"Cooking Mama is like my steak, medium and not well done."

DS review: Cooking Mama

Cooking Mama is one of the DS titles I had been looking forward to for a while. Like many other DS games, Cooking Mama gives a new experience by providing interaction with the touch screen. For example, you will find yourself flipping a hamburger steak so it will cook on both sides, coating pork cutlet before you fry it or even rolling up some meat to make meatballs. While Cooking Mama had the potential to be a really awesome addition to the DS hit list (Animal Crossing, Brain Age), it falls short in a few areas leaving the player wishing for a real game instead of a bunch of short pointless cooking mini games.

Okay, maybe that was a little harsh. Cooking Mama isn't all bad, you see. First off, this game isn't aimed specifically for the hardcore gaming group. Carrying a slightly lower price tag ($20-$25), Cooking Mama aims for all demographics, much like Brain Age. By making this game fun, educational and cheap, Nintendo aims to capture not only the gaming crowd, but also those who want something to pick up and play. Part of the reason is this: Cooking Mama offers 76 different recipes. You start off with about 15, and as you progress you unlock new recipes, incorporating past skills you used for different entrees. This game is made for those who want to play for a bit and put it down whenever they want. This next aspect is what I both like and dislike. For each entree you make, a grade is given. This addition caters to the crowd (like myself) who wants a more in depth game with a sense of accomplishment. While normal people would be satisfied with just completing a course, gamers will take pride in getting a perfect score for their soba making skills. But enough about the theoretical aspect of the game. How does it actually play?

The premise of Cooking Mama is that there is a woman named Mama who is a chef and basically she guides you through the notions of cooking over 70 different dishes. Cooking Mama has three different modes: Let's Cook, Let's Combine and Use Skill. The entire game is controlled by the stylus, so, like Kirby, no buttons are used for this game. I consider Let's Cook to be the main part of the game. From there you are able to make different kinds of dishes ranging from instant ramen to grilled mackerel. There is a wide variety of dishes, but since this is a Japanese made game, a lot of the dishes are Japanese. I also found myself getting increasingly hungry as I played this game, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

After choosing a dish to make, you are given the option to dive right in and make the dish, or you are given the option to practice certain parts of the recipe. Each dish, much like real cooking, has several steps. Usually it starts out with you chopping vegetables, then mixing them together to make a soup, then cutting meat. It all really depends on what you make. Each step is timed as well, so in addition to cooking, it is also a race against the clock. Scores depend on how well you perform the task. If you want the gold medal, and be “just like mama,” you need to perform the task flawlessly. That means mixing the ingredients in the right order, or changing the heat of the fire at the right time.

After doing a step you are sent back to the prompt menu where you see what your next step is. In my opinion this is both a good thing and a bad thing. For one thing, it breaks the flow of the game. On the other hand, it gives you the prompt for what you are about to do and it kind of feels like you are following a recipe by reading the next step. Sometimes it feels tedious to go back to back to the instructions, but I guess it is a necessary evil.

The other two modes seem like tacked on extras. The Let's Combine mode means you make two meals to combine with each other. It could be something like rice, then pork saute. The Use Skill mode singles out the skills you use in the main game and has you repeat the task about five times. For example, if you choose to practice the skill Chop, then you will start by chopping something relatively easy. As the stages progress, the food gets harder to cut and time goes by faster. It's good for practice, but it seems more like a specific mini game than actually cooking.

The use of the stylus is one of the things I really like about this game. Cooking Mama takes full advantage of the touch screen and the microphone. Some dishes will call for you to blow on the food to cool down some food. The stylus allows for you to cut vegetables, stir stew, pound mochi, coat pork chops; just about every cooking technique known. I really love how DS games continue to innovate using the touch screen as their medium. Cooking Mama is no exception.

Another thing I noticed in this game is that failing to do a task doesn't result in a Game Over like most games. If you fail to do a task, Mama fixes it for you. You get to continue on to the next step anyway. The only penalty is that you get a lower score in the end, but scores don't matter to normal people. I like this for the following reason. With Nintendo's new strategy, everyone, old and young, is part of the Touch Generation. Imagine you are an old man or a young boy. The game you buy isn't going to be the $35 surgery simulator. It's going to be the cheap game that has simple pick-up-and-play game play. By failing to incorporate a “Game Over” in this game, the Touch Generation is allowed to have a satisfying experience no matter what they do.

Although the game is generally entertaining, sometimes making the dishes becomes repetitive. Chopping onions over and over does get boring after the tenth time, especially if you keep restarting the level to get that perfect score. The mini games are varied, but will get to you if you are frustrated easily. That's the reason they have the practice mode.

This game has Wireless play as well. I have yet to try this and I'm not really sure how this would work. I think it just sends them a demo of the game and isn't actually like multiplayer.

While not the best DS game out there, Cooking Mama is fun in small helpings and will tide you over until the next major DS release (Pokemon Diamond and Pearl!!!). With a $20 price tag, you really can't go wrong. If you are looking for a gaming experience with lots of fun mini games, I recommend Warioware. Cooking Mama is a unique title that will definitely entertain you. If anything, you will learn the basic steps on how to make some of your favorite dishes. Hey, it could even inspire some to become a chef! Cooking Mama has the same effect as Guitar Hero. Guitar Hero makes you want to learn Guitar, as Cooking Mama makes you want to cook something for real. I will definitely look into real cooking, but for the mean time, I will stick to my trusty stylus and Mama to guide me.

Final Grade: 7/10

*Cookng mama is rated E for Everyone*

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/19/06