Bandai Namco’s Tabe Ouja Turns Food Into Monsters

In a recent magazine, Bandai Namco revealed that it is developing a new monster battling game for the Nintendo Switch with a twist–the monsters are created from cooked food. In Tabe Ouja, players will prepare food, turn it into monsters, raise the monsters, and then battle them against other monsters. [Thanks, Ryokutya2089!]

Details are still scarce on the new IP, but it looks like it will be similar to Monster Rancher, in that its unique way of summoning or creating the creatures is one of the main selling points of the game. Players will need to use the Joy-Cons as a frying pan or other cooking utensils in order to cook food. The creatures created from the food are called Tabegami.

Considering the emphasis on emulating the act of cooking with Joy-Con motion controls, it’s not surprising that the game seems to be exclusive to Nintendo Switch. (Multiple motion-control games already exist on the platform.) It harkens back to an age of more experimental titles from Japanese developers, especially the early CD-Rom era when developers would try using the console’s unique features to create unique concepts.

Tabe Ouja is currently in development for the Nintendo Switch. It will be released in Japan in Winter 2020.