Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Let's Play: 'Which Box Art is Better?' (Sugar Shooter 2 edition)

Just so you know, I'm going to change things up a bit for this round of "Which Box Art is Better?" Rather than discuss the merits of the pieces of cover art produced for a single game released in various regions, today I want to discuss the merits of cover art produced for a pair of games released in a single region.

The pair of games we'll be dissecting today: Dudedle Studio's Sugar Shooter, which hit the streets in late 2010, and its sequel, Sugar Shooter 2, which is expected to make its way into gamers' hands (in Japan) any day now. (Awesome aside: Folks who buy the limited edition get this ass-tacular face towel.)

With that said, here's the art that graces the cover of the Japanese version of the first Sugar Shooter:


And here's the art that will greet folks who buy the Japanese version of Sugar Shooter 2:


Although I'm pretty fond of the former game's box art, I much prefer the imagery created for the soon-to-be-released (in Japan, at least) sequel. Sure, it's composition is a bit typical, but it's so colorful that it's not at all difficult for me to overlook it.

What do all of you think? Do you prefer one piece of Sugar Shooter cover art to the other?

See also: Previous 'Which Box Art is Better?' posts

6 comments:

Viewtiful_Justin said...

I'm gonna lump myself in the first box art's fan club. I'm a sucker for a pit. Plus, I feel like there's too much going on in the second. True, it fits the crazy-as-bullet-hell theme, but...I don't find it balanced or pretty.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Pit lovers unite, Justin! :P Seriously, though, I hear ya. I still think I prefer the cover art for Part 2, but I really like the art produced for Part 1, too. It's definitely more focused and less busy.

The Japanese version is available now, by the way. Guess I should update the post to let people know that fact. (I wrote this post over a week ago and intended to run it last week.)

Kimimi said...

It's a tough choice, but I think I'll go with the second one. It's got a nice "busy" quality to it, the first one does look good but it's a bit too tidy for me :)

Bryan Ochalla said...

Ah! Someone who agrees with me--always a plus ;) I really think we're of similar minds in this case, though--especially about the first one looking just a bit too tidy...

Unknown said...

Gotta hand it to you, Bryan – I like the second one!
Something about the darker colors and the presence of an evil-looking force, I think... Oh, and that dark-skinned guy with the eyepatch is pretty cool-looking for some reason ;) And he's got a pipe!

Bryan Ochalla said...

Ah, it's nice to see someone agree with me for a change, Anne. Thanks for that ;)

Also, I like that the eyepatch guy has a pipe, too.