Released in Japan on 1999-09-09 ("kukku no Hi" - a pun to mean "Cook Day" ... also the release date of the Sega Dreamcast), this delectable cooking simulator from Sony Computer Entertainment is the first Dual Shock-enhanced cooking simulator on the market.
Commonly known as My Cooking, Ore no Ryouri uses the Dual Shock in innovative ways to make you feel like you're really cookin'.
The game features a Story mode, VS multiplayer cook-offs, 3-Minute Cooking challenges, and bonus modes. Play in 9 different types of restaurants -- from fast food to family restaurant to noodle bar -- and cook up 39 different types of food in a variety of different analog-controlled cooking challenges.
STORY:
You play the part of a young boy who is hailed as the most accomplished chef in the Coo-Kingdom, and not undeservedly: year after year, you have been the top winner in the kingdom's annual "Iron Chef"-like cooking contest.
One day, as you are relaxing at the beach, a jealous rival appears: Kaeru a frog who has consistently been the runner-up in every one of those contests. He and his Gero-gero Gang (a motley mix of bad guys, including a robot and a flower) want to challenge you to a final cooking competition, to be held at 8 different restaurants in the capital city.
As a competitive type yourself, you accept and begin your journey across the city's restaurants, where you will train with your fellow chef friends in order to defeat Kaeru and his gang!
GAMEPLAY:
Once customers start coming into the restaurant, their orders will begin to accrue on the side of the screen. After selecting the order you want to fill, a wide variety of cooking-oriented minigames must be quickly completed before you can prepare the food in question.
Each individual event and activity is scored from 1 to 10, with a number of indicators letting you know when you've poured just enough beer into the glass or your noodles have the preferred firmness. Likewise, points will be deducted if you cut your fingers when chopping or burn your french fries. Tougher cuisines will require more steps, will offer fewer chances for chaining, and will require speed, precision, and careful resource management in order for you to advance. In addition to cooking tasks, a number of other, more detrimental, events can occur.
- TASK LIST:
At the very left of your screen is a brown column that looks like a table. Your tasks will appear on this table as colored tabs that contain the name of the dish/task and a picture of the step you need to work on next. Different colors denote different kinds of tasks:
BLUE: Regular customer's orders.
GREEN: Food critic's orders.
YELLOW: Maintenance tasks
- COOKWARE:
Below the task list is a group of four diamonds. Starting from the top and going clockwise, they are: frying pan, large pot, oven, and fryer. You only have one of each, and you can't cook two different things in the same cookware (unless you combined several orders properly). When the cookware is in use, the corresponding diamond is highlighted.
- STATUS BAR:
On the right side of the screen (it will span both halves of the screen in 2-player mode) is the status bar, which marks your restaurant's overall reputation. A circle (maru) is at the top and an x (batsu) is at the bottom. Satisfy enough customers and you'll win when you rise to the maru; otherwise, you'll lose when you fall to the batsu.
Calling the police to pick up a drunk, chasing a thief, and stomping out a number of cockroaches are but a few examples - fail to complete these in time and all of your customers will storm out in a huff.
After completing the initial trial, you'll square off against one of the frog's minions for a one-on-one battle. A scale measures the customers' feelings about the restaurant, prompting a win when someone hits the top or someone hits the bottom. Chain events together or clear out all of your customers, and you'll add a chore into the other person's lineup to slow his or her progress. The addition of the game's two-player mode and a handful of other bizarre little Dual Shock exercises boost the game's somewhat lacking play value to acceptable levels.
DRUNK PATRON:
Appearance: Sake (rice wine) bottle and cup
Control: Dial 110 to call the police. Left stick moves your finger across the numbers. D on the right stick dials that number
Technique:This task is particularly bothersome on Normal and Gourmet levels because all your customers will want to leave sooner (tabs disappear faster). Thus, you need to do this event as soon as it appears.
To get there quickly, push the lleft stick straight R to get to the 1. Then push straight D to get to the 0 - since there is no number at that position,your cursor will most likely jump to the closest number, 0. If you overshoot and dial 119 instead, you call the fire station, which will, strangely enough, achieve the same purpose.
WASH DISHES:
Appearance: Dish soap and sponge
Control: Rotate Right tstick (clockwise or counterclockwise, doesn't matter).
EAT-AND-RUN CUSTOMER:
Appearance: Running man (with speed lines)
Control: Move both sticks U and D simultaneously, in a transverse motion
(Right stick is U when left stick is D; move rtight stick D and left stick U; repeat...).
Technique: Try to start moving the joysticks as soon as you start, there's a small chance that you might catch him right away.
ROACHES:
Appearance: A roach.
Control: Move the slipper around the screen in all directions using the left stick. Push D on the rtstick to slap.
Technique: I suck at this, so I can't give you any tips. If you take too long, the remaining roaches will run off the mat and scare all your customers anyway.
COUNT MONEY:
Appearance: Paper money
Control: Move the right stick from L to R, R to L, etc., repeatedly.
Technique: Make sure that you push it all the way to the L and R, or you won't be able to pick up/let go of the money. I find that I can do this more quickly when I move my entire hand back and forth, instead of just bending the finger touching the stick. Don't push the stick with excessive force; exercising control will give you speed.
CHOP:
Control: Left stick moves your hand horizontally (L or R). Pressing D on the right stick causes you to chop with your knife at the point right before your hand.
If you don't move your hand back before you make another slice, you will cut yourself.
Technique: To get the maximum score, make at least 9 cuts. To do so, only apply gentle pressure to the left stick - at most, you want to pull the stick 1/2 cm to the left. This will move your hand at a nice slow pace. Then, just push the rtstick D repeatedly and as fast as possible in order to cut the
maximum number of pieces.
Manufacturer's description:
First PS authentic cuisine born action. Material "cut" "burn" "boiling" "seasoned" operation complete reproduction of the two analog sticks to work. Stage 9 from the cafeteria cuisine to the masses, recorded 39 types of cuisine. Judge orders that appear one after another customer, but let down to the store and RiRi bilking and cockroaches.
Features:
- First person perspective.
- 3D graphics
- Cartoon graphics
- Cooking & Humour themes.
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