Box Art Brawl: Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D

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Box Art Brawl - RE: The Mercenaries 3D
Image: Nintendo Life

Happy Sunday, everyone; welcome to another edition of ‘Box Art Brawl’!

We’ve got another great one for you this week, but first let’s take a look at the previous results. Last time, we featured the GameCube classic from Rare Ltd, Star Fox Adventures. Criminally underrated at the time of its release, the action-adventure title has nevertheless gained significant respect from Nintendo fans in the years since.

For Box Art Brawl, it was another duel in which North America and Europe teamed up to take on Japan. It wasn’t a close one either; the western design clearly struck a chord with readers, taking in a hefty 79% of the vote.

This week, we’re moving forward in time to look at another underrated title on the Nintendo 3DS: Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D. Taking the Mercenaries mini-games from Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5, The Mercenaries 3D was a solid action title, but failed to impress fans who were hoping for a proper Resident Evil game on the 3DS. That wouldn’t follow until a year later, when Resident Evil: Revelations launched in 2012.

This time, the western designs are similar, but different enough for us to have a proper three-way battle, so without further ado, let’s get started!

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

North America

RE: The Mercenaries 3D - NA
Image: Capcom

The North American design for The Mercenaries 3D features RE veteran Chris Redfield coming face-to-face against Resident Evil 5’s take on the chainsaw-wielding Dr. Salvador: the Executioner. It’s a striking image, to be sure, with the background adding more impact with explosive textures and effects.

Europe

RE: The Mercenaries 3D - UK
Image: Capcom

Europe’s design, on the other hand, features the same image, but against a pure white background. It actually works quite well as a more abstract take on North America’s design, arguably making Chris Redfield and the Executioner pop out even more.

Japan

RE: The Mercenaries 3D - JP
Image: Capcom

Japan’s design is a little bit different, choosing instead to focus on some of the characters you’ll be playing as in The Mercenaries 3D. You’ve got Chris Redfield, his sister Claire, Jack “Witness the Power” Krauser, and HUNK. Honestly, why Capcom chose to omit Albert Wesker here is a bit of a baffling choice, but we’ll let it slide. Overall though, it’s a pretty cool image!

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