Panic Restaurant (NES) Playthrough

A playthrough of Taito's 1992 platformer for the NES, Panic Restaurant.

Panic Restaurant is a game that flew under most people's radar when it was new, but like so many other late-era NES releases by Taito (Little Samson, Power Blade 2, Bubble Bobble 2, The Flintstones 2, etc.), it eventually became known as a trophy for collectors thanks to its limited print run, and it carries a price tag to match that reputation, of course. Ouch.

The game stars Cookie, a chef whose in-game countenance is - thank god - far less horrifying than the box art would lead you to believe. His restaurant has been overrun by an army of crazed foodstuffs commanded by his rival chef, a spindly purple guy named Ohdove.

(His name sounds so dumb because it's a transliteration of his Japanese name オードブル / Oodoburu. They didn't seem to realize that the same spelling serves as the Japanese derivation of the French "hors d'oeuvre.")

Cookie's adventure spans six linear stages that take place across the restaurant, and they are all named after the different courses of a meal. Each is filled with walking food that attacks on sight, but you're equipped to handle it. You begin with a frying pan that can smash the baddies into the floor, but that can be upgraded to a spoon with improved reach, a fork that can be ridden like a pogo stick (how gruesome...), or a stack of plates that can be thrown from a safe distance. If you ever feel yourself getting overwhelmed, you can also find bonus stages to be played for chances to win extra energy and lives. Cookie definitely benefits from the home-court advantage.

Panic Restaurant doesn’t put up much of a challenge, but it's a memorable experience. The stock enemies all stick with the restaurant theme, so you'll be assailed by fun things like runaway turkey roasts, bouncing hot dogs, and flying kebabs, but the bosses really take the cake, so to speak. You'll have to battle a shrimp stir fry, a flying oven filled with chicken, a hamburger that bounces as it flings its bits, an ice cream cone, and my favorite - a psychotic Jiffy-Pop that blows its top.

It's strange, but there is a good reason for that. Believe it or not, this is actually a Kenji Eno work. Long before establishing WARP and becoming famous with his classic horror titles (D, D2, Enemy Zero) that starred digital actress Laura, he founded EIM, a small company dedicated to Famicom game development. Eno himself acted as designer and composer for Panic Restaurant.

Panic Restaurant is a quality game, overall. The graphics, sound, and playability are all top-notch, and it's a shame that the game is only known nowadays as a ludicrously over-priced novelty.

If you're a fan of NES games, this one is a real treat. It's a small meal, but it's one that exemplies some of the best things that NES gaming had to offer.

So go on and strap on a bib, hit up your favorite rom site, and dig into this satisfyingly slice of 8-bit gourmet gaming. It'll having you coming back for seconds, I'm sure.
_____________
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.

NintendoComplete (http://www.nintendocomplete.com/) punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!