but i guess that's marketing for you. was that really catering to the tastes of U.S. gamers? i was steeped into gaming back then and when i think about it through my memory, it probably wouldn't have seemed so bad to a young person since we were used to cartoons like He-man. american art style at the time reflected this popularity. the Neutopia 2 cover looks like a blatant attempt to re-capture the success of Zelda.
overall, it's a big difference! did it contribute the the fall of the TG-16? hm, maybe! other factors were definitely apart of it, but this bad art couldn't have helped any.