Friday, October 05, 2012

Let's Play: 'Which Box Art is Better?' (Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask edition)

Seeing as how Level-5's first 3DS-based Professor Layton title is due to hit the streets throughout both Europe and North America in a few short weeks, I thought I should prepare and publish another "Which Box Art is Better?" post in its honor.

Before we get to its European and North American cover art, though, let's take a look at the art, below, that can be found on Japanese copies of the game (which was released all the way back in February 2011).


The box art produced for the European version of Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, which will find its way onto store shelves on Oct. 26 (the North American version follows just two days later), eschews its predecessor's minimalism in favor of a busy style that calls to mind the series' DS-based efforts. (View them here, here and here.)


At first glance, the title's North American cover art, below, looks pretty similar to that of its European counterpart, at least in terms of color and theme, but on closer inspection it manages to set itself apart thanks to a more elegant and less constricted design.


As for which one I like best: I'm sure this will shock some of you more excitable folks, but this time around I'm going with the European box art. Yes, it's busier than a mosquito at a nudist colony, and I'd like it a lot more if it included even 50 percent less text, but I still prefer it to its two "competitors."

For me, both the Japanese and North American cover designs are just a bit too ... sterile. (OK, so the Japanese design is way too sterile.) I consider the European design, on the other hand, to be dramatic and moody, plus it features the most appealing logo of the bunch.

That's just my opinion of this box-art trio, though; what's yours?

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

17 comments:

Melody (Lizzi) said...

I like the japanese boxart. It looks cool but there are some colours missing.
I think I like the european-boxart the most :)

Viewtiful_Justin said...

I'm shocked that you picked the European box art, what with al you've said about disliking text being crammed onto a box. I think it's WAY too busy...looks like a magazine ad and not a game box.

I'm satisfied with the US version. The Japanese version is...umm...not quite finished yet?

Bryan Ochalla said...

Melody: I think the designers of the Japanese version were trying to convey the 3D aspect of this game. I can't say I think they succeeded, but there you go. I have to say, though, that I kind of like the late-70s, early-80s look of it, but not enough for me to pick it as my favorite :)

Bryan Ochalla said...

I know, Justin. And you're right -- USUALLY I hate box art that features a ton of text. For some reason, though, these Euro Layton games have me under a spell. That said, I *did* mention that I wish this particular piece of cover art had less text on it, so there you go :P

As for the Japanese cover: Yeah, like I just told Melody, I think the designers were trying to show of the game's 3D-ness. I'm not so sure I'd say they were successful in that regard, though...

diaglyph said...

I'm not really into Professor Layton, but I agree with you about the euro box art. It looks better. Yeah it might look "busier" but it shows off the characters, I like the colours, and it has the little mask as well ;)

Bryan Ochalla said...

Yay! Someone who agrees with me. Thanks, Igor :)

GameOverYeah said...

European box for me as for me it's the nicest, brightest and stands out the most.

I like the Japanese style but don't quite like how it looks and the North American cover looks basic and faded to me.

Unknown said...

I hate to say this, but I feel like the European cover is a little bit, hm... "tacky"? It just doesn't feel as professional as the other two. Not that a game cover needs to be professional, really, but I agree with Justin that it looks more like a magazine ad than a game cover.

I love Layton's smiling face on the US cover, so I'll have to go with that. Though I HATE how they've capitalized each word in "There Is No Puzzle Without a Solution" and then added a period at the end! That irks me to no end, hahaha

IvaNEC said...

The one in the middle. The top one is too sterile and the bottom one isn't dramatic enough without the guy pointing.

Melody (Lizzi) said...

Hey Bryan, have you seen this supercute Taiko no Tatsujin Trailer?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiouiRd8jJ0

Bryan Ochalla said...

Hey there, dste! Well, it seems like responses/votes this time around are going to be all over the place. I'm glad you went with the "correct" answer, though. (Ha ha!)

Seriously, though, I agree with you that the NA cover art is pretty "meh." The DS games had much better cover art in this region, IMO.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Oh, now you've gone and done it, Anne! Tacky? Actually, I can see why you'd say that. I don't really agree, but I can understand. Also, I'm with you 100% when it comes to the NA cover. NOA likes to do that kind of thing (capitalize all of the letters in a subtitle, etc.) and I have to say I really don't understand why.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Hey there, IvaNEC! Where the heck have you been? Regardless, welcome back! Does this mean we'll be getting some more posts on your site soon? I hope so.

Anyway, I agree with your assessment, of course. Thanks for sharing it!

Bryan Ochalla said...

Hey there, Melody! I've seen other trailers of this game, but not that particular one. Thanks for making me aware of it. I hope to get this game at some point -- after I get a Japanese 3DS, of course :)

Unknown said...

Maybe tacky was a bad word, but I actually prefer the NA version's logo! What is it you like about the EU logo? I actually like the coloring for its NA counterpart better, but I do like how Layton and Luke's faces are featured on either side!

Unknown said...

I meant to say I liked how Layton and Luke's faces feature in the *EU* logo. Whoops!

Bryan Ochalla said...

Oh, I just prefer the font used on the EU logo, Anne. I like how it's kind of swirly, as opposed to the more "chunky" font used on the NA logo. Also, I *really* like the little Layton and Luke faces that appear on the side of the EU logo :)