A link to the past
Perhaps producing one of the most iconic box art layouts in Nintendo history, the NES Black Box titles have grown to become synonymous with at-home arcade gaming and all that is retro. Released between 1985 and 1987, the series consists of 30 games including certified classics such as Duck Hunt, Excitebike and Donkey Kong Jr.; however, having seen a late 80s Nintendo CES kit from @martinlindell on Twitter, it looks like some of the console's most famous titles were also originally planned to be added to the series.
Lindell's image shows a page of the CES kit which advertises five upcoming games from the NES: 'Introducing four new sports and a princess named Zelda.' The games to which the title alludes are Volleyball, Slalom, Pro Wrestling, 'Punch-Out' (pre-Tyson) and 'Legend of Zelda' (pre-the), all of which are presented with the classic NES Black Box covers.
You might recognise the covers for Volleyball, Slalom and Pro Wrestling as those which the games ended up receiving as a part of their 1987 Black Box release, but the other two titles were not included as a part of the series and received different cover art to match.
Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! (or indeed, Punch Out!!, following the rebrand) would add, you guessed it, a picture of Mike Tyson to the cover instead of the Glass Joe portrait that can be seen in the original design - a pretty huge overhaul, we might add. Even after Tyson's contract with Nintendo was out, the game's cover would have a similar boxer-centric cover (sorry, Glass Joe).
The Legend of Zelda, also changing its title, would undergo a similar glow-up to the classic gold cover art that we know and love today. This being said, the Black Box design certainly goes further to give an idea of what the game involved, and the inclusion of the Gibdos and Keese make it all look suitably spooky. Well, we say 'spooky', but Link doesn't seem too bothered - look, he's even cracking a smile! Perhaps the original design would make a good poster release (hint hint, Nintendo).
Interestingly, the CES kit is also quick to state that The Legend of Zelda will be the first entry in a series of adventure games - what ever happened to those plans, we wonder?? It certainly goes to show that you know when you are onto something special.
What do you make of these original Black Box designs? Let is know in the comments below!
Somehow, this REALLY makes me want to go back and replay the original Zelda. That box is HELLA nostalgic, even if it never made it out of the conceptual phase.
Link's smile there is rather creepy. Glad his sprite didn't have that.
I always disliked the generic shields/emblems for the older Zelda box arts tbh.
They have such great art throughout the series and half the time we were stuck with those. Thank God we never got onto that ridiculous thing NoA did with turning everything gold cause that was even uglier.
Whoa I’m glad those final designs changed!
I bet NOA had a lot to do with polishing those titles up before release, and for the better! The gold box Zelda had mystique and class befitting such a great game, and Glass Joe’s Punch-Out wouldn’t have been half the hit that Mike Tyson’s was.
I'm a big fan of the black box artworks, and this is no exception. This is a great rediscovery.
Remember that the Kid Icarus box art also had Pit smiling.
I never confirmed this story, but I heard that these "Black Box" NES covers existed because back in the days, games for consoles like Atari had those beautiful, artistic covers, but when people bought the games and played them, the actual game didn't look anything like the cover, to earn trust, Nintendo released those covers using pixelated images to show how the game actually looks like.
When the NES became a hit, there was no need for these covers anymore.
It's a moustache, not a smile. He's the third of the Mario Bros, but he went looking for his own princess to rescue in his own spotlight, so he was denied his Mario Bros name in fear of him slandering the name.
When he got popular, they offered him his name back, but he refused as he had made a name for himself, even though most games are named after the princess.
Hence the term "missing Link".
And if you don't know, now you know.
That cover looks actually pretty good! It features enough elements from the game to give the player a solid idea of what the game is about.
I remember the original box art. To my eyes, it has actually aged really, really well. As a kid I always got excited about better and better graphics, but pixel art as an art form has surprised me. I just can't deny that I really enjoy the abstracted nature of it that causes my brain to fill in the missing information. It tickles the imagination a bit more and I guess I don't get tired of that.
So glad someone shared this, I had never seen Legend of Zelda in that form. It was off my radar until the gold box and cartridge which TOTALLY worked and made the game stand out.
@victordamazio That tracks for me. It was needed. I love the artwork on the old Atari 2600 games, though. They worked in a way that helped inform what the VERY minimal graphics were trying to convey. Sometimes you need a suggestion what each rectangle is supposed to represent.
@JimNorman I'm pretty sure Kid Icarus and Metroid were also part of the Adventure Series. Edit: They were.
Article about it (from 1987!): https://www.nintendotimes.com/1987/12/28/1987-the-birth-of-the-adventure-series/
It rightly notes Rygar was first and notes Goonies II, as well.
I'm not a fan of old Nintendo games box packaging as it looks cheap in my opinion. I prefer the design from PS2 games box with PlayStation words on the top and not too long rectangle ratio of the cover. But PS4 games box design is the best in my opinion since I like Blue color. From Nintendo side, I think Wii U have the most beautiful games box design and I really love Baby Blue color on the box.
Over here in Scandinavia, we got the same artwork, as the famicom releases, but in black boxes. Much better looking than those horrible pixel covers. I mean the pixel artwork doesn't even match the in game graphics.
@Shambo Ahh yes with his famous catchphrase, "My name is Linkio Mario. You've captured my princess. Prepare to die."
Really cool. Had no idea this existed. Still prefer the actual Zelda cover but I like the other one as well.
I dig it. If Nintendo ever puts together a Zelda Classics collection, unused art like this belongs in the special features. I was a pretty young kid when the original came out. Back then, packaging worked on me and I grabbed the 1st Zelda for the box and gold cart alone and discovered my favorite gaming franchise
@Dom_31 agreed I found it so off-putting as a kid I never played the early games.
@xzacutor Or in an ancient local Hylian dialect, lost over time to all but a select few keeping it real:
@victordamazio That makes sense. I could definitely see that with Atari games. You were definitely not getting anything that looked close to what was featured on the box art most of the time. Of course us gamers who started with Atari 2600 knew what to expect with games. It took a certain level of imagination to go with the gameplay.
Glad they didn't use that original box art lol
I wish the switch BotW cartridge was gold. Here's hoping for TotK
Smiling Link looks really funny. I think the old covers with the shields and swords look great. My favourite is propably the Wii U cover of Wind Waker. I was thinking of buying the poster.
It also proves that Zelda is not a RPG but rather an adventure game. So that debate is over.
@JimNorman Metroid and Kid Icarus would probably have been Adventure Series games. But those preferred to advertise their password feature in its place.
@Tasuki Are you new to genre debates?
Black box hyrule, here. We. Come.
To me, they look really good. Bit rough, sure, but all of them really embrace the action.
I love this box art. Lets get some repro boxes out there
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