Ramen Goddess (Ramen no Megami in Japanese) opens with you, the player, wandering the forest in a fit of depression, having lost all sense of purpose in your life. Among the trees, you encounter a goddess dressed in a Chinese dress who bestows upon you the Ramen Bowl of Hope, and it’s then that you have the epiphany that your true calling is to run your own ramen restaurant. You won’t be alone in this endeavor, though. From the Ramen Bowl of Hope is born a baby ramen goddess who’ll be with you as you open your business. Depending on the culinary choices you make, she’ll mature in different ways, evolving into a child goddess, then into either Kotteri or Sappari mid-level goddess (kotteri and sapari being the terms used to describe heavy or lightly flavored ramen broths, respectively) before reaching her final, mysterious form. Along the way you’ll have to deal with picky customers who request specific types of broth and noodle firmness, the latter of which requires precise timing of how long you boil the ramen.