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But just like in our everyday existence, it's easy to take food in games for granted. The presentation of food is often very… basic. Skyrim, for example, is full of random fantasy-epic food, the eating of which provides benefits ranging from "heals you" to "lets you carry more/heavier stuff." Actually consuming that food, though… you select it from a menu, and it disappears from that list, and you get your boost. Cooking in World of Warcraft involves watching a progress bar tick down. In The World Ends With You, food is vital to stat growth, but it's mostly "drag icon onto box, wait for it to be eaten." Food is vital, food is important, but it's almost never particularly interesting.Enter Vanillaware, the creators of the aforementioned Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir (an HD remake of the original Odin Sphere), as well as Muramasa: the Demon Blade and Dragon's Crown.The hallmark of Vanillaware's games is their rich, beautiful—and in the case of Dragon's Crown, contentious—art style, with its consistently hand-painted look. One of the lesser-known elements of Vanillaware's oeuvre, though, is their approach to food. Beyond any actual mechanical concerns, Vanillaware presents food like every other visual: lush, detailed, satisfying.Beyond its aesthetic appeal, however, food serves a distinct gameplay role in these titles as well. Take the previous anecdote about Leifthrasir. In both the original Odin Sphere and the remake—which revamps a few of the original's systems for the sake of simplicity—food does serve as a way to heal, but it's also more than that. Food provides experience points that let you level up. In fact, it's the most efficient and easiest way to increase your level."Food is vital, food is important, but it's almost never particularly interesting."
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