Sometimes I like to pass the time poking around on various press FTP sites. I really shouldn’t be given access to these places because perusing them is like going down a rabbit hole. I end up looking for assets from Prince of Persia and the next thing I know, I have an Imagine Party Babyz desktop background.

Anyhow, while downloading the latest art for Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, I couldn’t help but realize that its box has a somewhat diabolical and ostentatious presence on it: namely, that freaking ugly blue bar that takes up the whole lower third. I understand the need to showcase a game’s features for those who may not know much about the game, but isn’t this a little detrimental to how awesome the art could have been? “SPOILER ALERT: Thar be puzzles in this here game!”

I mean, there is such a thing as the BACK OF THE BOX, right? (Don’t even get me started on the bilingual box art here in Canada.) Another way of making sure people know about the game would be to advertise it, which I hope Nintendo plans to do a little more heavily this time around, and without featuring Lisa Kudrow more than the actual game.

But hey, that’s just my opinion. Professor Layton and the Curious Village was my favorite videogame of last year, and poor box art design decisions are in no way getting between me and owning this upcoming title. In fact, I’m willing to kick babies and push over grandmas just for another chance to play it.