Super Scribblenauts Box Art Comparison: Nintendo DS Regional Covers Examined

Super Scribblenauts Box Art Comparison: Nintendo DS Regional Covers Examined When Super Scribblenauts launched in 2010, it continued the creative legacy of the Scribblenauts franchise.

Developed by 5th Cell and published by WB Games—with Konami handling Japanese distribution—the Nintendo DS puzzle-platformer empowered players to conjure solutions by writing nearly anything they imagined.

As a follow-up to the popular original, Super Scribblenauts was highly anticipated on the Nintendo DS, and its release marked another milestone in WB Games’ expanding catalog of inventive gameplay experiences. Beyond its gameplay innovations, Super Scribblenauts also stands out for its distinct regional box art.

Each version was crafted to appeal to the sensibilities of players in North America, Europe, and Japan, offering uniquely creative takes on Maxwell, the game's protagonist, and the whimsical, imaginative world he inhabits. North America’s cover art for Super Scribblenauts, overseen by Warner Bros.

Interactive Entertainment, features Maxwell triumphantly holding his iconic pencil aloft.

The vibrant, sunset-hued background and the effect of Maxwell leaping through the paper add depth to the artwork while visually reinforcing the game’s draw-a-solution mechanics.

This bold design places the character at the forefront, connecting directly with the game’s premise of creativity and invention. In the European edition, also published by Warner Bros.

Interactive Entertainment, the visual approach remains similar but introduces notable changes in palette and layout.

Maxwell is depicted within the game’s richly populated world, surrounded by characters and whimsical contraptions, such as a flying car.

The colors are both vivid and subtly restrained, inviting European players to immerse themselves in the imaginative possibilities that made the Nintendo DS a standout handheld for unique titles. For the Japanese release, Konami adopted a more abstract, artistic style.

The cover showcases Maxwell in the lower left corner, set against a striking red background brimming with doodles—an apt tribute to the game’s core concept of written creativity.

This bold graphical statement stands in contrast to the more character-centric Western versions, highlighting regional preferences and the enduring importance of box art design in marketing Nintendo DS titles on a global scale. In a recent community poll featuring 1,379 votes, players expressed a clear preference for the North American box art, which claimed 55% of the vote.

The European design followed with 33%, and the Japanese artwork, despite its distinct flair, garnered 12%.

These results underscore how aesthetic decisions can shape player perception across different markets. Super Scribblenauts remains a noteworthy example of inventive Nintendo DS gaming, and its regional box art stands testament to the collaborative efforts of WB Games and Konami in engaging a global audience through thoughtful design.

With its release still celebrated among puzzle fans and collectors, Maxwell’s adventures on the Nintendo DS continue to inspire creative thinking—both in and out of the game.

Konami Nintendo North America Europe Japan America Xbox Series X|S Nintendo DS Super Scribblenauts WB Games DS