Box Art Tournament - The Final

[rupert]

Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar
Sonic The Hedgehog
Land of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse
Sagaia
Dragon Crystal
The Lucky Dime Caper starring Donald Duck
Master of Darkness

[wolfticket]

Tough choice, but seeing them all side by side I have to go with Sonic. It just seems to stand out from all the others and if I was in the shop seeing all these games for the first time it would be the one that would catch my eye.

It's the most aesthetically pleasing cover, with vibrant, contrasting colours, great layout and one of the coolest looking video game characters of all time!

Master of Darkness was one I thought I would vote for after the Semifinals but it doesn't stand out like I thought it would - great cover art, but it blends in with the rest. Dragon Crystal is excellent also.

Sagaia cover is just a mess, weakest cover of the bunch IMO. Logos and dull creatures clutter the cover up. What exactly is going on there?

[Transatlantic Foe]

I've gone for Sagaia. The metallic lionfish looks awesome!

Not a fan of the Disney covers and I think Sonic is more nostalgia for an iconic character than a standout cover design.

I think elements of the Master of Darkness cover are cool but the guy in a suit with a sword looks silly and Dracula himself looks a bit Scooby Do style! Much like the 80s tastic covers with derpy faces in earlier rounds, I'm not seeing the appeal of it.

[Hot_Violet]

^
Same here. I love the way the image breaks out of the normal rectangular boundary. It really adds to the dynamism while the more adult art style really shows what the game's about.

Master of Darkness was a close second. I just prefer the more mature art I suppose...

[soup]

I've gone for Master of Darkness, I think if I was a kid and stood there comparing the covers, that would be the one I bought. I've pretty much voted this through the rounds and is the only one in the final that I really like.

I like the Dragon Crystal cover but it is somewhat void of action and the Ultima IV cover is impressive but strikes me as almost biblical, not that there's anything wrong with that if it's your kind of thing but maybe why I didn't pick them up first time around. The irony here is that these two games are two that I'm actively looking for cheap copies of which shows the cover artwork are of far lesser importance than when I was a little kid without the aide of a million reviews and internet forums.
Now there's Sagaia. I know my views won't be popular here when it comes to the robo-fish. I just don't really rate it, it looks like the sort of thing I drew in art class when I was a teenager. (Although, it'd probably have zombies in it too!) It's not a bad cover and I like the way it spills from the borders, having said that I used to get a right bollocking when I drew on the tables!
Sonic is a classic, undeniably iconic, just seeing the cover makes me want to go and stick the cart in but maybe I've seen it so much that it's lost a bit of it's sparkle and wow factor to me.
Land of Illusion and Lucky Dime Caper, both great covers but from a style point of view, a little too cutesy to be serious contenders in my mind. I actually bought Lucky Dime Caper as a kid partly based on the cover and was certainly not disappointed by the game.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing what comes out on top of the pile and once more a big thank you to rupert for running this contest.

[ian]

There are some fantastic covers in this final and for me it was a choice between three: Sonic, Lucky Dime Caper and Master of Darkness.

Master of Darkness has great detail and lots of interesting things going on to look at. Sonic is bright and colourful and holds a lot of nostalgia. But for me, Lucky Dime Caper is a combination of all these great attributes, so I've gone with that.

Big thanks to rupert for organising this and generating some much-needed activity on the forum

[rupert]

thanks guys, i've quite enjoyed doing it. hopefully there can be another forum activity in the near future weather it be another tournament, quiz, comp or whatever. I think regular interactive events on the forum might be the key to keeping it active. There isnt quite enough new discoveries to find or new questions to answer to keep it buzzing.

As for this final.. I can't choose yet. I'm torn between Sonic, Land of Illusion, Lucky Dime Caper and Master of Darkness. I'll have to have another look next week. Judging by the commentd so far there isnt a clear cut winner at all!

[Kenneth]

I can't believe my favourite cover for years actually made it to the final

[Stan]

It was Master of Darkness or Ultima IV for me, but Ultima's art has been used elsewhere, so I went with the one that was unique.

[ShadowAngel]

I don't really get the love for Sonic. In my oppinion it's a very generic, lame cover, especially compared to the cover for Sonic 2 that is so much more active looking. Also the rings...it's like they were just randomly thrown into the background with no rhyme or reason.

I can't really decide which one to vote for. Sonic would be last, followed by Sagaia and Land of Illusion but then it becomes very difficult. They are all good covers.
I guess i go with nostalgia and vote for Lucky Dime Caper. It has Donald, a bear (a shame they didn't use Humphrey though) and it was the first game i ever bought myself

[Kaunisto]

I'm taking Master of Darkness just barely before Sagaia, Ultima 3rd for me.
IMO Sonic is a good basic cover. About Dragon Crystal I'm undecided (I try not to be biased as it's the only game of these I have and I love it); cool but pretty generic.
As much as I've read Donald and Mickey comics since kid, I'm not too fond of those covers.

[evo4123]

really torn between 3..... right decided.... and voted

[edwithmj]

Master of Darkness for me.

[soera]

Master of Darkness for me too (Cause Speedball didnt make it ). Its the most interesting looking one of the options here.

[soup]

Jan 11, 2016 10:16:41 GMT evo4123 said:

really torn between 3..... right decided.... and voted

You tease!