Review: Arcade Paradise takes us back to the coin-op glory days
Players of a certain vintage will remember the glory days of visiting their local arcade to see what new titles had been added since their last visit.
Although it’s widely documented that arcades first reached their pack in the early ‘80s during the days of Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, it’s the early to mid ‘90s that many are particularly fond of, mainly because it was a unique era when the old and new generations shared the same space as equals.
As new titles appeared on a regular basis, the classics – from not only previous years but previous decades – would continue to proudly stand alongside them, cabinet-by-cabinet.
For every Super Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat 3 or Ridge Racer that would be newly added to our local, the likes of Out Run, Final Fight, Dig Dug and Centipede continued to hold their own, proving that they still deserved their place among the newcomers.
It’s this ‘melting pot’ era that Arcade Paradise attempts to emulate, by putting players in the role of Ash, an irresponsible teen who finds themselves running their own arcade in the mid ‘90s.
As a college dropout with no real direction in their life, Ash is put in charge of King Wash, the barely surviving laundromat owned by their father Gerald.
While Gerald is off living at the Riviera (and no, that’s not a coincidence – he’s voiced by Geralt of Rivia himself, Doug Cockle), he’s tasked his offspring with maintaining King Wash in the hope that it will encourage them to take on a bit of responsibility for once.
However, when our reluctant new laundromat owner notices a couple of coin-op cabinets sitting in a small, grubby back room, an idea begins to form – what if the real money isn’t in laundry, but in arcade games?
The main task becomes clear – continue to
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