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Hello everyone; welcome to another edition of ‘Box Art Brawl’!
It’s kind of mad that another week has passed already, right..? Where is the time going?! Never mind.
Last week, we took a look at one of the all-time greats on SNES: Mega Man X. It was a ruddy close one, too! Europe and North America teamed up to take on Japan, and the duo just managed to take the crown with 53% of the vote. Both designs are absolutely fantastic, so we’re not entirely surprised you folks were a bit torn on this one.
This week, in celebration of the recent announcement of Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life, we’re going to be looking at the original GameCube release from 2003 (2004 for western audiences): Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life. For many (this writer included!), A Wonderful Life was the gateway into the world of Harvest Moon, boasting the beautiful, tranquil setting of ‘Forget-Me-Not-Valley’ along with a cast of characters that has lived on in the minds of fans for many years since.
For this week’s Box Art Brawl, Europe and North America are once again teaming up due to the overwhelming similarities between the regions’ box art designs, so Japan will be at it alone! We reckon it might be a close one again this week, but as ever, the winner will be determined by you fine people.
Be sure to cast your votes in the poll below; but first, let’s check out the box art designs themselves.
North America / Europe
The North American and European design for A Wonderful Life is likely the one you’re most familiar with. All regional designs are pretty similar in terms of composition — with the game’s protagonist standing triumphantly in the centre, surrounded by a group of animals and fellow villagers — but what sets the western design apart is the inclusion of a full background (similar, but not identical in the two examples above), presumably set somewhere in Forget-Me-Not Valley.
It’s a very peaceful work of art; certainly indicative of the kind of experience you’ll be getting with A Wonderful Life.
Japan
Japan’s design for A Wonderful Life is, again, similar in composition, but the protagonist and animals are surrounded by a large wreath of flowers and vegetables; an indication of the kinds of things you’ll be planting during your life on the farm. We must admit, despite the missing background, we do actually prefer the more vibrant, stylised approach taken with the protagonist and animals here; it’s nice! This is going to be a tough one, for sure…
Bonus
Harvest Moon: Another Wonderful Life launched in 2005 and showcased the exact same gameplay and structure as the original release. The difference? You’re playing as a girl instead of a boy, and your love interests have also swapped genders. Was it necessary? Mmm, maybe not, but it might have introduced a few more people to the series, regardless.
The box art itself is kind of a combination of the previous designs from A Wonderful Life. The animals from Japan’s box art have been lifted straight into this one, but it’s also taken a leaf from the western box art design and opted to include a background once again. It’s a nice approach overall; kind of taking the best of both worlds!
Thanks for taking part in Box Art Brawl once again! Be sure to cast your vote below and let us know in the comments which box art you prefer!
Thanks for voting! We’ll see you next time for another round of the Box Art Brawl.
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