A few months ago, Kairosoft released a pair of interesting new titles worldwide, one based on managing a train station, and the other putting you in charge of your own arcade. They were both cool simulation games in their own ways, but there was a catch to those versions: they only supported Japanese language. Not long ago, the first of the two got an English release as Station Manager [$5.99]. Understandably, many of our readers were more interested in the arcade-themed game. Well, that game is also available in English now under the title Pocket Arcade Story [$4.99].
It's pretty much what it says on the tin, putting you in the role of the boss of a new arcade. You're responsible for pretty much everything, from the general layout to the machine selection. It's mostly informed by Japanese arcades, so there are lots of other attractions like crane games and photo booths in addition to the video games. You even have control over how strong the grip is in the crane machines, so if you've ever wanted to know what it feels like to be on the other side of that particular experience, here's your chance. I wrote up some more detailed impressions of the Japanese version a while ago, so you might want to check those out if you're interested. I enjoyed the Japanese version of Pocket Arcade Story quite a bit when I played it. While the presentation is the same old familiar Kairosoft stuff, the gameplay mechanics have a few new aspects to them. It's also a good bit more challenging tha...