Wedding Dash
Due to NaNoWriMo last November, I'd been pretty busy as far as retrogaming goes. I'd mostly finished Final Fantasy IX but haven't gone back to an old game lately, because writing happened. And then my new PS4 happened, and honestly, I wasn't going to be playing old games when I have new ones to get through (Fallout 4, I'm talking to you!). That said, I did have some downtime during the week, when I don't have Internet and feel like playing a quick game on my PC.
In comes the Dash series by Playfirst Games. Well, the Wedding Dash series in general.
I know, I know. This is a complete 180 from the usual stuff I play. At the same time, it's really not such a stretch from my usual gaming repertoire. Occasionally I like games where I can just mindlessly go through the motions without much thought. Before the emergence of apps and smartphones, I played most of my mindless Playfirst games on the PC. I still do on occasion, considering these short games are the only things I can risk playing on my computer without it burning out and dying on me.
Some of my favorite mindless games would have to be the Dash series. Now, as far as Wedding Dash goes, it's hardly the original Dash game. Wedding Dash came as a spin-off to the popular Diner Dash series, and I will say that Diner Dash is still by far my favorite of the Dash games. I mean, come on, Flo is awesome.
The Wedding Dash series, however, does bring to the table its own charm. The game stars Quinn, a wedding planner with hopes and dreams to bring her planning skills to the next level. Unlike Flo, who is well-known for her quick-serve agility and serious management skills, Quinn's skill is in the level of detail and in her planning. She has many more different venues and occasionally travels, and her clients are rather demanding.
The Wedding Dash series encompasses four games: Wedding Dash, Wedding Dash 2: Rings Around the World, Wedding Dash: Ready, Aim, Love!, and Wedding Dash 4-Ever. Each game works around the same formula: a client--usually a couple--dictates what he/she wants to see in the wedding (whether food, decoration, transportation, honeymoon location, etc.); depending on the client demands, Quinn decides on the details for the wedding; during the wedding, Quinn has to ensure that the guests are satisfied and that the wedding is in full swing.
There is a story to the Wedding Dash series, and it progresses across the four games. Quinn does have her own life outside the wedding planning business, and while she is rather busy planning all these weddings, she manages to find the time to fall in love with her photographer. Of course, the story itself is a minor detail in the game, and I tend to glaze past it because it doesn't really affect the overall scheme of things. The scheme being that you have to plan weddings. That's all you really need to do anyway.
Also, there is cake. I like picking out the cake in the weddings. I pick pretty awesome cake, to be honest. But when do I ever get cake wrong?
Game: Wedding Dash series
Released: 2007
Genre: Strategy, time management
Publisher: Playfirst
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone
