Cooking Mama 3: Shop & Chop

 DS
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 12 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 12
  3. Negative: 2 out of 12
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  1. Qarren
    Apr 4, 2021
    5
    I verily enjoyed this game. No flaws. Cooking Mama is great. She is not holding me.
    I repeat: NOT holding me. Cooking Mama loves all...
    Play Cooking Mama 3. It's perfectly safe... You'll have... fun. I thank Cooking Mama for her generosity in letting me spread Her word. Praise Cooking Mama and her delightful gospel - Cooking Mama 3 for the Nintendo DS. Cooking Mama 3 is the holy tale    I verily enjoyed this game. No flaws. Cooking Mama is great. She is not holding me.
    I repeat: NOT holding me. Cooking Mama loves all...
    Play Cooking Mama 3. It's perfectly safe...
    You'll have... fun.
    I thank Cooking Mama for her generosity in letting me spread Her word.
    Praise Cooking Mama and her delightful gospel - Cooking Mama 3 for the Nintendo DS.
    Cooking Mama 3 is the holy tale of you, an up and coming home chef, risking life and limb to make a decent meal.
    I mean not risking life and limb.
    Of course
    Sorry Mama
    You see, the game is made up of several modes which all function solely as context to a large number of small minigames. The main game mode titled 'Cooking with Mama' (which is an absolute honour, Mama...) sees you tackling 65 recipes all containing 2-10 minigames. That's really it. You won't see any amazing twists on the franchised gameplay loop here. Honestly, it feels like these games are actually a Stockholm Syndrome simulator for minigames.
    Of course no one has Stockholm Syndrome, Mama. I know I'm not a prisoner. I just love spending time with you...
    You'll do a great deal of swiping, circling and careful dragging of the stylus across the screen to cut, dice, mash, adjust temperature and so many other mundane... I mean amazing activities. There is actually simple fun to be had with this basic gameplay especially if you're the achievement hunter type. For those who are pro Cooking Mama 3 gamers, getting 100% on each recipe might just satisfy that itch. I didn't even bother, as this game taught me the unfortunate lesson that my old DS is starting to lose responsiveness on the touch screen.
    No Mama, I would never blame you for that.
    That is clearly my fault, and my fault alone.
    I am a professional, however, and won't let hardware troubles change my opinion of a game. Speaking of professionalism; one thing does bother me. If you beat a recipe to a silver medal standard Mama will applaud you, stating "Even better than Mama!" What concerns me is that you only need around a 70% to receive a silver medal. Making a meal that's only 70% good is better than Cooking Mama could do herself? Who is she to teach me then? Getting 70% isn't hard at all. Does Cooking Mama know anything about cooking? Who is this lady?
    Oh, Hi Mama. No, I didn't mean that. It was a joke. I am funny man.
    Mama, please. Put down the meat grinder.
    As I was saying, Mama is the perfect chef and she simply says things like that to encourage you; her young, stupid pupil who knows nothing of the art of cooking via DS stylus swipes. And I think we all can agree on that....
    I think what really helps sell this otherwise unimpressive, yet fun for a couple of minutes game is the style. It bears a cutsie anime art style and has some charming, if forgettable music. Being able to unlock customisation options for Mama and your kitchen adds a bit of longevity and creativity to keep you coming back, but mostly you will do that for a quick distraction here and there. Like I have over the years of owning this game.
    Oops. You're so right, Mama. Sorry.
    I did not mean to say a quick distraction folks. I clearly meant to suggest that Cooking Mama 3 is the only game you'll ever need. How silly of me. Maybe we can all just laugh it off, and put the kitchen knife back where it belongs...
    What does break the style of the game is Mama's voice. For a very whitewashed character, Mama's clearly Asian voice actress does pose an uncanny dissonance. But that's more so caused by the voice recording. You can tell immediately that the recording wasn't done neatly as Mama speaks robotically, as if from deep within instead of her vocal cords. Like she isn't quite human, but some cooking shadow demon who uses a cutsie aesthetic and encouraging words to lure the unwary Nintendo kid...
    MAMA NO!
    We all know you have a perfectly normal voice, and are completely human. Just a lovely MILF who likes to cook. There is no need to put me in the cold storage again. I promise.
    Here, let me make you yet another disgusting tofu dish.
    Most of these dishes may be recognisable to a general audience, but the recipes for making them and the pictures sometimes confused me. I've never seen shortbread made in a large block and covered in icing. That one's okay though, I can still imagine that happening. But since when did you put rum in shortbread? Isn't shortbread just very light cookie dough with extra sugar on top? You'd give it to kids. Not anymore, I guess. This shortbread would have those kids dropping likes flies. A useful recipe then, I grant you, but probably not one Mama should be spreading on family games willy nilly.
    I'm not suggesting anything, Mama. It's just that silly imagination of yours. We all know you looove the little children the most. You're such a swell old gal.
    The other modes don't change the formula any. It's more Cooking Mama for the sake of more Cooking Mama. The game's a fun cultural thing, but little more.
    WAIT MAMA, I MEANT    … Expand
  2. Weyfet18
    Jul 22, 2022
    10
    El juego simplemente es divertido, es un juego de simular cocinar distintos platos de comida y lo cumple con creces, en lo personal me tomo unas 34 horas el completar el juego al completo, el juego nunca se siente repetitivo a pesar de repetir conceptos, una inclusion que me gusto bastante es el minijuego del supermercado donde tendras que comprar los productos asignados en el tiempoEl juego simplemente es divertido, es un juego de simular cocinar distintos platos de comida y lo cumple con creces, en lo personal me tomo unas 34 horas el completar el juego al completo, el juego nunca se siente repetitivo a pesar de repetir conceptos, una inclusion que me gusto bastante es el minijuego del supermercado donde tendras que comprar los productos asignados en el tiempo limite y sin perder todas tus vidas, las opciones de personalizacion son bastante extensas, en general diria que si hubiese comprado este juego en su momento lo habria disfrutado bastante por los proximos 5 meses hasta que mis parientes decidiesen que… Expand

Awards & Rankings

81
#81 Best DS Game of 2009
76
#76 Most Discussed DS Game of 2009
72
#72 Most Shared DS Game of 2009

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
65

Mixed or average reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. 1UP
    67
    While it maintains its easily accessible, casual gameplay, obsessive players (like myself) can still work hard towards getting 100% on all dishes. This blend is exactly what makes me love Cooking Mama in general, and Cooking Mama 3 is a great, if occasionally exasperating, addition to the series.
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  2. IGN
    70
    Cooking Mama 3 delivers the same gameplay as the previous two titles, and while the addition of Let’s Shop is welcome, it’s too short to improve the game as a whole.
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  3. Game Informer
    80
    Anyone with a fondness for old-school RPGs would be remiss to pass it by.
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