and the sky would be troubling enough, but the characters have also been placed in positions that suggest the kind of energetic action and adventure common to a mere child's escapist fantasies. I am an adult of some years, holding a deep respect for the mud, blood, explosions, and fire We Adults have come to know; it is thus, Adultly, that I petition you to remove the offending cover and replace it with a picture of dirt (preferably: bloodstained dirt) found on google image search.
Err, I assume you're being sarcastic, but that was quite a strange post, kittycatman.
At any rate, I personally prefer the Japanese box art. I don't think that the North American box looks any more mature than the other; if anything it looks more boring. I think they could have created a darker, more serious design without using such boring colors as black and (primarily) brown. Add some color to that pirate ship!
Definitely prefer the off-center Japanese box
Actually, I like them both a lot, now that I look at them. When you compare the two and think less of the storyline and more just about the actual ART, the Japanese one definitely has more appeal.
This is probably the first boxart comparison EVER that I've preferred the American box. It seems almost like Japan believes art is completely lost on us crazy redneck (whatever they call it in Japan) Americans. But this, I like. The Japanese box is like "here's a shot of something you might do in this game" whereas the NA box is actual a piece of art, related to the game, IMO.
Maybe the Japanese boxart is like that because Wind Waker was more successful in Japan versus say, North America. Twilight Princess was a great success so it is no surprise as to which country has what kind of art to it.
I personally like both, but if I were to chose, it would be the NA release, only because I feel that this adventure may get dirty, as the box implies due to the excessive brown.
Is it just me or should the game card for this one be golden?
It seems to me that NOA is in a bit of denial if they're using the brown cover to prevent the "Celda lol" reactions at retail. They still have two cartoon characters standing right there.
I've been bored with American Zelda covers for some time now and this is no exception. That Japanese one fits the "anime crossed with Rankin Bass" feel of Wind Waker perfectly. (Haven't played Phantom Hourglass yet but the gameplay videos make me think the same thing applies.)
Japan for the win here
I go for artistic rather than illustrative.. and for once the US version is more artistic.
Congratulations Kittycatman! I know exactly what you are saying.
The Mature, Adult Mud-and-Blood lobby (average mental age 13) deserves to be lampooned for a change!
like em both- side by side reminds me of the oracle games presentation and i started hoping for such a deal here too.
think i lean to the japan version though- it's clean and gives a locational context. the NA version looks like they didnt take the time to make a background.
I think the Japanese one has more depth (see the water? haha…) but I prefer the US-version more due to the composition which looks more "Zelda-ish".
I'm suprised "looks like a kids game" is actually a cause for dislike of the Japanese boxart. I personally prefer it but that's besides the point. Both boxart has the same cartoony characters but I think the background of the Japanese boxart matches better with the colorful character designs (and the logo for that matter) than that of the NA boxart. I'm not saying the NA version is bad, but as far as complaints go, if you want a "mature" looking boxart (of all things) then it would've been more suitable to simply go with the background, put in a elegant Zelda logo (i.e. a triforce or TP's winged logo design) and brighten it up with a reflective golden overlay.
Um… I'm more concerned about the game being awesome regardless of the box art. 😀
I'm much more interested in the game inside than the box itself, however, I do like the color contrast in the NA boxart.
Sorry but the Japanese box art… well, doesn't have a Zelda feel to it in my view. And perhaps bizzarely, to me it seems more boring than the American one. The Jap one says, "oh, you sail ships in this game". Wow. By contrast, the NA one seems to suggest a grand-scale adventure. The characters are in a "ready for adventure" stances, the looming ship in the background seems to have more story to it. Well, that's my take. America wins for a change 😉 We'll see what the European box art is like.
From what I understand of the game [I haven't played it] the Japanese box art is a more accurate representation of what the actual play experience is like and is thus, for me, the better box art.
The Japanese box art suggests a fun, light, almost care-free adventure. The US box art has the suggestion of our hero [the one with the drawn sword :roll eyes:] and his struggle against the looming menace.
Aesthetically I prefer the Japanese box art. I'm forty something so am well past the need for something to be "mature/adult". kittycatman pretty much summed up how I feel.
I can understand why NOA would be concerned that the Japanese box art might be too "kiddie" for the tastes of US gamers – one only has to browse gaming forums on teh interwebs to see the mentality of so many of them. However, I think they would be wise to constantly re-evaluate this matter.
There's a danger that they might be stuck in the old ways of trying to appease the tastes of teh hardcore with their box art with the consequence of making it less appealing to the rest of the population who don't fit into that demographic.
From what I understand of the game and how it's gone down with the Japanese public it's a game that appeals well to females and "non gamers". If this is the case then the original, Japanese box art is more appropriate.
I'm in the UK so this debate isn't relevant to me yet but I hope NOE are listening! They're giving us "Forever Blue" rather than "Endless Ocean" though so I'm hopeful.
I agree with Negrin, The Japanese one, for once, is BORING! Please, we have all played hours of windwaker.. who wants a screenshot as the cover? It reminds me of how when you have a home video DVD printed by cheep companies, instead of making a creative cover they just take a frame from the movie.. lol
well to each his own.. however i can't help to think that because its japanese it gets a few votes more than it would on its own.
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しないことに決めたから?と言い出し、彼女から去って行った。郁美にはいまだに何がなんだかわけがわからないのだが……。それはともかく、当時の郁美は、桐原に対して全然関心がなかった。高校時代、松尾や須ノ崎より三、四歳は上に見え