Let's get cooking!
Personal Trainer: Cooking is an interactive tool released for Nintendo DS in 2008. Developed by Nintendo and indieszero, it was part of the company's Touch Generations series of titles. By nature, the title is not a "game" by definition, but actually a tool. It has a database of over 240 different foods from worldwide and shows the user how to prepare and cook them step by step with audio narration and short video clips. It also allows the user to sort recipes by Calories, what ingredients the user has on hand, and any diet restrictions they may have. In addition, the user can create a shopping list and calculate how much of every ingredients they need. A few bonus tools are also thrown in such as a kitchen timer.In 2010, a sequel released exclusively to North America called America's Test Kitchen: Let's Get Cooking!. Despite being named after the TV series of that name the sequel is a standalone product and is not based on the show. This sequel adds the ability for multiple family members to create profiles and recommend certain recipes based on their age.
Tropes Found Across Both Games:
- Achievement System: Both games keep track of what recipes the user has cooked and show them on a calendar. By cooking enough from all major regions, the user unlocks a few additional recipes, with one final recipe being unlocked at the end by unlocking all of the other bonus recipes.
- Artifact Title: The sequel has no tie-in to America's Test Kitchen despite the title. It got that title due to being funded by Cooks Illustrated magazine who develop the show.
- Casual Video Game: As casual a title as you can get! Both games were released under Nintendo's Touch Generations! branding and are less "games" than even any other title in that series. Both are nothing more than "interactive cookbooks".
- Easter Egg:
- Using the Kitchen Timer during a recipe will unlock the Game & Watch title Chef.
- Once the user completes a certain number of recipes, they unlock a credits sequence.
- Holiday Mode: Both games will recommend recipes for certain holidays like Easter, Cinco De Mayo, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day when they get close on the calendar. The player is also asked for their birthday and the game recommends recipes for that.
