**Before I start I just wanna give a HUGE shoutout to “Launchbox” for being such a helpful resource during this**
Hello esteemed gamers,
I had this idea last night and wanted to wait till I was more cognitively *there* to make it. Essentially it’s a look at some of my personal favorite video game covers and my pointless reasons for liking them so much. Without further adieu, let’s get into it:
Hello esteemed gamers,
I had this idea last night and wanted to wait till I was more cognitively *there* to make it. Essentially it’s a look at some of my personal favorite video game covers and my pointless reasons for liking them so much. Without further adieu, let’s get into it:
- Clock Tower
I like the Clock Tower PS1 cover art because of its haunting simplicity. Scissorman’s massive shears gleaming in the light, the eerie blue-gray color palette, and the castle overlooking the sea in the background all work in symbiosis to create a feeling of impending doom. It’s the kind of cover that would stand out to me at the video store as a kid. It does a great job of making it clear you’re about to step into a psychological nightmare.
- Tempest 2000
I love this cover art so much. As someone that was alive in the year 2000, I wish we were flying around in polygonal claw machine claws blasting space demons. Instead, we got Y2K. In my opinion it perfectly captures the game's high-speed, psychedelic gameplay and screams arcade intensity. It’s one of the reasons I want to own an Atari Jaguar. Will I though? Not in this economy.
- Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee
I first played this game with my cousin many many years ago on his GameCube, and I remember being so drawn to the cover art. There’s just something so aesthetically pleasing to me about watching Godzilla deliver an absolute haymaker to Mechagodzilla. It’s about as good of a description for the game as you’d need, you’re basically serving up triple-decker knuckle sandwiches to various kaiju while the humans just idly sit by and talk about the fight.
- Plumbers Don’t Wear Ties
Who doesn’t love soft-core pornography disguised as a film-student’s final’s project? In all seriousness, I love the cover for this game so much it’s just so goofy. It’s as delightfully bizarre as the game itself, and that’s a great thing! I feel like now, too many games try to have these fantastic art pieces that are more about looking pretty than conveying what happens in-game. Plumbers Don’t Wear Ties conveys - almost literally word for word - what oddities you will experience. It pulls no punches and I respect it.
- Street Hockey 95’
Everytime I look at this cover I laugh. There’s just so much going on, yet it only makes a small connection to what the actual game is about. It’s a perfect snapshot of that '90s “extreme sports” vibe that was popular in media like MTV, and early Nickelodeon —bold, chaotic, and full of energy. The exaggerated poses, the in-your-face perspective, it captures that era's obsession with making everything bigger, louder, and cooler, and that’s why it stands out to me. Ironically I learned of this cover from an AVGN video about BAD game covers some years ago.
- Godzilla Generations
“AnOtHeR GoDzIlLa GaMe?!” Yes I absolutely love Godzilla and nobody can stop me. As a pack-in title for the Japanese Dreamcast, Godzilla Generations definitely sets itself apart from the rest. The nuclear nemesis is just coldly staring, almost as though he’s staring into the viewer as opposed to at them. It imparts a sense of power and impending rage that other North American Godzilla games lack. The hazy, red background enveloping the King Kaiju is reminiscent of the Heisei-era (1984-1995) films. This gives it a much more authentic feel, in my opinion, when compared to other games that attempted this trick like Godzilla (2014) for PS4.
- Pepsiman
I couldn’t have made this list without mentioning the infamous Pepsiman! You’ve got the Dollar Tree version of Silver Surfer pointing at you, demanding that you drink, what’s not to love? The best way I can describe it in my own words would be “a Salvador Dali painting, but Japanese”. There’s something about it that feels eclectic and timeless. You could tell me this was made today and I’d believe you, but I’d also believe you if you said it was made 30 years ago.
Also I feel like this never gets mentioned, Pepsiman has a Cuban-link chain on in the cover art. I think it’s so silly and fun that he’s concerned enough with his drip to wear a chain, but not pants.
- Need For Speed Most Wanted
The BMW M3 GTR is an absolutely amazing vehicle and - as a petrol head - I felt it would be a HUGE injustice to not mention NFS Most Wanted. There's a gritty, urban feeling to the cover art that perfectly captures the vibe of the game. The graffiti lettering in the title, the overlapping reflections of both the cops and enemy racers, it's just... perfect. Now I won't lie, nostalgia definitely has a huge part to play in this. As a kid I absolutely loved this game on the DS, and as an adult I've probably sunk close to 35 hours on the emulated console version.
Best,
Diet Pepsi
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