Be sure to cast your votes in the poll below; but first, let’s check out the box art designs themselves.
North America
We have to give it to the North American box art, that is one iconic design. Pitted against the NES-staple black background, our pixel art pair floats over a trio of pipes as a separate balloon pops in front of them. It’s pared-back, yes, but it tells you everything you need to know about the game at a glance.
Europe
The European design retains the black background that adorned many-a NES game (albeit with horizontal text rather than NA’s cool diagonal slant), but the pixel art is replaced with something far more detailed. A sharp-beaked bird, an open ocean and an angry-looking fish? Now this sells the peril.
Japan
And for those who wanted an even better look at that art, the Japanese design puts it front and centre. There’s no distracting black background to be seen here (a thinner grey border isn’t the end of the world), just a man, his balloons, and the endless threats of the open ocean.
Thanks for voting! We’ll see you next time for another round of Box Art Brawl.