Box Art Battles: The Kirby Series

Kirby's getting angry again. It happens every time he comes to America, it seems. He's happy and joyful at home in Japan, always wearing a smile and looking like he's having a good time.

We're talking about the Kirby franchise's box arts, of course, which have gained a well-deserved reputation here in the US for altering Japan's art to make Kirby seem more pissed off. "Angry Kirby" is the shorthand, and he's taken happy Kirby's place on store shelves in the States several times over.

And now he's about to do it again. Both this month's Kirby: Mass Attack for the DS and next month's Kirby's Return to Dream Land for the Wii will once again ship to stores with Angry Kirby plastered prominently on their boxes. It's a tradition that just isn't seeming to go away – but is it really what American gamers want?


First up, Kirby's first game. The key difference between these two boxes isn't Kirby's emotion, but his color – while he's always had his now-normal shade of pink applied to his body in Japan, Nintendo of America at first decided to present the hero as white in color.


Kirby's Adventure, the franchise's second game, also promoted the White Kirby coloration in America. That inaccurate skin tone was offset, though, by a very cool graphic effect in action – while Japan's box kept him pink and showed off a variety of his new Copy Abilities, American Kirby was so hungry that he was actually inhaling part of his own packaging.


But let's get into the core Kirby box art debate now. Here's the classic Angry Kirby example, from 2006's Kirby: Squeak Squad for the DS. The artwork used in both regions is practically identical, except for those angry eyebrows – making it look like Japan's Kirby is on the run from villains, while America's version might just be a treasure-stealing villain himself.


The GameCube's racing genre spin-off, Kirby Air Ride, also illustrates a similar subtle shift that makes all the difference. The art of Kirby riding through the air on his Warp Star is once again nearly identical, but while Japan's Kirby looks like he's having a fun time, America's Kirby looks like he's having no fun at all. (And actually, since this is Kirby Air Ride, the American emotion is probably more appropriate.)


Here's an interesting twist to the discussion – Japan's box art for Kirby & The Amazing Mirror actually features the Angry Kirby as well, just with the positions and colors swapped. Normal, happy Pink Kirby is the most prominent, smilingly talking on his magic cell phone – but red, sword-wielding Kirby just behind him has those classic angry eyes. For America? The art's the same, but with position and color swapped – to make Pink Kirby pissed off in front, while Red Kirby's the one who's calmed down and started happily chatting away.