Just like the previous game, players are required to cook up tasty dishes in Cooking Mama 2 via a selection of fun NDS Lite mini games. But this time, you will be challenged by Mama or one of her nine dinner guests (hence the title) to cook something without being given instructions… AND obtain a near perfect score too! Besides that, there’s the usual mixing, chopping, peeling, dicing and stirring involved using the stylus. Upon completing these tasks, you will be awarded points, with the maximum score being an elusive 100% along with a shiny medal if you did a good job. Mini games give bonus stars and each time you gain five stars, an item is automatically unlocked.

I noticed that Cooking Mama 2 has a little unlockable feature not unlike the Achievement feature in XBOX 360 games. You earn an Item Trophy if you successfully obtained all items for design and diary; a Mama Trophy if you managed to unlock the 10 guests in the Let’s Cook mode and finally, you’ll get a sparkly Recipe Trophy if you get to dish up all 80 recipes in the game. How’s that for motivation!