Europe / North America

You’ve got to give it to the Western cover, there’s no doubting what the game has in store after looking at that design. Samus looms over the top half of the box, and a pinball table occupies the bottom. Simple. It’s all a little bit subdued, opting for the metallic greys and yellows that dominated sci-fi in the mid-2000s over anything particularly eye-catching, but hey, it’s Metroid Pinball, alright!

Japan

The Japanese design has a lot of the same cues as its European counterpart, but the end result is rather different. Right from the jump, look at all of those colours! The dull greys of the other cover are overshadowed by neon lights and lasers, making the pinball table look that bit more exciting. There are also Metroids floating overhead, and nothing screams ‘action pinball’ quite like aliens.

Samus is a lot less prominent in this one, shrinking away into the upper right corner, but we’d say that the series’ vibes are still present and correct.

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