Scenes and images from the ridiculously amazing Gourmet Battle Quiz Ryohrioh Cooking, brought to us by Visco in 1998. Of all the quiz games I’ve played so far, this might be the strangest. This title sets out to answer the question of what it would be like if Iron Chef filled itself with ridiculous characters and based the success of its dishes on answering questions instead of actual cooking talent. You choose a cook and then fight your way, via one-on-one battles, to the top of a list of competitors that include not only the other selectable cooks, but some drunkards, a pirate and even some sort of silver-skinned cooking god. Answering questions incorrectly not only cost you one of your lives, but reduces the points judge award your dishes at the end of a battle. Likewise, answering slowly is worth less points. It’s possible to survive a battle’s worth of questions and still lose to your opponent.
All of this is acted out with digitized cutscenes (of low framerate) in the game. You also close-up pictures of yours and your opponents’ respective dishes with what looks like nutritional information. The competition is fierce and cutthroat, sometimes literally. I’m pretty sure I saw my first opponent actually threatening me with a knife in the kitchen. I didn’t have the time to see this game all the way through to the ending, but I have no doubt that based on everything else it provides that experience would be appropriately memorable and bizarre.
Goodman (AKA Mr Persil) looked just like this, except when he’d been hunting ducks in the mucky margins of the pond. He’d forget how to reel in his tongue the same way too. Very useful in the days before self-adhesive stamps…
First, the game is badass. It oozes with style. In a weird (but good weird) sci-fi/fantasy setting you crash on a planet, head into a dungeon and pick up a sword in a way that puts Prince of Persia or Zelda memories right back into your brain (depending which side of the PC/console divide you were born on).
Second, it’s made by Wizard Fu and it’s just one guy making everything, including wearing wizard robes, I shit you not. The author, Nathanael Weiss, learned coding in school, but never thought he’d be an artist. When he decided to make his own video game though, he didn’t let the lack of art skill stop him. Instead, he decided to learn and added drawing to his coding and music skills.
The game already looked good by the time Nathaneal launched a Kickstarter campaign for it. Now, 2 years later, it’s even better. And since he pretty much learned to draw for this project as well as doing the game music and sound, it has its own unique audio-visual flavor. BAD. ASS.
There are so many more things to mention: development is streamed daily and is up to episode 548 by now (hell, he probably released a new video while I was writing this post), the levels are procedurally generated, but deterministic based on a 6-letter seed you type, there’s single player and co-op …
For now I’ll just wrap up saying the aim is to release the game this Summer (Steam, PS4, XB1), but you can already join me in playing the tasty alpha if you pre-order the game at the higher level. Or wait for release by following on Facebook or Twitter.
Chapters: 8/13 Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, DS1920s Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Julian Bashir/Elim Garak Characters: Julian Bashir, Elim Garak, Benjamin Sisko, Jadzia Dax, Odo, Kira Nerys, Miles O'Brien, and a variety of convenient characters, insectoid and otherwise Additional Tags: AU, Alternate Universe, Genteel Interbellum, sort of, Jeeves and Wooster - Freeform, Wodehouse, Pastiche, done with love!
deepintheshadyglen