I Tried Arcade Fashion

Did you know that there are fashion collaborations with arcades? Yeah, I didn't either, and I kind of want to try them out. So, today's GTF episode to get the full experience, I'm heading to each and every arcade that has done a fashion collaboration, including an arcade with the worst rebranding in human history. >> Look at that mess with my boy. >> One that serves Japanese cuisine and has a karaoke lounge and one that did some damage to your boy. Here are the rules. Number one, we have to beat a record or hit a jackpot. Number two, I must try the food. Number three, I want to win some prizes. Number four, because I'm a fashion YouTuber, we got to style the fashion collaboration. And number five, have fun. Shouldn't be too hard. Our very first stop, Chuck-E-Cheese. Founded by Nolan Bushnell, the same guy that established Atari. It was founded as a way to combine pizza and animatronics back in the late '7s. Yeah, I'm glad they stopped doing that. Now, fun fact, I've actually never been to a Chuck-E-Cheese. Back where I grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, we had this thing called Peter Piper Pizza until it was torn down in 2006. Very sad. And also, for those of you guys that don't know, the mouse, his actual name is Charles, aka Chuck. >> I am not crazy. >> Entertainment Cheese. Now, I must say, he definitely did not have a glow up, but let's head inside. So, as I walked in, I was greeted by this esteemed gentleman. He was probably thinking, "Uh, what are some two grown ass men showing up in a Chuck-E-Cheese on a Tuesday?" That's besides the point. We have a mission to accomplish. Let's see what Chuck-E-Cheese has to offer. Finally got our pass right here. And I'm not going to lie, I always thought Chuck-E-Cheese I always thought was kind of like mediocre, but this is kind of a vibe. They have a little trampoline corner, tons of seats, and surprisingly, we're filming on a Tuesday. There's a good amount of people here. I don't know why this should be a school day. There's a ton of Holy crap. There's a ton of chairs. I don't even know how many people can sit in here. This place definitely caters towards children and birthday parties. They're known for their birthday parties, actually. But that's not going to stop us from accomplishing our goals, which is hitting that jackpot. So, the very first game I decided to hit up was this basketball game. It was a lot shorter, a lot smaller. The rim was much closer to me, and the high score only 50 points. Should be light work. Oh my god. Yeah. So, I uh absolutely got humbled playing this game. I just had to take a break, start playing other games, and of course, my cameraman, Carlos, decided to join in on the fun. So, we tried a bunch of games, including this balancing game. This Nerf game was actually really cool. There was also this game that spit out actual water. Don't know how long the water was sitting there. So, after all that fun, there's a game that I play at every single arcade because I can definitely hit the jackpot, and that is Skiball. And luckily for me, the jackpot is only 50,000 points with nine balls. So, I don't need to make every single one. Oh my goodness. Yeah. So, I don't know what was going on here, but my instincts tell me that this game is rigged. And how do I know that? Well, your boy actually used to be a game technician at the laser tag building in Breaking Bad. There's going to be a lot of those references in this video. All right, but I used to fix games, replace circuit boards, do some soldering, so I know how these games work. And let's just say this video could be titled exposing arcade game scams. So yeah, the ski ball completely rigged. Those cutouts on the side of the games, you're supposed to use that as a backboard to bounce the balls into the 10,000 point slot. But the cabinets actually cut at the exact spot where the ball is supposed to bounce and land right inside the hole. Therefore, 90% of the time you're not going to be able to get it in unless you roll it in perfectly. And the one piece of advice I can give you as a former game technician, focus on skill-based games. That's how you're going to win the most tickets. So yeah, after spending an hour at Chuck-E-Cheese already, no success. So I took my own advice and decided to hit up the very first game that humbled your boy. And just a quick reminder, each one of these arcades does have a special fashion collaboration that we're going to style. But first, let's lock in. Come on. Come on. Let's go. And after this, I was definitely on a roll. I got the jackpot on this game with the pusher arm. And you have to push the right puck into your slot to hit the jackpot. >> Oh, let's go. Let's do it. 30 tickets. Let's go. I hit That's another jackpot, bro. And of course, feeling wealthy and high off my wins, it was time to roll like a G. Yep. You know I got to do it. >> Drive. Look alive. Look alive. Came up on this side. Now they on the other side. Oh well, dog. We going to see how hard. As you can tell, we're definitely having fun with this. So, that is two goals accomplished already. But how about that food? Let's just say, man, it's not worth it. Chuck-e-Cheese has a pretty dark conspiracy theory regarding its pizzas. So, I got two of them. One gluten-free and your standard pizza. And not going to lie, man. Pizzas kind of slap. I also got a basket of wings, and those were eh. The total price for all these items, I'm just going to let it play out. 58 bucks. 58 bucks for this is crazy. Now, last on our checklist are the prizes. And the reason behind this is this is my very first Christmas being a dad. Of course, it's really easy to just buy something on Amazon, but this is something I get to work for. So, I have these three Christmas bags, and I want to fill them with gifts. So, our goal is to win prizes for the wifey, my dog, Ahsoka, and my newborn son. For the wife, I think I know exactly what to get her. So, Chuck-E-Cheese is actually known for their photo booths where they produce a sketch picture of you. I think the wifey's going to like this. And finally, time for the prize counter. And yeah, this is all the prizes our tickets got us. Chuck-E-Cheese is more for the experience and not really winning prizes. Let's just say that. Matter of fact, parents, you can actually just buy the prizes, which kind of defeats a purpose and takes all the fun out of the arcade experience. But, you know, I ain't going to say anything. We still haven't found the collaboration. The reason why I think I haven't been able to find the collaboration was I was being a little bit too harsh on Chuck. So, I decided to make amends and say what's up to the mouse himself. >> Hey, what's up, Chuck? I'm kicking it with you for a bit. All right. Hey, this for me. Hey yo, this is a sick piece, man. I appreciate it, bro. And it turns out Chuck, although creepy looking, truly has kindness in his heart. So, yeah, shout out to Chuck for the piece. Let's break down this collaboration. This was between Chuck-E-Cheese and Dumb Good. Dumbgood is a retailer that focuses on officially licensed gear, but not so much generic merch. It's actually welldesigned, has nicely cut pieces, and a variety of pieces as well. For this specific collaboration, they came out with a retro 2004 themed collection to make you feel like you were having a birthday party back in the early 2000s. This collection featured pieces like a sweat set, including a crew neck, sweatpants, sweatshirts. They also had a camp collar, a couple of hats, and not going to lie, the bucket hat goes pretty hard. This piece is their tie-dye long sleeve with various graphics, and they're not just screen printed on. So, these are vinyl graphics that have been heat transferred onto the fabric, giving it a waxy feel and difference in textures, which also allows these graphics to have a shimmer to it against the light. Now, to me, Chuck was always a rad dude in my eyes. Hears elbow pads, a backwards hat or a helmet, some gloves. I feel like he would BMX or skate, so the theme I wanted to follow was more of a fit I would skate in. We got these barrel jeans from GU, a two-tone cap that matches the color theme, and then some checkered Vans. Of course, had to hit a heel flip in this fit, but overall, I think the collaboration was eh. It's okay. It is really cool to see arcades do fashion collaborations. This one, I just feel like they could do a little bit better. So, let me just say, I had the time of my life making this video so far. Arcades are just a spot. And the brand arcade is actually the spot for one of these. The momentum belts or the motion belts from the sponsor of today's video. So, let me put you all on. These are the perfect belts for your daily fits. Just check this out. Both belts are stretchy and moves with you throughout your day. The Momentum belt is a bit more flexible, which is why I wear that one a whole lot more. So, we're going to focus on the Momentum one. They're super lightweight, has a perforated webbing, really adds a nice texture to any outfit. And look, I have several variations of their belts. each one of their buckles super low profile because you just don't have a big old buckle pinching on you whenever you move. It's just a clean design, easy to snap in or out. Doesn't pinch you, which just makes it that much more comfortable to wear. And also an underrated feature about the Momentum Belt. It is not made out of metal, and that's actually a good thing. Let me explain, because that makes going through security checkpoints like TSA a breeze. You don't got to take off your belt or anything. There's no metal to it. You can walk through metal detectors. Definitely comes in clutch whenever I travel. Also, my skin is allergic to nickelplated metals. So, whenever any belt has a buckle to it and it's made out of metal, I'm kind of skeptical about it cuz I get a huge rash. Because it's no metal, I don't got to worry about that. Because I wear this belt every day, especially during summertimes, if it starts to stink or get some stains, can easily throw it in the washer, no problem. Arcade also has a ton of other belts from their adventure belts, which is even stretchier, to their other utility and lifestyle belts if you want a different look. Lots of good-looking hardware, some metal ones if you like that. They got tons of other colors, tons of different fabrics. You can definitely find a belt that suits you. Now, because it's that time of the year, this also makes a really good gift. Just think about it. I would highly, highly recommend a belt from Arcade. If you haven't tried an arcade belt, I really think you're missing out. I'm going to leave my favorite belts, the Momentum belts in the description, as well as some of these other ones. They got some more tactical looking ones, cool colors. I'm telling y'all, perfect gift for the holidays. So, thank you Arcade for sponsoring this video. Let's get back to it. For our next stop, we made it all the way to Fox Valley Mall, just outside of Neapville, Illinois. Okay, we're out here at >> round one. >> Founded as a roller skating rink with an arcade back in 1980. This is like the arcade of arcades. A lot of people don't know that this is actually a Japanese corporation imported into America. So, you're going to see a lot of Japanese themes. Hence why they're known for their claw machines, JDM exclusive games, billiards, bowling, ping pong, and even karaoke depending on location. Let's see if this place can impress me. All right, guys. As you can see, ton and ton of games. Super loud and way bigger. So, we got these really, really large games over here. Extra large everything. This is a ball dropper game. There's a smaller version, but this is the huge version. Another thing round one is known for Japanese claw machines at every round one. But these claw machines, they look cool. It's a lot of good prizes, too. So, going to win some prizes for the fam. And it just doesn't stop. There's so much more. So much more claw machines. This is a place you take your girl to. All right, fellas. We're on the second floor, the bottom floor, I should say. This is where the billiards and the the bowling alley is. So, Round One is known for having all of those things. So far, it's empty. We were here on a Wednesday, but it's kind of a vibe. Got the UV lights, loud music. Pretty solid. Now, at this point, I really felt like this was the arcade of arcades, but there were definitely some flaws. You're going to see later as there was this notes that was in the prize selection area. We'll get into that in a bit, but first, let's break a record or hit a jackpot. So, of course, had to hit up the good old trusty ski ball. So, I think this is one of the cheapest games as well. It's about 3.2 credits, so we can play a lot. Bro, I ain't got none. Oh my god. Yeah. So, this game absolutely got me [ __ ] up. And I don't say that lightly. This ski ball was rigged to the ends of the earth. And you know, I can see it the very first time I played. The ramp super sloped up, meaning you have to throw it actually harder to get the right arch to go into the 10,000 slot. But they also dropped the roof on this so that it hits the roof and just backs down. I didn't hit a single 10,000 at all. Man, you got me. Okay, so back to my original advice. Skill-based games. So, what am I really good at? So, those of you guys that don't know, rhythm games, my jam. I grew up playing games like Guitar Hero 3 and Piano Tiles on the phone. So, I felt this Piano Tiles game calling me. Record is 64 keys. Think I can do it. I'm pretty good at this game. Let's go. 87 keys. I already I'm the king of piano keys. >> I was pretty nice with it. Yeah. So, I played this multiple times, killed it every single time to the point where I was reading the top of the screen and it couldn't keep up with me cuz I was pressing it too quick. So, on to some more games to beat some records. Of course, if any guy sees this game, there's just like this male urge to just want to punch it. So, punch it. We did. Broke the record first try. Then, we beat it again and again. Good stuff. At this point though, we've been uh screwed over by ski ball and I was just focused solely on hitting jackpots. I really feel like we weren't having fun. We were just there for work. But then I saw a game that just just took me back to my nerdy days. You ain't Asian if you haven't played DDR. Let's just say that. I used to go to my local arcade every Friday and we play this for hours. We were like big nerds. Let me show Let me show you guys how to do it. Now, competitively, you should use a bar. But if you play casually and you use a bar, I'm disappointed in you. Let's see if I still got it. You know, I had to flex a little bit. See if I still got it with the the spins on frozen ray. If you know, you know. And that's probably a really small minority of people that actually know what I'm talking about. I even got my cameraman Carlos to try it out. He definitely looked like he had some fun. Having fun? Check. As you would expect, we were totally gassed out and hungry, so we decided to hit the snack bar. Of course, round one originating in Japan. There was a nice, beautiful Japanese menu, and we had to try it out. However, this establishment didn't have the ingredients to make the ramen or the matcha latte. Round one, you disappointed me. You disappointed everybody that loves Quartzips. You disappointed my people. But it's okay. I forgive you guys. We got to order some chicken karag, got some ramune, and then we had a Japanese burger. And honestly, food was pretty good. Only problem is we've been here for a couple of hours already, no prizes, barely any tickets, and I got wrecked in bowling. Had to do 50 push-ups. So, I grinded on piano tiles to eventually get enough tickets to win this Pokemon coloring book for my son. Now, about that note, unfortunately, this is kind of crazy, ladies and gentlemen. Inflation has officially hit the arcades. And because of that, I couldn't get anything for my dog, Ahsoka. Round one. Man, I had high hopes for y'all. But it's okay though. I bought my dog an extra squeaky toy. Now, I still got to win the wife something. So, I decided to hit up the claw machines with not the best luck. In fact, I lost like $56 trying to win a claw machine animal. So, after losing all that money, I came across the perfect claw machine. Had already been played for before. And I say that because how claw machines work, after it hits a certain amount of plays, then the claw can grip at full strength. And since this has already been played a couple of times, that should make the likelihood of winning even higher. So now it was time for your boy to win a prize. And this one specifically is a Hello Kitty one. The wifey loves Hello Kitty. Surely she does not have enough Hello Kitty items. It's time to lock in. Let's go. Oh. Whoa. What is this? A round one collaboration? >> So, we killed two birds with one stone. The wife got her Hello Kitty and I found the collaboration. Let's talk about it. This was a collaboration between Round One and Popkiller. Popkiller is an apparel brand located in Los Angeles, founded in 2003, and they focus and produce original and artist design artwork, and all their pieces are basically a blend of Japanese culture and LA fashion. And with this collaboration specifically, they came out with two different shirts, the bowl of ramen and the Pixie wave shirt. Both of the graphics on these have sort of an 8bit pixelated design with the eye-catching and nice colors as well. And styling wise, since we are in a Japanese arcade, I have some wide- fitting pants from Harrison Wong, which does take inspiration from Japanese fashion, some Rick Owens, my discontinued cap. Nothing too crazy. But for the ramen bowl one, I decided to pull from some of the colors on the t-shirt, mainly orange and the blue. And that's why I wore these orange trousers from Shina Goua. Really matches well with the bowl of ramen, but also is a contrasting color to the blue that's on the shirt. And a style rule that I typically have is if the main fits, meaning the shirt and the pants don't have any black to it, accessorize with black. So, I'm wearing Rick Owens, a black Unilo bag, and a black messenger cap. All these accessories mesh really well together in the fit, and it just feels very cohesive. So, the round one collaboration, not too loud, definitely something that I can wear. Let's hit up the final arcade. Dave and Busters. I do wonder why they decided to choose Dave over Buster first. I always find that interesting whenever I see brands like Ben and Jerry's. There's a story behind it. So, I'm curious what that is. Anyways, founded in 1982 in Dallas, Texas, expanding all the way to 178 locations between the US and Canada. This arcade definitely caters more towards adults. They've got a sports bar, a restaurant, tables to put your alcohol on. Let's see what else they got. Just got our power card. Let's check out what Dave and Busters has. All right, so I see a UFC game. Okay, I've never seen this before. This is actually kind of cool. There's like a Kung Fu Panda type of game that's probably similar to this air hockey. We got these Asphalt 9, which is a a mobile game. Actually, I'm quite surprised. The vibes, we we vibing here. So, there is some different games than some of the other arcades. Uh, we got dodgeball here, but it looks like there's a little less games than round one. A little bit more than Chuck-E-Cheese. It's like a good middle ground. DDR over pump it up. There's no DDR here, unfortunately. We got Axe throwing over here. So, a little bit different games in Chuck-E-Cheese in round one. Let's focus on hitting those jackpots, shall we? First game up, this UFC game. And just like the boxer punching game, there's just this male urge to So, as I kept playing, my score always remained low because you see that pad right there? It's not going off. The sensor is probably broken. Maybe an elbow will wake it up. Yeah, I really hurt myself when doing this, and my wrist still hurts as I'm filming this. And then, as we're walking around, I came across another ski ball. After the two previous arcades, I feel like it was time to redeem myself to conquer ski ball once and for all. And I was not having any luck. I don't know, guys. I'm >> not really feeling it right now. >> But you know, I think what I need >> is a power up. I've been on my own for long enough. Maybe you can show me how to love. Maybe Heat. Heat. No one's around to judge me. >> Yeah, fellas. Our powerup piece was this collaboration between Bobble House and Dave and Busters. So, yeah, the brand Bobble House has ties to Shanghai and New York City. And similar to Chuck-E-Cheese, it's to invoke the nostalgia of a trip to Dave and Busters. So, the colors are super bright neon green and highlighted yellow. Definitely a color I'm not really used to. So, if that's the case, I tend to like to match the color with my sneakers. So, we got on the Nike Acron Imprestos back when sneaker culture was great. Some shield glasses, a car hard cap, and although this hoodie is a tad too big, it does have a really nice cut, a nice shape, nice colors, constructed very well, and it even came in this highlighter neon bag. Every single one of these pieces did actually come with a power play card, and it's a specially designed one for Bobble House, which I did try in the arcade, and it didn't work, but still cool nonetheless. And on the sleeve of this hoodie, there's actually a dedicated pocket for your power card, which just shows how much thought went into this collaboration. I've lost a lot of power cards before, so having a dedicated pocket for it. Really cool. There's also two other pieces. Carlos decided to style the other piece. And then they got their basic white tea, which to me, I just felt like styling a more summery spring type of fit. Just went with all lighter colors. I have on these double knee shorts, a Nike ACG cream and brown jacket. Really going for that monochromatic look. And fun fact, this is the first and only collaboration that Dave and Busters has done, at least from the research I've done. They also had other pieces as well, like sweatpants. And yeah, the overall collection, although a bit loud, definitely the best one of the bunch. Time to pick out some prizes. So, I definitely got to say that Dave and Busters is a good balance between fun, tickets, and the cost of prizes. So, we got Ahsoka a little bandana, some skincare for the wifey, and for the little one, a Yoshi plush. And after all my hard work, time to bring it home to the fam. I can allocate my collection. Ooh, what's this? Oh, hell yeah. Now, as much fun as I had making this video, somewhere along the way, I grew up. We grew up. and we tend to forget what it's like to be present. So, making this video really reminded me of the kid that I was and the dad that I want to be because I want the same thing for my son. You know, I can't wait to bring my own kid to places like this and just watch him feel that same pure magical fun that I once felt as a kid. I'll be there