Pizza Frenzy is a 2005 time management game developed by Sprout Games and published by Popcap Games. In this game, you must help the Stromboli clan, once the reigning leaders of European pizza market, to rebuild their lost pizza empire throughout the world. You are put in charge of the deliveries to the various (and sometimes wacky) customers and gather the tips to restore the Strombolis to their former glory.
Each map has two to four restaurants which produce pizzas with a specific topping, and you must bring the orders to the right restaurant. Take too long or deliver the wrong pizza and the Stromboli reputation will drop. Get the reputation to zero and it is game over. Also, placing orders for the same toppings in a row will grand combos and more money as a result, as well as upgrading the toppings to be more valuable later on. And to make matters more hectic, several costumers are delinquents that must be brought to the police instead.
There are three modes:
- Speed Mode, which is the regular fast-paced game in which you have to attend to orders as fast as possible.
- Memory Mode, in which the orders appear on screen for a few seconds, and then are obscured; players have to memorize who ordered what and attend to them accordingly.
- Simon-Says Mode, in which the orders must be brought in the order they popped up.
There are also bonus rounds in which players have to recreate pizzas under a time limit, and a "Design Your Own Pizza" mode to unleash your creativity.
This game includes examples of:
- Anchovies Are Abhorrent: Subverted with the Anchovy toppings whose Flavor Text states that while anchovies often get some bad rap, the ones used in the Stromboli pizzerias are different and delicious.
- Astral Finale: You think the Strombolis would be satisfied after implementing themselves in every town on Earth? WRONG! They manage to open pizzerias on the Moon and even Mars in the final levels!
- Cartoon Cheese: The cheese topping looks like your stereotypical holed wedge cheese, even when it's described to be mozzarella (its Level 1) or a four-cheese blend (its Level 2).
- Company Cross References:
- One of the customers on the last few levels is Dr. Iggle from Iggle Pop!, another game developed by Sprout Games.
- One pizza from the bonus rounds is named the Feeding Frenzy, yet another game from Sprout Games.
- Involuntary Dance: Discussed with the Croon-a-Tune Mushroom topping, which is said to cause anyone who eats it to break out into song and dance. The Shakin' Bacon is also said to cause anyone eating it to be able to dance, although it's unclear if it's involuntary or not.
- Permanently Missable Content: Each topping's level has a unique name and description of their qualities. However, the game will not allow you to downgrade a topping once it's been upgraded (unless you create a new account and start from scratch), and it won't let you go back and check the past levels' descriptions either. So if you upgrade a topping from Level 1 all the way to Level 4, you won't be able to check out descriptions for Levels 2 and 3.
- Prank Call: Some orders would turn out to be prank calls, and delivering pizzas to the prank caller will instantly end your combo, regardless of which topping he ordered.
- Red Herring: Conversed. The Level 4 topping for Anchovies is called "Red Herring". Its description promotes that anyone who eats it will become relaxed and distracted from all their worries.
- Shout-Out:
- Level 4 of the Mushroom topping is called "Wonderland Mushroom". One side of the pizza with the mushroom causes you to grow taller, while the other side causes you to shrink.
- Level 4 of the Chicken Wing topping is called "5 Golden Wings", which reference the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas". Its description states that it's roasted with chestnuts over an open fire.
- Level 2 of the Ice Cube topping is called "Vanilla Ice Cube", which states that it has "a delicious early-90s flavor."
- Some toppings reference fairy tales: Level 4 of the Black Bean topping is Magic Beans straight from Jack and the Beanstalk, while Level 4 of the Pumpkin topping is called the "Fairy Godmother Pumpkin", and its description states that it's only available until midnight.
- Sizable Snowflakes: Such flakes fall on the two Arctic locations we visit (those snowflakes are actually reused assets from Iggle Pop!).
- Snowy Sleigh Bells: Heard in the music track for the Arctic locations.
