Metareview - Cooking Mama (DS)

by Zack Stern { Oct 1st 2006 at 7:10AM }

We lost track of Cooking Mama, assuming it would never wash up on shores outside of Japan. We were surprised when it popped up in a recent release list and picked up a copy right away. This quirky cooking simulator features Japanese-heavy dishes, with a lot of deep-frying and uncommon oceanic ingredients. Reviewers have been giving it points for originality, but docking it for longevity:

Yahoo! Games (70/100) - "So while there isn't all that much on the menu, the fast-paced and simple gameplay can't fail to raise a smile, at least for the first few plays. Most will set it aside after that, but it's priced at a decidedly value-conscious $20 -- less than the cost of a good steak."
GameSpot (69/100) - "You might glean a bit of info on what goes into some of these dishes, but this isn't a virtual cookbook. There are no precise recipes to be accessed anywhere in the game. There's also no multiplayer component of any kind, though the advertised four-player wireless icon on the back of the box might lead you to believe otherwise."
IGN (70/100) - "The big question: is any of this fun? Though the entirety of this game is simply doing what you're told as quickly as possible, it's actually an amusing game if you're not expecting much out of it."

Give Cooking Mama a shot, especially if interested in the culture of Japanese food. We don't think it would hold up without the menu of shumai wontons, octopus dumplings, and other unique treats.

Tags: Cooking mama, CookingMama, japan, japanese, mini game, MiniGame, warioware

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Mank @ Oct 1st 2006 8:07AM

What is the 4 player wireless icon on the box for?

TooManyGames @ Oct 1st 2006 8:12AM

You can send a demo of the game wirelessly, most likely up to 3 more people at once.

Allstar @ Oct 1st 2006 9:14AM

I've found a good steak for less than $10. Stupid Yahoo! Games and its exorbitant lifestyle.

Neko Ewen @ Oct 1st 2006 10:48AM

I got it and it's a decently fun game, especially for $20. It's just that it always makes me hungry for Japanese food. :3

Garp @ Oct 1st 2006 11:03AM

#3 - That's probably California pricing.

lolersticks @ Oct 1st 2006 11:29AM

I love this game! Well, I would love this game, but I can't pry it away from my mother.

Laalaadeeda @ Oct 1st 2006 11:39AM

This was the first game I bought for my new DS (along with Super Princess Peach...is my sex that obvious yet? And yes, I did get a pink DS =oP...don't underestimate my gaming interest though...sorry, got off-topic)...and I actually enjoy the game a bit. It's rather amusing and catchy. It's a fun concept...longetivity is an issue though...I can only make hard-boiled eggs so many times before it gets old. My Cooking Mama prowess probably outweighs my real-time cooking skills though. *sigh*

darryl @ Oct 1st 2006 2:09PM

"I love this game! Well, I would love this game, but I can't pry it away from my mother."

Oh God, help us all! What happened to this site, when did it all go so horribly wrong?

Adam Johnson @ Oct 1st 2006 2:19PM

I got this the day it came out and I still havent conquered it. Some of cooking is harder than real life, and I'm a well-seasoned cook.

Trevor @ Oct 1st 2006 2:27PM

Darryl, moms playing video games is a good thing. I got my mom a Gamecube and SpongeBob: Battle for Bikini Bottom a couple years back. She started off slow, but sure enough got the hang of it, and beat the game and its sequel. She now owns a PS2 and is almost done with Sly Cooper and GTA3 (She loves that damned Grand Theft Auto, I tell you).

But the best part is that she actually _apologized_ to me for all the times she told me to stop playing games all day long. It only took a couple decades, but better late than never, right?

Superdotman @ Oct 1st 2006 2:50PM

I'm liking this trend of $20 games that don't seem like real games but turn out to be super-fun in the end.
*glances lovingly at Brain Age*

Josh @ Oct 1st 2006 5:16PM

"Oh God, help us all! What happened to this site, when did it all go so horribly wrong?"

darryl, as soon as you joined. Seriously, stop trolling. Nobody likes it, and you're just making yourself more of a fanboy.

Wolfkin @ Oct 1st 2006 7:22PM

If there aren't real recipies in it.. even Japanese ones then I'm not at all interested, but at least that answers the question i've been trying to solve.

futurebiblehero @ Oct 1st 2006 7:59PM

I actually think Cooking Mama is a bit underrated. Other than the lack of multi-player or the ability to wirelessly share recipes and such, what the hell were the reviewers expecting? If you're the kind of person that finds a concept like this appealing, then it'll most certainly get the job done for you.

n8dogg @ Oct 1st 2006 8:10PM

Actually, futurebiblehero, this game seems like it's rated pretty fairly. Fun and quirky, but not too awesome.

What, did you expect reviewers to treat it like System Shock 3? Every game, no matter how good or bad, will appeal to SOMEONE. If that were the case, every review would end with, "But if you're into that kind of thing, this game is for you. 9."

otakucode @ Oct 1st 2006 8:24PM

I had high hopes for this game. As it is, it's still a good fun game, but I could see it being better. For instance, imagine a similar game with more realistic graphics and a storyline. You start out working at a greasy spoon truck stop or similar, and you hone your skills there. As you improve, your rating as a chef increases. Once you hit a certain point, you get an opportunity. The opportunities could be things like a stranded bus for an exclusive private school breaks down nearby and you have to cook for everyone. If you do a good job, you get offered a job at the exclusive school. Or a mob boss stops in and you get offered to be the private cook for a kingpin. Once at a different place, you get offered different opportunities and different jobs, eventually working your way to some ultimate goal like winning a chef competition or acquiring your own exclusive restaurant in NYC or Paris or Tokyo or such. Core gameplay would still come from the cooking itself, juggling multiple dishes at the same time, nailing them with accuracy and speed, maybe developing new recipes based on customer feedback.

It could be a great deal more involved game. I can handle a poor concept done in a mediocre manner, but it really bugs me when it seems like a great concept wasn't given its full opportunity to flourish.

darryl @ Oct 1st 2006 9:59PM

"Darryl, moms playing video games is a good thing."

I agree. My mom still kicks my ass at Dungeon Keeper 1/2.

needless. @ Oct 2nd 2006 1:34AM

#8
"Oh God, help us all! What happened to this site, when did it all go so horribly wrong?"

When you started posting your asinine comments, Darryl.

navstar @ Oct 2nd 2006 1:21PM

My only disappointment with Cooking Mama is that there aren't any actual recipes!! Even though I've made dishes in the game, I have no idea how much flour, sugar, soy sauce or cooking time the real food takes.

It would be nice if the game gave you recipes after you've unlocked a certain amount of dishes.

ackmondual @ Oct 2nd 2006 1:22PM

$20 may include tax and tip. Don't know what the sales tax and tipping norm is in CA, but in some of the more expensive places like DC, tax is 10% while tip is 15%+.

Also the type of steak u buy and where. Filet Mignon at a higher class resturant will be significantly more than some sirlion at Denny's