Who ever guessed that customer service simulators would become a major video game genre? "Man, that sure was a hard day at work. I think I'll relax by pretending to cater to the whims of capricious socialites! Whee!" It doesn't make sense. But here we are, surrounded by games like Cake Mania and Papa's Pizzeria, games that teach us about the joys of hard work, multitasking, and pandering to spoiled customers in order to get fatter tips.
Sushi Go Round carves out its own niche in the crowded field by taking customer service out of the equation. You are the chef, rather than the harried waiter, and all that matters is getting food to the patrons of your humble sushi shop in a timely manner. You don't even have to carry the food out to them. You have one of those newfangled automated sushi joints, where a conveyor belt brings the sushi round, and the customers feed themselves.
Convenient!
The problem is that the conveyor belt goes only one way, so there's always some guy stuck at the end watching his food get snagged by people who just sat down ahead of him. You'd feel sorry for him, if he weren't blaming it on you.
Each customer has five stars indicating her level of happiness (...with the service, not in general. If one of your customers happens to be depressed in his personal life, it's not your responsibility. Just feed him.) The more stars a customer still has when she gets her food, the larger tip you receive. If she waits so long that her stars disappear altogether, she departs in a huff, leaving a ding in your reputation and a sad song in your heart.
Check your recipe book at the beginning of each level to find out how to make the different offerings on your menu. To fill an order, click on each necessary ingredient, then on your rolling mat. Swish, swack, and the finished platter goes out on the belt.
You'll run out of ingredients fast, so as soon as you have some cash in hand, pick up the phone and order refills. Your supplier will restock you in a few seconds, or instantly if you pay the rush fee. If you plan ahead, you shouldn't have to rush too many orders.
You may also order sake, a Japanese wine made with rice, and temporarily cheer up a frustrated customer by dragging it to his place setting - thus teaching us the valuable life lesson that a drunken customer is a good tipper. See? It's educational!
All the while, find yourself weirdly seduced by the psychotropic background xylophones. It is an extraordinarily short loop of music, yet it does such a good job of soothing you through the constant press of hungry customers, I suggest you leave it on. It's all part of the game's hypnotic rhythm. Rice. Nori. Fish egg. Roll. Ding ding a-ding ding ding a-ding ding. Rice. Nori. Fish egg. Roll. Ding ding a-ding ding ding a-ding ding.
You could almost dance to it, if you had two seconds to spare. But you don't. That girl in the pink kimono just ordered a dragon roll, and you're fresh out of eel.
Analysis: In a sea of Diner Dash copycats, Sushi Go Round manages to feel like its own game. Bold, large-pixelled artwork grants a distinct charm to both the food and the wide-faced patrons. The customers are unusually one-dimensional for this type of game — their taste in seafood is their only personality trait — but focusing on the rhythms of the kitchen is its own kind of pleasure. Keeping track of the various recipes helps you feel connected to the work, and learning to execute them rapidly and efficiently may even give you a sense of pride.
But compelling as it is, Sushi Go Round is a game of repetition and endurance. The authors have limited the number of levels and put in a proper ending, but no way to save your game. You should be able to finish the whole thing in less than a half-hour, but whether you play it again will depend on your willingness to get sucked in for another full stretch. Play Sushi Go Round.
I have a thought as to why these things might be popular. I think they might be popular amongst two type of people- one is people who never did this kind of work, and find it to be a novelty. Another is people who do this kind of work for a living, but aren't burned out on it yet- they look at it and go WOW, I'll do great in this game, I could do this in my sleep! Those of us that did this kind of service-industry work for a living and are burned out on it, go- UGH!!!! I could do that in my sleep!! Why would I want to relive all that?!?!!
I think it also appeals because it is making order out of chaos. This is soothing/satisfying, in this increasingly chaotic, insane world. I don't do this type of game because I fall into that last category, but when things get too crazy, I do thread crochet. Same concept- making something orderly out of thin string, only it's beautiful, too.
Great review, PT!
I, too, have noticed this food service gaming phenomenon and agree with Caya. This sort of game doesn't appeal to me usually, but I'll definitely have to give this a shot.
Jay Ive seen this at MINICLIP like months ago. Its no a new game.\
[Edit: Thanks for the report zmaster. Its no news to us. ;) -Jay]
Just wanted to say great review Psychotronic--your humor is awesome :)
Also, Yay for site registrations
Newfangled? Are these sushi conveyor belts new to the West? They've been around for a quite a while here in Asia.
Also, sake should probably be called a rice "wine," not "beer." :)
Really? I know the accepted shorthand is to call it a rice wine, but it's my understanding that the process of making sake is more similar to beer's than wine's.
Geez, I wish this place really existed! Everything is so dirt cheap!
to get round the problem of having someone stuck w/o their food at the end of the belt...
don't collect the plates left over by the previous customers until the food ordered by the person at the end of the line has passed by.
i can't quite explain it clearly, but the point is that no new customers can sit down if the plates aren't cleared. so as long as you wait till the plate of sushi has rolled past before clearing the plate, you won't have the problem of a newcomer 'stealing' the food off the belt before the impatient-with-waiting customer manages to get his/her food :D
i suppose it takes up a bit more time with this method, but at least you don't get angry customers :D
(hope the spoilers work, it's my first time posting here :D
...I remember when I was younger, "Sushi-go-round" was the name of a minigame in one of those N64 Pokemon games. It irritated me because I could never win at it.
Should I be worried that I can still remember that? Fortunately, it won't stop me from trying this one out. Between my love of fun new games and my love of sushi, this looks like something I'd enjoy until it makes me hungry.
A good method that works for me is to *not* collect the plates after a bunch of customers have had their sushi, so I have a row of empty plates, and then I make sure I have one of every kind of sushi on the conveyer belt before I collect the plates. If there are two customers who want the same thing, I just make extras of whatever they want.
I can usually make a decent amount of money this way, since the customers usually get their food at five or four hearts and leave a large tip.
Oh god, at first I thought this game was so annoying! The foods are always out of stock and I kept on making poop. >_ I'm glad I did it the second time, since I started to remember the recipes, and ordered before hand. It was so addicting, but I finally finished the game! I think this will become my daily play. Lol.
Psychotronic:
Sorry for the belated reply. I see the change has already been made, but I thought I should at least respond.
Sake is more similar to beer than wine in that it's made from a grain rather than a fruit, but in terms of appearance, taste, and alcohol content, it's definitely closer to wine. I think this is why it's traditionally referred to as a wine rather than a beer.
I can't beat the last day! I've tried a couple of times and i can't even break 6000 yen. I even have the recipes memorized (kinda sad I know). Any hints?
Belle: Here are a few tips I found helpful.
If you order popular things before they run out, you don't have to waste money odering express.
Don't hand out Sake to everyone. I drew the line at 3 points. If they have 4 or 5 they are probably happy enough. I noticed that once a dot starts to quiver, you can give them a sake and it will top them up without losing another.
As other people mentioned, when you are serving to people further down the queue, don't pick up plates until their food has passed.
Remember to prioritise people further down the line over people closer. if you start wrong, you can turn it something else that someone else will pick up at some point.
Hope that helps!
Awesome review Psychotronic. funny.
I thought the conveyor belts were like not new in Asia? I love this game... I agree with Caya. And I want to work in a Sushi bar. if it's like the game, it would be so cool. I reckon the music helps you concentrate.
And what is the highes level you can get to? Is it 5300Y a day or something else?
are cake mania and papa's pizzeria as good? because i love this kind ofgame.
:D
this is a great and very addictive game. my own addiction is such that whenever i play it, i grimace whenever the little old lady character comes in. if you don't serve her fast, she'll get cranky and change her order; then you end up wasting ingredients. a bit of elder disrespect there.
Doh! I didn't know you reviewed it!
Here's a few tips (For Advance sushi go round player):
1) When making sushi, make randomly, dont wait till the customer come in.
2) Pick up the money as soon as possible.
3) Dont give sake until they have only 1 dot left. Wait until the last dot blinks.... it gives you more energy.
4) stop buying ingredients when the time is almost out.
5) Dont use wireless mouse for this game.... it is faster with wired mouse.
Hope this helps... if you have anymore, please add it on
There is an updated version of this game called Youda Sushi and it's fantastic! Unfortunately, you only get to play the first 5 levels or so before they ask you to pay for the rest of them. =(
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