Rissa di box art: Duel #104 – Mario Kart: Doppio trattino!!

Ciao gente, e benvenuti a un'altra edizione di Rissa di box art!

In l'edizione della scorsa settimana, we threw Tuta d'assalto Leynos / Obiettivo Terra into the ring, with the North American box art squaring off against Japan. It was a ruddy close one too, with Japan’s more restrained take on the game garnering 56% del voto. It’s clear that plenty of you liked the more “out there” artwork for the North American release, tuttavia!

Questa settimana, we’ll be taking a look at Mario Kart: Doppio trattino!! for the GameCube (a game that we declared to be the best in the series, Grazie mille), one of the more unique entries to the Mario Kart franchise. We’re going to lump North America and Europe together for this one, because while the two designs feature slight variations in their composition, they’re nevertheless a tad too similar to compete with each other.

Japan, d'altronde, showcases a vastly different box art design, and it’s going to be interesting to see which one you folks prefer!

But enough chat, andiamo avanti con lo spettacolo.

Assicurati di esprimere i tuoi voti nel sondaggio qui sotto; but first, diamo un'occhiata agli stessi disegni di box art.

Nord America / Europe

So as we mentioned earlier, Doppio trattino!! for North America and Europe feature very similar designs; infatti, the characters and environment are identical to one another, but the composition is slightly different, with NA’s version significantly more zoomed in. This means that characters like Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong have been moved to fall more directly behind Mario and Luigi, with Yoshi and Birdo pushed further to the left.

We’re not sure which design came “first” with these two, but we’re tempted to lean more toward NA on this one; the EU version has a lot more unused space that’s taken up by blue skies and green hills; it’s nice, but perhaps not as “incisivo”. In entrambi i casi, we’re not pitting these two against one another, but do let us know in the comments which one you prefer.

Japan

So the Japanese version of Double Dash!! è very different, showcasing Mario and Luigi in full glory against a white background with a checkered pattern running down the right hand side. It’s understated, to be sure, but there’s definitely a “racing” vibe going on here. We also like the fact that the key art for Mario and Luigi demonstrates the ability to handle two different weapons; a trope that, al tempo, was brand new to the franchise.

All in all, it’s a nice design; perhaps not as busy as the NA or EU versions, but it’s the kinda thing that we reckon would look pretty neat on a steelbook or a collector’s sleeve.

So that’s your lot for this week! Make sure to cast your vote and let us know in the comments which design you like best and why. La pace!

Grazie per aver votato! Ci vediamo la prossima volta per un altro round della Box Art Brawl.