Cover Art: Mega Drive - Part 1

For me, and I think I can safely say a large percentage of other Western retro game enthusiasts, even the existence of Japanese versions of our favourite console games only became apparent in the early days of the Mega Drive. The main reason for this was that most games for Sega's mighty console originated in Japan, and most were also released there considerably earlier than we got them in the West.

This meant we often ended up buying 'grey import' versions of games rather than the official versions, and one thing many of us noticed was that they often had better box artwork. Not always, mind you, but often. This obviously made them an appealing prospect for these comparison posts that I haven't done for many moons, so here is the first of what will undoubtedly end up being several posts on the subject. If you have any suggestions or requests for titles, let me know in the comments :)

Thunder Force II (1989)

I still maintain that this is an ultra-underrated game, but that might just be nostalgia talking since it was one of my first MD games. Both covers share the weird font that I always thought looked more like 'Thunder Farce II' but it's actually the UK one that's better, and that's not nostalgia talking (I don't think). It has an action-packed cover showing what I assume it a depiction of one of the overhead-viewed stages, and it looks great. The Japanese cover, featuring the extra 'MD' in the title since TFII was originally an X68000 game, has a bit of a whiffy-looking ship. It is flying over what I assume is the fifth stage but you would have no idea what it was if you hadn't already played the game. I'll stick with my UK copy of this one thanks! (full review here)



Mystic Defender / Kujaku Ō 2: Geneijō (1989)

Another of my first MD games and another I have fond memories of, and that was without knowing it was a sequel to Spellcaster, one of my favourite Master System games! Both games were originally based on a manga/anime series called Kujaku Ō so the artwork on the Japanese versions obviously reflects that, showing various stuff that is presumably from the original media but that I don't remember seeing in the game. The UK cover is a better representation of the actual game, showing Joe (for that is the name of the player character) doing one of his Psycho Magic charge shots, and with a Thunder Dragon magic in the background for good measure. Both covers are pretty good for this game but I'd say the Japanese one edges it on artistic merit, even if most Westerners would have no idea what it was going on about.



Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle (1989)

Crikey, neither of the covers for this much-maligned entry in the Alex Kidd series are much cop! The UK one does show several of the stages and enemies found in the games, admittedly, but what on earth is that strange creature in the centre? Is it meant to be Alex Kidd? Aarrghhh! The Japanese cover does unmistakably feature Mr. Kidd as we know and love (?) him as well as a couple of enemies, but the standard of the artwork is rather poor on both covers. Given the choice, I'd go for the Japanese cover simply as it shows Alex correctly, but it's not a wonderful game by any stretch of the imagination, regardless of which version you might have.



Strider (1990)

Few arcade games were as popular as this Capcom leapy-slashy classic in their day so a Mega Drive port was sensible as well as welcome. It came on a mighty 8-megabit cartridge and reproduced the splendour of the arcade game well, but few of us knew why the cover was a bit weird at the time. Indeed, as it turned out, Strider Hiryu, to use his full name, was another character with origins in the world of anime. The brutish, American-looking clot on the UK (and indeed US) covers looked nothing like the original character (aside from the purple). The background behind him is pretty good though, depicting the first stage of the game. The Japanese cover, on the other hand, is a classic. I think it was the first Japanese MD cover I ever saw and it was superb, featuring Strider in his correct guise as well as several of the game's bosses behind him, in addition to the awesome-looking kanji (or is it hiragana?) title above them all. That iconic Japanese cover definitely wins this round!



Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)

Ah yes, the game (and therefore cover) that perhaps graced more homes than any other, certainly in Western territories, and what a game it was! An audio/visual spectacle that put even some arcade games to shame. A few sourpusses suggested that the game offered little more than those delights but most of us didn't care. The UK cover was actually quite a reserved affair, all things considered, choosing to put Sega's new hero front and centre with barely anything to distract from him. The eagle-eyed could also make out Dr. Robotnik and a couple of Sonic's fluffy friends, but 'Sonic Is Here' was the message. It's almost as if they wanted to etch him into our brains! The Japanese cover, which I didn't even see until many years later, isn't one I'm keen on. It shows the title and character nearly as big as the UK one, but also features Sonic's name above him exploding in what I assume is a celebratory party fashion. Not a bad idea but it doesn't look great to me. Ironically, however, the US cover for this game is different to both, and superior too, featuring a colourful representation of the Green Hill Zone behind the Blue Blur. We don't allow US Mega Drive stuff to darken this page though (well, I don't), due to the annoying name change, so you'll have to look it up yourself! (full review here)



Look out for some more fantastic/dull/scary/horrifying Mega Drive covers soon!