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.