Welcome back to Box Art Brawl, our regular survey to find out which region has the best album cover for a particular retro release.
Last time we looked at Capcom’s DS gem Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective in honor of its 10th anniversary (in the West). The North American cover stormed it with over 60% of the vote, leaving Japan a quarter and Europe clearing the rest.
This week we stay ahead of Capcom and the Nintendo DS another anniversary fight. Yes, Resident Evil: Deadly Silence Launched 15 years ago on January 19, 2006, Shinji brought Mikami’s PlayStation original to Nintendo’s handheld in time for the series’ 10th anniversary. Taking advantage of the system’s touchscreen and adding some mechanics to the original framework, Deadly Silence is an underrated little gate and remains an excellent way to experience the shlocky B-movie horror and the mid-range footage. 90s of the game in its original guise (as opposed to the beautifully slick, reinvented REmake).
The Resident Evil series is of course a fixture in the ‘Brawl, with no less than four previous appearances to date; Variants of Resident Evil 0, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4 have all competed for your approval in the past.
So pack your (Jill) sandwiches and let’s go back to the Spencer Mansion …
Europe
The European cover puts the eerie tyrant on a suitably blood-red background with his mutated claw visible, though largely obscured by the logo. However, we get a good look at his dynamite abs below, and his impressive set of knotters above.
Not much going on here. We love the deep red and the overall impression the great evil gives, although it is a bit in your face and does not convey much of the tension you feel while exploring the mansion’s drab corridors. However, I have to love the little yellow spot on that Capcom logo.
North America
The North American cover adds more action, with Jill Valentine halfway through the jump with two guns in her hands, one fired. She’s flanked by a horde of zombies (and an unsavory-looking yellow-eyed reptilian dude) as the tyrant looms up all over the collage. Its large limp claw hangs menacingly over the statue, although we are not sure what it does with it. Throwing shapes, maybe?
The logo is identical but has been shrunk to show more of the art. Overall, it is fine, but more generic and less targeted than the European version.
Japan
The Japanese cover goes for something more thoughtful; something that conjures up evil in the residence without showing the game’s final boss or a gung ho, gunfire hero. An ominous crow takes center stage, framed by a blazing orange-red light, and in the darkness of its silhouette, you can discern the illuminated face of a zombie and the faint contours of the Spencer Mansion.
Considering this was a game released at the time of the iconic original’s 10th anniversary, it’s fair to assume everyone was already new to what ‘Biohazard’ was, so this more evocative cover would have worked well. While it is not so obvious, we admire how it avoids the obvious.
So you’ve seen the options, but which one is in your heart? Choose your favorite and click on ‘Vote’ to let us know below:
Fifteen years! Feel free to share your memories of this smaller REmake below. We hope you all stay safe and healthy – hI had a great week and we’ll see you again for a new Box Art Brawl.