To be fair, that was just the border that Capcom used for all of their NES games in North America at the time, so it doesn't really count. They changed it to the more traditional purple border by Mega Man 2, which was used for 2-5, as 6 six published on America by Nintendo due to being released so late in the system's life span.
+VeggeMight I just looked it up and you are right why didn't Nintendo use that one for the American release what did the Americans ever do to Japan.....(Stops to think to himself for a second remembers lessons of world war 2 and images of mushroom clouds over two major Japanese cities and thinks never mind.)
They actually didnt have enough time to make a cover. This is the american version that no body gave a shit about. They just found some random artist and told him to make a cover
+Intimidation One might argue that the cover art for far Phalanx was actually good, because it drew your attention at the game store. You see that box art and you're like, "WTF? Who is that old hillbilly guy? I've never seen a game cover like this. Let me look at this." And then you check out the back of the box.
When Kenji Inafune was talked to by a Capcom executive in the US to put someone in charge of the North American release, the Japanese box art had to be changed, the executive said "Americans just don't get Japanese culture, they won't understand it". So Kenji thinking it was done with the best interest in mind agreed to it, and when he finally saw the box art he thought to himself "Wow, Americans must not know what "art" is". And to think Kenji had an art degree and went to college, but some drip in the U.S. With no art experience ended up making the box art.
@@EpicAssassinPwny The reason why the older AVGN videos are considered better is because AVGN back then felt the kind of passion that you can only have when you are just starting out on something. And he HAS become quite tired of making AVGN videos lately, and thus comes off as less passionate in those videos.
Honestly, the art for Megaman 9 and 10 is literally just honorable, especially since it's the last official games of the Classic series we're gonna get.
I will always and forever see the Mega Man box art as an example of how shitty I could be, how shitty life can be. So when things get tough, I think to myself; "It can always be worse" * Looks at Mega Man covers*
At one time, the U.K. official Nintendo magazine did have a section where readers could submit their own alternate box art designs and they would be published.
The European box art was very cool fortunately! We didn't get those American nightmares. We had a very fucking cool sci-fi action movie cover with a faithful realistic Megaman on it, excellent stuff! Same goes for MM2, the German exclusive version was PERFECT!
I really think all those "mistakes" when drawing those covers actually adds to the misticism of the game, because that what we had back then, we wondered why he had a gun, why was he kinda afraid, and where were those tree palms in the game, there where no screen shots, no vids, thats what we got and thats we got us into imagine what the game would be like, and what could come up later in the game...I love these covers.
i just gotta say... i fucking love this cover art idea. u guys never get tapped out of things to do! it's like a candy calender to build excitement until the game review. so good.
Nothing serious, Just a bit of a joke, Also, Sethisto is a actual person, If you've never been to Equestria Daily, Then it may be irrelevant. (He really has a addiction to Trixie) Just one thing: Just do not worry about it.
What's extra weird is there was a Capcom licensed novella for Mega Man 2 where he's human in a suit. Not sure if that was intentional to go along with the art or what, but it seemed like they wanted that as the story for North America for a while.
The one with mega man holding a gun, rather than having an arm cannon, reminds me of a time a friend and I went to a crappy, local Star Trek convention that hosted an equally crappy costume contest in these two kids, who were supposed to be dressed up like the Borg, came up wearing some sparkly-ass superhero costumes and holding super soakers. One was wearing red and the other was wearing green. I think they got some sympathy wins too.
LOL, I remember looking at the MegaMan cover at the age of nine, and knowing there was something wrong with this. The game certainly made up for it, especially in the music, so it's not a big deal.
For Mega Man 9 they were like "Fuck it, we're going to give him an arm-cannon and a gun! And we're going to have a very sinister, apocalyptic back ground for this game where androids shoot hornets and tornadoes and robot fish."
A few years ago, I remember seeing... I can't even remember if it was a video or a blog post... Anyway, I saw a very funny dissection of the MegaMan cover art over the years told through the perspective of a beleagured marketing manager to the art department. I wish I could find it again.
I wonder how long until someone decided to tell the artist that Rock is a kid. It's sad that when they start to draw him like Mega Man in the game, his face looks stupid.
This is the basic story of how Bad Box Art Mega Man was born A long time ago in 1987, Mega Man was about to go through it's international release. The game's developers at Capcom thought at the last minute that nobody in America would like the anime-style box art. A staff at Capcom decided to ask a friend to draw a quick drawing for the American box art for Mega Man. However, in a combination of not having enough time and not knowing anything about how Mega Man looks, he created Bad Box Art Mega Man, and with him, a legend that would spread across almost all of the Classic Series Mega Man games.
I think that the cover displays a notion that "You're going to buy it anyway" and they didn't bother with proper instructions of what the covers should look like.
Keiji Inafune made the concept art for the original bosses, but Capcom already had Megaman designed for the game before he was involved, they probably based the cover art on what he was supossed to be in their minds.
christmas themed advent calender of videos, uses Vivaldi's Springtime for background music, even though i'm pretty sure he made pieces for the other seasons as well
Imagine if they kept the boxart Megaman as the official model for the Megaman series.
+Chip Biscuit Don't forget Street Fighter V Tekken and the megaman there was an EXACT replica of Bad boxart megaman
+Chip Biscuit Mega Man isn't even a playable character in UMvC3. You're thinking of the DLC character in Street Fighter X Tekken.
Fun fact: "Bad Box Art Mega Man" was actually supposed to be playable in Mega Man Universe.
But that game got canned...
FureonNectarmoon please don't say those things, my heart can't take it
King Harkinian I know that feel, Your Majesty.
Megaman's face is like the face every Konami employee makes everyday at work.
He never said it was made by Konami
+salozmen29 Wooosh. Idiot.
+SilverSpark Rants So, a mixture of digust, annoyance, confusion, and the want for the sweet release of death?
Sounds about right.
Or just his reaction to Konami
+SilverSpark Rants F*** Konami! Hail Kojima!
As an artist, I can easily say this is horrific. The proportions are driving me crazy!
As an artist
It hurts me as well
This is why my art teachers always emphasized using reference points!
As a non artist the proportions are driving me crazy aswell
I am not an artist. That is why I love it.
1:00 "Perfect for children with no necks!"
Finally, a game for me!
Jontron
Jonathan Tronathon
Ah i see what you did 🌚
I understood that reference. 🤓👍
Perfect for children with no necks
ultimaT FINALLY A GAME SYSTEM FOR ME!
Hehehe
Fillip make up your goddamn mind!
neckless kids will play this
Oh good. So I'm not the only one that thinks this boxart is absolute trash.
Did not expect to see you here.
Actually, the cover of the original Mega Man was made overnight because they needed to ship out the game the next day, but didn't have a cover art.
+MLDKF That sounds like some seriously unprofessional horseshit, like, how do you forget something like that??
+PikaLink91 In that time gamming was new
Jazneo Gamming No excuse
when i was kid to me this box art was cool. back in the 90's only reason picking on them now because he adult he realize there are bad now
+Jazneo Gamming yeah thats the point
Wait, Shitsmas was already one year ago?! Holy shit...
Woah...
+Abuyin ibn Djadir already yeah
.
+Abuyin ibn Djadir And the Dreamcast came out 16 years ago.
+WarpWorld7 Damn you, I wanted to do that
Calling it right now, the last box art is going to be the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde cover.
+Goose Boose I remember the Nerd saying it looked cool...
+Goose Boose Its BAD game cover art
Phalanx on snes will be number 1 for sure
+Goose Boose I think Phalanx for SNES will be somewhere in the late mix too.
+Goose Boose Doubt it. When he revisited the game, he talked about how it was so misleading.
My favorite part about the Mega Man 2 cover is that it clearly depicts stages from Mega Man 1.
I had noticed that before. I see those weird round structure from Bomb Man's stage.
Mega Man is my favourite bad cover star.
lmao i didnt expect to see you here
Street Fighter x Tekken.... I'm looking at you.
+Alpha Luna Ryu and that guy from Tekken swapping blows. What's wrong with that?
+jekblom123 Bad Box Art Mega Man
Still believe that character was slept on.
+Alpha Luna When my friend told me about smash bros having megaman, all I could think about was how disappointed I was with street fighter x tekken.
Rysuko1 and the cover?
Someone cosplayed as Megaman, before Megaman was a thing.
I actually love how they kept this kind of fine art even for the latest installment
1:45 looks like his hand is on backwards
+Padlock Films wtf it does o.O that's messed up
FireFalcons you stalking me? Ima call the TH-cam police on you. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
+Padlock Films They forgot to draw the lines between the fingers so it looks like the back of his fist when really, it's the front.
+Padlock Films I don't see it at all!
+Padlock Films What? No...
I lost it at the Crash Man lap dance bit :D
I love the way he fakes the high-caliber art critic.
Being honest here, the neon grids on the original game box art look cool, that's it though.
To be fair, that was just the border that Capcom used for all of their NES games in North America at the time, so it doesn't really count. They changed it to the more traditional purple border by Mega Man 2, which was used for 2-5, as 6 six published on America by Nintendo due to being released so late in the system's life span.
Yea, i just dont understand why hes using a gun
European Megaman art looks cool at fuck
Not the Mega Man 1 or 2 covers tho...
+VeggeMight I just looked it up and you are right why didn't Nintendo use that one for the American release what did the Americans ever do to Japan.....(Stops to think to himself for a second remembers lessons of world war 2 and images of mushroom clouds over two major Japanese cities and thinks never mind.)
+MegaSparkster The one we see here is horible indeed, but in Europe Megaman 2 had two versions, the other one is awesome.
Cunny
funny-Cool
Never got used to the Bad Box Art designs, probably never will.
This was amazing. I loved it, he should have done comments on all 10 main series entries.
They actually didnt have enough time to make a cover. This is the american version that no body gave a shit about. They just found some random artist and told him to make a cover
yes, this explanation everyone.
and they told him very last second as well. how long did he have? Like a single night or something? Lol.
Robert Jenkins an interview with kenji infaune. Watch it, I don't have the link but I'm sure you can find it.
It's an interview about the creation of megaman.
+alex santana I remember having read about it a long time ago, I believe he was given like 2 hours to put together this shitty watercolor.
Common, any artist could do some better proportions.
"They picked the loser" hahaha almost made me cry laughing!!
This is one of my FAVORITE video game art cover.
Looks like something done in preschool class.
Kleavers nah more like 6th grade
Holy shit, I've been looking at these covers for so long and yet I've never even noticed the Pharaoh Man thing. He's fucking huge!
They are all soooo bad, yet soooo awesome. I fully admit to loving them all simply because they are bad. :-)
Fun vids! Anxious to see more!
Hows it going Pixel Dan.
This episode was hilarious! Great writing - I lost it at the Crash Man/Doctor Light line. Can't wait for the rest of the Assvent Calendar.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Anticipation
Phalanx
Tommy Lasorda Baseball
+Intimidation how u kno megaman was going to be todays pick.
+Intimidation
Ranma 1/2
The Lawnmower Man
Phantasy Star 2 (NA version)
Super duper Sumos
+Intimidation One might argue that the cover art for far Phalanx was actually good, because it drew your attention at the game store. You see that box art and you're like, "WTF? Who is that old hillbilly guy? I've never seen a game cover like this. Let me look at this." And then you check out the back of the box.
+Autistic Yandere
Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric
Street Fighter (1980s PC versions)
+Austin Reed Sonic Boom RoL's cover was not too bad.
What a fun, unexpected series. Thanks, James.
0:30
Oh my god, this is what I call classic AVGN xD
I'm guessing *_Phalanx_* for the SNES will be picked as #1, but that cover is AMAZING!!!
1:16 was sampled in the butterflies soundtrack
When Kenji Inafune was talked to by a Capcom executive in the US to put someone in charge of the North American release, the Japanese box art had to be changed, the executive said "Americans just don't get Japanese culture, they won't understand it".
So Kenji thinking it was done with the best interest in mind agreed to it, and when he finally saw the box art he thought to himself "Wow, Americans must not know what "art" is". And to think Kenji had an art degree and went to college, but some drip in the U.S. With no art experience ended up making the box art.
I swear to God, James! That's what I call a 100% Perfect production! Every single frame of it!
Anyway I miss old school solid matte paper prints...
On top of the fortress. On TOP of the FORTRESS!
I'm surprised he didn't mention Bad Boxart Megaman from Street Fighter vs. Tekken
0:54 "State of the Art High Resolution Graphics" ...Ya, OK!!!
+Don Juan You obviously weren't alive in 1987.
+Don Juan It WAS state of the art back then, kid.
It was high resolution and state-of-the-art compared to Atari!
Obviously they aren't now dumbass.
You forgot the Mega man 4 for Game Boy cover: don't even need to make a joke on that
wow, didnt know he would pick this one so early, lol
James always saves my hard day! I love you James!
i miss when the Angry Nerd was actually angry ... :(
+MrJ Pmosh
Then watch his old videos. The same jokes get stale. Don't complain because you can't control your nostalgia.
@@EpicAssassinPwny The reason why the older AVGN videos are considered better is because AVGN back then felt the kind of passion that you can only have when you are just starting out on something. And he HAS become quite tired of making AVGN videos lately, and thus comes off as less passionate in those videos.
Called it! I also predict Phalanx will show up at some point.
I love how with Mega Man 9 they just went with the traditionally bad covers, haha. Great episode sir!
I died laughing when said that the megaman 3 boxart shows the robot hero shooting lasers at sparkmans crotch and he looks straight at it
I've never seen the European cover to Megaman 2. Still more aesthetically pleasing than the US ver.
AVGN should make a video on the Castlevania clones and imitators, Getsu Fuuma Den and Holy Diver are great examples
The European box art for MM1 is SO badass.
Fun fact: This version of Megaman was in Street Fighter X Tekken.
I love that this cover predicted Tron Guy.
Honestly, the art for Megaman 9 and 10 is literally just honorable, especially since it's the last official games of the Classic series we're gonna get.
Gunslinger *megaman 11
Ah, Bad Box Art Mega Man, truly an iconic box art for all the wrong reasons.
It being a Cinemassacre production, I can't help but get a "Night Gallery" (1969-73) vibe from these.
Awesome stuff, James and team!
Fun Fact: The artist behind that cover never saw the game before making that lol
I will always and forever see the Mega Man box art as an example of how shitty I could be, how shitty life can be. So when things get tough, I think to myself; "It can always be worse" * Looks at Mega Man covers*
that vivaldi soundtrack ambience makes it even more complete :D
At one time, the U.K. official Nintendo magazine did have a section where readers could submit their own alternate box art designs and they would be published.
Such a great game for such a bad cover. Capcom at the time definitely needed someone like the artist that Konami had.
GOD DAMN! You never run out of ideas for new content. Good job
Awesome. Good job covering the other Mega Man covers. I always remembered Mega Man 2 looking pretty ridiculous.
The European box art was very cool fortunately! We didn't get those American nightmares. We had a very fucking cool sci-fi action movie cover with a faithful realistic Megaman on it, excellent stuff! Same goes for MM2, the German exclusive version was PERFECT!
lol people were saying on the previous video that mega man deserved a spot on the list. well here it is XD
I really think all those "mistakes" when drawing those covers actually adds to the misticism of the game, because that what we had back then, we wondered why he had a gun, why was he kinda afraid, and where were those tree palms in the game, there where no screen shots, no vids, thats what we got and thats we got us into imagine what the game would be like, and what could come up later in the game...I love these covers.
"This is the expression of an artist's nightmare" I died
i just gotta say... i fucking love this cover art idea. u guys never get tapped out of things to do! it's like a candy calender to build excitement until the game review. so good.
The European Megaman games eventually got the Japanese style covers which started with MM3
avgn: mega man has no neck
jontron: finally a game for me!
The faces in 3 and 4 are giving me some Uncanny Valley chills. STRANGER DANGER!
There was an actual episode of Mega Man Fully Charged where there was a character parodying Bad Boxart Mega Man.
Did someone's kid draw this? Everything is out of proportion..
Shit Artwork Awesome Game
Trixie Is best pony, so as James Rolfe even tho he's not a pony or a Brony.
+Haruka Takahashi +Trixie is best Pony Tell that to Sethisto (from EQD).
h126the3rd what is that?
Nothing serious, Just a bit of a joke,
Also, Sethisto is a actual person, If you've never been to Equestria Daily, Then it may be irrelevant. (He really has a addiction to Trixie)
Just one thing: Just do not worry about it.
h126the3rd he has a Twitter account
What's extra weird is there was a Capcom licensed novella for Mega Man 2 where he's human in a suit. Not sure if that was intentional to go along with the art or what, but it seemed like they wanted that as the story for North America for a while.
The one with mega man holding a gun, rather than having an arm cannon, reminds me of a time a friend and I went to a crappy, local Star Trek convention that hosted an equally crappy costume contest in these two kids, who were supposed to be dressed up like the Borg, came up wearing some sparkly-ass superhero costumes and holding super soakers. One was wearing red and the other was wearing green. I think they got some sympathy wins too.
It's like Filthy Frank after working thirty weary years in retail.
LOL, I remember looking at the MegaMan cover at the age of nine, and knowing there was something wrong with this. The game certainly made up for it, especially in the music, so it's not a big deal.
For Mega Man 9 they were like "Fuck it, we're going to give him an arm-cannon and a gun! And we're going to have a very sinister, apocalyptic back ground for this game where androids shoot hornets and tornadoes and robot fish."
A few years ago, I remember seeing... I can't even remember if it was a video or a blog post... Anyway, I saw a very funny dissection of the MegaMan cover art over the years told through the perspective of a beleagured marketing manager to the art department. I wish I could find it again.
This is a great idea for a mini-series James, this cover art is so bloody funny lol!!
2:09 megaman: don't that feel good
Spark man: please help me
Rush: RUFF RUFF (WHAT ARE U DOING MEGAMAN)
Topman: this cover is for 15 or older
Wait Mega Man 9 is downloadable? Thanks !
If you look towards the left of the art, you'll see the final boss
I wonder how long until someone decided to tell the artist that Rock is a kid.
It's sad that when they start to draw him like Mega Man in the game, his face looks stupid.
Well, the game IS called mega MAN, not mega KID. Mega man sounds better though.
Aidan Bardoner
He's still a kid though...
*****
*Dramatic music ensues*
1:13 "i'm hip i'm cool look at me."
Is Shatterhand for the NES on your list? Despite it having a bad box cover, it's still a great game.
My daily dose of AVGN is here, freakin sweet!
I always thought the original Mega Man cover looked like it was made by a pre-pubescent Rob Liefeld.
This is the basic story of how Bad Box Art Mega Man was born
A long time ago in 1987, Mega Man was about to go through it's international release. The game's developers at Capcom thought at the last minute that nobody in America would like the anime-style box art. A staff at Capcom decided to ask a friend to draw a quick drawing for the American box art for Mega Man. However, in a combination of not having enough time and not knowing anything about how Mega Man looks, he created Bad Box Art Mega Man, and with him, a legend that would spread across almost all of the Classic Series Mega Man games.
They actually gave this Mega Man a name, Bad-Art Mega Man and there's a Bad-Art Roll
It's weird to always notice that James looks much like our history teacher. They both explain thing in hilariously interesting ways, too.
I think that the cover displays a notion that "You're going to buy it anyway" and they didn't bother with proper instructions of what the covers should look like.
Keiji Inafune made the concept art for the original bosses, but Capcom already had Megaman designed for the game before he was involved, they probably based the cover art on what he was supossed to be in their minds.
Great video James, love the background music too
Not gonna lie, I kinda liked the european art for mega man 2.
christmas themed advent calender of videos, uses Vivaldi's Springtime for background music, even though i'm pretty sure he made pieces for the other seasons as well
1:07 he doesn't want to hide his neck,he is a Space Marine!
The best part was Inafune calling this art worse than the sinking of the Titanic.
It's mega man using thunder bolt while in a weird combo of wily stage 2 and bomb man
All while covered with wire frame and sludge
Mega man on that cover looks like Jimmy Hopkins in a space suit
I always thought CrashMan looked like an Irishman with red mutton chops and a ball cap in that cover art...
Ive always wondered about these megaman covers lmao. thanks James