Zero hour
by 
Ahoy, and welcome to another edition of Box Art Brawl!
Last time, we checked out SimCity for the SNES, and it was the western design that won the day with a pretty resounding 73% of the vote. We kinda like the Japanese version, but it seems it didn’t resonate with many people.
So this week, we turn our attention to Mega Man Zero 2, which launched on the GBA back in 2003. Developed by Inti Creates, it was pretty well-received, with many critics noting that small improvements had been made over its predecessor, though it was still a very familiar experience.
It’s a proper three-way brawl this week, so buckle up and let’s get cracking.
North America
North America’s approach feels pretty iconic at this point. It shows Zero looking over his shoulder toward the camera, and it’s just a badass design through and through. The logo looks great at the top too; just big enough, but not overpowering.
Europe
Whoa, Europe, what happened here? The pose, the logo, the blocky colours..? Nah, moving on.
Japan
Japan took North America’s approach and extended it significantly to fit the landscape orientation (or, perhaps more likely, North America took Japan’s approach and shrunk it down). So there’s a lot more going on here, and the colours seem a lot moodier. It’s a striking piece, and we think it has a pretty good shot of winning, to be honest.
Thank you for voting! We’ll see you next week for another edition of Box Art Brawl!
Nintendo Life’s resident horror fanatic, when he’s not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry.
