Leave it to the Cooking Mama series to make a game about cooking downright zany and absolutely loads of fun to play. No one can argue the fact that the series has found the right platform on the Nintendo DS as well as the Nintendo Wii. While the game won’t teach you how to make squid-flavored ramen, Cooking Mama 3: Chop & Shop for the Nintendo DS will, once again, make you glad to go back into the kitchen with dear Mama.

Out of the kitchen …

Like the title suggests, you won’t only be chopping and dicing ingredients but you will also go out to the supermarket to shop for said ingredients. Cooking is still the game’s bread and butter, but the fact that you will be leading Mama through a busy market is a nice touch. Just like in Gardening Mama, it’s good to see Mama outside her kitchen setting and racing to collect all the necessary ingredients while avoiding pitfalls.

While the shopping mini-games aren’t plentiful or completely original, they are still good fun. You are tasked with collecting specific ingredients such as meat and eggs and so, with the Stylus, you tap on the place you want Mama to move while steering clear of other shoppers or annoying supermarket employees trying to sling free samples in your direction. Your mission is to pick up items on your list before the timer runs out and it’s not a simple task with the hazards zigzagging around the market. You’ll find different hazards offer different mini games you must clear or you lose your item. For example, one mini game has you attempting to catch all the balloons a shopper’s kid lets go of when you bumped into them.

Of course, Cooking Mama is also about the cooking and the game features 80 new recipes that include various deserts, familiar foods as well as some obscure dishes. While the recipes might not be accurate down to a T, the basic steps of making candy apples or a yummy éclair are there and once again each step in creating your culinary masterpiece is a mini-game. Like past games in the series, the mini-games require the touch screen and your Stylus. Nothing has changed in the gameplay department so you’ll still be using the Stylus to slice as well as shape the dough into a doughnut.

Into the frying pan

For those unfamiliar to the game, each mini-game is timed so the longer you take the less points you get or the less successful you are in completing a mini game. Something as simple as boiling water could turn into a disaster if you don’t have a steady hand. Sure, Mama reassures you that she can fix your mistakes but do you really want to disappoint Mama? Let’s Cook! mode, on the other hand, has you cooking for your friends who are a lot more judgmental than Mama.

There’s even Cooking Contest mode that can be played solo or against a group of friends (for a contest with four in total) wirelessly. The good news is that a friend can download a demo but the bad news is that the multiplayer mode runs into a number of problems that include getting dropped out of the game for no apparent reason. The object in this mode is to try different kinds of cooking styles and beat your own time or the time of your opponent.

There are even extra mini-games like Let’s Match, a game mode that has you combining two ingredients together to make an interesting new flavor. The screen displays up to eight different ingredients, many of which normally don’t sound like they really would go good together but that’s the fun of this game mode. Again, you can even redecorate your kitchen as well as give Mama a different outfit. 

Unfortunately, even with the ability to shop, Cooking Mama 3 doesn’t do anything completely new. The mini-games do get repetitive over a short period of time and many of them do tend to repeat all over again. If anything, the Cooking Mama games weren’t mean to be played for several hours, which is the reason the game does automatically jump to the next recipe.   

Mama is still looking good in the kitchen 

The visuals also haven’t changed in the game and that’s a very good thing … well, at least in my book. The graphics have always been very charming and cute and it’s still charming and cute in this third DS Cooking Mama game. You’ll still get a warm and fuzzy feeling from getting Mama to smile at your work. As far the sound, the music works well and yes, we love Mama’s funny accent whenever she speaks.

Cooking Mama 3: Chop & Shop for the Nintendo DS brings us more of the same with a new mini game that take you out of the kitchen but other than that there is nothing fresh cooking in Mama’s pot. Still, for those who have enjoyed the previous games on the DS, Cooking Mama 3 might very well be worth savoring.

Gameplay: 7.0
The series still works wonderfully on the DS and thankfully the touch-screen action hasn’t changed either. I would like to say that the food prep stays fresh throughout the game but I would by lying and multiplayer flat out sucks. Shopping is fun while it lasts too and the Cooking Contest adds a challenging element to the game.

Graphics: 6.5
The visuals haven’t really changed since the last game and that’s not such a bad thing seeing as the graphics have always been cute and likeable. I love the old school charm of the shopping mini-game.

Sound: 6.5
The music was a lot more charming in the Gardening Mama series but thank the Gaming Gods that they haven’t changed Mama’s charming voice. There’s just something satisfying about hearing Mama say your cooking is “even better than Mama!”

Difficulty: Medium
Like past Cooking Mama games, the more elaborate the recipe the harder the mini-game associated with the preparations. Some games require timing while others require you to finish before the timer runs out.

Concept: 7.0
There are more mini-games in this one thanks to the ability to go shopping and there are even more complex recipes to unlock. Cooking Contest is a good idea but when it comes to the multiplayer aspect the game is broken.

Multiplayer: 6.0
Having a cooking contest with a friend sounds awesome and even more so since a friend can download a demo straight off your own card, but the multiplayer is nearly unplayable thanks to some flaws in the game. If you can play against a friend, the contest is definitely a highlight.

Overall: 7.0
Leave it to Mama to make cooking fun again on the Nintendo DS and Cooking Mama 3 definitely has its share of really fun moments, but there is still much room for improvement. It’s fun to see Mama out of the kitchen, though, and the numerous recipes will give returning fans reason enough to go back into the kitchen.