/vr/ - Retro Games

Another thing that the PS1 had a lot of in Japan was adventure/sim games with a cooking or restaurant theme. Among the lesser-known ones is Ramen Hashi, a ramen-cooking adventure. You play as a Japanese man coming home from the end of World War II and deciding to become to the best ramen cook in the country. You follow his quest all the way from the 1950s to modern times. Gameplay is split between first-person exploration/interaction with characters, and ramen-making mini-games. The game as an interesting style that reminds me of newspaper cartoons, and is appropriately nostalgic.

There's also the better-known and perhaps even more nostalgic Charumera, where you play as a wandering ramen stand seller in seventies Japan. There isn't a lot to do in this game other than soak up its sunset atmosphere and experiment with ingredients for new ramen recipes. You do earn money, but the game never punishes you for not breaking even, and in general it's pretty relaxing. The protagonist of this game is known as Uncle Charumera and is actually the cartoon mascot of Japanese ramen company Myojo Foods.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3p8HXvshrvA&t=128s