'​Cafeteria Nipponica' Is A Slow Restaurant Game With Somewhat Satisfying Results

Kairosoft has done it again, taking one of their mobile games and porting it onto the Nintendo Switch. This time around, it's Cafeteria Nipponica.

Just like the usual Kairosoft games, you are in charge of running a business. In this situation, it's a restaurant. Your goal is to build and expand your food empire. The game starts off pretty slow though. In the beginning, you're given your first restaurant. What you can do starting off is buy and place new tables, add furniture, and hire new workers. Be wary though: when the game begins, you don't start off with much money.

In this game, it doesn't take too much to end up in debt. I found the best strategy is to first hire more staff and just grind out more cash until you're stable enough to buy more things for your restaurant. Speaking of staff, as you progress in the game, you are given the option to recruit special staff. You play a button-mashing tug of war-styled mini game where you have to convince the applicant to work for you. The problem I have is that you have to give away your money to recruit them. For example, I tried to recruit a Gordon Ramsey knock-off chef, but I needed to give him like $10,000, and I would end up in debt. If you were cautious about recruiting him, you would run out of time, and he would turn your offer down while still taking the money you offered him. Way to rub salt in the wound.

The biggest feature in the game is developing recipes. You're able to send your workers out on expositions to hunt down new ingredients for various recipes, and it's your job to see what works with each of them. Combine the right ones, and you can discover a whole new dish to serve to your customers. With this function there is a lot of trial and error, which does get pretty tedious and runs the risk of either increasing or decreasing the price, appeal, and taste of your dish.

Once you're well-off, you're given the option to either expand your current restaurant or open up another one to expand your brand. The problem I have with opening a new restaurant is that you have to rehire all the workers. With the first restaurant you're given a starter crew, but with your second restaurant you need to start from scratch. Now, this wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't for the hiring system. You're only allowed to hire one employee per day, and having a restaurant with only one cook or server isn't good for business. You're better off just expanding your restaurant and grinding to earn all that money back.

Without a doubt, Cafeteria Nipponica is one of the slowest Kairosoft games next to Pocket Academy. It's one of the more in-depth games in the series, but it still ends up falling a little short. It's satisfying when you finally get your restaurant up and running with that steady flow, but until that moment comes, you're going to find yourself constantly grinding.