Arcade Paradise

by Aethyna Aug 16, 2022 | 1 Votes | 35 Played | 0 Reviews

9 rate

Genres:

Simulation , Arcade

Graphics:

Labels:

Mini Games , Co-op , Competitive , Shop Design , Retro

Platforms:

Publishers:

Wired Productions When you realized that the profits from managing the family-owned laundromat, not the mention the tedium that goes with it, aren't as lucrative as running a couple of arcade machines from a back room, you're determined to prove to your demanding dad that converting the laundromat into an arcade center is the way to go. Play Now Similar Games

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Summary Plotline Gameplay Graphics/ Sound Conclusion

Summary

Arcade Paradise is at its core, a laundromat simulator, where you work the washing machines and dryers day in and day out while making sure the place is as clean as possible, but the game gives you a possibly to turn things around and possibly refurbishing the laundromat into a proper arcade center, that is if you can get your in-game dad to get aboard with the idea! Earn cash working at the laundromat, buy new arcade machines for the back room, and provide to your demanding dad that you’ve got what it takes to manage a business!

Plotline

In Arcade Paradise, you play as 19-year-old Ashley who has an older sister called Lesley who works at city hall, and a fairly demanding dad. After graduating from high school and languishing around the house without any plans of going to college, your dad finally caved in and decided to appoint you as manager of the family-owned King Wash laundromat.

Of course, babysitting a laundromat and performing the less-than-glamorous job of garment sanitation aren’t exactly your idea of fun, but this is your final chance at showing your dad that you are capable and can be trusted to… well, hold down a job, while your father is enjoying his much-deserved retirement in the French Riviera.

However, things took a turn once you realized that 1. Managing a laundromat is B.O.R.I.N.G, all caps fully intended, and 2. The few arcade machines that your sister had previous set up for the laundromat in the back room is actually pulling in more revenue than the entire laundromat combined! You might be on to something – a money-making “something” - if only your dad would listen…

Gameplay

Running a laundromat is actually very easy. All you need to do is to grab the dirty laundry which your customers have placed in a laundry basket, drop everything into a washing machine, and tweedled your thumbs while you wait for everything to be done. Once washed, the clothes will need to be dried in the dryer. Same thing; stuff everything into the dryer and start the timer. After drying, simply drop everything on the counter for the customer to collect and you’ll get your cash. Simple!

The challenge here, however, is to be on-time. This means once the timer ticked down to 0, you need to be there to quickly collect the clothes. If not, you’ll get a lower rank (the highest is a Rank S), and hence be paid or tipped less. Thankfully, the game gives you a watch that doubles as a timer, pinging you whenever a dryer or washing machine needs unloading, or even if you’ve received a chat message.

No one likes to visit a laundromat that’s filthy and oh boy, do the customers love to leave behind trash – a whole lot of them, in fact - while waiting for their laundry to be done. So, as the laundromat manager, you’ll need to collect the trash into a trash bag. Once full, you’ll then need to bring the bag to the dumpster on the side of the laundromat and throw the bag in. There’s a little mini-game that you play while throwing the trash in, and the trick here is to – oddly enough – hit the red part of the indicator, as opposed to the green part, to score a bullseye. You’ll get a nice pile of cash for doing so, of course, though from whom… well, that’s the real mystery here!

Of course, there are also broken machines that you’ll need to fix and toilets that need regular unclogging. Reputation is important for any business, and you don’t want to lose customers now… do you?

Besides normal trash that you can pick up, there are also other more disgusting “trash” that may prove to be a bit more stubborn in their removal… yes, I’m talking about chewed gum. The game lets you play a mini-game in which you need to click repeatedly to pull a piece of chewed gum that’s stuck to… well, basically anything in your laundromat. Successfully doing so will also net you some cash, likely from the same mysterious entity who has given you money for throwing the trash bag properly into the dumpster.

From time to time, you’ll also need to collect the money in the token machine as well as from the hoppers of the few arcade machines in the back room, designed to give customers a way to entertain themselves while waiting for their laundry, and keep them safe in the… well, safe in the office. The arcade machines also serve as a time waster for you while you’re waiting for the machines to do their work.

The game features an incredible number of retro arcade games that you can play, such as Stack Overflow, Gold Strike, Racer Chaser, Woodgal’s Adventure, and more, with each of them offering achievements that you can attain… that is if you’re good enough.

However, as you progress, you will realize that actually, the handful of arcade machines in the back room of the laundromat is producing more profits than the entire laundromat combined. But of course, your in-game dad refused to listen despite the data you’ve painstakingly collected, charted and presented, so it’s up to you to take matters into your own hands… you are the manager of the laundromat, after all!

The office of the laundromat also houses an old-school desktop PC where you can chat with your sister, Lesley; purchase new arcade machines, or even open up new areas in the building... with the help of your sister getting the necessary renovation permits from the city hall approved with your dad being none the wiser.

Now, the goal of the game is to slowly but surely set up your arcade paradise and finally be able to prove your in-game dad wrong. In a way, it kind of parodies the stereotype of first-generation Asian Americans setting up laundromats in neighborhoods and having their grown children take over the family business.

But of course, even if the second-generation Asian Americans is willing to follow “the plan” laid out by their parents, specifically their father, they have their own aspirations to maybe help grow the business or pivot to something that they are more interested in, and not just stuck doing the mundane day-to-day in a family-business. Naturally, the iron-fisted dads keep shooting down their ideas and suggestions without so much of a “let’s try it”. Maybe I’m overreaching here, but being Asian myself, I can’t help but to draw the similarities.

A quick warning as well, if you tend to get motion sickness from playing video games, specifically games with bloom and motion blur, you might want to tinker about in the settings for a bit. That being said, I still find myself feeling a little queasy after an hour or two of playing Arcade Paradise – you’ve been warned!

Graphics/ Sound

The retro 90s theme is strong in Arcade Paradise, which isn’t surprising considering the setting of the game. The graphics here are fantastic and works great for a simulator game. The arcade machines themselves feature nostalgic pixel graphics that’ll send every 90s gamer kid down memory lane. Naturally, to match the visuals, Arcade Paradise also comes with glorious retro music that really sets the atmosphere for both the game and each individual arcade game.

Conclusion

Arcade Paradise is both a laundromat simulator and a shop simulation game combined, and it does both really well. It manages to make you go through the motions and experience the boredom and tedium of running a laundromat, while giving you something to look forward to – the rows of arcade machines in the back room – for when you’ve got a few minutes of free time on your hands. As you earn more money, you’ll get to unlock more arcade machines, giving you access to even more fun retro games to play. Ultimately, the goal is to convince your dad that setting up an arcade center is a whole lot more profitable than a laundromat.