Japan Envy: Japanese Cave Story 3D art is proof that Japan does everything better

I must confess, I haven’t played Cave Story. I’ve downloaded the free version, but it’s just one of those things I haven’t gotten around to… I know, I know! Shame on me. I feel like my shame of not having played so many important titles is a recurring theme on this blog…

Anyways! I’m not here to talk about game-related shame. I’m here to talk about Cave Story 3D, a game that was but a small blip on my radar, namely because I just could not stand the art direction NIS America went for on the 3DS remake. The original game’s art style was so quirky, so retro… Well, let me cut to the chase. For those of you who haven’t seen it, here’s the art that graced the NA/Europe cover:

Unfortunately, I can’t find anything appealing about this art style, so I never felt the need to have a physical copy of the game. Honestly, I feel like to completely negates the awesome feel of the original game, which, as we all know, was Japanese. The Japanese cover, however? Now that’s a different story…

Now that is gorgeous, if I do say so myself! The game is so much more appealing now! What’s that? “Don’t judge a game by its box art”? Yeah, well…

Shinonoko, the artist behind said beautiful art, was also commissioned to do this promotional piece:

Simply divine! Too bad the in-game graphics themselves aren’t being reworked for the Japanese release… Or are they? I’d rather not know the answer, because if it’s “yes” I’m going to have yet another reason to push me towards buying a Japanese 3DS, and my wallet just can’t handle that.

Interestingly, the Japanese version of the game will also include Ikki, Dragon Slayer, and Crazy Climber.

What do you think of these new Cave Story 3D assets? And can anyone explain to me why Japan has all the fun?

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