A chef in a colorful NES action-platformer. Kitchen utensils as weapons, dishes as bosses. Fun and original concept, polished visuals. Overlooked but truly charming and recommendable.
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Category
Platformer1 player3+
Description
Action platformer featuring a chef battling creatures and monsters invading his restaurant. Published by Taito, released in Europe in 1992. Chef in side-scrolling view with kitchen utensils as weapons, food enemies and creative bosses. An original Taito platformer on NES.
European PAL pressing of the Taito game, distributed in a narrow window as the continental market was already abandoning the 8-bit. Even shorter than the American run, the PAL run places this version among the rarest and most coveted European NES platformers complete in box. Its desirability rests on this extreme continental shortage, which makes it a flagship piece of demanding PAL collections.
An underrated gem
A cook who blasts living food with a frying pan in his own restaurant: this Taito platformer overflows with charm and visual inventiveness, level after level. Its late, low-key release quickly saw it forgotten. Colorful and full of ideas, it'll enchant fans of joyful, polished platformers.
Is Panic Restaurant still worth playing in 2026?
Panic Restaurant is a Taito action-platformer in which the cook Cookie crosses a restaurant overrun by living creatures made of food, using varied kitchen utensils. The colorful and inventive art direction, the zany culinary bestiary and a responsive playability make it a charming and polished platformer with a well-marked identity. The short length tempers the enthusiasm a little. For fans of inventive NES platformers and gems with cartoon charm, it is a genuine success, pleasant and original to rediscover.
