I still remember when I was in junior high school, I saved up my breakfast money for half a month just to buy a GBA cassette in a video game store. There were no mobile games at that time. If you had a handheld console, you would be the most handsome boy in the class. Now I have "Cooking Kingdom" installed on my phone. The moment I clicked on it, the "dinging" kitchen sound effect rang. I almost thought I was back in bed playing PSP with a flashlight at night.
To be honest, there is a big difference between the replica versions of current mobile games and the classic business simulation games we played back then. In the past, when I played "Harvest Moon" or "Theme Restaurant", they were all pixel style. Each character only had a few pixels, but I could still play with emotions. Now the graphics in "Cooking Kingdom" are much more refined. The chef's cooking movements, the expressions of the guests eating, and the gloss reflected by the tableware are all clear. But the strange thing is that I can still find the same old taste in it - the sense of satisfaction of "you can upgrade with one more click, and open a new store by saving some money", which is exactly the same as the feeling when I repeatedly planted and sold radishes on GBA, and finally bought a cow.
In terms of gameplay, the classic game emphasizes "slow work and careful work". Farming requires waiting for the season, and cooking depends on the heat. Sometimes a game can last a whole afternoon. "Cooking Kingdom" is obviously a fast-paced mobile game idea. It can be upgraded quickly with a few clicks of a finger, and feedback is also fast. You can open a business in a few minutes. It is suitable for those of us old guys who have no time to squat in front of the TV. But you're saying it's insincere? Neither. It turns chefs from various countries and dishes of different flavors into collection elements, allowing people like me who were addicted to "Cooking Mama" on the NDS to find the obsession of "collecting illustrated books" again.
What struck me the most was the feeling of “starting from scratch.” When I played "The Sims" on the PSP, I renovated a small shabby house into a mansion bit by bit. In "Cooking Kingdom", you start from the first small restaurant, slowly save money to open the next one, update the decoration, and upgrade the recipes - every step is like completing your unfinished dream back then. Although we are no longer the teenagers who are happy for a virtual gold coin for a long time, in this mobile game, I have found the simplest happiness again.
If you have ever run your own little world on a handheld console, you might as well give "Cooking Kingdom" a try. It's not a perfect replica, but it understands what we old players want - that sense of solidity of "building a kingdom bit by bit with your own fingers", which has never changed. 🍳👑