Cooking Mama

"Cooking games are for girls………what?"

Yea, I'm a dude….so what? Haha. Well, this is gonna be a short review. When I watched a preview of this game during the time of E3, it sort of reminded me of a Warioware-styled cooking game……..then what do I find out this week on my way to Gamestop…..it's out! And they only had 1 copy left! Hearing that the game would be extremely rare in the future….like another Phoenix Wright, I decided to grab it while I can, and since it was only $20, how could I possibly lose?

Cut, cut, cut, chop, chop, chop, tenderize, fry, repeat, cut, cut……..

The first impression of the game…..is that it looks like Majesco and Taito kinda rushed it……The DS box it comes in has a black and white instruction manual that doesn't really specify what to do….so I turned on my DS and began to play……There are four menus: Let's cook, Combine, Use Skill, and options…..since options is pretty much self-explanatory, I'll bring you up to date on the Let's cook feature. You will start off with 15 dishes to choose from, such as a Salisbury steak, to miso soup,and you will be able to unlock up to 61 more dishes by being able to branch off to new meals from pre-existing ones. To cook each meal, you will be assigned a series of minigames to complete, and everything will include use of the stylus (some with the microphone)…..you never use any of the ABXY buttons while playing this game. You will use the stylus for everything from cutting vegetables, to beating eggs, to pan-frying, to even removing foam off of a pot.

There are basically about 30 different mingames to play….but the biggest flaw is how you play them. I'm sure you will remember how Warioware and Trauma Center (the two games people compare Cooking Mama to) play out…….you are given a series of quick actions to perform in a certain period of time. With Cooking Mama, after you complete a minigame for a meal (like completing the first task…which is usually chopping veggies), you will be sent back to the selection screen to choose the next task to prepare the meal.

Fast-paced action is where it's at……I think….

This single flaw brings Cooking Mama down a huge notch. What kept Warioware and Trauma Center extremely exciting was the quick pace of the game….it kept a person feeling the adrenaline and excitement of playing those mini-games. The pause in the series of actions to prepare to dish makes it seem like the players are not involved in cooking a dish at all…….They are just playing the mini-games for the sake of playing them….and believe me, even though it's nice and quirky at first……anyone will soon tire of the pointless tasks. I guess what I'm trying to say is…..unlike WW and TC, Cooking Mama lacks a purpose. There's no storyline or any reason to cook, except to unlock more dishes to cook. Sure you will get a medal at the end of the cooking process (bronze, silver, gold) depending on how well you did, but the medal signifies nothing except for the fact that you prepared a meal will prefect precision. “Hey guys, look! I got gold on a dish! I'm so awesome!” Yeah, the medals are pointless, since they do not unlock anything; they will only raise your self-esteem……..an extremely small amount.

Combining foods and using skills…..uh, yay?

The Let's Combine feature is pretty similar to the Let's Cook section: you can combine certain dishes to create one single dish. Why not add some meatballs to that udon of yours? Or how about some grilled mackerel with that curry? This may seem like an interesting idea, but once again, there's no purpose in combining foods. Spend about 5 minutes to create a dish that you can look and be graded at……that sure sounds fun. The Use skill section is slightly more fun…..just slightly. You will be able to choose skills you've done in previous dishes, so you can improve on your cooking abilities. I see no reason to do this other than to practice refining those cooking skills. It's only better than the Let's Cook and Combine part because each skill has the players attempting to complete 5 levels of that single skill, which means there is some fast paced action in the section.

Umm, colors? Sounds?

Graphics are pretty clear and vivid. I must admit, those pictures of the food make me hungry at times. I guess the only satisfaction of making the meals is that I can see fried rice or tempura steaming right in front of my face. Sounds include everything from whipping of an egg, to chopping of veggies and meat, to the sounds of stir-frying food. The sounds are simplistic (so is my writing, lol….I just burned myself), but they seem to create a better environment fit for this game. Music takes the sound category down though. If I recall, there is only one song (or two) throughout the whole game! Again, the song fits in with the cooking environment, but I was expecting a bit more music to it.

Sigh, I was expecting a lot more from Cooking Mama. The fun I had with this game is nearly non-existent….that is to say, I had fun creating the first 15 dishes then realized it's the same exact thing over again for 61 more times. I would not say Cooking Mama is a terrible game, but it is far from a great game. Even though it is only $20, it is nothing special you have not seen before in Warioware and Trauma Center.

Instant ramen
+ Colors are sharp and cute
+ Food looks good; makes me hungry
+ Some of the mini-games are interesting; stylus use is nice
+ Sounds are simple but work in its favor
+ $20
+ 76 dishes and combine feature

Burnt pile of eggs and crap
- Those $20 could have netted you 6 caramel frappuccinos at Starbucks instead
- 76 dishes of repetitiveness
- Um…purpose?
- What's the point of medals…bragging rights (not much to brag about)?
- Getting sent back to the mini-game selection defeats the fun of the whole game
- Slow process of cooking; no fast-paced action
- What is this music you speak of?
- Nothing special; WW and TC takes it place easily

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 09/20/06