Turbografx covers are rubbish

[offsidewing]

Good way to stereotype.  I shall now stereotype as well:  Most Americans who like anime are usually overweight, wear glasses and have had little experience with the opposite sex.

Speak for yourself!  I've banged a least 15 different chicks while watching robot carnival during my early 20's.  At least 14 of those girls where hot!  Okay, maybe nine.  Anyways, Robot Carnival is like Spanish Fly.  For some reason chicks just want to get busy when it's on.  My wife included. (I hope she never reads these posts!)

Just Beware, don't expect the same results with Venus Wars, Akira, or Golgo 13.
 

[GUTS]

Who was complaining about anime in games?  People complain about effiminate main characters and stupid cliched japanese stereotype characters, but anime is perfect for video games when it's used creatively, I don't think you'd find anybody on this board who would argue against that.

[esteban]

You guys are far too harsh on the North American artwork. At this point, you should be able to appreciate it on some level. Back in the day, I did not like it at all because it was breathtakingly lame and not very inspiring.

Now, of course, I am grateful that NEC/TTi/WD didn't recycle the Japanese cover art. The North Amercian coverart is our own unique contribution to the PCE world.

Also, I am fairly certain that a small band of artists created a bulk of the artwork -- this creates a cohesiveness across the entire TG-16 library (things changed towards the end, especially with TTi). I think this is pretty neat, since it is so unusual: it was as if they asked one artist to give his / her interpretation of each game in the TG-16 library.

Don't get me wrong, it was only when the TG-16 was dying that I began to truly appreciate the gift that we were given: a gallery of glorious art!

Sure, I like kitschy stuff, but it goes beyond simply laughing at how inept some of the covers are.... there's something truly magical about the art.

[Keranu]

Steve is absolutely right, there is a special feeling the American cover art gives. Anime covers can look nice and all, but those cheesy American covers seem to give more emotion and capture the enviroments of the game in a more realistic way. When I think about this "magic", Vigilante is the first game that comes to mind. The artwork does a fantastic job recreating level 2 (I think) and really presents the area like the game did, only with more detail to make the surrounding look even dirtier for the enemy's turf.

[offsidewing]

Can we really compare the PCE to TG cover art ex-post-facto?

We're talking the conceptual differences of two diverse cultures in a small entertainment/electronics segment of almost 20 years ago.  Japan was the far off fantasy land that got all the hot electronic (and related items) years before we in the colonies did.  There was no interenet, no fanboys, and a handful of resouces committed to video games.  I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard: "In Japan, I heard they have this..." 

Anime/Manga was(is) mainstream in Japan.  Here in the states, no matter how much we love it, the best it Anime will ever achieve is cult status.  Toonami is the best we can ever expect.  So saying the casual American video game player won't appreciate an Anime cover is accurate, but that doesn't in any way discount the artistry of Anime or the intellegence of the US buyer.  Amine was a great platform to base games off of in Japan, and games were a great platform to base Anime/Manga from.

Can any one fault NEC USA for electing to illustrate the cover are the way they did?  Big eyes, big guns, giant open mouths, and machine gun jubblies was, um, well, foreign in the early 90's.  I think the TG cover are opened up my imagination a bit more to the game.  Of course I was an early impressionable teen then, but that was the target audience of the US videogame industry at the time.

[kenomac78]

joe

you maybe only half right on that sterotype. i would say thats true for guys, but for girls the steroetyp is of someone who littlers their myspace pace with anime icons until the damn thing crashes and they do it bcause they think they are some cute angel princess or some  bs like that.

[esteban]

Steve is absolutely right, there is a special feeling the American cover art gives. Anime covers can look nice and all, but those cheesy American covers seem to give more emotion and capture the enviroments of the game in a more realistic way. When I think about this "magic", Vigilante is the first game that comes to mind. The artwork does a fantastic job recreating level 2 (I think) and really presents the area like the game did, only with more detail to make the surrounding look even dirtier for the enemy's turf.

Well, I don't know if Vigilante is the best example to bring up , because it is pretty static and flat... but actually I do like the Vigilante cover for some reason (it's gotta be the way he holds his knife... that's gotta be it!), even though the Japanese cover art has received the HIGHEST PRAISE POSSIBLE. I gotta find the old thread where I compared the covers... but I don't think I have the images saved anywhere...

EDIT: Here is the old thread where Vigilante's PCE cover is deemed THE BEST COVER ART IN THE UNIVERSE. No, I wasn't joking about that. I'll see if I still have the images, but I doubt it (I'm on my second or third laptop since then).

OK, I fixed the links in the old post... but I remember the SMS cover art as being slight different. There must be a few variations of it for SMS, because the one I remember was more minimal (IIRC, anyway).

[GUTS]

I forgot how cool the Master System cover for Vigilante was, awesome.  Covers with guys getting clocked in the face are always the shit, I love them.

[Keranu]

Steve is absolutely right, there is a special feeling the American cover art gives. Anime covers can look nice and all, but those cheesy American covers seem to give more emotion and capture the enviroments of the game in a more realistic way. When I think about this "magic", Vigilante is the first game that comes to mind. The artwork does a fantastic job recreating level 2 (I think) and really presents the area like the game did, only with more detail to make the surrounding look even dirtier for the enemy's turf.

Well, I don't know if Vigilante is the best example to bring up , because it is pretty static and flat... but actually I do like the Vigilante cover for some reason (it's gotta be the way he holds his knife... that's gotta be it!), even though the Japanese cover art has received the HIGHEST PRAISE POSSIBLE. I gotta find the old thread where I compared the covers... but I don't think I have the images saved anywhere...

Oh yes I forgot about the Japanese cover and I agree it's way better (in fact, it looks like the cover you would see to an American movie from the 80's). I'm also aware the Vigilante isn't the best American cover to show off, but it just really sticks out to me for some reason.

[Black Tiger]

Oh yes I forgot about the Japanese cover and I agree it's way better (in fact, it looks like the cover you would see to an American movie from the 80's). I'm also aware the Vigilante isn't the best American cover to show off, but it just really sticks out to me for some reason.

The best pencil crayoned Turbo cover, which is also better than the PCE version, is Legendary Axe.








Aside from the actual art, its also cool how the axe pokes inbetween the logo.

I imagine that the artist got the job after proving themself with this piece and then phoned in the rest once they were hired.

[nodtveidt]

The Japanese one is better, but only because it's got a topless chick on it.

[Black Tiger]

The Japanese one is better, but only because it's got a topless chick on it.

Maybe if it showed the front. You still see more boob on the North American cover.

Somebody post the covers.  I want to see them, but I can't since thumpin_thermous pulled a "Keranu".

The kids on the North American Ordyne cover look like Alex Kidd from the North American cover of 'Miracle World.

[nodtveidt]

Both Ordyne covers are retarded.

[esteban]

Both Ordyne covers are retarded.

Personally, I like both covers. The composition is spot-on perfect, IMO: I wouldn't change a thing. Well, actually, they should have allowed the artwork to take center-stage and prevent the logos from blocking parts of the illustration. Otherwise, good stuff.

I'd love to have an Ordyne poster, and I'm not even a fan of the game (I've barely played it).

Perhaps it has something to do with the righteous, clenched-fist, outstreched-arm hero on the cover of Ordyne... I tend to like that sort of thing:







Also: Black_Tiger, I totally agree with you! The US Legendary Axe cover is far superior. The perspective the artist used is perfect, whilst the Japanese cover has a more awkward composition (and the artwork has a childish quality to it):

That said, of course I love the Japanese cover! It's totally goofy, gorgeous.   Gogan isn't holding his axe as if it is a weapon, instead, he appears to be using his breasts as a weapon. His nipples simply couldn't get any closer to that spider -- and he knows it! Bravo, Gogan. Bravo!

[Keranu]

Wow, great Legendary Axe comparison. I never observed the cover for LA much before, but I love the mouth drooling claw on the spider!