SMB2 Box Art -- Lifted from Japanese SMB art?

[David]

Over on Twitter, Derek Yu (@mossmouth) noted that the Super Mario Bros. 2 USA box art looks a bit like an edited, flipped version of the Japanese box art for the original Super Mario Bros.  He has a neat little image of the similarities on his Twitter account, linked below:

Source: @mossmouth on Twitter.com

[CrossEyed7]

You know, I have that blue "Power Up" shirt with the art of Mario jumping and holding the mushroom (same as on the energy drink), and I always wondered why he was holding a mushroom, since it was the SMB2USA boxart, where he's holding the vegetable. I just figured it was some kind of revisionist history going on until I finally saw that SMB1J boxart a while ago.

[Toad]

Now let's look at nearly every boxart since New SMB. Mario and Luigi in that jumping pose is used in nearly every boxart since. Look at Mario Party 8: Mario is in the same position, his head is turned and he's waving at us.

..I know there are others, but MP8 was the first one I thought of.

[BP]

Are they? If memory serves, each game's box has Mario exhibiting the main gimmick as best he can, and it's been that way for as long as I can remember. Holding a vegetable, flying with raccoon power, riding Yoshi while wearing a cape, riding Yoshi while being a baby, flying around the castle with a winged hat, being huge, flying in space, riding Yoshi while flying in space, riding Yoshi while hanging out with three other players, reading a map, holding onto a flying mailman... He's doing his trademark jump about as often as not but that's no more a crime than a Link posing dramatically while holding a sword or Samus pointing her arm cannon at something.

[Kimimaru]

I'm not sure why you refer to it as a gimmick because it's the series' main game mechanic.

Anyway, I think Toad is right for the most part. Most Mario game box arts do indeed show Mario jumping, but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing. I think the horizontal flip and slightly reworked Mario art for SMB2 USA's box art is a little lazy, though.

[BP]

I meant the main gimmick of each individual game, hence the list thereof :T

[Kimimaru]

I don't think gimmick would be the right term because those games introduce new gameplay mechanics. If they were merely gimmicks then the Mario series wouldn't be so great.