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Video Navi: Making desserts with your DS cookbook
We shouldn't have watched this video -- it just made us hungry. Not that you shouldn't watch it. We're sure your kitchens contain more than just ramen and old cereal, so you should be fine to sate any hunger pains that may arise from watching this trailer for Kantan! Tanoshi! Okashi Navi DS.Cravings aside, we really like the idea of a game that turns our DS into a portable cookbook; especially if said cookbook contains recipes for making sweets and desserts. Unfortunately, this game won't help you at all if you can't speak or read Japanese, so don't even think about importing it unless you have such language skills. We also wouldn't recommend holding your breath for localization, as you'd surely end up dead and we'd feel really bad about the whole thing.[Via Gemaga]
Cooking Navi for the stuff you really want to eat
Kantan! Tanoshii! Okashi Navi DS (Simple! Fun! Sweets Navi DS) is a sort of sequel to Shaberu! Cooking Navi that focuses entirely on desserts. The game will include recipes from Lettuce Club magazine for more than 110 different types of desserts: cookies, cakes, cream puffs, and other pastries. Like the other Cooking Navi games, this will include visual, text, and voice instructions designed to allow you to cook along with the game. It also includes a special "pair mode" for cooking along with children.This is the third game in the huge-selling Cooking Navi series for Japan, and we still have yet to see one. Is Nintendo of America ever going to get around to releasing one of these, or letting developer Koei do it? Maybe they don't care as much about that expanded audience as they pretend to. We're hungry.
YesAsia clearance may be worth clearing your wallet out for
Importer YesAsia has a clearance sale going on right now, and, as may be expected of clearance sales, the stock is limited to things they couldn't sell before. In terms of DS stuff, that means Japanese versions of games that saw domestic releases, and items that nobody in the U.S. has heard of, for the most part.While some of the imports are either too Japanese or still too expensive, sifting through the stock does reveal a few interesting items, like the Japanese version of Card Fighters DS for $11.49, Heroes of Mana for $17.99, and Slide Adventure Mag Kid, which gets a small, but meaningful, discount at $43.95. Or, if you have a bunch of money to spend on "clearance" items, you can pick up the Ring of Fates DS bundle for $300.The sale is also a great opportunity to pick up a Japanese DS Lite case, as there are many variants in stock, including (continuing with the Ring of Fates theme) the Ring of Fates accessory pack. We've only linked to the DS items (for some reason ... ) but YesAsia is clearing out items for other systems as well.[Via NeoGAF]
DS Daily: Talking cookbooks
As you may have guessed, we're super excited about the localization of Cooking Navi, the chit-chatting cookbook for the DS. We can't wait to see what recipes appear on the various English-language versions. The Japanese software is, of course, filled with Asian recipes ... and while we certainly appreciate many kinds of Asian cuisine, we assume the localized version will feature different fare -- mostly because Reggie told us that would be the case. But what will be in ours? Creative uses for ramen noodles? Here's one from us: for salad crunchies, you can break up the noodles and fry them in a little oil and their own seasoning packets. Throw in some almonds for extra flavor and texture, let 'em cool, and toss them with greens. That makes a nice change from piles of soggy sodium noodles! We expect some very basic things, like hamburgers and spaghetti, as well as numerous desserts (anyone up for amaretto trifle?), and we hope for some complicated things as well for those of us who actually look forward to using a talking cookbook to expand our cooking knowledge. We just experimented (to great effect) over the weekend with adding pomegranate juice to the stock in the bottom of our roasted turkey pan (verdict: slight tang, very juicy) and we ache for more tips like that. So share your predictions, your thoughts, and what the hell ... if you want, let's share some recipes, too.
Stephen Totilo grills Reggie about our lack of talking cookbooks
Where's our Cooking Navi? What about our Japanese language trainers? In a chat with Reggie Fils-Aime, MTV's Stephen Totilo asked the questions we've been asking since forever. The news, however, is only good. Reggie refers to the localization of Cooking Navi -- which we knew was confirmed for Europe, but from this response, it seems it will head this way as well. Great news! Of course, that localization takes more time than for a regular game, since it's not just a matter of changing the language, but also the cuisine. We're willing to wait. You can check out the full interview past the break, but beware, it apparently only works for US viewers. Best Reggie moment: Maybe you need it [English Training] ....
Marugoto Teikoku Hotel provides accommodations for your DS
Shaberu! DS O-Ryouri Navi Marugoto Teikoku Hotel (Talking DS Cooking Navi Marugoto Teikoku Hotel), the cooking tool based on recipes from the upscale hotel, is headed to Japan on June 21. When it comes out, e-gourmands will have an option as to how they'd like their service: with or without pouch.For 4,280 yen, Japanese consumers can buy the basic program, but for only 1,000 yen more (about $8.25) they can add this Koei-branded DS case. What's $8 to someone who eats at the Marugoto Teikoku Hotel? Probably a roll or something.
Cooking Navi goes high-end
Cooking Navi has been a smash in Japan, so it's hardly a surprise that the game would get a sequel. This particular sequel, however, is somewhat of a surprise. Shaberu! DS O-Ryouri Navi Marugoto Teikoku Hotel (Talking DS Cooking Navi Marugoto Teikoku Hotel) is a new version of the game containing recipes from the chefs who cook in the prestigious Japanese hotel.We're thinking about picking up Koei's latest nongame, since we'd love to try some gourmet Japanese cuisine. But we have a concern: isn't Cooking Navi supposed to be about basic recipes and helping regular people make them? Seriously, look at those seven chefs on the box. This interactive cookbook has the potential to be the hardest game on the system.
Learn to walk with Walking Navi
Now that your brain is sufficiently trained, you can begin figuring out how to move around! Okay, so really it presumes you already know how to walk and are interested in walking as exercise. Too bad, because it's a lot funnier the other way. Just like Cooking Navi and Dokodemo Yoga, Duke Saraie no Kenkou Walking Navi (Duke Saraie's Health Walking Navi) is designed so that users can choose their program, set their DS systems down and have directions barked at them while they follow along. Fitness celebrity Duke Saraie will help you warm up, then lead you through your workout. Wait, workout? We want to try this to see what kinds of "workouts" could be involved other than "walk for a while", "walk for longer than the last time", and "walk for a while, but faster".Try Screenshot Inspecting Navi after the post break.[Via NeoGAF]
NoE confirms Cooking Navi localization
It's a good time to be a DS gamer, especially if you think games could be serious business. In an interview with German financial magazine Finanzen, NoE's Laurent Fischer talked about the Wii shortage as well as the success of the DS, and the impact of bringing the talking Cooking Navigator to European handheld owners. Unsurprisingly, the cooking simulation, which guides users through recipes, is seen as a follow-up to Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training. We can't wait to see the English-language version in action![Via Kiff News]
