One-Minute Cooking: A New Standard?

Since its "effective introduction" around half a year ago, One-Minute Cooking in Café Remix has taken off like a storm. It was its own event (or rather, it facilitated the event) to start with for introducing certain Legendary Pokémon, but then it was implemented for common Pokémon. Further, it even encroached individual points events - becoming the "hospitality" format - and now the visit events that implement it occur together with team events, forcing it to be played to contribute to the latter. With all these things happening, it could be considered that the framework has become a new "standard" for events, and this situation seems important to be discussed.

It is also important to recall that One-Minute Cooking is real-time rather than turn-based (by moves) as it is for practically the rest of Café Remix. The fact that it provides this mode of play means that there is an incentive to continue to provide it and maintain a balance, like how Shuffle has both turn-based and real-time stages. It also serves as a means of competitive play, again like what Shuffle provides, although in Shuffle it can also be turn-based. Given the above, they are neat reasons for the framework to be maintained, in this way acting as a "standard" not only for competitive purposes but also for play modes in general, especially in similar vein as its predecessor.

At the same time, this "standardization" does seem to be a little heavy-handed. For those who have nothing else to do, for example after clearing all currently available main orders and raising Pokémon (which can happen), this seems to be fine. But for those who still have other things to do in the game (and outside, for that matter), it may be considered forced on. This is especially true given that recently, events featuring the framework have occurred one after another, seemingly without a break and forcing players on what feels like an eternal grind - although and even if grinding is the way of things in Café Remix in most cases. Yet it may not have to be as such.

Regardless, it is hard to deny that the framework has grown beyond the time (and the way) of its introduction way back when. It's just as defining for how Café Remix plays out in the current day and age as it was when it was introduced, as it's different enough from the typical and initial turn-based approach. For that reason, it shouldn't be a surprise that it is now prevalent for many events, though the scale and quantity of them vis-a-vis how things had been before its introduction does seem to be questionable. In that way, One-Minute Cooking is and has indeed become a new standard for Café Remix and just becomes something everyone needs to contend with, even now.

One year ago: Scoring in Pokémon Unite

Two years ago: Friendships Like Pokémon

Three years ago: Everyday Discoveries

Four years ago: Local EX Raid (and a Whirlwind), 4/19/2019

Five years ago: Cracking the Case

Six years ago: Oddest Things with Pikachu