Oishinbo - Kyuukyoku no Menu Sanbon Shoubu

Nintendo Entertainment System · 1989 · JP

Also known as: Oishinbo - Kyuukyoku No Menu Sanbon Shoubu · Oishinbo : Kyuukyoku no Menu Sanbon Shoubu (JP)

Shinsei TOSE Adventure

Publisher: Shinsei · Developer: TOSE · Genre: Adventure

Oishinbo puts us in the role of Yamaoka Shiro as he helps brainstorm for Tozai News' upcoming VIP banquet. He meets with a trio of gourmands visiting his publication, one of whom extols the culinary merits of foie gras. Shiro is dismissive due to its ugly appearance (never mind the animal cruelty), causing a heated argument between the two. Filled with rage, Shiro heads back to his desk to try and come up with a dish that will blow foie gras out of the water. It is here that the game begins in earnest, and the most familiar hallmark of the ADV genre begins to rear its head: busywork. The player needs to look at and interact with everything they possibly can if they want to make any progress, often multiple times. The lengths of which the game goes to to pad itself out is often ridiculous, such as when Shiro is only able to visit his own workplace cafeteria after reading a sign that informs him that it exists.