Box Art Brawl – Duel: Dragon Quest III (NES)


Be sure to cast your votes in the poll below; but first, let’s check out the box art designs themselves.

North America

Dragon Quest III - NA
Image: Enix

The North American cover is… strange. There’s no denying that this design goes all in on the RPG stylings — weapons and dragons and gold (oh my) — but it’s not very Dragon Quest-y, is it? The original cover took a more ‘realistic’ approach too, but at least that had some action to it. This is just a bunch of weapons stacked up in front of a dragon statue. It pulls you in with intrigue more than anything else, and we can’t knock it for that.

Japan

Dragon Quest III - JP
Image: Enix

Now here’s a different approach. The late, great Akira Toriyama’s art showcases a very different game, one built on its characters (and dragons). The full cast stands front and centre, staring directly into our souls as if to say, “Go on, buy it. I dare you.” Below, the silhouette of a castle stands out against a red sunrise. It still has all of the classic RPG trappings, but presents them in a very different way.

Thanks for voting! We’ll see you next time for another round of Box Art Brawl.