I'm sure you guys know by now what a sucker I am for interior objects -- I practically never stop talking about them -- so this should be pretty good. The title screen is reminiscent of the intro screen in the first Restaurant Empire, except that it's choppy and -- though it didn't show up on my recordings -- was flashing completely white now and again. A sure sign that we're in for a good time. There are two campaigns to choose from, the first being Restaurant Empire and the second being Coffee, Dessert, and Sweets Success.
I guess it'd be best to start with the first campaign, even though that pun is hard to pass up. Wait a minute. This is oddly familiar... Yeah.
This is the intro to the first game, pretty much frame-for-frame. The biggest change is the graphics, most notably the chef's face... I guess he got rich enough from his success in the first game to afford some facial reconstruction. This is...
The exact same story. It seems like they just included the first game's campaign along with the new one about "Sweets Success". Fun fact: in the first game, your uncle says that he closed his restaurant partly due to a "nasty prostate condition". Apparently the developers left that line in on the original release of Restaurant Empire II, but decided to remove it for later releases.
I'm playing version 1.03 And it's nowhere to be found. Can't say blame them for that one. Since this appears to be, more or less, the same thing I did a video on years ago, I'm just gonna start up campaign #2 so I don't repeat myself too much. This campaign begins with a recap of the story of campaign #1, although they're kind of overselling it a bit.
[Reading in a dramatic voice] For years, the conglomerate OmniFood ruled the culinary world with an iron fist, dictating people's tastes according to its own whims and fancy. [Speaking normally] Yeah, maybe think of toning it down a little bit next time. I'm pretty much just trying to open a Starbucks. Armand is chilling with his wife, Delia, who wants to open up a coffee shop.
I know it sounds like I was just gearing up to tell you a longer story, but that's about it. Welcome, one and all, to the accurately-titled Delia's First Coffeeshop. It may not look like much now, but give me a bit of time, and I'm sure I'll reinvent the very core of what a coffeeshop is. The new campaign of Restaurant Empire II isn't exactly friendly to new players.
Even though I kind of remember the first game, I'm still pretty lost. The only real tutorial is found by playing the original campaign. And since I don't really feel like reliving that storyline, I'm just gonna have to figure things out. The second campaign does give us some hints related to the new coffeeshop mechanics, though, which is helpful.
The general idea is that you lay down a floor area where all the coffeeshop-related objects can go. The rest of the game seems to be more-or-less the same as before... From what I remember at least. My first crack at Delia's First Coffeeshop involved a coffee area that was far too small because I couldn't figure out how to expand it.
Some tables and chairs, lamps, lights, everything you'd expect in a coffeeshop. It also included some things that you wouldn't expect in a coffeeshop, like railings around the lamps to keep customers from touching them, and a walkway of perfectly-aligned plants to guide the customers toward the coffee. Because, let's face it, this is way too big of a building for a new coffeeshop. I'm worried they'll get lost in here.
I also changed the wallpaper and carpet to something horrible to give off that cool "we don't care what we look like" vibe. [Panicking] Oh my god, it's our first customer. Get ready! Welcome sir to Delia's First -- [surprised] O-okay. Come back soon.
....... [Angry] Ya dick. [Speaking normally] Welcome to Delia's First -- [annoyed] Okaaaaay. Welcome to -- [angry] fine! You know what? That's fine! I'll start again since this shop is apparently not up to these Coffee Snob standards.
[Speaking normally] This time we'll have more space in the coffee area, more tables for customers, and this time, no railings around the lamps. So if a customer wants to to put their grubby fingers all over my nice lamps, they're free to do so. [Squish as fingers touch lamp] I also hired a captain, a server, and a receptionist. Three people I just assumed I wouldn't need when running a coffeeshop.
And here come our first two customers! Welcome to-- [angry] Are you kidding me?! Hey, captain, why are you running away from the customers?! And you guys! Who wants to come into a restaurant where the staff is just aimlessly wandering around?! Railing-free, touchable lamps can't be our only selling point! I need staff that rises to the challenge and a menu that-- ... Actually has something on it... Oops. [Speaking normally] Silly me.
I thought that everything listed on the recipe menu was actually on our menu. It turns out that there is both a "recipe" menu and a "food" menu. And if it were me, I would have just called this tab "Recipes" to make that a bit more clear. To make up for my previously-barren menu, I added pretty much every recipe that was available, and now even though my captain is once again running away from incoming customers, someone finally decides to sit down and eat.
Also, a "rotund man in a white suit" is approaching the restaurant from the first campaign.... Which I needed to know, for some reason. We're able to check out customer complaints, and since this is our first actual customer it seems like a good idea to see what else we can do to improve. It turns out that our captain is impolite -- something we already knew -- and there's no reservation desk.
I... Just don't understand what kind of coffeeshop we're trying to run, I'll be honest. This campaign feels less of a "build a coffeeshop" scenario and more of a "build a restaurant that also serves coffee" scenario. Not only do we have to hire all of these employees, but we also need a receptionist just to stand there and tell people to go to a table.
It's fancy enough for that but casual enough to where people still get out their laptops? I mean, maybe I just don't go to enough coffeeshops, but that seems strange to me. Also, this place is two stories. A fancy-but-casual 2-story... Coffeeshop...
Place? I don't understand it. I also don't know what to do with the second floor. I feel like the first floor of the shop is too big, let alone an entire second story. I guess it would be a good idea to have restrooms somewhere in here, though, so that's what I'll use the upstairs for.
And since that's all I'm going to be putting upstairs, we might as well have some roomy bathrooms. Cutting the floor in half, more or less. Delia's First Coffeeshop is now home to what I'm sure are the largest bathrooms in town. I've got to cut costs somewhere, though, so one stall per restroom is gonna have to do.
But what a long, incredible walk from the door to the stall and back, am I right? Downstairs, things are business as usual. Though I did have to hire a new captain after basically every customer complained about the first one. Now that things are more-or-less set up at Delia's, we can just watch our customers enjoy our shop. It looks like we're doing pretty well, actually.
Although I'm still confused about where we fall on the coffeeshop-restaurant spectrum, we're definitely not short on customers. At this rate the only thing that could stop Delia's First Coffeeshop is-- [sigh] I don't know. Divine intervention? Ah! Oh my god, what is going on?! Did we get nuked?! Is this the rapture?! For apparent reason whatsoever, heaven has opened up and shone its light down upon our little coffeeshop. Although I can't see much the game appears to be running as usual.
I guess that means I should take this time to blindly decorate! I'll throw down a few more tables, potted flowers, some fake potted plants, some-- Oh... Well it looks like it actually might have been the rapture. Everyone is gone! But who needs customers when you've got expertly-placed potted plants? Oh thank goodness, we have customers again. I mean, no offense to the potted plants! But...
We need money. Today begins in an eerily familiar way, with a rotund man approaching the restaurant I'm not working on. Who is this rotund man? Is he real? Is it a sign? Hmm. I'll have to keep an eye on that.
Now, I know I haven't spent much time talking about the actual mechanics of this game but it's your usual Tycoon fare. You have to manage food prices, expenses, employees, and there's an abundance of charts, graphs, and numbers to help you make decisions. The thing that's making it hard for me to be engaged, though, is that Restaurant Empire just has too much to keep track of. For instance, you don't just add something to your menu.
You have to take into account the cost of each ingredient and try to price it fairly. You also have to take into account the appliances you have in your kitchen, how long it takes to make the dishes-- I could go on. And that's just the menu! If you're really interested in running a restaurant-- and I mean REALLY interested, then this might appeal to you. If you're like me, and just like watching Food Network, then all this micromanaging is probably gonna come off as tedious.
Despite all this, it looks like Delia's has attracted a pretty big following. Big enough to where it looks like we're getting some street performers outside! Orrr... Maybe it's a protest? This lady in the red and white is standing right outside of the restaurant, tapping her foot. I thought she might be waiting on a seat, but there are plenty of open seats for her.
Soon though, she starts getting a following. Compelled by her... Standing I guess, a crowd begins to form. Now I'm trying to decide if this is a protest of some sort or a new dance craze.
[Dance music] [music stops] Whatever it is, this lady hangs around for over two in-game hours before finally moving along. But her legacy continues. Inspired by her dance moves and/or protesting, others begin to imitate the trendsetter Between them and the rotund man, I think it's safe to say that strange things are happening at Delia's. Ah yes, and who could forget our regularly-scheduled nuclear explosion? At least it gives me time to blindly decorate again.
By the time God stops smiling down at us and reflecting the rays of the sun toward the restaurant with his pearly whites, a bunch of new, exciting furniture has been placed. We now have a plethora of lamps, so if you visited Delia's earlier and thought: "Y'know, there's just not enough lamps" then you're in for a treat. Also joining the party are some winged lion statues, strategically-placed partitions, a regular Christmas wreath, and a sneaky Christmas wreath. You know.
Typical coffeeshop stuff. But even with the indisputably amazing decorations, the cycle begins once more. The rotund man in a white suit approaches. By now I think we can all agree that the rotund man is not just a simple programmed event, but a sign of great importance.
I just haven't figured out what it means yet, nor have I figured out what this ritualistic foot-tapping means, but it looks like my humble desire for a coffee shop may have unintentionally spawned some type of cult. I mean... I guess it might be a good idea to cash in on it. Y'know, like those haunted restaurants or theme restaurants.
Our theme could be... Cults. [Robotic voice] Greetings from Delia's First Coffeeshop [Ian speaking] I think I got a little sidetracked for a moment there. Let's just go back to blindly decorating our restaurant, shall we? Oh.
Well, it crashed and I lost all of my save data, so that's the end of me playing this game, I guess. A fitting end to my experience with Restaurant Empire II, I suppose. So, there you have Restaurant Empire II... Kind of.
I know I got a little bit sidetracked, but unless you're really interested in micromanaging your own restaurant, I feel like you would get sidetracked, too. Now, if you'll excuse me I actually gotta go. I'm running late for my 6:00 rapture -- [angelic choir singing].
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