Poll: Box Art Brawl: Duel – Batman Returns (SNES)

Welcome, one and all, to another week’s Box Art Brawl (rhyming unintentionally, we promise).

Before we head into this week’s super picks, let’s first take a look at how the previous battle went down. Last week, we took a look at the covers for Final Fantasy IV on the DS and it wasn’t a remotely close race. The colourful European art walked away with the win after getting 57% of the vote, while Japan came in second with 26% and NA rounded it out with 14%.

This week, to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of Batman Returns on the SNES (here in Europe, at least) we are matching up two of the game’s covers for a good old-fashioned face-off.

Batman Returns was released in 1993 following Tim Burton’s movie of the same name. The game follows the film’s plot, twisting it into a side-scrolling beat ’em up. Yes, the Spring release date might not match the game’s snowy, Winter environment, but it’s Batman, and Batman’s awesome.

There are just the two covers to choose between this week, with one opting for a more movie-accurate approach and the other going for something much different. So without further ado, let’s get into it.

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

North America / Europe

Both North America and Europe went for the same design on this game and we can see why. It’s a video game based on a film, right? So why not embrace the source material with the cover? Michael Keaton’s Batman stands front and centre, surrounded by four images from the movie showing Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman, Danny DeVito’s Penguin and, of course, the Batmobile. It might not be the most creative, but it certainly shows where its origins lie.

Japan

Wow. Compared to the movie-accurate real-life images of the previous cover, Japan really went in the opposite direction. This one is far closer related to the Batman comics than it is with the film, featuring original art of the three leads on the dominantly black cover, and carrying the action over onto the back. It doesn’t wear its ties to Burton’s movie quite so much on its sleeve, but you have to respect the bold look.

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