'The best PlayStation game you've never played'

The headline above is in quotes because, well, I've yet to play the game to which it's referring. That said, I've read enough reviews and seen enough videos of said game to believe it to be true.

So, which game am I talking about? Ore no Ryouri--aka My Cooking or I'm the Chef.

In case you've never heard of it, Ore no Ryouri is a cooking/restaurant simulator--think of it as a precursor to games like Cooking Mama and Order Up!--that was released (in Japan) in late 1999. Although a one-level demo of the game made its way to American gamers a few months later via the quarterly, disc-based magazine, PlayStation Underground, it was never released in full outside of the so-called Land of the Rising Sun.

If you want to see why that's an utter travesty, check out this video review of the title:



Anyway, I've been a bit obsessed with Ore no Ryouri since I first read about it on some random gaming site (sorry, I can't remember which one) a few years ago. I haven't bought a copy--yet--because I don't have a way of playing it, but you can bet your butt I'll get one as soon as I buy an import PSone (or PStwo).

If you're at all interested in learning more about this quirky little title, read this review (and this one, too).

See also: 'Now playing: Order Up! (Wii)'