Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Let's Play: 'Which Box Art is Better?' (Patapon 3 edition)

Over the next few weeks and months, the third installment of Sony's popular Patapon series will hit store shelves around the world--starting with the US on April 12 and ending with Europe on some as-yet-determined date later this year. (Japanese PSP owners will gain access to the game on April 28.)

Patapon fanatics should make note of those dates, as each region's packaging will feature a different piece of art. The following, for instance, will grace the cover of the US release of Patapon 3:


The Japanese version of the game, on the other hand, will showcase this illustration:


And when this Pyramid-developed title finally makes its way to Europe? Gamers there will have to keep their eyes peeled for this dramatic and comparatively minimalistic piece of cover art:


Although I like all three designs, I find the one that's set to appear on the US version to be the most appealing. Which one do you prefer?

Pre-order: Patapon 3

See also: Every previous 'Let's Play: Which Box Art is Better?' post

6 comments:

Linnea said...

Nooo, the European version is butt ugly compared to the US one! It looks like it's a random sci-fi-anime game.

The US version is really stylish, the japanese one is a bit too messy for my taste.

I've never seen such a bad cover art in the europe version in a modern game. Ever. Thank god I can play the US version on my EUR PSP. :D

Errol James said...

US Version

Bryan Ochalla said...

Sorry to break the bad news to you, Linnea. Like you said, though, at least you can play the US version on your Euro PSP :)

I personally don't think the Euro cover is that bad, BTW. In fact, I think I like it better than the Japanese cover.

I think the Euro cover would be a lot better, though, if the mask were a bit smaller and the Patapon characters in the lower-left corner were more prominent.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Hey there, Errol! Thanks for sharing your thoughts :)

Hmmm, so far it seems like this week is going to be better than last -- when everyone ganged up on me!

Viewtiful_Justin said...

I'm with you on the U.S. Version being best. If that damn logo wasn't covering up the dramatic silhouette work at the bottom left corner of the European art, it would rank 2nd with me.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Yeah, the logos at the bottom definitely mess up the Euro cover. Even if they were gone, though, I'd probably want the mask/face on the right side of the screen to be a *tad* smaller. It's so large that you kind of overlook the silhouette work in the lower-left corner.