3DS eShop Game Review: Johnny's Payday Panic

Game: Johnny's Payday Panic
Console: Nintendo 3DS
Developer: Office Create
Release Date: 12th November 2015

The Nintendo eShop for 3DS has been pretty bland of late; a mix of full priced retail downloads, ports from PC and kids shovelware. So it was a nice surprise to see something bright, fun and good quality available for download in Johnny's Payday Panic. While the title might not do the game justice, it does explain the overall premise of the game; Johnny needs to work and earn money to buy cool stuff so that he can be a big shot.

There are 5 fast food jobs that Johnny can work in the game; selling ice-cream, ramen noodles, doner kebabs, cupcakes and hamburgers. Each of these jobs has a different set of actions to complete customer orders and the establishments vary in complexity of what can be ordered. Each time Johnny works at one of the restaurants, his experience level there goes up, earning bonuses which can help serve customers faster, and raising his wages at that job.

Unlike some games of this time, each job has a definite feel and is based on different skills. Making kebabs for example requires multitasking as the meat and lettuce constantly need to be refilled whilst taking and making orders. All of the 5 jobs have an enjoyable process of making the food, and the game doesn't give players the time to get bored of any of them; there's always a rush to continue serving customers.

If a customer is waiting too long, their order bubble will turn yellow and then red. If they're still not served then the customer will leave, taking experience points off the end of day score, and potentially obscuring other orders with their complaints. There are a few different types of customer, and players must plan the serving order to make sure that short tempered customers are served before those who don't mind waiting. As shifts continue it's a balancing act between preparing the food correctly, remembering who has been waiting longest and serving the correct meal to the correct customer once it's made.

Graphically the game adopts a cartoon style which very much suits the tone and atmosphere of the game. Each type of food is differentiated well enough that any mistake made by players will be their own, and the controls suit the touchscreen of the 3DS perfectly. There's some light hearted music behind play, but it can easily get lost in the heat of trying to keep service going throughout a shift.

Overall while there are admittedly many similar games, Johnny's Payday Panic boasts a fun and lighthearted explanation behind why Johnny needs to work so hard, rewards at regular cash and exp intervals, upgrades for each job which increase efficiency, and fast paced and continued fun as the game progresses. It'd have been nice if the cash going towards each purchase carried over (you can have $1 left to go towards the next item, earn $2 million and still start the next round with $0), but for £2.99 on the eShop you won't find much more fun than this.

Rating: 80/100
Grade: B