Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Five more favorites: Japanese Dreamcast box art

You didn't think my last "five favorites" post would be my one and only write-up on this subject, did you? Well, if you did, you were wrong, because today I'm publishing another!

With that out of the way, let's get to the meat of this particular box-art-focused post.


Berserk--I've never played this game, and probably never will, but that isn't stopping me from slobbering all over its cover art. My favorite part of said piece of cover art, by the way, is the blue-haired fairy, although that's mainly due to how she pops from the red-and-black backdrop that sits behind her.


Elemental Gimmick Gear--I nearly included this one in my last post on this subject. I can't remember what I went with instead, but I guess it doesn't matter now. Anyway, the illustration that serves as the focal point of this piece of box art is its highlight, if you ask me, although I think the minimalist logo is a nice touch, too.


Gunspike--I'm a real sucker for cover art like this. Cover art that's full of color and showcases an illustration that takes a few risks when it comes to how it's laid out. Sure, it's easy for a game's logo to get lost amidst such chaos, but I'm OK with that (in most cases).


Sengoku Turb--This one's sure to be deemed an odd selection, but I'm not going to back away from it, as I like pretty much every aspect of it. Its overall art style, which calls to mind Japanese calligraphy, is an obvious high point, of course, but its successful use of space (white space, especially) is worth a respectful nod to two as well.


Twinkle Star Sprites--I guess you could say this is the most traditional of all the examples shared here, but that doesn't make it any less impressive in my eyes. Granted, it's hard to hate on a piece of box art that's as cheerfully colorful (or colorfully cheerful?) as this game's is, isn't it?

15 comments:

Nightmare Bruce said...

These are three examples where the original box art is so much nicer looking than the western versions (and two games that didn't come out here at all). You probably don't need to play Berserk, or SWORD OF THE BERSERK: GUTS' RAGE as it was known here; I remember it being kind of fun, but clunky even back then. EGG and Cannon Spike are awesome though!

Justin Difazzio said...

I'm just more and more intrigued by this title all the time. I hope it makes its way over at a reasonable price.

thegaygamer.com said...

I hope so, too, Justin. I mean, obviously I've been able to get a lot of enjoyment out of the Japanese version, but I know I'm missing out on some of the nuances of its gameplay due to the language barrier. Plus, it would be nice to be able to make use of its StreetPass and QR code features. BTW, the Japanese version is pretty cheap--just $5 or $8, I think--so I would imagine that any NA version would be priced similarly.

finchiekins said...

Dreamcast packaging, especially jp, was really something special. It really makes me want to play the games, even the ones i know i don't like.

thegaygamer.com said...

I agree, finchiekins. The DC offered up the best collection of box art of all of Sega's systems, I think--or at least the Japanese DC did. And, yes, I want to play some of these games, too, even if they otherwise don't look all that appealing XD

Chief said...

I thought I mentioned the US cover that in the previous post.

Chief said...

Sengoku Turb O___O It is simple and great because of it.

michaelstearns said...

The EGG box is great too, I had forgotten that one!

Anyhoo I just wanted to point out that the fairy in Berserk is actually a male fairy. :) http://berserk.wikia.com/wiki/Puck

thegaygamer.com said...

Oh, did you? I thought you just mentioned the JP one XD Or was that someone else?

thegaygamer.com said...

Yes! Sadly, the game itself doesn't look so great :|

thegaygamer.com said...

Really, Michael? That's awesome! Thanks for sharing :)

RetroKingSimon said...

Naked fairy (>.<) I really like the Gunspike (Cammy!) and Twinkle Star Sprites covers :)

thegaygamer.com said...

You don't like the fairy, Simon? Come on! Anyway, I obviously agree with you on the Gunspike and TSS covers :)

RetroKingSimon said...

I don't dislike the naked fairy, just a risque I guess. I'm not sure about the US or Canada but I bet certain people over here would be whining about that :P It's not a bad cover though. I think I've got the game somewhere too (not Jap version though)...

thegaygamer.com said...

Oh, you're probably right about that, Simon. Some folks in the US surely would whine about the naked fairy, even though he's hardly obscene or anything. I think Canadians would be quite a bit more accepting of it, though. Actually, I'm surprised to hear that you think some of your fellow countrymen/women would be opposed to it. I've always thought folks in the UK were less uptight than Americans about such things!