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(my 79 character guideline. neat, huh?)


Cooking Mama: Cook Off!  Guide v. 0.30
(lovely artwork here, huh?)

CONTENTS-
1. Introduction [intro]
2. Game Basics [basics]
3. Common Steps [common]
4. Less Common Steps [uncom]
5. Foreign Friends [friend]
6. Recipes [recipes]
7. Knick Knacks [misc]
8. Conclusion [conc]

1. Introduction [intro]

This is my first FAQ ever.  It's nowhere near complete, and I'm not even sure 
If this is a decent font to use.  However, I've been dying to write one.  I'm 
writing this one because there currently aren't any.  While it won't answer 
any of my questions, it will help answer yours (and possibly inspire you to 
write your own guides that are better than this, and then answer MY 
questions!).

This game is called Cooking Mama: Cook Off.  The name might sound silly, I'm 
sure that the people in the translation department were snoozing, but it is a 
very clever, simple, and fun game.  It is a spin-off of the popular Nintendo 
DS game with the same concept.  The premise is this- you are in Mama's kitchen 
(a "Mama" who happens to look more like "Jailbait") and you are helping her 
cook.  That's it! You cook!  Each recipe is broken down to several mini-games 
(like chopping onions, boiling spaghetti, peeling potatoes, etc). Easy to 
explain, rather easy to pick up on, hard to put down.  If you do well, Mama 
gets all starry-eyed and says (in her best engrish) "Wonderful! Better than 
Mama!" 



2. Game Basics [basics]

Throughout this game, you will use the remote one-handed (with few exceptions. 
And sorry, there is no right handed/left handed toggle), using the A and B 
buttons mostly, although one or two sections use the 1 and 2 buttons.  Motion 
sensing is how most mini-games are done, with a few point and clicks scattered 
throughout.  Very simple and basic controls, but a few things should be 
mentioned.

First, it has been mentioned that the remote responds almost independently of 
your Wii settings, so if you have you Wii set to a high sensitivity, this game 
doesn't seem to notice.  No big deal, in my opinion.  When I play with very 
precise pointing and clicking, I like to have a rather sluggish feel anyway.  

Second, Each mini-game has a brief (and I stress the word 'brief') description 
of how it is played, though it isn't always 100% clear.  It really helps to do 
the 'practice mode' in which you can do any step in any order as many times as 
you like.  This will help you get a feel for how you prepare squid, cook 
popcorn (yikes... you'd think it would be easier), or separate egg whites (I 
still haven�t mastered that).  When you get a new recipe, check it out in 
'Practice' if you like, so you can see what steps are involved.  

With each recipe you finish, you unlock a new recipe, regardless of what score 
you received.  I haven't unlocked all of them yet, so I don't know what 
happens when you unlock the last in a chain of recipes.  

Unlike the DS version, there is a head-to-head mode, and even a vs. COM mode.  
The first is rather self explanatory- you and a friend (or someone you don't 
like, it really doesn't matter who you play with) play split screen.  Each 
step you compete in quality and speed of work.  The winner is decided at the 
end of the recipe.  The vs. COM mode (or as it is in-game 'Friends and Food 
from around the world') is similar in game play, but each recipe in the game is 
categorized nationally.  So that means that if you want to compete against 
the German chef, you would compete with German dishes (I whooped the German 
chef in making Truffles).  Interestingly, each Chef has their own ethnic music 
playing, such as the Chinese chef plays the theme song with a Chinese twang, 
the German with German sounding music, etc.  If you beat the chef at the 
recipe, you get a prize- gold utensils.  For instance, you can get a gold 
knife, a gold wok, or gold eating utensils seen at the end of the recipe.  If 
you lose to the chef, you get a cute little knick-knack to put in your kitchen 
(such as a clock, decorative plates, statues, etc.) so you really can't lose.  
You will always win something (unless you lose repeatedly or win repeatedly.  
You only get one item per recipe per win/loss).  

One more thing that is rather cool is the 'CHALLENGE' feature.  This will have 
you play through all the steps of a recipe without breaking in-between for 
instructions.  You have to have an idea of what to do at all steps, so it is 
good that you have done it before, and are familiar with the steps.  To do 
this, play in the 'COOK' mode, and click on the 'MAKE IT' token in the top 
right corner.  This will change to 'CHALLENGE'.  Now, when you start, you will 
be in challenge mode.  There are no rewards, but it is fun to play.


3. Common Steps [common]

Here are some of the more common mini-games you will be playing.

CHOPPING/CUTTING- In this step, the item you are preparing to  cut is set on a 
cutting board. An arrow is shown on the item,  and you trace the arrow with 
the remote (by pointing).  It  doesn't take much, and it helps if you keep 
your hand in the  same area.  If you were cutting the ends off of an onion, 
you  would trace  the arrow on the end, and then the onion would spin, 
bringing the part you are cutting where your hand already is.  You'll just 
waste time moving you hand to the  opposite side, since it will spin for you.  
Usually, mincing  follows.


MINCING- Easy.  Shake the remote up and down.  You can't lose. Keep going 
until the item is completely minced.


STEWING- A pot sits on the burner, and a bar is under it with a marker on one 
end.  Words fly across the bottom and when it  hits the marker, you have to do 
one of the following actions:  

STIR- Make stirring motions with the remote.  The in-game instructions tell 
you to point the remote down, as if you were really stirring, but I like to 
point it at the screen  so the pointer remains where I can see it.  
   
ADD- There are occasionally icons in the top left corner of the screen.  When 
you are to add, simply click the icon (if there are two, click the one 
that is, for lack of a better word, throbbing.  Throbbing tomatoes, wow. 

HEAT- It won't actually say 'HEAT', but this is where you adjust the heat.  It 
will say 'MEDIUM', 'LOW', or 'HIGH'.  Just press the A button and twist 
the remote until the knob on the lower right turns to the appropriate heat. 
   

STIR FRY- This can be kind of tricky.  There is a wok on the  burner (though 
few burners actually produce enough heat to   make the wok spread the heat 
properly, thank you Alton Brown for teaching me this) and in the upper left 
corner there are a series of icons, depending on the ingredients for the  
recipe.  As far as I have discovered, they are in order of length of required 
cooking time from left to right (left  items take longer to cook, while items 
on the right do not  need as much  time).  Click on the icons by pointing and 
hitting A, and you can actually stir the contents by hitting  B and moving the 
 sticks by pointing (the in-game instructions do not mention this, boo).  
Shake the wok by moving the  remote back towards  you and forward.  When two 
circles appear  on the icons, that means they are properly cooked.  be  
careful, they go from two  circles to a big blue X, which  means it is burnt.  
You have to be careful when you put your  items on.  When all items have two 
circles (or when one burns  and the rest are cooked enough so that nothing 
else burns),  click on the 'FINISH' button on the lower left corner of the 
screen.  


KNEAD- Kind of easy.  It helps to hold the remote parallel to the ground.  
There is a bowl with whatever you have to knead on screen, with a hand in it.  
Below the hand appear arrows. Move the controller in that direction.  For 
instance, if the arrow points down, move it back.  If it points to the left, 
move it left.  The only tricky part is if you see an arrow pointing in a 
circle. Move the remote in a small circle parallel to the floor.  This one is 
a step where you might have to practice a bit before jumping in.


EGGS-  Also rather tricky.  Easy motion, just move the remote as if you were 
really cracking eggs.  A quick motion to the left, and pressing A when it is 
fully cracked is all it takes.  The hard part is doing it hard enough so that 
the egg cracks, and not too hard so that you smash the egg.  Also, if you hit 
it lightly, you will make a small crack.  This is not a full crack, if you 
press A, something happens that I have never seen before while cracking an 
egg.  I don't know what it is, but it doesn't count for your score. Crack it 
again lightly and it will crack all the way around.  


PAN FRY-  Similar to stir fry.  Depending on the recipe, either you will have 
a bar on the bottom similar to stewing, or you will have one where clouds pop 
up, telling you what to do.  I will discuss the latter.  Occasionally, clouds 
will pop up, and when you do what is written in the clouds, you will fill a 
bar, things like 'STIR', 'SHAKE', or 'SEASON'.  You've done all of these 
before except 'SEASON'.  Press A and shake the remote like a salt shaker 
(I can't remember if you hold the controller with the pointer end up or down, 
they do vary in this game, just pay real close attention to the diagrams on 
the screen).  


GRATING-  Hold the remote upright, pointer facing up (I think) and move it 
quickly to the left and right.  When you see an arrow pointing down on screen, 
raise your controller and bring it down.  This will do the same on screen, and 
will knock off and gratings built up on the grater.  Easy stuff.


PEELING- I hate this the most.  A vegetable is center screen, and the pointer 
is holding a peeler.  No buttons, just move the peeler over the skin.  The way 
it works is that each side has three large slices to remove, with two small 
slices to remove.   You have to keep a continual straight down motion to 
completely peel, and it is rather hard to keep it going straight.  Good luck 
with this one.  


STIR-  Stir with the remote (pointing up or down, doesn't matter as there is 
nothing to click) fast, but not too fast that it spills. I have only once 
spilled it, and that was because I was stirring ridiculously fast, goofing 
off.  As you stir, a bar fills up on the bottom.

[NOTE- I will add more as I progress in the game (and remember more)]



4. Less Common Steps [uncom]

Occasionally, there will be steps that are not so common, or in any case 
unique to the recipe. 

POUNDING RICE-  A bowl is center screen with rice in it.  Bring your 
controller down like a hammer to hit it.  A hand will come down to knead it or 
whatever.  Do NOT hit it when the hand is kneading, this will slow you down.  
If you time it just right and hit just as the hand is backing up, you will go 
faster.  Eventually, you will be hitting fast.  Of course, when you hit your 
hand again, you will be slow again.


PREPARE- I almost put this on the above list.  Usually for squid or shrimp.  
You have the object which has several steps to finish.  It could be any, 
really.  For instance, shrimp is as follows-  Hold B, and move the pointer up 
and down over the head.  When the head comes off, bring the pointer of the 
back, peeling the back off, then move it over the bottom, removing the legs.  
It really varies depending on the item you are preparing, so this is definitely 
one you have to practice first.


[NOTE- I will add more as I progress in the game]



5. Foreign Friends [friend]

	As you unlock new recipes, you will eventually unlock new friends!  
You start with a Russian friend, a Japanese friend, and a Spanish friend.  So 
far, I have unlocked an American friend, a German friend, a Chinese friend, 
and a French friend.  Coming soon- lists of each chef with their playable 
recipes, with possible lists of prizes, prizes, priz-izes!



6. Recipes [recipes]

Also coming soon.


7. Knick-Knacks [misc]

	Here is a catch-all for everything else I would like to add.  

*In the options menu, you can 'MANAGE KITCHEN'.  here, you can move around and 
look at all of your prizes (not your golden utensils, though, as far as I have 
learned).  Pressing A will take you back a menu, but pressing B will make the 
pointer hand grab.  It doesn't seem to grab anything, so if anyone can answer 
this, it will be great.  

*This game supposedly has 55 recipes, as opposed to the DS version only 
having 72 or so... why so few?  And (as has been mentioned on the message 
boards) why is American 'cuisine' so lousy?  The hot dog game wasn't fun or 
realistic, and the popcorn was throw-your-controller frustrating.  Chicken and 
dumplings, American style Pizza, fried chicken, all of these could have been 
added (NOTE: at the time of writing this, I have not unlocked these, so who 
knows...)

*When you complete a step, Mama Jailbait says something.  Either 'I will help 
you' if you fail, and 'Good job, keep trying' if you get a GOOD rating.  When 
you do real well and get a perfect, she gets all smiley and says 'Wonderful, 
better than Mama!'.  But, for some reason, every now and then she will say 
'Bravo!' (more like 'Blavo!' but that�s just racist of the game) and looks 
like a dragon samurai or something.  Any ideas on what this is or what it 
means?



8. Conclusion [conc] 

This is my first FAQ.  I hope it is informative and readable.  If there are 
any suggestions or corrections (I am a stickler for grammar and spelling, so 
if you see an error, I'd like to know), send it to my email address at 
[email protected]. Now follows some legal jargon which I hope is 
correctly done.

This is copyrighted by me, Scott Crawford, on March 28, 2007.  I didn't make 
the game, so all the copyrights of it belong to their respective companies.

I don't really mind who posts this or where, but I would like email 
notification, so I can at least brag to my Mom (she's the only one who is 
still impressed by anything I do).