By Kirb your enthusiasm
- by Jim Norman
We are back, back, back with another installment of Box Art Brawl!
The last time was quite the event, with a duo of F-Zero X covers competing against one another. However, it wasn’t exactly a hard-fought battle, as the character-centric Japanese cover secured a decisive victory, attracting 84% of the votes while leaving Europe/North America trailing with just 16%. Ouch.
This week, in honor of its debut in the NSO Game Boy collection, we are exploring Kirby’s Star Stacker. This Tetris-inspired puzzler first released in 1997 (’98 on Super Famicom) and challenged us all to align Star Blocks between two corresponding Friend Blocks to eliminate them. Is it the most unforgettable Kirby title there is? No. But you can’t fault anyone for attempting to ride the wave of Tetris excitement.
Both Europe and North America chose the same artwork for this release, so we find ourselves with a classic showdown. Let’s meet the competitors…
Be sure to place your votes in the poll below; but before that, let’s take a glance at the box art designs themselves.
North America / Europe
Alright, this is adorable. The Western cover opts for a sketched design of falling blocks in the background, placing our rosy puffball front and center. An especially cheerful Kirb is hanging onto a flying warp star, darting around the large logo that fills the top half of the cover. It may be straightforward, but goodness, isn’t it charming?
Japan
What could be better than one Kirby? Two Kirbys! That appears to have been the design philosophy behind the Japanese cover art. The background stays quite similar, now framed in an even larger star border to utilize the region’s vertical box dimensions, but Kirby remains in the foreground — though in a different, upright position. Additionally, there’s the bonus Kirb strolling along the logo at the bottom of the box. Look at that little fellow! Have you ever witnessed someone happier to be solving a falling block puzzle??
Thank you for voting! We will catch you next time for another round of Box Art Brawl.
Jim joined Nintendo Life in 2022 and, despite his claim that The Minish Cap is the finest Zelda title and his unwavering fondness for the Star Wars prequels (yes, truly), he has continued to produce news and features on the site ever since.