Cooking Mama (video game)

Cooking Mama
Developer(s)	Office Create
Publisher(s)	Taito (JP) Majesco (US) 505 Games (EU)
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS
Release	March 23, 2006 September 12, 2006 December 8, 2006 December 7, 2006 September 11,2007 December 14,2007
Genre(s)	Sim, Mini-Games
Mode(s)	Single player

Cooking Mama (クッキング ママ) is a video game for the Nintendo DS developed by Office Create and published by Taito in Japan, Majesco in North America and 505 Games in Europe. It was awarded IGN's "Best Of E3" award for 2006, and was later joined by a Wii sequel, Cooking Mama: Cook Off. Another sequel, Cooking Mama 2: Dinner with Friends, was released in late 2007.

Gameplay

In Cooking Mama, the player is tasked with cooking various meals using the Nintendo DS's touch screen. Following the instructions of the titular "Mama", the player uses the stylus to chop vegetables, slice meat, flip food in pans, and arrange the final items on the plate. Each of these tasks is performed by completing a mini-game which usually lasts less than 10 seconds. The gameplay structure consists of the player progressing through a series of short minigames. The game features a total of 76 different dishes.

Each minigame represents a different activity in the meal preparation, such as mixing, frying, or chopping the provided ingredients. The minigame mechanics themselves range from quickly drawing parallel lines in order to chop items, to a rhythm game where ingredients are added to a skillet or the heat is adjusted at precisely the right time. In many cases, players must look at the top screen of the DS for guidance on what to do next and then perform the task on the bottom screen. If the player makes a serious blunder or time expires without sufficient progress being made, that step in the cooking process is considered a failure. When this happens, an anime-styled graphic of an angry "Mama" with flames erupting from her eyes is displayed, along with the caption "Don't worry, Mama will fix it!".

Completing a dish can require playing one minigame, or as many as a dozen. The player's performance is rated when each dish is finished, based on the average result of each minigame. Depending on the final score, the game may award the player a bronze, silver or gold medal. The highest medal earned for each dish is recorded and displayed next to each item on the selection screen.

A screenshot of the "Let's Cook" mode, where a player is cutting a tomato for a dish.

Game Modes

Let's Cook

The main game mode where players cook dishes. Players initially start with just a few simple recipes to choose from, with additional recipes unlocked as the earlier ones are mastered. Each recipe requires players to play through a short, timed minigame for each ingredient or group of ingredients. For example, to make a sandwich, the player would first be required to chop a cucumber into slices before the time limit elapses.

When cooking a recipe which has previously been mastered, the player sometimes has the option to change the dish being made "on the fly" between two minigames. If completed, this new recipe is then unlocked for future play.

Let's Combine

In this mode, players can take the recipes which have been unlocked and combine them to make something new (for better or for worse). This mode is merely for fun and does not unlock anything in the main game.

Use Skill

In this mode, players put their mini-game skills to the test. This mode consists of time-based challenges focused on specific tasks such as chopping, grating, wrapping, adding ingredients, peeling, stewing, tearing, and more. The player is ranked at the end of each task.

Reception

Reviews

Publication	Score
IGN	7.0/10
Gamespot	6.9/10
Eurogamer	6/10
NTSC-uk	4/10
Game Informer	6.5/10

The overall reception of Cooking Mama was mediocre to fair, with critics noting that it seems to be a reasonably good budget title for the DS, making effective use of the touch screen, even if it does lack depth.

The IGN review emphasized the game's appeal to casual gamers, and noting that, while simple, the game was nonetheless enjoyable. The review remarks, "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.", earning the title a 7.0/10 ("Decent") rating. The GameSpot review was more negative, with concerns about the repetitive nature of gameplay and the seemingly random progression of mini-games tying recipes together. These were somewhat balanced by positives such as the colorful graphics and budget pricing, resulting in an overall score of 6.9/10 ("Fair").

Despite mixed reviews, Cooking Mama has been an important series for Majesco and 505 Games. The original Cooking Mama has sold more than 500,000 copies in the United States as of August 15 2007, and has sold more than 1 million copies in PAL regions. As of January 30 2008, the series has sold more than 2.6 million copies worldwide. Majesco also credited it, among other games, for an increase in revenue in early 2007.

Sequels

A sequel of sorts, Cooking Mama: Cook Off, was released for the Wii in Japan on February 8, 2007. Replacing touchscreen control with use of the Wii Remote to guide the cooking activities, it was later released in North America on March 20, 2007 and in May 2007 in Europe.

The second Nintendo DS game in the series Cooking Mama 2: Dinner with Friends, was released in November 2007. Along with new recipes, this title expands the total number of different minigames and adds several new gameplay modes.

A third Cooking Mama title for the Nintendo DS is tentatively scheduled for release in early 2009.

External links

• Official Cooking Mama website
• Gameplay video from Majesco
• Gamebrink review of Cooking Mama
• Cooking Mama at GameSpot
• Cooking Mama at IGN