Whether it’s COVID keeping people indoors and increasing the demand for at-home entertainment, or the incredible library of classic and modern games the system has access to, the fact is that a used 3DS in good condition is worth more today than it was when it was brand new on the shelf this time last year. While putting the 3DS out to pasture might have been the logical business move, a quick check on eBay seems to tell a different story. Of course Nintendo’s focus on the Switch, a hybrid device that blurs the line between console and handheld games, undoubtedly played a part in the decision to retire what could effectively be seen as a competing product. Which is not to say the product line had become stagnant: the system received a considerable mid-generation refresh, and there was even a more affordable variant introduced that dropped the eponymous stereoscopic 3D effect, but nearly a decade is still a fairly long life in the gaming industry. For one thing, some variation of the handheld system had been on the market since 2011. No one wants to disappoint Mama.When Nintendo officially ended production of the 3DS in September 2020, it wasn’t exactly a surprise. And messing up both brings the quality of the dish down and makes Mama sad, if even for a split second. Additionally, some of the difficulty spikes in the game come from exercises not being completely clear.
In particular, rearranging the shop becomes a problem later on, as dishes stack up in the aisles and can only be replaced by painstakingly shuffling them around. It can, however, sometimes be hard to maneuver through the interface in Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop, which prioritizes looking adorable rather than being functional. The proverbial stick and dangling carrot are present in this game, for when the kitchen becomes a little stale. Money from the shop can be put towards new decoration or an outfit for mama. Want to skewer muffin balls in Canada? Now that’s possible. During set points, a mysterious traveler will open the game up to a worldwide challenge, where games are no longer set on relaxing, but rather trade that in for a high score chase that can unlock some cosmetics also present in the game. Each dish also unlocks another recipe, getting more elaborate with each step. Hungry yet? Time to turn on the stove.īuilding off the cycle of mixing and baking, Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop sets up a small store where customers can walk in to purchase the fully created goods. In addition, the friendly nature of it all makes these elaborate sweets look much less daunting to cook. Exploration of these cute concepts is half of the fun. Who even heard of a zuccotto? Let alone realize the cake is built from shaping triangles into a round bowl, gluing the whole together with the ice cream inside.
#Japanese nintendo 3ds games cooking mama how to
This game explores in the most heartfelt, easygoing way how to cook. To judge Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop on a purely mechanical basis would make it an extremely dry venture, but that would also cut short what the playtime is about. Even so, “Mama will fix this” upon sporadic failure, when a sudden, giant difficulty spike pops up to keep the audience guessing.
Some screens even make it impossible to fail, only forfeiting a gold medal rating if the deed just never gets completed. As such, a lot of mini-games can pass the revue multiple times. A lot of these exercises repeat themselves, as there is method to the madness that is cooking a chocolate fish. Anything from chopping up ingredients to creating molds or even just sticking a treat in the fridge, to wait for it to cool off the game teaches, while playing, how desserts are made. Smooth like a summer’s breeze, as they say.įor each dish, the goal is to go through a set if miniature games, where touching, twirling or swiping appropriately continues the process. Half of the charm in Cooking Mama comes from this perfectly soothing presentation, where table cloths with dotted flowers set the stage for the task at hand. Everything about the franchise is as saccharine as it comes, with bright colors, soft shapes and friendly tunes, all the while being encouraged by Mama’s giant smile and tender voice. Cooking Mama is as Cooking Mama does.Īnd yes, Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop revolves around the sweeter aspect of products the likes of cakes and cookies, but also more elaborate baked goods.
This game treads the same path of simple mini-games in a cutesy aesthetic, so if that’s the only concern, stop reading here. With Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop, the Nintendo 3DS receives a port to a 2014 Japanese release. There is, however, certainly a market out there for its casual approach to the daily routine enough for developer Office Create to eventually rebrand as Cooking Mama ltd., as a result to the series’ success.
#Japanese nintendo 3ds games cooking mama series
The Cooking Mama series is oft looked down upon as babying games.