I'm not going to lie. If someone asked me what I did today, I would not say I played Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam. There's just something about that name that would instead make me want to say I spent my day foraging for soda cans. I don't know why the name was picked, but the only one who could get away being proud of owning a game with that title is a little kid. Well, actually, they might be hesitant too. Luckily, the actual game isn't as bad as the title, but it's not incredibly far off.
Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam is the first cooking game to hit WiiWare. In the game, customers who look like various Halloween characters come into the restaurant you are cooking at. You first have to present them with a menu. Once they decide what they want to eat, the item shows up above them in a thought bubble. The meal will be complicated or simple to prepare, depending on what it is. At first, you can serve food raw, but as the game progresses you must cook the items. Many customers will want multiple condiments. The faster you prepare the meals, the more money you will receive from the patron. Once multiple customers start coming in at once wanting complicated items, the game can get tough. You advance through the game by completing the level in the restaurant you are currently cooking at. Each restaurant has a general theme, such as Hot Dogs or Hamburgers.
Even though the game is very simple, it was designed well. The graphics are smooth and the music is good enough. Unfortunately, the gameplay just isn't interesting enough to make this game very good. Putting fake food on plates only stays fun for so long. After a while, it just feels like you're working a job you don't get paid for. I like the fact that they try to change up the game a lot by switching foods and cooking methods, but somewhere in the development they forgot that being a virtual server is lacking a key concept from the real thing: actual tips.
Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam isn't a horrible game. The presentation and intent was good, but the game just simply isn't that fun. There are definitely worse titles on WiiWare, but you'd be better off avoiding this poor man's Cooking Mama, especially at 1000 points.
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