Waku Waku Sweets Review (Nintendo Switch)

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Waku Waku Sweets: a cooking game that came to the 3DS in 2018, and followed on the Switch that same year. The most well known cooking game is Cooking Mama, one that my daughter loves to bits. But now that the game has landed in retail as well, let’s see how this “other” title holds up: is it a clone, or does it bring something new to the table?

Join the colorful team of Fils Rouge

Loading the game, one of the first things I notice is that you can set the playtime before being forced back to the title. Not that you have to, but it’s a nice form of parental control. It also shows that it’s easy to just perform your baking task losing your sense of time playing. 

Open up the game to find the typical Japanese anime girl, who is my game is called Lime. You can choose your own name though, but Lime seemed appropriate for this sweet faced girl. (Small tip that had me searching: if you want to use capital letters, then first type the letter and then click the button for capital letters! )

A town unfolds with several venues to visit in future. First though, you head to Fils Rouge, the patisserie where you will learn how to be a pastry chef. Chiffon is the store manager, but with her are several co-workers who will help you learn the ropes; each one as special looking as the next. There’s colorful looking Ichiro, Takeo and the seemingly stern Kazuma, who helps you with your first task. Put on your uniform and then the first thing that you get to bake is a Chiffon Cake. How appropriate!

On your mark, get set….Bake!

Every recipe has a tutorial on how to make it, but even if you skip the directions, that you won’t find yourself in trouble. Just choose to skip the tutorial and the game still shows when to press the L-shoulder and combine it with the move of the right stick in the direction the arrow points.  Great for our younger players, and it can be turned off in the options menu if you want to. 

When you make a recipe at Fils Rouge, you don’t get to keep the wares. But, you are rewarded with gold coins, And the better you make the bake, the more coins you get. You can then use the coins to buy new recipes. And with new recipes, you can fulfill requests for more townspeople and generate more happiness!

Put a cookie in it!

Leaving Fils Rouge after your first day through the Park, you meet Puffee, the sweet Fairy. Well, Fairy…..She can’t do any magic, and is something of a nuisance. Even going home with Lime uninvited! Pretty soon though all is explained: Puffee needs happy feelings to get her magic to work. So it’s Lime’s job to take care that enough happy feelings are generated throughout the town. 

This is where Waku Waku Sweets differs from Cooking Mama: the request from the people you meet. Cooking Mama is solely focused on the recipes and cooking. Waku Waku Sweets adds the sense of direction and purpose: on your town map you’ll see an exclamation mark when there is something to do at the location. The people you meet all need a specific kind of bake to make them happy, so Lime had better be prepared and bake a range of goods in her room. 

Part of the fun is in the conversations and the spin on the requests. For instance, one lady you meet will go on and on blabbing to Lime, unless Lime gives her a sweet that will stop her chatting. And there’s a boy who wants cookies, only to have Puffee comment after Lime gives it to him, that it might not have been a bright move to give Sweets to a child you don’t know. The quirkiness often made me smile. 

Checking out the town

Places to visit are Meow Wares, where you can buy clothes, recipes or decorations for your room with your hard earned cash. Or the Beauty Salon, to change your hairstyle or color. There’s the Contest Hall which unlocks later in the game where you bake it out with your rival Mint. 

Other places on the map are the Park, the Library, The Avenue, L’Oiseau Blue ( another sweet shop) and the Café. These are the places where you generally find people you can help. 

In your room you can check your items, cook, dress up in the clothes you bought at Meow Wares, go to bed or go back to the title. The last two options save the game, just a reminder. 

You can bake more then a 100 recipes in the categories Cakes, Pastries, Ice, Snacks and Wagashi. The last option had me confused for a bit, as Wagashi is a name for an assortment of Japanese sweets. So in the requests, someone might ask for a Wagashi and then any of the category will do. Or, they will ask for a specific bake. 

Which one to choose: 3DS or Switch

Originally a 3DS release in March 2018 the game made the jump to Switch in November of the same year. This isn’t a straight port though. The art of the characters and the backdrop Is cleaner, there are some additional animations and new conversations, people, and an enlarged town. Where in the 3DS game you could only change your hair, the Switch version ads new outfits for Lime that can be bought at Meow. Added to that, Waku Waku Sweets on Switch also includes new outfits for Lime that can be accessed via passwords. 

The other difference between the two versions are the controls. I played the game in handheld, where stirring didn’t always work as fluent as it should. However, you can also play it by motion control, which should work better. Personally I think controlling the mini games by stylus on the touch screen of the 3DS is easier.

Take all of this in consideration if you are planning to buy this game for yourself or your child, especially since the Switch version does have a higher price point.( 3DS version $24.99, Switch version $39.99)

Conclusion

To people who don’t understand the fun in these kind of games Waku Waku Sweets might seem overly colorful and the actions too simple. But there’s a real satisfying feeling to making enough bakes to make the people in town happy. It can get a bit repetitive but soothing at the same time too.  

The game is encouraging, has some nice conversations and with more then a 100 recipes to bake you’ll have enough to do. Plus, the recipes made are multi cultural: European, American and Japanese dishes that are fun to discover. I found myself grinning when I recognized the red Azuki beans being cooked in one of the food stands visiting London this week. And if not for Waku Waku Sweets, I’d never had noticed it! 

Final Vedict: I Like it a Lot