[Review] Cooking Mama 4: Kitchen Magic (3DS)

Though it only joined us in the last generation ofportables, the Cooking Mama serieshas already become an imminent release for Nintendo’s portables. A release onthe 3DS on the question also begs the question of what the game could have tobenefit from the system’s capabilities, considering that the game takes placemostly on the touch screen. The answer: not much, but Cooking Mama 4: Kitchen Magicstill keeps all of its charm and base audience with the its new outing.Unfortunately, the problems that have plagued older games in the series stillremain as well.

 Stereoscopic 3D, the3DS’s most outstanding function, is hardly used. At most, items may pop up fromthe bottom screen to the top, either foretelling an incoming ingredient thatmust be grasped or punishment for throwing ingredients in a blender at thewrong time. Visually, the game still has improvements over its predecessorsthough and the finished products can actually look quite tempting. Otherwise,the visual style for Kitchen Magicstays true to the series with few differences to the 2D art – so much so thatplayers may confuse it for a preceding title.

For the most part, the gameplay also remains unchanged.There’s a healthy amount of new cooking methods, most of which revolve aroundtiming your actions. The 3DS’s gyroscope is also put to use, allowing certainminigames to be completed by wiggling the system around rather than using thetouchscreen. However, the game doesn’t really inform players when a gyroscopecan be used and it’s rather imprecise compared to the touchscreen, making it a trivialaddition.

Any veteran chef will look at the game as a joke thatfeatures unrealistic and excessively complex ways to get the same job done.It’s doubtful that any cook will actually choose to squeeze falling bananas outof their peel rather than doing so the generic way.  Minor bickering about the game’s lack ofrealism aside, these do provide a healthy amount of challenge. Players willhave no trouble finishing recipes in a matter of minutes due to the game’stolerance for mistakes, even rewarding players with a gold coin despitemistakes, and its mostly short recipes. It will take practice, however, tofinish certain challenges in a timely fashion and be awarded with stars thatbuild towards new accessories and kitchenware for Mama.

After the first ten or so recipes, repetition will kick in. Thishas been a longtime issue for the series and rears its ugly head again with Kitchen Magic. Beyond just crackingendless eggs and mixing countless ingredients together, even the combination minigamesreek of repetition; no matter what condiment players are putting onto their riceor soba, the minigame will be the same. Multiplayer options largely revolvearound the same gameplay as the single player, hardly providing a remedy.

For kids and family road trips, Cooking Mama 4: Kitchen Magic may be ideal with its short bursts ofcooking fun. Those who have However, anyone looking for a deep experience willbe disappointed by the repeats in preparation and lack of improvements from thepast formulas. Any visual upgrades made were minor at best and it’s hard to recommendplayers to pick this up over its past, and probably cheaper, counterparts.

Available on: 3DS; Publisher: Majesco Games; Developer: Cooking Mama Limited; Players: 1 - 4; Released: November 16, 2011; ESRB: Everyone; Official Site

Note: A retail copy was provided to Denkiphile for review purposes by the publisher.