Neg's Noteworthy Video Game Boxart Collection

I honestly find myself being disappointed with video game boxart a startling amount of the time. Sure, sometimes it’s outright awful; I'm looking at you, Mega Man. But, more often than not, I'm usually displeased with what is objectively decent, or genuinely beautiful art, simply because I somehow find it to be incongruent with what it's trying to represent, and sell a consumer on. Still, I have been able to identify 10 examples that I either appreciate in a purely aesthetic sense, or that have something else about them that I consider worthy of celebrating and elaborating on. Below the cut, you will find all of them, as well as links to my reviews of each associated game.

The Mega Man Collection

To me, the Mega Man and Mega Man X series are about skill. When it comes to most forms of media, including video games, I am all in for two things: Character and Story. However, the medium of games is unique in that it undeniably has to cater to the development of skill, even if I, and many others, value narrative most highly. It is bound and defined by it. As a kid, I rented these games consistently, reveling in the colorful and characterful Robot Masters and Mavericks. I treated them as a collection of sampler platters. Indeed, it was not until I returned to the franchise as an adult that I came to appreciate Wily and Sigma’s abodes, finding the utmost joy in doing complete runs. Mega Man himself may be little more than an avatar to me, but that’s fitting, as it is through him that I am able to express my prowess at besting his foes.

Mega Man
Mega Man 2
Mega Man 3
Mega Man 4
Mega Man 5
Mega Man 6
Mega Man 7
Mega Man Powered Up

Mega Man X
Mega Man X2
Mega Man X3
Maverick Hunter X

Below the cut, I will be providing my thoughts on the structure of both the Anniversary and Mega Man X Collections.

The Lone Wolf and Cub Collection

Also sometimes referred to as the 'Baby Cart' series, the Lone Wolf and Cub films tell the story of a skilled rōnin (sword for hire) named Ogami Ittō (Tomisaburo Wakayama). They're characterised by extreme acts of violence, minimal dialogue and highly stylised framing that closely resembles the manga it's based on. When not dishing out vicious and bloody samurai action to the people that deserve it, Ogami wheels his young son Daigoro (Tomikawa Akihiro) from place to place in an iconic wooden baby cart.

The journey of the pair in the original six films was cut short before it could end naturally, but please don't let that put you off from watching. There's more than enough bloodshed and vengeance to satisfy fans of the genre. If you do need closure, then Kazuo Koike's original manga can provide it.

The original six films on In a Nutshell:

01. Sword of Vengeance (1972)
02. Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972)
03. Baby Cart to Hades (1972)
04. Baby Cart in Peril (1972)
05. Baby Cart in the Land of Demons (1973)
06. White Heaven in Hell (1974)

Other LW+C films on In a Nutshell:
07. Shogun Assassin (1980) (US cut and dub)
08. Lone Wolf and Child: Assassin on the Road to Hell (1989)
09. Lone Wolf and Cub: Final Conflict (1992)

Manga on our sister site, Nut Ink:
01. Lone Wolf and Cub Manga - Omnibus Editions (Vols 1-5 only)

The Bunny Collection

Is there someone in there....................Why do you wear that stupid bunny suit............I bet with those long ears you can hear the voices................................I don't have regrets about anythin' anymore..........Put....the.....bunny....back.....in.....the box......What's the matter, snuggle-bunny, finding out the world isn't all sunshine and rainbows?

Click the red link, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.........

The Four or More Collection

I mentioned in The Trilogies Collection that film series that had gone past three entries were excluded from being listed therein, so Four or More was born. Below the cut you'll find links to film series that probably should've ended sooner and, in some rare cases, ones that ended too soon.
If there was an existing Collection post with links to all relevant films in a particular series, I've linked directly to it instead because it made my life easier... and making my life easier is my new favourite pastime.

NOTE: If text is coloured pink, it means no review currently exists for it.

The Viable Options Collection

Here on the Nut Blogs, we’ve covered plenty of Remakes, Reboots, and Reenvisionings. We’ve even tackled our fair share of adaptations (1, 2, 3, 4). As rare as it is for any of those to actually improve on their original works, it could be argued that the chances of them being equally worthwhile are even more astronomical. While these pairs (or, in a few cases, trios) may not share the exact same scores, they are considered to be comparable in quality and veritas by at least one of our authors. They are the narratives and experiences for which multiple incarnations deservedly stand side-by-side on our shelves.

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Mickey's Christmas Carol

Scrooged

The Muppet Christmas Carol
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Brimstone and Treacle (1976)

Brimstone and Treacle (1982)
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Castlevania II: Simon's Quest

Worlds of Power: Castlevania II — Simon's Quest

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Constantine (film)

Constantine (game)

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Dune (film)

Frank Herbert's Dune (TV Mini-Series)

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The Fall of the House of Usher (1928)

The Fall of the House of Usher (1960)

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Fist of Fury

Fist of Legend

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The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

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La Jetée

12 Monkeys

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The Last Man on Earth

The Omega Man

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The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D

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The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D

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Mega Man X

Maverick Hunter X

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Piranha (1978)

Piranha (2010)

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Seven Samurai

The Magnificent Seven

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The Shining (novel)

The Shining (film)

Stephen King's The Shining (TV Mini-Series)

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Silent Hill — Harry Mason

Silent Hill — Rose Da Silva

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

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True Grit (1969)

True Grit (2010)

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Yojimbo

A Fistful of Dollars

The First Nut is the Deepest - Music Version

Following on from my The First Nut is the Deepest - Film Version post, this time it's Music. There's no 'Favourites' list on Nut Suite to choose from, so I engineered an alternative. Narrowing music down to a Top 10 would be an impossible task for me, anyhow, so I'm going with a more expansive A-Z instead. It's the First Nut – Music Version A-Z. Which BAND, ARTIST or ALBUM would I pick from my worryingly overstuffed shelves and offer to a willing participant who'd not heard that particular band, artist or album before?
In many cases I had multiple perfect options and just had to choose one or the other. I realise the resultant list probably won't be of interest to anyone who isn't me, but I plan to enjoy it enough for all of us. :D
NOTE: each one opens in new tab, so prob best not to click 'em all at once.

The Final Fantasy VII Collection

Admittedly, VII, and the universe that grew out of it, exists exalted in the minds of fanboys and those for whom nostalgia is not only king, but verily, everything. While I do have nostalgia for the game itself, I am not actually one of either of those numbers. I have experienced the below items—that I’ve personally reviewed—multiple times over the intervening years. In fact, I engaged with them, and their myriad faults, immediately prior to the time of this writing. As a critical fan, I see not only their shortcomings, but also the strengths buried therein. I am able to continually find inspiration, joy, and emotional resonance in this world’s characters, without having to turn a blind-eye to the problems the individual releases have as interactive and non-interactive pieces of media.

The track is far from the smoothest, but for me,

"There ain’t no gettin’ offa this train"~

Source:
Final Fantasy VII
Official Final Fantasy VII Strategy Guide

Sequel Film:
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete

Prequel Anime:
Last Order: Final Fantasy VII

Spin-Off Game:
Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII

Copyright-Skirting Costume Accessory:
Spirit Deluxe Wide Blade Sword

The Ju-on Collection

The Ju-on franchise began life in 1998 as two short films directed by Takashi Shimizu that formed part of a TV Movie named Gakkô no kaidan G (1998); they were Katasumi (In a Corner) and 4444444444 (Ten Fours), respectively.
It then moved to V-Cinema for The Curse I + II (2000, both) before finally making the leap to a full theatrical release with Ju-on: The Grudge (2002).
Its success was such that Hollywood soon followed with a series of English language remakes, two of which were even helmed by Dir. Shimizu himself.
If you only want to experience the best that each region has to offer, the Nut Blogs contributors recommend number 03 in the Japanese language selection below, and number 02 in the English language selection:

Japanese Language Films:
01. Ju-on: The Curse (2000)
02. Ju-on: The Curse 2 (2000)
03. Ju-on: The Grudge (2002)
04. Ju-On: The Grudge 2 (2003)
05. Ju-on: Shiroi Rojo (2009)
06. Ju-on: Kuroi Shojo (2009)
07. Ju-on: The Beginning of the End (2014)
08. Ju-on: The Final Curse (2015)
09. Sadako vs. Kayako (2016)

English Language Films:
01. The Grudge (2004)
02. The Grudge: Director's Cut (2004)
03. The Grudge 2 (2006)
04. The Grudge 3 (2009)

NOTE: Sadako vs. Kayako (2016) is a crossover with the Ringu franchise. For short reviews of films in that series see the Ringu Collection.

Spirit Deluxe Wide Blade Sword (2017)

I was pretty sure I was going to learn something from this experience that I honestly already knew: NEVER order from the website. Shop in-person. Though, to be fair, this seems like a bad idea even if you find one without a hole in the tip. The paint is ghastly. Those two giant spots look to have been simply slathered on, after the fact. The support rod isn't nearly wide enough; the outer-thirds are super pliable. There were small random chunks missing from hilt, as well. By far and away, the worst Spirit product I've ever touched. I guess I applaud them for their ambition, but it didn't work out.

If you're impatient, into gambling, and okay with losing out on the shipping charge, you can at least return online orders in-store.

2022 Update:I did not ever expect that they'd be willing to fix this, BUT OMG, THEY DID. They had a few, yesterday, and to my utter shock they were all fully erect. Did they put more support rods in here? Is the blade smaller?

I FIGURED IT OUT!!! The perfectly circular hole, the flimsiness...the longest support rod must have fallen out of the original one I had. ...Annnnnnd, they shipped it to me, regardless. Lovely. Make sure to look out for the paint issues, missing chunks, and giant holes, but if you can find one that's in good shape and can hold its shape, BUY BUY BUY.

I am ecstatic over this. I never dreamed I'd actually get to own a solid copy of this!

CLOUD REPRESENT.

If you wanted to cosplay, or go trick-or-treating as Cloud and Sephiroth, with one of your kids, this would be a perfect Masamune, for them!

Spirit Battery-Operated Toy Gun ()

If you're going to get one of these, you're going to want to put some thought into how it will end up leaving your possession. I would NOT recommend donating it. I gave mine to an adult friend. Prior to that, it sat on my rack with the rest of my Silent Hill collection and I never answered the door with it in my hand. Heed that advice yourself. Don't response to the bell with a Wiimote in your grasp, either.

I'm going to excise my ramblings, leaving nothing but my assessment of the piece itself, since I have parted with all of my Silent Hill media.

It's undeniably cheap, but it fits the bill and it won't crumble in your hand. However, I wouldn't drop it. I didn't even know it had a sound! Yes, a single sound. It's more of an extended, violent WHOOSH than a gunshot, but I wasn't expecting anything, so it's icing. I don't have a Youtube channel any longer and I'm not going to bother the rest of the Nut Blog crew over it. You can try it in-store. It says you can, right on the packaging. Be kind and replace the plastic tab, if you do. Even if the batteries are dead, the click is heavy and satisfying.

2023 Update: It seems like Spirit is only selling the entirely orange ones, now. I can't blame them.

It also looks like the M92F from RE5.

Threshold Oil-Rubbed Towel Tower ()

Oil-Rubbed!?!? I can't 😂  Oooooh, ooookaaay... I don't remember seeing that on the box! Right, so it's pretty sturdy, even if you choose to forgo the side-rails, like I did. You'll need a Phillips-head screwdriver for assembly, regardless of your desired level of completion. If you really want it for towels, that's cool, and it'll definitely do the job flawlessly. I think its true strength is in storing bladed toys that are too pliable for their own good. Hanging vertically (and level) they won't have the chance to move, and consequently warp, in any particular direction. Assuming their hilts are wide enough to comfortably rest upon two of the rails, and their blades are thin enough to fit between them, this is an ideal set-up. It's five shelves high, so unless you've got a 1:1 scale replica of Sephiroth's Masamune, you should be fine.

I love how it looks loaded up, because it evokes those moments in games where you get to retrieve your inventory, after being separated from it for some back-to-basics/stealth/PANIC! times. Or, if you're Constantine, for the duration of two cutscenes...