Here we have some of the original Japanese box art from the MegaMan series of games. You see, like many of the great video games of our time, MegaMan first came out in Japan. Then, when it sold well there, Nintendo of America picked it up and re-released it in the U.S.

Unfortunately, Nintendo of American and Nintendo of Japan rarely see eye-to-eye with each other. (Not that things are any different at Sega, Sony, or any other videogame company with a corporate headquarters in the U.S. and Japan.) As a result of this, the box art is usually re-drawn at the last moment by some crappy American bargian basement artist who has never heard of anime. Sadly, every single Megaman game up until Megaman 8 was mutilated in this way.

So, this section of the page is deticated to anyone who has ever wondered why the characters on the box look nothing like the characters in the game.

I got these pics (except for the Megaman 8 CD, which I scanned for myself,) from Capcom of Japan. Their website is so unbelievibly cooler than Capcom of America's. They have an archive where you can get info and box art for every game they have ever released! Wish I could read Japanese...