Poll: Box Art Brawl

We’re back with this week’s battle of the covers! Welcome to another installment of Box Art Brawl.

A trio of artworks for the NES’ Dragon Power faced off last time, yet neither the European nor North American designs could compete with the visually striking Japanese edition, which devoured 72% of the votes and emerged victorious.

This occasion, in honor of Victory Road finally launching on Switch, we’re revisiting Inazuma Eleven‘s inaugural title on DS. This is the game that initiated the football RPG series, packed with extravagant skills, an extensive player roster, and the professional-quality anime cutscenes we’ve always appreciated from Level-5.

You’ll need to hold on a bit longer for our complete Victory Road review, but until then, here’s a showdown between two covers (it didn’t hit North America until the 3DS digital re-release) for the game that began it all.

Europe

We’ll openly acknowledge that there’s a lot happening in this European artwork. Mark and Axel are prominently featured, of course, but a significant portion of the cover is filled with headshots of other players you can recruit, boasting that you can select from over 1,000 options. We appreciate the football field extending into the background, but at times, simplicity might be more effective.

Japan

The Japanese cover aims for a distinct approach. This is pure action. The field background is swapped for a deep crimson, obscuring the faces of some of the recruitable players. The main duo adopts more dynamic stances, and everything unnecessary *cough headshots cough* has been removed. It’s as vivid as can be, but it’s undeniably captivating.

Thank you for voting! We’ll catch you next time for another Box Art Brawl.