Everyone was shocked when the original Cooking Mama not only escaped Japan, but won the hearts of casual gamers all over the world. Its lovely graphic style and simplicity were a safe recipe for success, especially among women, but it still had room for improvement. Cooking Mama was addictive but short, and it lacked alternative modes, multiplayer, customization and every other feature beyond basic cooking. The Wii version only partially addressed these requests, and its imprecise controls made the whole experience extremely hard to enjoy. Now it's the right time for a new DS version, one that will finally satisfy both wannabe cooks and players with bigger ambitions.

Just like in the original version, every recipe featured in Dinner with Friends is divided into several basic steps. Players are required to chop vegetables, cut strips of meat or fish, knead the dough for pizza and pies, stir-fry ingredients with different cooking times, boil sauce, and arrange beautiful plates. Some of the basic actions come straight from the original DS version, but others, such as steaming and using a rolling pin, are new and need to be practiced over and over for mastery.


No worries, because there are 80 original recipes to learn, none of them variations of others. The first Cooking Mama gave the option to execute a regular recipe or sometimes try a variation of it: there were, for example, three very similar ways to make pasta, so that the final number of 76 recipes was not quite accurate. This time, players can express their culinary artistry in dozens of completely different international recipes, spanning from the evergreen Japanese sushi rolls and tempura to old-world delicacies such as ravioli and crépes all the way to American clam chowder and Mexican churros.

As almost all the basic steps to create a recipe are quite easy to learn, earning a gold or at least a silver medal is not uncommon. If something goes wrong, Mama is ready to fix it, so that players can proceed and complete the recipe. Things are different, however, when facing the more challenging "Let's Cook!" mode, that offers the same recipes with no explanation before each step and no help from Mama. If even one of the actions is performed in the wrong way, the recipe is spoiled and players have to start all over again.

It might sound annoying, but it's the only real degree of challenge players will face in the game. In this mode, players will have to cook for Mama and for nine other characters, including your stereotypical Japanese father and grandparents. Each one of the "friends" will have eight special requests from the ones seen in "cook with Mama" mode: if completed successfully, each one unlocks a new item. Additionally, if a basic step is performed in an exceptionally skillful way -- normally in less than half the time -- players earn a star. Five stars equal a present, which is another item.