Bad box arts

[thePlinko]

Box arts can make or break a game. For the longest time they were the only way most games could ever stand out. There are some good ones out there, there are some bad ones out there.


And then there are ones that are so notoriously bad that they end up being one of the most memorable things about the game.

So what are some of the worst box arts that you know of? They can be obviously bad, or they could be bad for more subtle reasons.

As much as I love Fortune Street, I always found Fortune Street’s box art to be pretty bad.



In addition to just being so crowded and not particularly balanced, all of the Mario characters (and maybe the Dragon Quest characters too, I wouldn’t know) are all stock images used in awkward ways. For instance:

Why is Mario standing in front of the floor instead of on top of it?

Why is toad sitting on the ground while everyone else is standing?

What is Donkey Kong looking at?

Why is Luigi running perpendicular to the game board?

The box art feels like someone who’s used photoshop twice back in high school had to insert Mario characters in at the last second.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

One of the most infamous is the original Wii port of Okami being an image with an IGN watermark. Someone lost their job at Capcom for this, probably. The only upside was the unique box art made in response to the fan disappointment of this that could be downloaded and printed out, which were very beautiful.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

I'm not big on horror stuff as is and some of the game covers I've seen for some horror games very easily get me to turn away

In addition to just being so crowded and not particularly balanced, all of the Mario characters (and maybe the Dragon Quest characters too, I wouldn’t know)

fairly certain the DQ stuff is original, which makes the stock mario renders even funnier

 

[thePlinko]

Amazing how they managed to get ahold of ai artwork of a guy in an electric chair a good 20 years before ai art became a thing.

 

[twilitfalchion]

The way Yakuza 3's box art went from a guy with a cig staring up in a sort of moody way to half of a man's face staring blankly is certainly a decision of all time.

 

[Ashley the Witch]

Now despite being a good game for its time, the box art for GoldenEye 007, has a very unique box art. I'm pretty sure everyone knows what I'm talking about, and considering I always have trouble posting images on the site. I'm not going to bother looking for an image. But if you know, you know.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

Now despite being a good game for its time, the box art for GoldenEye 007, has a very unique box art. I'm pretty sure everyone knows what I'm talking about, and considering I always have trouble posting images on the site. I'm not going to bother looking for an image. But if you know, you know.

This one? It's just one of the movie posters reorganized to be horizontal instead of vertical.

 

[Ashley the Witch]

This one? It's just one of the movie posters reorganized to be horizontal instead of vertical.
View attachment 74734

Yeah, it looks like Bond's mouth is two times as wide. Just due to how the shadows align.

 

[thePlinko]

Don’t you love budget rereleases?

Don’t you love how they almost always make the box art look worse than before?

Nintendo selects, Players Choice, Greatest Hits, Platinum Hits, all of them make the boxes look worse and less uniform.

But there’s one that stands above all of the others. One that’s so bad that only one game was ever made under its label.

I present to you:

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Konami’s Best edition

Spoiler: Brace yourself.

 

[Malon]

Don’t you love budget rereleases?

Don’t you love how they almost always make the box art look worse than before?

Nintendo selects, Players Choice, Greatest Hits, Platinum Hits, all of them make the boxes look worse and less uniform.

But there’s one that stands above all of the others. One that’s so bad that only one game was ever made under its label.

I present to you:

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Konami’s Best edition

Spoiler: Brace yourself.

View attachment 74754

That one's not THAT bad.

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

Don’t you love budget rereleases?

Don’t you love how they almost always make the box art look worse than before?

Nintendo selects, Players Choice, Greatest Hits, Platinum Hits, all of them make the boxes look worse and less uniform.

But there’s one that stands above all of the others. One that’s so bad that only one game was ever made under its label.

I present to you:

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Konami’s Best edition

Spoiler: Brace yourself.

View attachment 74754

it took me half a minute to figure out what was wrong and then I lost it

 

[Malon]

That one's not THAT bad.

Wait, no, I figured it out

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

Don’t you love budget rereleases?

Don’t you love how they almost always make the box art look worse than before?

Nintendo selects, Players Choice, Greatest Hits, Platinum Hits, all of them make the boxes look worse and less uniform.

But there’s one that stands above all of the others. One that’s so bad that only one game was ever made under its label.

I present to you:

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Konami’s Best edition

Spoiler: Brace yourself.

View attachment 74754

Ahh, box art of a box art, my fave!!!