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[[File:Kirby_Air_Ride_2_1379.jpg|link=Kirby (Video Game)|right]]
 
{{quote|''Being happy is sometimes rather pleasant, really. Japanese developers understand this mysterious truth, but while they keep trying to export their eternally sunny characters to us, we just keep transforming them into gloomy, moody tough guys.''|"[http://www.gamesradar.com/f/why-japanese-box-art-is-better/a-20080729123833874037 Why Japanese Boxart is Better]," Games Radar}}
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* Compare the [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/4/563284_2715_front.jpg Japanese] and [http://www.gameexpress.com/images/product/original/039854000225F.JPG American] box art for the obscure Game Boy port of ''Milon's Secret Castle''.
* The box art for ''[[Uncharted]] 2: Among Thieves'' is [http://www.examiner.com/video-game-news-in-national/japanese-box-art-for-uncharted-2 operating on this].
** In case no one seen it, the Japanese version resembles an ''[[Indiana Jones (Franchise)|Indiana Jones]]'' movie poster.
* ''Totally Rad'' is one of the most extreme examples. The translators [[Woolseyism|changed most of the dialog]] and even its ''name'' from the original (which was called ''Magic John''). And of course plunked in two completely different main characters in place of the originals. [http://www.flammie.net/vse/things/rad/ The result] is a send-up of '80s surfer-dude culture in place of a fairly forgettable platformer.
** Not surprisingly, ''Magic John''/''Totally Rad'' was published by Jaleco, a company famous for having its game's characters and plot being almost completely altered for American release. A good example being ''Sayuuki World 2'', a game based loosely on ''The Journey to the West'' which became the Native-American themed ''Whomp 'Em''. The original ''Sayuuki World'' was never released outside Japan.
** ''Taro's Quest'', an unreleased and unfinished localization of Jaleco's ''[[Dragon Quest (Video Game)|Dragon Quest]]'' clone ''Jajamaru Ninpou Chou'', had major changes to the graphics, redrawing the character portraits to be less [[Super-Deformed]] and outright replacing some of the more goofy-looking monsters.
* The first Super Famicom ''[[Ganbare Goemon]]'' game was translated and brought over as ''Legend of the Mystical Ninja'', and [[Macekre|funky character renaming aside]] (Kid Ying and Dr. Yang? ''REALLY?''), the [http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/goemon/goemon1sfc.jpg box art] was suitably [http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/goemon/mysticalninjasnesa.jpg "Americanised"].
* ''[[EVO Search for Eden|E.V.O. Search for Eden]]'' is a [[Subversion]]; compare the [http://media.gameswag.com/image/CB84eBrsBXR2w3bdasdb3298/HGyDzI7oqBTqQn4dfmdYOxcn9uIuZvbg.jpg SNES version's] realistic, if fanciful, box art to the [[Kawaiiko|considerably cutesier]] [http://www.videogameden.com/sfc/cover/evo.jpg Super Famicom version]. Looks like a straight example, right? It turns out that the SNES version is actually using the ''original'' cover art from ''[http://imageshack.us/f/5/shinkaron.png/ 4.6 Billion Year Story: The Theory of Evolution]''<ref>Which is what the SFC version of E.V.O. is named in Japan</ref>, made by the same company for the [[PC 98|PC-9801]], and of which ''E.V.O.'' is a (loose) port!
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* Just when you thought Nintendo was eschewing this with Kirby, along comes ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks]]''. In Japan and Europe, the box to Link's latest DS adventure features him happy riding his train (the train being the game's big innovation, after all) while in America, he's doing his best to look like a sword-brandishing tough guy. [http://pressthebuttons.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83452033569e20120a62ab5b1970b-pi Which kind of clashes with the art style.]
** Ironically, this also meant that America pretty much erased Zelda's ''first appearance on the box art of one of her own games'', since the PAL and Japanese boxart features her {{spoiler|in her ghost form and therefore suspiciously pale}} sitting on the top of the train. No, the pink Phantom on the American boxart does ''not'' count.
** ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass]]'' did the same thing - Japan and Europe got a colourful spread of Link and Linebeck sailing about, the US art had them in moodier poses with a brown-shaded Phantom Ship as the backdrop.
** All of this is likely due to the [[Fan Dumb]] complaining about ''[[The Legend of Zelda: theThe Wind Waker (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker]]'''s cartoony and "kiddy" art style. Both ''Phantom Hourglass'' and ''Spirit Tracks'' retain said art style. A coincidence? Probably not.
* ''[[ICO (Video Game)|ICOIco]]'''s [http://www.sirlin.net/storage/articles/ico-jp-cover-1.jpg original cover] did a good job of capturing the overall feel of the game - quiet, isolated, beautiful, and above all artistic. The [http://www.porkrind.org/reviews/ico.jpg American cover] takes all of that away and gives it the look of an uninspired throwaway game, while making Ico himself look gritty, aggressive and as being straight from the [[Uncanny Valley]] - something he most definitely is not. The change was infamous enough that it actually gained a short set of comments from head development staff in an interview on its PS3 re-release.
* Sammy's ''Arkista's Ring'' for the NES features a badass elf chick in a [[Chainmail Bikini]] on the box. Somewhat of a subversion, as it was never released in Japan.
* The American box art of ''[[No More Heroes]]'' has Travis Touchdown holding his beam katana with an aggressive look. The European and Japanese box art has Travis standing in the streets of Santa Destroy with a smile on his face and an arm around Sylvia's waist.
** Considering the American version of the game also had the blood the game was originally intended to have, while others didn't, this might be reversed.
** Inverted with ''No More Heroes 2''. All covers are intense, though the Japanese cover (especially the Hopper edition cover) is '''[[Up to Eleven|even more hardcore]]''' compared to the US/EU/AU one.
* ''[[One Piece (Manga)|One Piece]] Unlimited Cruise 1: The Treasure Beneath The Waves'' got a reworking for the European release. [http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090223063106/onepiece/images/3/36/OP_UC_EP_1.png Here is the original Japanese boxart]. For comparison, [http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090611072055/onepiece/images/9/97/OP_UC_PAL.jpg here is the European boxart]. Averted for ''Unlimited Cruise 2: Awakening of a Hero'', where the original Japanese boxart was used for both versions.
* The first ''[[Spyro the Dragon]]'' game has the reversed version of this (being cutened up), mainly with a [[Dreamworks Face]]. Just take a look at the [http://www.darkspyro.net/spyrothedragon/images/cover_us_large.jpg American]/[http://www.darkspyro.net/spyrothedragon/images/cover_eu_large.jpg European] versions, then take a look at the [http://www.darkspyro.net/spyrothedragon/images/cover_jp_large.jpg Japanese] version (where he seems to have lost his claws).
** The second game had that too. Compare the covers for the [http://www.darkspyro.net/glimmer/images/cover_us_large.jpg US version], [http://www.darkspyro.net/glimmer/images/cover_eu_large.jpg European version] and the [http://www.darkspyro.net/glimmer/images/cover_jp_large.jpg Japanese version].
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* Weird version in Game/Yakuza 4 - the PAL collector's edition sheath has the tagline "Do Something Terrible Today". Anybody who plays a Yakuza game for about ten minutes knows that they are essentially [[Rated "M" for Manly|a manual about how to be manly]], which includes being a good (if sometimes rough) person. [[Did Not Do the Research]]?
* ''[[Solatorobo]]'': While all covers are taken from official game art, the [http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sruLyAW7i1Q/TaWuwcSk6HI/AAAAAAAAGvs/6AV9v5MsNYY/s1600/Solatorobo_red_the_hunter_cover.jpg Japanese cover] is definetly more happy-looking than the [http://images.nintendolife.com/games/ds/solatorobo_red_the_hunter/cover_large.jpg European] and [http://cdn02.animenewsnetwork.com/images/cms/the-x-button/42186/redcover.jpg American] ones.
* Inverted in the ''[[PlaystationPlay TwoStation 2]]'' game called ''Dogs Life''. The PAL and American covers are [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/2/917852_25707_front.jpg rather fitting for the game]; showcases the villains, protagonist, and the dogs you can control all in the style used for cutscenes. The Japanese cover is [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/2/917852_63389_front.jpg just Jake running through a farm] that vaguely resembles the Clarksville levels; and a stylistic version of him anyway.
* In [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7detDcmMKY the first English trailer] for ''[[Kid Icarus: Uprising]]'', Pit's voice gets even deeper than the English ''Brawl'' voice variant, mainly because his voice [[The Other Darrin|has changed]].
** Now that the box art is revealed, this trope is in play again. While both the [http://bzzz.3dsbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/tumblr_lxrdqeJKpZ1qzp9we.jpg Japanese] and [http://bzzz.3dsbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/tumblr_lxrdqeJKpZ1qzp9we2.jpg North American box] art show Pit with a furrowed brow, the NA version removed all traces of pink and gave him an angry frown instead of the open mouth smile.
 
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* There is a variant cover for ''[[Gunstar Heroes]]'' is pretty much the same as the original release (right down to the poses), only all the characters are more realistically drawn, rather than the same style as the game itself.
* Game Freak's action puzzle game ''Quinty'' was released in America as ''[[Mendel Palace]]'' and... well, just [http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/nes/image/587446.html look].
* While not quite a 'box art' example of the trope, the [[Tokyo Pop]] translation of ''[[Devil May Cry (Video Game)|Devil May Cry]] 3'''s manga changed 'tomato juice' to 'beer'. As in, what Dante drinks most of the time.
* The cover artwork of ''Demon Sword'' (the U.S. version of ''Fudō Myō-ō Den'', a Famicom spinoff to ''Legend of Kage'') depicts the protagonist as a long-haired [[Barbarian Hero]] instead of the Japanese swordsman actually featured in the game.
* ''[[Bomberman (Video Game)|Bomberman]]'' for the [[Turbo Grafx 16]]--compare [http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/5966/bomberjapan.jpg this] to [http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/9449/bomberman0wq.jpg this].
* ''Mass Destruction'' is a game where you drive a tank and blow things up. The Japanese cover depicts a tree in a park (Eh?). Compare the [http://www.gamefaqs.com/saturn/574582-mass-destruction/images/box-80280 original American cover] with the [http://www.gamefaqs.com/saturn/574582-mass-destruction/images/box-14319 Japanese release].
* ''[[Choro Q|Seek And Destroy]]'''s American cover is far more hard core than the cover of any Japanese game from the entire series. Compare [http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps2/583311-seek-and-destroy/images/box-25343 these] [http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps2/583311-seek-and-destroy/images/box-46631 two]. [[Covers Always Lie|There's no US army in that game...]]
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== Adventure Games ==
* ''[[Heavy Rain]]'''s [http://www.digitalbattle.com/2010/01/14/heavy-rain-box-art-shows-the-difference-between-us-and-europe/ European and American box art.] The European version simply shows the origami bird figure, while the American box art shows the main cast standing behind the origami bird, with Madison Paige standing in the foreground (wearing a [[Fetish Fuel|revealing tank top]] that she wore in only one part of the game) and Scott Shelby [[Cool Guns|wielding a pistol]]. The [http://blogimg.goo.ne.jp/user_image/13/bf/11af9f1e23069eadb0febe11a779ef13.jpg Japanese box art] was simply an ominous sighting of a seemingly drowned man. The Japanese version isn't as mysterious as the European version, but it is significantly more solemn than the American version and more effectively conveys the seriousness of the game's subject matter than the American version does.
* In Japan, the cover of the first ''Gyakuten Saiban'' game is the same as the rest: [http://www.ncsxshop.com/images/products/large/0606/gyakuten_saiban.jpg Four portraits of the main characters in a row.] In the US though, the first ''[[Ace Attorney (Visual Novel)|Ace Attorney]]'' game's cover is a picture of [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/73/Phoenix_Wright_-_Ace_Attorney_Coverart.png Phoenix pointing angrily], with Maya standing behind him and [[Evil Overlooker|Edgeworth evilly overlooking them]].
** And the European one is Phoenix standing in front of a white background, looking serious. Same trope, blander cover. At least later games retained the Japanese covers too.
 
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* ''[[River City Ransom]]'' is a textbook example. Contrast the [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0e/Downtown_Nekketsu_Monogatari_game_cover.jpg Japanese box art], in which everyone looks more or less [[Super-Deformed|like they do]] in the actual game, with the [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/46/River_City_Ransom-front.jpg American box art]. Of course, even in the Japanese version, the heroes of that game, as well as every other game in the [[Kunio Kun]] series, are indisputably hardcore. For the Japanese, "cute" and "hardcore" are [[Badass Adorable|not mutually exclusive]].
* The [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/4/582034_86410_front.jpg American cover] of ''Robo Army'' is, ahem, more "hardcore" than the [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/4/582034_2458_front.jpg Japanese original].
* ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtles in Time (Video Game)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time]]''. [http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/tmntbeatemups/Turtles%20in%20Time%20SNES%20Japanese%20Box%20Art.jpg The Japanese version] had art that looked just like the [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1987 (Animation)|'80s cartoon]] (and by proxy, the actual damn game). The American version? As per Konami of America's standards at the time, [http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/tmntbeatemups/Turtles%20in%20Time%20SNES%20American%20Box%20Art.jpg incredibly hardcore] and more like [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Comic Bookcomics)|the original comic]]. (See also: ''[[Sunset Riders]]'', most of the ''[[Contra]]'' games, and ''[[Castlevania]]'' ''III'' and ''IV''.)
* The American cover art of ''[[Guardian Heroes]]'' replaced the original anime-style depictions of the six main characters with a fantasy novel-like illustration of Han fighting against the Undead Knight, [[Covers Always Lie|even though he was one of the heroes in the game]]. The European version used the original Japanese art, but replaced the two heroines, Serena and Nicole, with Zur the magician and Macho the bodybuilder, who aren't even main characters, turning the European cover into a complete sausage fest for no reason ([http://www.kidfenris.com/guardheroescover.html see for yourself]).
 
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== Fighting Games ==
* Compared to [http://360.kombo.com/images/content/boxart/blazblue_360_box.jpg whatever North Americans got], [http://www.gamesetwatch.com/100112-blazblue-2.jpg the boxart] of the European ''[[Blaz Blue]]'' seems to suggest a Noel [[Third-Person Shooter]] spinoff rather than a [[Fighting Game]], among things. The fact that the iconic title is merely featured as a background element with more emphasis put on a title written in a generic font doesn't help.
* 2D fighting classic ''[[Guilty Gear (Video Game)|Guilty Gear]]'' had 2 different covers for all their installments which got ported over the Pacific, most notably the Isuka installment: The [http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps2/919961-guilty-gear-isuka/images/box-96904 Japanese version] was rather KINKY (as in NSFW) with what apparently is a threesome(!) where a visibly flushed A.B.A. is seemingly getting double-penetrated in a sandwich between Ky Kiske (behind) and Sol Badguy (front), who are meanwhile completely ignoring her as they are engaged in a staring contest with each other (homoerotically charged full of [[Foe Yay]]). The [http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps2/919961-guilty-gear-isuka/images/box-57948 American version] on the other hand, was a rather generic image of Sol wielding his Fireseal sword in the style of a bazooka with the hilt pointed at you.
* Pit's (from ''[[Kid Icarus (Video Game)|Kid Icarus]]'') English voice in ''[[Super Smash Bros Brawl]]'' sounds noticeably older then his original Japanese voice. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWYQx0SvVOI#t=2m36s Video comparison.]
** As for the actual cover art for the game, Kirby's facial expression was left alone in the U.S. version (contrary to the name of the trope) -- the [http://www.ssbwiki.com/File:SSBB-cover-japan.jpg bright, partly cloudy blue skies] were [http://www.ssbwiki.com/File:SSBB_Cover.jpg removed], on the other hand.
 
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** ''[http://www.kidfenris.com/skykidcover.html Sky Kid]'' (Note that the family-friendly furries became ''humans that blow stuff up''.)
** ''[http://www.kidfenris.com/tshootercover.html Trouble Shooter]''
** ''[[Valis (Video Game)|Valis]] [http://www.kidfenris.com/valis3cover.html III]''... twice.
** ''[http://www.kidfenris.com/wurmcover.html Wurm]''
 
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== Platformers ==
* The [[Trope Namer]] here is ''[[Kirby]]''. [http://www.n-sider.com/contentview.php?contentid=407 The box art for many of his games] have had angry eyebrows added to the main character to make an 8-inch-high pink puffball seem more aggressive. This strange practice is joked on originally in [http://angryamericankirby.ytmnd.com/ this] [[YTMND]] and subsequently in [http://www.brawlinthefamily.com/?p=288 this] ''[[Brawl in The Family (Webcomic)|Brawl in Thethe Family]]'' strip. It seems to have calmed for the time being with the release of ''[[Super Smash Bros (Video Game)|Super Smash Bros]]. Brawl'', ''[[Kirby Super Star (Video Game)|Kirby Super Star]] Ultra'', and more recently, ''[[KirbysKirby's Epic Yarn (Video Game)|Kirbys Epic Yarn]]'', whose boxarts have Kirby actually looking happy for a change, but it seems to be creeping up again no thanks to ''[[Kirby Mass Attack (Video Game)|Kirby Mass Attack]]'''s cover (though to be fair, roughly half the Kirbys on ''Mass Attack'''s cover still retain their cute/curious expressions and most the the "hardcore" one are already attacking something). It's back in full force with ''[[Kirbys Return to Dream Land]]''.
** This practice is [[Older Than They Think]], too, as a ''Kirby's Dream Land 2'' commercial aired in the US turned Kirby, Rick, Kine, and Coo into [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqVVG4FCq7w scowling tough guys (or, you know, as tough as an 8-inch high puffball and his similarly-sized friends can be) roughhousing some Hell's Angels]. As well, compare the commercials for ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU6cHCkWqy8 Kirby's Dreamland]'' and ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL1okxuvGRQ Kirby's Adventure]'', to say nothing of [http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=3&cId=3152506 the magazine ad for Kirby's Avalanche and Kirby's Dream Course] (scroll down the page). "He used to be such a good boy."
*** Even older than ''that'', albeit to a lesser extent. Contrast the [http://images.wikia.com/kirby/en/images/0/0d/603710.jpg American box art] for the original ''Kirby's Dream Land'' to the [http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100506155654/kirby/en/images/c/c9/KDLboxartjapan.png Japanese box art]. Yes, Kirby's still plenty happy in America...but he's ''white'', because it was thought that a soft, [[Pink Is for Sissies|pink character]] wouldn't appeal to American audiences.
** It also showed up in ''Kirby Super Star''; not so much the box art as the in-game dialogue, and not so much Kirby as Meta Knight. In ''Revenge of Meta Knight'', what used to be an [[Anti-Hero]] with uncertain motives, as usual, was given several rewritten lines of dialogue to make him sound less like he was trying to do a good thing for Dream Land and more like he was trying to be the next [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]]. He even got "[[Prepare to Die]]!" as a line, replacing the fairly innocent "Now we duel!", explicitly ignoring Nintendo's policy at the time. The best part is that the changes were kept (besides "Prepare to die!", which became "Come meet your [[Never Say "Die"|doom]]!") when the script was rewritten for ''Super Star Ultra''.
** ''Kirby's Avalanche'' shows Kirby as a [[Jerkass]] who acts mean to his friends and acts sarcastic, saying things like "Oh, I'm so scared" and the like. Needless to say, the game was an installment of the ineffable cute ''[[Puyo Puyo]]'' series [[Dolled-Up Installment|rebranded for an American audience]].
*** Ironically though, the cover for the game is in fact an inversion, with a cheerful Kirby (and even King Dedede) dancing around with Puyos in a colorful grassland.
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*** As did IGN, when they launched a new feature comparing different box arts [http://ds.ign.com/articles/119/1192766p1.html Kirby went first] specifically thanks to the series' use of the trope.
** Even the ''title'' of 2011's DS game seems to carry on in this tradition; known as ''Gather! Kirby'' in Japan, its English title is ''Kirby Mass Attack''. And to top it off, on the American boxart, nearly half of the Kirbies have angry faces... ''but the other half doesn't.'' This makes it... jarring, to say the least.
** ...and then ''[[Kirbys Return to Dream Land (Video Game)|Kirby's Return to Dream Land]]'' swings the pendulum right back around and [http://wii.ign.com/articles/119/1193309p1.html gives him angry eyes again]. Contrast [http://www.famitsu.com/news/201109/images/00050121/oW46AxTddQaobbc9KREq9bx19p147sQO.jpg the Japanese boxart].
* ''[[Ristar]]'' originally only had angry eyebrows for boss fights; in the American version, they're present ''all the time''. The enemies, too, look mean instead of neutral in the American release.
** Which is particularly weird, since one of the game's strongest points was its attention to little circumstantial details. All over the place there would be tiny little additions that aided characterization and plot in the dialogue-less game, from Ristar's playing in the snow in the snow levels, to the swarms of little musical nuances on Planet Sonata. So you'd really think the localizers would have wanted every last little touch they could get at.
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* ''Blinx''. [http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/Go-Wire/Renders/blinx120302_big.png Japanese Blinx] looks like a sweet little anthro kitty cat; [http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/Go-Wire/Renders/art01.png American Blinx] looks [[Cats Are Mean|downright mean]].
** To the point where [[Slasher Smile|he looks like he's about to rip you limb from limb]] when he's [http://guidesmedia.ign.com/guides/image/blinx_guide.jpg trying to look helpful and friendly].
* ''Inverted'' with the ''[[Super Mario Bros 2 (Video Game)|Super Mario Bros 2]]'' box art. In Japan, everybody but Toad is scowling, engaged in some act of violence, or both. America gets a picture of Mario clutching a vegetable, with a big ol' smile on his face. The Japanese version was titled ''Super Mario USA'', so the use of this trope may have been a deliberate attempt to invoke an American feel.
** At the same time, Super Mario USA's boxart is very similar to Doki Doki Panic's boxart, which was the game it mimicked.
* Namco briefly considered giving ''[[Klonoa (Video Game)|Klonoa]]'' a rather drastic makeover for the U.S. release of the Wii remake of his first game. While not exactly "hard", the new look was significantly less cute, looking like a generic anthropomorphic cat. Most bizarrely, however, they gave him "normal" anthro cat ears, despite Klonoa's droopy, almost hand-like ears having an actual gameplay role. And they took away his Pac-Man cap. Bad Namco! Fortunately, the game was released with Klonoa's original look intact- surprisingly enough, because the ''U.S.'' fanbase demanded he remain cute. ''Who says Japanese Klonoa Isn't Hardcore?''
** That's because he didn't look hardcore enough on the US ''[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f5/Klonoa2.jpg Lunatea's Veil]'' box art (compare [http://www.ncsx.com/www/ncs031901/Friday/klonoa_2_front.jpg this]), even with the angry eyebrows.
* For an example of becoming cuter in Japan, look no further than ''[[Ratchet and& Clank (Video Game)|Ratchet and Clank]]''. Here's a [http://i25.tinypic.com/10rodts.jpg side by side comparison] from ''[[Ratchet and Clank Future A Crack In Time]]''. (Japan left, everywhere else on the right.)
** He isn't known as [[Big Ol' Eyebrows|'Groucho' Ratchet]] [http://i22.tinypic.com/3589vll.jpg for nothing].
*** The [[Big Ol' Eyebrows]] in his Japanese incarnation supposedly came about because initial market research showed the Japanese kids ''loved'' 'em.
** [[Ratchet and& Clank 2002 (Videovideo Gamegame)|The first game]] had [http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060222065938/ratchet/images/thumb/b/b6/RaCbox.jpg/250px-RaCbox.jpg American cover] intact when localized for [http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090426173246/ratchet/images/thumb/c/c8/Ratchet_%26_Clank_Japan.jpg/216px-Ratchet_%26_Clank_Japan.jpg Japan]. From ''[[Ratchet and Clank Going Commando]]'' on, however, the American cover has remained [http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20071125040138/ratchet/images/thumb/4/4e/Going_Commando_box.jpg/250px-Going_Commando_box.jpg stereotypically tough], while the Japanese version has gotten [http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080913081520/ratchet/images/thumb/f/fd/Japanese_GC_Cover.jpg/200px-Japanese_GC_Cover.jpg absurdly happy].
* ''[[Crash Bandicoot]]'' is another American game where the main character was "cutened" up for the Japanese release. He even got a funky dance created by the Japanese that was carried back into the American versions. Some have speculated that this design change combined with Radical Entertainment's [[Incredibly Lame Pun|radical]] character redesigns that would make such things look awkward is what's making Radical's ''Crash'' games [[No Export for You|a no-go for the Japanese.]]
* [[Mega Man (Videovideo Gamegame)|Mega Man]]:
** An important thing to note is that the boxart for the first Mega Man was commissioned on very short notice, and the only direction the artist had was a brief description of the game's premise over the phone, which led to the image that looks like it belongs on a 80s sci-fi novel cover. For comparison purposes, [http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/3/30/Rockman_FC_box.jpg/250px-Rockman_FC_box.jpg here] is the cover of the Japanese release. [http://www.blogcdn.com/www.nintendowiifanboy.com/media/2008/09/boxart-mm1-eu.jpg The European edition] does a bit better, though it's still a drastic departure from the actual game. The second game's box, while still bad, [http://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/563442-mega-man-2/images/box-29031 at least has Mega Man correctly colored, and a few recognizable characters, more or less on par with the European version.]
** [http://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/563443-mega-man-3/images/box-59155 European] ''Mega Man 3'' is an odd one: the robots are illustrated accurately, but Wily is beyond hardcore.
** The US producers of ''[[Mega Man (Videovideo Gamegame)|Mega Man]] 9'' and ''10'' in keeping with their [[Retraux]] graphics style, had [http://wiimedia.ign.com/wii/image/article/891/891767/mega-man-9-20080717020802013.jpg throwback] [[media:coverlargeh_7068.jpg|boxart]] made to please the fans.
** ''[[Mega Man (Videovideo Gamegame)|Mega Man]] 7's'' ending, where Mega Man contemplates [[Just Shoot Him|ending Dr. Wily's schemes once and for all.]] When Dr. Wily points out [[Three Laws Compliant|robot law prevents him from taking a human life]], Mega Man simply stands there while Wily escapes. Unless we're in America, in which case he blurts the infamous "I am more than just a robot! Die Wily!!!" line...[[Villain Exit Stage Left|and hesitates anyway.]]
** On a similar note, the promotional artwork for [[Mega Man (Animationanimation)|the cartoon]] depicts Mega Man as ready to tear someone's spine out (or at least punch their lights out), and made him far more ripped than he was in the series proper.
** In ''[[Mega Man ZX (Video Game)|Mega Man ZX]] Advent'', this cover is actually poked fun at in the American version. In the game, for a mission you are supposed to get a data disk, an in game item that can be looked at to see a picture and some information, for a kid who wants something with a hero on it. In the end of "talk to the people who SHOULD have one" you find out that the kid has the only data disk with anything close, the data disk with the American boxart of the original ''Mega Man''. The kid openly calls it weird, and not very heroic at all. You then get it to view at any time.
** Terrible Boxart Mega Man is so (in)famous that this is the version Capcom chooses to cameo in [[Capcom Versus Whatever|Street Fighter Versus Tekken]].
* An old [[NES]] game, ''Power Blade'' (originally ''Power Blazer'' in Japan) is an interesting early example. Read the article about it [http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/powerblade/powerblade.htm here.]
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** This change is in fact a rare example that became the definitive characterization, as even the Japanese promotional artwork (and even the in game sprite art) for the sequel ''Sparkster'' depicts the title character with a serious scowl (even if his original wackier demeanor [[The Comically Serious|blatantly reappears from time to time]] in game).
* The American version of ''[[Castlevania]]: Bloodlines'' redrew Eric Lecarde's face to look manlier and less [[Bishonen|pretty boy-like]] ([http://www.castlevaniadungeon.net/Games/cvbforeign.html see for yourself]). The European version, ''Castlevania: The New Generation'', reverted Eric back to his original design, reusing the artwork of the Japanese box.
** Strangely inverted in ''[[Castlevania]] [[Castlevania: Lament of Innocence|Lament of Innocence]]'''s cover. The [http://castlevania.wikia.com/wiki/File:Castlevania_LoI.JPG US cover] shows Leon Belmont looking upward, probably in prayer, while the [http://castlevania.wikia.com/wiki/File:Castlevania_Lament_of_Innocence_Japan_cover.jpg Japanese] and [http://castlevania.wikia.com/wiki/File:Castlevania_Lament_of_Innocence_Europe_cover.jpg European covers] show him in an action pose (And note how the European cover's done in CG, while the other two retain Ayami Kojima's famed artwork)
* Comparing ''Panic Restaurant'''s box art [http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/nes/image/587505.html?box=2696 Japan], [http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/nes/image/587505.html?box=59517 Europe] and [http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/nes/image/587505.html?box=81043 United States] pretty much defines this trope, too.
** The game itself was altered (in a comparatively minor way); the Japanese version of the game had a cute young brown-haired chef in the title role. For the international release, he was switched out for a different, older, white-haired character resembling Chef Boyardee.
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* The NES version of ''[[A Boy and His Blob]]'' and its Gameboy sequel had a small overhaul with the Boy's design, title screen and box art in Japan to make it look cuter.
* ''[[Chameleon Twist]]'' was a charming, adorable game starring Davy, a chameleon transformed into a bubble-headed long-tongued chibi alien, and his friends. Its boxart is an interesting variation on this trope: ([http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/6/196896_41871_front.jpg The American boxart] shows Davy gobbling up foes with a cheery grin, while the [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/6/196896_85015_front.jpg PAL version] shows him gobbling up foes with a look of death in his eyes. ''Chameleon Twist 2'', of course, played this trope straight for America and Europe-- while Japanese buyers got the same [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/7/196897_14273_front.jpg adorable bubble-headed aliens] as before, the American and European versions swapped the colors of Davy and his friend Jack (I suppose the localizers thought green was a better "default color" for a lizard) and turned all four characters into grotesque anthropomorphized lizards with semi-realistic heads. Also compare the [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/7/196897_41872_front.jpg US] and [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/7/196897_101070_front.jpg EU] boxart to see yet another cheerful-wrathful dichotomy.
* [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/19/BoinicCommandoRearmed2_boxart.png The box art] for ''[[Bionic Commando (Video Game)|Bionic Commando]] Rearmed 2'' seems to be a deliberate aversion of this trope, as the image of Spencer (with goofy smile and [[Porn Stache]] looking like he's about to give the viewer a hug) on the game's front cover can only be described as jarringly happy-go-lucky. Especially funny ([[Cerebus Syndrome|until you beat the game]]) when you compare it to the [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/86/Bionic_Commando.jpg cover art] to the 2009 game which ''Rearmed 2'' is a direct prequel to, which featured a goth-ified Spencer [[Penny Arcade|smouldering with generic rage]].
* [http://www.indiegames.com/blog/2008/07/rumors_cave_story_on_wiiware.html This] ''[[Cave Story (Video Game)|Cave Story]]'' mockup cover parodies this trend.
* The [http://www.smspower.org/Scans/CaptainSilver-SMS-JP-Front Japanese] and [http://www.smspower.org/Scans/CaptainSilver-SMS-EU-NoR European cover art] of ''[[Captain Silver]]'' for the [[Master System]] shows rather cartoon-like renditions of the game's protagonist and a few of the villains fighting on a pirate ship. The [http://www.smspower.org/Scans/CaptainSilver-SMS-US-Front American cover art] shows a similar scene, only the protagonist is drawn more realistically and he's fighting the final boss ([[Antagonist Title|the titular Captain Silver]]) one-on-one.
* Not even ''[[Disney]]'' games were immune to this. The Genesis/Megadrive title ''[[Quackshot]]'' features a dynamic shot of a scowling [[Donald Duck]] baring his gun with a evil looking Pete plotting in the background. The Japanese cover features Donald and his nephews smiling at you with Pete throwing a comical tantrum behind them. Granted [[Grumpy Bear|Donald]] [[Hair-Trigger Temper|being Donald]] the Western cover might be considered more in-character.
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== Puzzle Games ==
* ''[[Bubble Bobble (Video Game)|Super Puzzle Bobble / Super Bust-A-Move]]'''s American boxarts, SBAM1 for the [[PSPlay Station 2]] and BAM2 for the [[Sega Saturn]] replaces Bub and other characters with a screaming man with matchsticks keeping his eyes open and a baby from the pits of the [[Uncanny Valley]] blowing blood-red bubbles. What does that have to do anything with cutesy dragons solving puzzles?
* For no apparent reason, the [[Sega Saturn]] boxart of ''Bust-A-Move 2'' decided to treat us to the oh-so-kid-friendly image of a disembodied head of a bald guy trapped in a bubble, with ''[[Eye Scream|matchsticks shoved into his eyelids.]]''
** Actually this happened with a good few titles in the series until recently, which omitted the cute little dinosaur mascots in favor of dynamically angled shots of detonating bubbles in a space age style background.
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* This happened to the rather obscure NES puzzle game ''Palamedes''. The game is basically ''[[Space Invaders]]'' [[X Meets Y|Meets]] Yahtzee. The music is cheery, the graphics are cutesy; all player sprites are tiny, sugary little SD characters. There's absolutely nothing weird or bizzare or [[Gonk]] in this game. ''So where the hell did'' '''''[http://www.mythrilmoth.net/misc/Palamedes.jpg THIS]''''' ''come from?!''
* ''Godzilla'' for the [[Game Boy]] came out in the U.S. with [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/74/Godzilla_Game_Boy.jpg this] cover, showing Godzilla like he looks in the movies and, with the intro screens, misleading people into expecting it to be a thrilling action game. Actually, the game, known as ''Gojira-kun'' in Japan, is a cutesy [[Puzzle Platformer]], looking more like [http://www.otakaraou.com/data/otakaraou/product/gb/202.jpg the Japanese cartridge].
** [[The Angry Video Game Nerd (Web Video)|The Angry Video Game Nerd]] lampshaded this in his review of this and other Godzilla games.
 
 
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== Role-Playing Games ==
* ''[[Breath of Fire]]'':
** ''[[Breath of Fire I (Video Game)|Breath of Fire I]]'' is a major example of this. Compare the [http://images.wikia.com/bof/images/5/5d/BofFJapan.png Japanese box art] with the [http://images.wikia.com/bof/images/5/57/BOF1boxartt.jpg American version], featuring [[Jim Lee]]-esque cover art in which Ryu became a Conan impersonator even though he is clearly depicted as a pretty-average built teenager in-game and Nina looked like a man.
** For ''[[Breath of Fire II (Video Game)|Breath of Fire II]]'': [http://i47.tinypic.com/2zqemwi.jpg Japanese version] - [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/0/563530_29076_front.jpg American version]...
** Some adverts added [http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/9108/speechoffire01.jpg in-your-face] [http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/1562/speechoffire02.jpg speech] [http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/6263/speechoffire03.jpg bubbles].
* On the ''[[Chrono Trigger (Video Game)|Chrono Trigger]]'' packaging in Japan, there were images of all the playable characters in the game. In the US version, it had Frog, Crono, and Marle fighting Heckran, the scene captured while the party was using the Arc Impulse/Frost Arc Triple Tech. (The [[Nintendo DS]] [[Updated Rerelease]] gave a [[Shout-Out]] to this artwork by allowing players to replicate this in the form of having battles with [[Palette Swap|Heckran-like]] enemies on a snowy mountain in a bonus dungeon.)
** This could be just artistic choice. The art is still Akira Toriyama's, the game's illustrator and character designer, just not the same scene used in the Japanese release.
** Or the artist was working from a [http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/ReyVGM/forums/Chronotriggeregmpage2.jpg beta screenshot].
* The box art of the early ''Dragon Warrior'' games for the NES was very different from the Japanese ''[[Dragon Quest (Video Game)|Dragon Quest]]'' box arts.
** May or may not be related. The US artwork was all by a Japanese artist as well, just not one who made such... cherubic characters. Which was a bit of a buzzkill to be honest, as Terada's artwork was clearly done after the final product was finished, having no influence anywhere in the game.
** Nintendo and [[Square Enix]] are at it again with ''[[Dragon Quest IX (Video Game)|Dragon Quest IX]]''. In [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/1/937281_82855_front.jpg the Japanese box art], there's a group of four happy-go-lucky children in a market. The [http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/133/dqixus.jpg North American box art] contains four older-looking warriors, three sporting [[Angry Eyebrows]], ready for battle.
*** The art shift also renders one character, though ostensibly wearing the same outfit, considerably more [[Stripperiffic]].
* While it's not a comparison between American and Japanese, looking at the boxart on the Xbox360 version of ''[[Eternal Sonata]]'' then looking at the [[PSPlay Station 3]] version reveals that there were some drastic changes. The 360 version looks bright and innocent, with characters standing in a grassy meadow. The [[PSPlay Station 3]] version has a darker background, and has the characters looking angry in various action poses.
* ''[[Guardians Crusade|Guardian's Crusade]]''. The [http://rpgfan.com/pics/guardians-crusade/box-japfront.jpg Japanese box art] is more colorful and rather whimsical in looks: showing Knight and Baby doing various activities you can do in the game, all the while looking dang adorable. The back cover is [http://rpgfan.com/pics/guardians-crusade/box-japback.jpg even more cuter]. The [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9e/Guardian%27sCrusadeCover.jpg American version] is more generic in comparison. The game came out about a year and a half after ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'', during that dark period when American game companies thought that [[RPG|RPGs]] that weren't dark and existential wouldn't sell.
* When ''[[Pokémon (Franchise)|Pokémon]]'' was being localized for America, a significant portion of people at Nintendo thought that the characters were [[It Will Never Catch On|too cute to sell well]], and tried to get all of the Pokémon redone for the states as muscle-bound humanoid Pro-Wrestling monsters. In other words, they wanted to turn Pikachu into [[Kinnikuman]].
** Compare the box-art of the [http://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/1/19/PokemonYellowJapanese.png Japanese version] of Pokémon Yellow to the [http://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/2/2b/Pokemon_Yellow_boxart.jpg American version]. Remarkably similar to the depiction of Kirby from Japan to America.
* ''[[The Last Remnant (Video Game)|The Last Remnant]]'''s Xbox 360 artwork depicted the young, typical ''[[Final Fantasy]]''-style androgynous male protagonist. The PC version, marketed to Western gamers, had a picture of an older, more badass antagonist, and a more energetic color scheme.
* ''[[Digital Devil Saga]]: Avatar Tuner'' arguably ''benefited'' from this phenomenon. The original box art for the two games depicted Serph/Varna and Sera/Varnani in static poses more reminiscent of action figures in a blister pack; the U.S. versions depict the exact same characters, but in more active poses. (Assuming, of course, you reverse the cover insert for the second game; the display box art depicts the entire cast in a battle scene, arguably embracing this trope in its entirety.) Though it's not like the game needed to be made any more hardcore, seeing as how it has plenty of demonic cannibalization anyway.
** While we're on the subject of [[Shin Megami Tensei (Franchise)|Shin Megami Tensei]]'', just compare the original [http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/megaten/jackbrosj.jpg Japanese cover] of [[Lighter and Softer]] spinoff ''Jack Bros.'' with [http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/megaten/jackbros.jpg this... thing].
* Hardly uncommon in ''[[Tales Series(series)|Tales]]'' localizations:
** ''[[Tales of Eternia (Video Game)|Tales of Eternia]]'' (or ''[[Writing Around Trademarks|Tales of Destiny II]]'') originally had [http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/image/526350.html?box=53165 a smiling group shot], which was replaced by [http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/image/526350.html?box=40641 a scene of Farah and Reid ready to battle]. The absence of everyone else is... intriguing.
** ''[[Tales of the Abyss (Video Game)|Tales of the Abyss]]'' originally had [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/3/929343_69064_front.jpg a more peaceful, friendly group shot], while the American cover image has [http://shaunmusco.com/images/Printed/PS2%20Covers/Tales_Of_The_Abyss_Dvd_ntsc.jpg everybody except the girls fighting, and Luke ready to slice the player's head in half].
** ''[[Tales of Symphonia (Video Game)|Tales of Symphonia]]'' has, in the original version, [http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/gamecube/image/561316.html?box=22525 another smiling group shot]. In the US, [http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/gamecube/image/561316.html?box=22524 another fight scene].
** ''[[Tales of Symphonia Dawn of the New World]]'', the same - [http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/wii/image/942210.html?box=93562 Japanese cover], [http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/wii/image/942210.html?box=99493 American cover]. The [http://wii.gaming-universe.de/screens/boxart_eur_tales-of-symphonia-dawn-of-the-new-world-big.jpg European cover], however, goes for a simple group shot
* The game ''[[Resonance of Fate]]'' has [http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/400/cover.jpg peaceful box art] with the [[Three Amigos|three protagonists]] looking upon a tower in its original Japanese release ''End of Eternity''. The [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c3/Resonance_of_Fate_Cover_Art.jpg US box art] is shown to have them on various action poses with [[Sean Connery Is About to Shoot You|their guns to the viewer]].
* In ''[[Fragile Dreams]]'' for the Wii, the English voices are closer to the age of the characters, around 14/15, while the Japanese voices make the characters sound younger. In addition, the box art, which was reversible in the American version, showed a vicious looking Seto holding a golf club on the American side, while the Japanese box art shows Seto and Ren holding hands over a watery background.
* Oh boy, ''[[Nie R]]''. It is quite possibly the ultimate logical conclusion of this trope, to where it not only deals with cover art but the actual game. To explain: ''NieR'' is the name of two parallel-developed [[Square Enix]] games, ''NieR Gestalt'' (Xbox 360) and ''NieR Replicant'' ([[PSPlay Station 3]]). In ''Gestalt'', the eponymous protagonist is a hulking, white-haired middle-aged man searching for a cure to the Black Scrawl virus, which is ailing his daughter, Yonah. In ''Replicant'', the eponymous protagonist is a young [[White-Haired Pretty Boy]] who is searching for a cure to the Black Scrawl virus, which is ailing his little sister, Yonah. In case you haven't caught on yet, this is literally the only difference between the two versions. The American branch of Square Enix actually paid to develop an entirely separate version of the game where the only difference is the design of the protagonist. The official reason behind the two versions is that they believed the game would not sell well in the west if the protagonist was young and pretty, rather than grizzled and muscle-bound. While ''Replicant'' was the original idea, in Japan both versions of the game are available, and overseas only ''Gestalt'' was released (entitled simply ''NIER'').
** On the flip side, this is why the young, pretty Vaan was added to ''[[Final Fantasy XII]]''. The original protagonist was supposed to be Basch. This is why Vaan has nearly no character development.
* The ''[[Wild Arms]]'' series usually either retains the original cover art or replaces it by something that, while different, keeps the tone. Exceptions can be found in the first title ([http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/9/199299_14331_front.jpg J]; [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/9/199299_43279_front.jpg U]) and ''[[Wild Arms 5 (Video Game)|Wild Arms 5]]'' ([http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/6/931326_72769_front.jpg J]; [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/6/931326_72466_front.jpg U]).
* The indie/doujin game ''[[Protect Me Knight]]'' does this on their web page. [http://www.ancient.co.jp/~game/mamotte_knight/index.html The Japanese page] depicts a bunch of cute characters in a more [[Puni Plush]]/[[Bishonen]] style while [http://www.ancient.co.jp/~game/mamotte_knight/en.html the English page] depicts something more muscular, epic, and violent.
** This may have been intentional [[Lampshade Hanging]] on the dev team's part though.
* ''[[Shadow Hearts]]: From the New World'''s [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/3/926703_63273_front.jpg Japanese cover] is actually pretty happy, which actually matches the [[Lighter and Softer]] nature of the game, if compared to its predecessors (it's also the only of the game's covers that uses a hand-drawn illustration instead of CGI). The [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/3/926703_70386_front.jpg American cover] chose instead to showcase a much more tragic/aggressive scene, complete with strong red background to emphasize edginess. The [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/3/926703_86080_front.jpg European cover] is a middle ground - more hardcore than the Japanese cover, but quite less than the American one.
* ''[[Final Fantasy III (Video Game)|Final Fantasy III]]'' had an intricate design in the Japanese and European versions while in the US release, everything was removed except for the logo.
** Interestingly, this is a reversal of the usual trend for new entries. Typically, the Japanese and European cover art for any one main instalment will consist almost entirely of the logo against a clean white background, while the American cover art will move the logo to a corner to focus on a rendering of one or more of the central cast.
* ''[[Final Fantasy IV (Video Game)|Final Fantasy IV]]'' character art in an old edition of Nintendo Power. Compare [http://i42.tinypic.com/6eloab.jpg Amano's original Cecil design] with the [http://images.wikia.com/finalfantasy/images/7/7c/Cecil2.jpg Nintendo Power artwork]. Strangely enough, the Nintendo Power artwork was drawn by a Japanese artist.
** Take a guess which is the Japanese artwork and which is the American [http://images.wikia.com/finalfantasy/images/9/9b/Ceodore_US_vs_JP.jpg one]
* ''Eternal Eyes'' is a powerful contender for the most misleading use of this trope ever. [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/8/197238_16290_front.jpg Japanese cover] screams "a JRPG", and a JRPG it is. The [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/8/197238_50260_front.jpg US cover]... what the...
** Thunder... Thunder... THUNDERCATS, HOOOOO!
* Anyone seen the Suikoden boxart? [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/3/198843_28033_front.jpg Yeesh], there are still debates over who is supposed to be depicted on that cover, because it's clearly not anyone present in the game. The only part of that cover that's in the game is the 3 headed skull monster in the bottom right corner! Here's the Japanese [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/3/198843_10235_front.jpg cover] to compare. The icing on the cake? The image on the Japanese cover is used on the US version's instruction manual, so gamers got a nice moment of surprise before they even started up the game for the first time. Future installments in the series thankfully ditched this artwork in favor of the Japanese art.
* Narrowly averted with the European release of ''[[Agarest Senki (Video Game)|Agarest Senki]]''. Take [http://zepy.momotato.com/img/0908/nicecover.jpg this comparison]: right is the final result, left is [[What Could Have Been]].
* ''[[Blue Dragon]]'' has this [[Subverted Trope|(well, kinda)]]. The [http://rpgsite.net/images/boxart/43_ja_360.jpg japanese box art (available on the manual)] makes Shu & the titular dragon look kind of silly. The [http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/3509/645291-bluedragon_na_super.jpg american box art], on the other hand, makes both look positively badass.
* ''[[Earthbound (Video Game)|Earthbound]]'' has a minor example: the Japanese boxart was just blank red with the logo, whereas the English boxart instead depicts a Final Starman towering imposingly over Ness on a psychadelic background. Also, the English release material made and used modified versions of Ness and Paula's clay-model artwork to make them look more realistically proportioned, less cutesy, and in Ness's case more [[Totally Radical]] (strangely, neither Jeff nor Poo were modified the same way).
* ''[[Monster Rancher]]'' plays this straight for almost every one of its games. Compare the artwork for original game, where the [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/6/197976_11179_front.jpg Japanese] artwork just has several monsters posing while the [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/6/197976_42526_front.jpg American] one has a fight going on. Compare the idealistic [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/0/914760_27365_front.jpg Japanese] fourth game cover to the intense [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/0/914760_front.jpg American version.]
* The ''[[Phantasy Star]]'' series has always had awful, awful box art for the western releases, but they went all out for the fourth game. They hired renowned fantasy artist ''Boris effing Vallejo'' to re-do the cover for the European and American editions of the game, which turned Rune into a 40-something kung-fu movie villain, Rika into a brunette elf with an 80's secretary haircut, and Chaz into Hans from ''[[Die Hard (Film)|Die Hard]]''.
 
 
== Shoot Em Ups ==
* ''Castle of Shikigami'', a bullet-hell game for the [[PSPlay Station 2]] in Japan, is a game about various people teaming up to defeat the villain and save the day by flying through the air and shooting things with various types of laser-like projectiles, and featured cute anime characters on the box art. In ''America'', the game is called ''Mobile Light Force'' and the cover features three leather-clad, gun-toting, large-breasted Charlie's-Angels-esque babes running around and outright lying about the content of the game. ''Castle of Shikigami 2'' did not suffer this treatment, however, it DID suffer from being ''completely'' un-localized despite being translated and voice-acted, with some scenes not being translated or voice-acted in English at all and left with Japanese text and/or dialogue. Despite this, they're not bad games.
 
 
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** And the chainsaw decapitation was censored out.
** Compare the box art for the first Resident Evil game from the [http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060629170303/residentevil/images/9/9b/Slps00222.jpg Japanese version] to the [http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060330133113/residentevil/images/2/2b/Resident_evil_cover.jpg American and PAL versions.]
* [http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kw03i8aShm1qzqgkn.jpg Here's] the Japanese boxart for ''[[Deadly Premonition (Video Game)|Deadly Premonition]]'', which shows you exactly what to expect. [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c5/Deadly_Premonition_cover_art.jpg This] is what was decided on for localization for some bizarre reason.
* ''[[Fatal Frame]]'''s [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/5/529305_27258_front.jpg original cover] has the main character lying serenely on the floor. The [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/5/529305_front.jpg American edition?] [[Floating Head Syndrome]]. The European cover decided to go the [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/5/529305_54074_front.jpg middle route]. And this is more or less repeated for the Xbox special edition except Europe followed the North American one ([http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/7/562027_23322_front.jpg JP], [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/7/562027_front.jpg NA], [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/7/562027_45210_front.jpg EU]).
** Miku's actual in-game model in the first game was altered to look slightly older and less schoolgirl-y [http://www.cameraslens.com/fatalframewiki/index.php5?title=Miku%27s_Character_Design for the US release.]
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== Anime ==
* Astro Boy is known to be very cute and innocent. But when the 2003 anime was brought to America, most of the advertisement focused on the action scenes and his super hero side. The dubbing gave him a harsher and more snarky attitude as well. It also cut out most of Astro's cute child-like moments. To say nothing of the DVD boxset cover which is just his face looking absurdly angry.
* Even when it became [[Darker and Edgier]], the ''[[DragonballDragon Ball]]'' franchise has always had a humorous, whimsical tone, summed up nicely by DBZ's [[Crazy Awesome]] Japanese theme tune, "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtFMwF7CKGo&feature=related Cha-La Head Cha-La]". Its North American opening themes, on the other hand, have ranged from "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAshPnOKzSg Rock The Dragon]" to… [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O27PUI1veBg well, this]. Later English-language releases have either kept or translated the Japanese themes.
** When CNX ([[Cartoon Network]] UK's short-lived attempt at attracting the 15-35 male demographic) got the rights to show the original ''[[DragonballDragon Ball]]'', the [[The Ocean Group|Canadian-dubbed]] episodes they acquired featured [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVrVTinOsBw a cheerful kid-focused opening theme]. Fearing ridicule from their target audience, a new opening with more action-packed scenes from the show was thrown together, complete with [[Kung Foley]] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBkVLTHy_2c a remixed theme]. (Though the Canadian themes were accidentally shown on occasion.)
** The terrible French dub (And the many other dubs that translated from it) inverted this trope by giving ''Z'' a super-happy OP about Gohan. Saying it invokes [[Mood Whiplash]] would be falling short.
** In a variation, the European Spanish dub of ''Cha-La Head-Cha-La'' keeps the music but changes the comedy lyrics to standard "We'll beat up the villains" fare, which is more this trope.
* Nelvana's infamous [[Macekre]] English dub of ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura (Manga)|Cardcaptor Sakura]]'', while not exactly "hardcore," considerably downplayed the [[Shojo]] cuteness of the original, essentially trying to change it into [[Shonen]] (even changing the show's name to just ''Cardcaptors'', presumably to downplay the fact that the main character is a girl, and cutting out the first seven episodes, which take place before Sakura's male rival Syaoran is introduced). The original opening theme was replaced with a more histrionic rock song, Sakura and her friends sounded more like teenagers than elementary schoolers, and perhaps most egregiously of all, Kero was given a [[Totally Radical]] dudebro voice and his characterization was changed to be more like a comedic foil sidekick akin to Mushu from ''[[Mulan (Disney)|Mulan]]''. As a result, the English dub had a completely different feel from the Japanese original, and anyone who's seen the latter would be able to spot the dub's attempts to turn the show into something quite different from what it was originally.
* The same thing was done for ''[[Vision of Escaflowne]]'' to make it more hardcore they removed THE ENTIRE FIRST EPISODE because it focused too much on romance leaving many American fans confused as to what was happening. The show was eventually cancelled while the Canadian dub which kept the first episode finished its entire run.
* Some of the dub voices in ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia (Manga)|Axis Powers Hetalia]]''. Most notably is Russia, who had a higher-pitched, cuter, somewhat happier voice in the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5uWmMImOf0 Japanese] version, and a deeper, gruffer voice in the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoeCZf9zc1A&feature=relmfu English dub]. It's left up to the watchers to determine whether this was done to better fit the [[Husky Russkie|stereotype]] or to defuse some of the [[Cute and Psycho|horror]].
* ''[[Madoka Magica]]'' was released as 6 two-episode boxsets in Japan, with [http://wiki.puella-magi.net/Madoka_Magica_Products#Blu-Ray_Discs different boxarts for each.] Three of the boxarts show characters looking happy and/or cute, two are relatively neutral, and one has a very dark and angsty mood to it. The U.S. release was 3 four-episode boxsets, and used three of the existing boxart pictures. [[Foregone Conclusion|To the surprise of no one]], they chose the two neutral ones (the first and last) and the angsty one (number four). {{spoiler|This may be somewhat justified given the nature of the series, but still...}}
 
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** Israeli Covers are... interestingly cartoonish ([http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110319140234/redwall/images/f/f5/Hebrewredwall.jpg here] and [http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110319142123/redwall/images/c/c2/Redwisraelchar1.jpg here]).
** German covers stay usually on one level with the British ones ([http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060105082731/redwall/images/4/4f/Matti-german.jpg like here]), but have quite some... unnerving exceptions ([http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060106055125/redwall/images/f/f9/GermanMossflower2.jpg here] and [http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080422054506/redwall/images/3/37/Redwallaudio1995.jpg here]). [[Uncanny Valley]] ahead.
* More like "Russian ''[[Warrior Cats (Literature)|Warriors]]'' is Hardcore". Compare [http://www.warriorswish.net/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=2&fullsize=1 this] to [http://www.warriorswish.net/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=35&fullsize=1 this]. There's a lot more where that came from: The title translation is also subject to this having been translated as ''Raging Storm'' rather then ''Rising Storm''. Also, the French title for ''Fire and Ice'' roughly means ''In Fire and In Blood''.
** Inverted with the Japanese covers. The Japanese [http://i25.tinypic.com/v75dls.jpg cover] for ''The Darkest Hour'', which is probably the most carnage-tastic book in the series, is of [[Covers Always Lie|two fluffy kitties smiling]].
* To ensure that it sells with the mainstream crowd, Yen Press [[Executive Meddling|was told by distributors]] that (the first volume) American ''[[Spice and Wolf]]'' is [[Contemptible Cover|Trashy]] and Realistic. It didn't go well, so the original art was used from the second volume onwards.
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== Web Original ==
* Most paintings by the infamous Handre de Jager from [[Something Awful]] mercilessly parody this trope. The artist himself stated that his initial inspiration was the aforementioned original American boxart for ''[[Mega Man (Videovideo Gamegame)|Mega Man]]''. Handre's works can be found throughout the Internet; and you can purchase some of them here: (Not safe for work). Be warned, they're disgusting and scary.
* While not an actual example of this trope, honorable mention must be given to [[There Will Be Brawl]], for portraying Kirby as scary.
 
 
== Western Animation ==
* Inverted for ''[[Transformers Animated]]'''s debut in Japan. In order to turn it into a prequel to the [[Transformers (Filmfilm)|live-action movies]] ([[Lying Creator|or so we thought]]), among other things, a new logo looking almost exactly like the film logos was comissioned, [http://www.tv-aichi.co.jp/TF-animated/ which practically clashes with the show's cartoony art style]. And to think that Japan once played this straight with ''[[Transformers]]'' by [[Gag Dub|gag dubbing]] the edgy ''[[Beast Wars (Animation)|Beast Wars]]''... (Though there might be a reason as to the shift in attitude --- see the ''Transformers'' films' entries on [[Germans Love David Hasselhoff]]).
** Just to be clear, this is not the first time that Japan has made Americans very confused about the continuity choices the Japanese side makes.
* [http://aaronb.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/the-secret-of-kells-poster.jpg The French publicity posters] for ''[[The Secret of Kells]]'' is much more action-oriented (having the two main characters surrounded by black, angry dogs while holding up a ball of light) than the subtle, reserved [http://blog.80millionmoviesfree.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/watch-the-secret-of-kells.jpg posters] the rest of the world got (a small face gently smiling, most hidden by leaves).
* ''[[Oban Star Racers]]'' had a mixed french/japanese J-pop opening theme in France, Great Britain & Japan. The US got a generic rock song called "Never say Never" ([[I Thought It Meant|No, not]] [[Justin Bieber (Music)|that one]])
 
 
== Other ==
* [http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2009/07/13/real-touhou-art-terrible-to-behold/ These box arts] for ''[[Touhou (Video Game)|Touhou]]'' merchandise are in the same parody league as Handre's art. ...we hope. NSFW link, by the way.
* Back in the 80s Japan got some special ''[[My Little Pony]]'' toys which were supposed to be even cuter than the normal ones, called [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GdfAoE9__g&feature=player_embedded Osharena Pony].
* The artists who design Polish [[Film Posters]] are famous for adding a bit of edginess, even if the original poster was already a bit edgy. Check out the poster for [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s [[Vertigo]] as [http://www.vinmag.com/online/media/gbu0/prodlg/AP750-vertigo-hitchcock-cieslewicz-polish-movie-poster-1963.jpg as it appeared in Poland] compared to [http://www.cinemasterpieces.com/92010a/vertigonov10.jpg the original.]
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