i love this game even though I am dreadful at the minigames haha, still haven't figured out how to obtain chests and cool outfits, any advice would be appreciated lol !

thank you! from the main menu (the street with the buildings) you can walk downwards off the screen to enter exploration mode. then by completing certain goals (eg, play 100 minigames, eat 3 x 5 star mealmates, etc) you can progress through the world and find hidden chests. once you find some chests you can go to the locksmith (in main menu) and pay him to open them for you, which will unlock goodies.

Thanks for the reply! I had no idea that area was a thing haha! I've unlocked heaps of stuff now but can't figure out how to eat my mealmate! XD 

Edit: Holy shit I figured it out I just need to feed my mealmate lots of nice things and it'll become 5 star sweet