Brain-melting box art

by Tony Carnevale { Mar 29th 2007 at 8:39AM }

Another year, another roundup of the worst video game box art in history. IGN counts down the 25 "Most Awesome Covers," and by "awesome" they mean "putrid." Hey, they use the same system for rating box art as they do for rating video games!

Be sure to check out Pac-Man as marathon runner, Gauntlet's prancing elf, and a game named after the words you'll be saying after making it through this list. Then take five showers in a row, quietly weeping.

Tags: cover art, cover, art, list, worst, awful

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jack of No Trades @ Mar 29th 2007 8:44AM

Scrapyard Dog lol hell yea

Steve @ Mar 29th 2007 9:26AM

Sorry. Nothing's worse than the original Mega Man and it was sitting at #3. The top two entries aren't that bad and #1 (Ninja Golf) is more of a bad game concept than a bad example of box art.

That creepy looking Mega Man doing that little dance move disturbed me so much that it's been burned into my memory for 20 years. I remember that I knew a little bit about the game, had seen screen shots, and was interested in it but the box art literally scared me away from buying it. I finally bought Mega Man 2 though.

Yaktastic @ Mar 29th 2007 9:25AM

I saddened by just how many of those games i have played. Though it does finally explain why i subconsciously have dueling banjos running through my head whenever i hear talk of greek warfare.

JodyAnthony @ Mar 29th 2007 9:34AM

haha, that pac-man thing always cracks me up. What were they thinking?

http://jodyanthony.deviantart.com

Rallion @ Mar 29th 2007 9:44AM

I kinda LIKE the Bust-A-Move one with the baby. And I don't know what's wrong with the Pirates! one. They're certain nowhere near the level of the Karnaaj art. Or title. Or the man with the pointy bra on Valis III.

samfish @ Mar 29th 2007 9:58AM

I agree with what Steve said. They seriously must have been on some EXPENSIVE drugs when they came up with that Mega Man box.

From a design stand point, some of those weren't THAT bad. They're all crappy concepts, without a doubt, though.

Also, I want Ninja Golf Wii. Swing a sword AND a golf club! Rock on!

criminallyinane @ Mar 31st 2007 9:38AM

What's so bad about Lego Batman? I think they just threw that up there because it was recently announced.

Aberu @ Mar 29th 2007 10:04AM

The wonderboy cartridge box wasn't that bad though IMO. I love that cartridge box and that game.

Jonathan Tran @ Mar 29th 2007 10:13AM

yeah Ninja Golf and Pirates! are not that bad compared to half the ones on the list. The Mega Man one is awful, though. Beyond awful.

32_Footsteps @ Mar 29th 2007 10:12AM

Funny, I thought the Shaq Fu box art was the best part of the game.

RUSKULL @ Mar 29th 2007 10:33AM

Why is Lego Batman on that list? The game isn't even out yet, and the box will likely change by the time it is...

Galley @ Mar 29th 2007 10:46AM

Dana Plato, your hotness (and bad acting) will be missed.

Kye @ Mar 29th 2007 10:35AM

His eagle-claw fist is totally wrong.
Amatuer.

Kye @ Mar 29th 2007 11:48AM

His eagle-claw fist is totally wrong.
Amatuer.

NATO_Duke @ Mar 29th 2007 1:36PM

So, am I the only one that wanted Ninja Golf as soon as I saw the box?

The Dana Plato one had all the kids excited - so that shouldn't be there.

The No 1 should have been Mega Man - its just painful to look at.

scott @ Mar 29th 2007 1:43PM

Shaq-fu was, of course, ridiculous, and I'm ashamed to admit that I had it, but it was a surprisingly fun game most of the time!

Capt. Castellanos @ Mar 29th 2007 2:25PM

i just recently bought shaq-fu at a thrift store just because of the concept and art.

its cool to say that its actually pretty fun.

ackmondual @ Mar 29th 2007 3:46PM

Wish I could view that list from this workstation, but at least I can comment on Shaq Fu....

"Bounty Hunter, enforcer of justice!" It's shaqi 'o neille (sp), it's kung fu, it's Shaq Fu

Eric @ Mar 29th 2007 3:59PM

Is that Fabio on Ironsword?

32_Footsteps @ Mar 29th 2007 4:11PM

Oh, it's always fun when a new generation discovers the box art to Ironsword.

Yes, that is Fabio on the cover of Ironsword. For those who might track down a screenshot of the game, we all joked even back then about the cover, particularly when the main character walks around in full plate the entire game.

If you're wondering why that happened... well, the only thing I can say is that Acclaim was responsible.