SNES · 1994 · North America / Japan · Art: Nintendo (Japan) / Nintendo of America (uncredited)
Samus squares off against Ridley while a second, unseen creature reaches in from the edge of the frame — and the Japanese cover shows you exactly what it is.
The North American box for Super Metroid is a study in what to withhold. Samus Aran stands braced against Ridley, the series' recurring dragon-like antagonist, while at the frame's margin a reptilian hand intrudes from off-screen — a creature the cover deliberately declines to show. The composition tells the buyer that Ridley is not the worst thing in the game without telling them what is, which is precisely the promise Super Metroid then spends its runtime keeping. The Japanese cover for Super Metroid makes a different choice, revealing the creature outright behind Ridley and trading the American version's implied threat for an explicit one. It is one of the cleanest examples in 16-bit packaging of the same artwork being tuned to two different marketing philosophies: the Japanese release sells the monster, the American release sells the dread.