Acquisition #150: Ore no Ryouri (PlayStation)

True story: I've been a bit obsessed with this PlayStation-based cooking game since I first heard about it shortly after its Japanese release in 1999.

Despite my interest in it, though, I've yet to play it. Oh, I've attempted to play it via emulation a few times in the past, but for whatever reason none of the PlayStation emulators I've used recognize my controller's analog sticks--which are required to play Ore no Ryouri's Order Up!-esque, restaurant-based mini-games.

Given the above, you might find it strange that I recently decided to pick up a complete-in-case copy of this Japan-only game--a number of photos of which can be seen below.



The fact is, I've been thinking of buying either a Japanese PSone or PS2 system for ages, so picking up a copy of Ore no Ryouri--especially a rather cheap one--didn't seem all that weird to me.

In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to busy myself by taking in the beauty that is Ore no Ryouri's disc label (above), which makes the CD appear as if it's a bowl of delicious ramen.



Just as cool, in my opinion, is the image that sits behind the disc tray--which looks like a bowl of ramen that's (nearly) been wiped clean.

Although I won't be able to share my impressions of Ore no Ryouri for at least a short while, interested parties can go to the Twin Dreams blog to read more about it in the interim.

See also: previous 'Acquisition #123' posts

Five favorites: cooking-themed games

It should be obvious to anyone who stumbles upon this blog that I love gaming. Likely not as obvious is my similar love of cooking.

Anyway, once in a great while those two interests collide in a cooking-themed video game. I've played a number of such games over the years, with the following being my favorites:

1. BurgerTime (Arcade, 1982)--As far as I can tell, this is the original cooking-themed video game. To say it's still one of the best wouldn't be an understatement, in my opinion. OK, so the cooking here involves assembling giant hamburgers by running over each ingredient--bottom bun, burger, lettuce and top bun--in order while avoiding crazed eggs, hot dogs and other food items, but that's still cooking in my book, so I'm including it on this list.

2. Panic Restaurant (NES, 1992)--I'd like to give a good pat on the back to the person who came up with the idea for this game--which focuses on a Chef Boyardee-esque protagonist who races through a cursed restaurant in pursuit of his chief rival--and another to the publishing exec who gave it the green light, as it is, sadly, one of the very few cooking-themed platformers to hit store shelves over the years. Thankfully, it's a delicious, if a tad difficult (and expensive), gem of a game.

3. Cooking Fighter Hao (PlayStation, 1998)--Nippon Ichi may be best known for its tactical RPGs (like Disgaea and Phantom Brave), but one of its very first releases seemingly took its cues from that campy Food Network mainstay, Iron Chef. Unfortunately, this sometimes-annoying, button-mashing arena battler--which, admittedly, features some nice spritework--fails to evoke any of the fun that's a hallmark of its boob-tube-based inspiration.

4. Ore No Ryouri (PlayStation, 1999)--The folks who made Cooking Mama and its ilk--which includes the following entry on this list--owe a lot to those who made Ore No Ryouri. The protagonist in each of these games is a wet-behind-the-ears chef who has to work his (or her) way up the proverbial ladder of the restaurant world, after all. In Ore No Ryouri, that means chopping a lot of onions, frying a lot of meat and pouring a lot of beer--all while utilizing the pair of analog sticks on the original DualShock controller, of course.

5. Order Up! (Wii, 2008)--Take Ore No Ryouri, replace the Japanese setting with an American one, change the art style so the characters look like Weeble Wobbles (in a good way--honestly!) and alter the controls so it works with the Wii Remote and, basically, you have this charming, Supervillain Studios-developed title. Read this review (part of "The Great Gaymathon" series) for more information on this criminally overlooked release.

See also: Previous 'five favorites' posts

'The best PlayStation game you've never played'

The headline above is in quotes because, well, I've yet to play the game to which it's referring. That said, I've read enough reviews and seen enough videos of said game to believe it to be true.

So, which game am I talking about? Ore no Ryouri--aka My Cooking or I'm the Chef.

In case you've never heard of it, Ore no Ryouri is a cooking/restaurant simulator--think of it as a precursor to games like Cooking Mama and Order Up!--that was released (in Japan) in late 1999. Although a one-level demo of the game made its way to American gamers a few months later via the quarterly, disc-based magazine, PlayStation Underground, it was never released in full outside of the so-called Land of the Rising Sun.

If you want to see why that's an utter travesty, check out this video review of the title:



Anyway, I've been a bit obsessed with Ore no Ryouri since I first read about it on some random gaming site (sorry, I can't remember which one) a few years ago. I haven't bought a copy--yet--because I don't have a way of playing it, but you can bet your butt I'll get one as soon as I buy an import PSone (or PStwo).

If you're at all interested in learning more about this quirky little title, read this review (and this one, too).

See also: 'Now playing: Order Up! (Wii)'