Sonic Mania PC Game Review

Title: Sonic Mania

Genre: Platform Game

Publisher: Sega

Platform: PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One

Where to Get: I got Sonic Mania and a buncha other Sonic games in a humble bundle, but if that bundle is over you can find the games on amazon or steam.

Release Date: 2017

Overview: Sonic Mania is one of the newest Sonic Games, however, it pays homage to 90s oldschool Sonic and is very well received by 30+ year old Sonic fans, as well as a whole new generation of gamers.

Gameplay: 10/10 – Sonic is back in a new game, with levels re-designed from the original Sonic games as well as all new levels created for Sonic Mania. You can play as Sonic, Tails, or several “new” characters first appearing in Knuckles Chaotix or Arcade exclusive sonic games. To play the game as other characters you will have to select the characters at the starting screen – you cannot switch characters within the game.

The levels are fun and fast and action packed. You run, jump, spin, and dash through the levels. There are many different paths in each level and many hidden objects, including entrances to bonus stages to capture chaos diamonds. Overall the gameplay is fun and full of nostalgia

Story: 1/10 Sonic isn’t a story-centric game, and it doesn’t really need a story. Timeline wise, it is said to take place after the events in Sonic and Knuckles. Lack of story does not hurt this game, but if you’re looking for a game with a great story, this is not it.

Characters: 5/10 – I enjoyed seeing Sonic and his friends return in an all new game, and it definitely brought back nostalgia and my childhood, but without a story, there’s no real personality or character development here. Once again though, games like this do not really need character development to be central to the player’s enjoyment of the game.

Graphics: 7/10 – The graphics are done in a bright colorful oldschool pixel style. This is not for everyone. Clearly this game is wanting to appeal to old school gamers who grew up with the original Sonic. Me? I liked it. But your opinion may be different. I did see some anti-aliasing and rough edges as to be expected in pixel style games, mostly especially when playing in fullscreen mode. There are different filters and options you can enable in settings to try to minimize this jagged-edginess.

Music: 10/10 – The music is definitely old school too and a great homage to the Sega Genesis Sonic games, which always had some pretty fun music.

Replay Value: 10/10 – The replay value is high because there are different characters that you can play as, each with their own unique abilities that make taking different paths through the same levels very unique experiences. No two characters play exactly alike. There are also different gameplay modes such as time attack and multiplayer competitions.

Nostalgia: 10/10 – This game set out to be a tribute game to the 90’s Sonic games, and it succeeds at this in an unprecedented way, welcoming back into the fold Sega fans who felt disappointed with the past several Sonic games.

Geeky: 5/5 – Nostalgia and pixel graphics and great soundtrack that 90s kids will love, make Sonic Mania chock full of nostalgia.

Sweetie: 2/5 – Lack of story and lack of character dialogue make this a game that is definitely outside the norm of what I normally enjoy or normally review here. However I think the nostalgia and cute/colorful graphics and anthropomorphic animal characters will appeal to most of my readers, who are already probably familiar with the Sonic franchise.

Overall Score: 60/80 75 C “Good Game for Girls”

Sonic Mania PC Game Review was originally published on

Helix Waltz Review Casual Fashion Dressup Mobile Game Like Nikki Dressup Queen

Title: Helix Waltz

Publisher: Ubeejoy

Release Date:

Genre: Dressup Otome Game

Platform: IOS and Android

Price: Free with optional in-game purchases

Where to Get: https://waltz.ubeejoy.com/

Overview: 10/10 Helix Waltz is very similar to Love Nikki Dressup Queen or Romance Diary with a few differences. It has a slightly more detailed / less “cutesy” artstyle, and more focus on story. In fact, before getting the meat of the game, you must go through a very lengthy tutorial, that for a mobile/casual gamer will probably take more than a few days to complete. In this tutorial you learn a lot about the story and setting of Helix Waltz. This is where we see the majority of the differences that set Helix Waltz apart from other similar Dressup Games.

Story: 10/10 Helix Waltz puts you in role of a young orphan adopted by a (former) noble lady, and being groomed for a life of royalty. A strange visitor also enlists your help as a spy amongst the noble court. Your job is to chat with other nobles, gather intel as a spy, and impress them with your fashion to work your way back as a noble family. There is definitely more backstory than found in most dressup games, and that story is tied to the gameplay too.

Gameplay: 9/10 Like Love Nikki Dressup Queen and Romance Diary, you compete in Fashion Battles with NPCs to advance through various story stages. You collect various items which you layer and equip together to create unique looks. Each level requires certain styles or colors of clothing to get the best score possible. Such as equipping a dress, or tops and bottoms, along with shoes, stockings, jewelry, necklaces, rings, bracelets, hairstyles, makeup, and so on.

helix waltz anime dressup game

Unlike Love Nikki Dressup Queen or Romance Diary, the majority of the game is focused on navigating through the story and playing against NPCs. Until you reach at least level 19 when you finally complete the lengthy tutorial. Playing 2-3 hours a day, it will still take a few days to complete all of the tutorial missions to get to the free play mode. I have yet to complete the tutorial so I’m not sure if Helix Waltz allows you to compete against other human players as well.

helix waltz anime dressup game

Also unlike Love Nikki Dressup Queen, but similar to Romance Diary, Helix Waltz focuses more on Otome aspects, but not so much on romance. Instead it has a very interesting story of intrigue and deceit. At the waltzes, you can search for specific NPCs or you can wander about and bump into random NPCs, you can select various things to chat about and choose your responses which will affect the NPC’s moods and overall opinion of you. You can also challenge the NPCs to a fashion battle, or you can eavesdrop on NPCs to gain valuable intel.

I enjoyed the unique approach in both story and gameplay to focus more on infiltrating the noble court and gathering intel. I didn’t enjoy the linear nature of the game in the early levels and lengthy tutorial.

helix waltz anime dressup game

Artwork: 4/5 – The artwork is very detailed, but to me it isn’t as cute as similar games like Love Nikki Dressup Queen or Romance Diary. This may just be down to personal tastes. I’m sure some of my readers prefer the art style of Helix Waltz over the other games as well.

Music: 4/5 – The classical music fits the game’s theme very well. You also have the option to change the music later in the game.

helix waltz anime dressup game

Geeky: 2/5 – Although the aspects of infiltration and espionage add a new exciting twist to the traditional gameplay and story mechanics of most dressup games, this game is still for casual female gamers and not likely to appeal to a wider audience.

Sweetie: 4/5 – Helix Waltz loses a point for slightly less appealing artwork (compared to similar dressup games). Otherwise, those who enjoy dressup games, and a good story, with strong female lead, are sure to enjoy Helix Waltz.

Overall Score: 43/50 86% B “Very Good Game For Girls”

Helix Waltz Review Casual Fashion Dressup Mobile Game Like Nikki Dressup Queen was originally published on

3 Must Watch Anime and Manga About Gambling With a Twist

There are anime about almost any imaginable topic so it’s not really surprising there also exists anime about gambling as well. Of course, being anime and all, it’s natural that there is a twist to each of these series. While there are the more traditional settings of high stakes casinos, there are also some very unconventional settings as well such as the first anime on the list which takes place in a highschool, or the second anime on the list which uses magic abilities and special cards. These twists are why these three anime are must watch faves.

1.) Kakagurui – Compulsive Gambler

This anime is unique because it takes place in a very corrupt highschool where students enjoy betting and wagering with other students. However, there’s more than money at stake, as those who cannot repay their debts before graduation receive “Life Schedules” which determine everything from their career, to who they will marry and have children with.

However, there exists a student who doesn’t seek to gain anything, and merely enjoys gambling for the thrill. She also has a unique ability to see past scams and quickly begins to disrupt the schemes of the student council.

My favorite things about this anime are the strong female lead, and all of the drama and slice of life antics between the characters. It might be normal to expect this kind of high stakes excitement from the top10-casinosites.net but not from a highschool setting. This makes for a very interesting dynamic.

By the way, the manga is half off on Amazon and as of this blog post, it will still arrive before Christmas. Check it out here. https://www.amazon.com Manga makes great stocking stuffers for any geeks on your list and at just $6 a volume, it’s easy on your wallet too, which leaves you more money for some gambling of your own, if you’re into high stake wagers yourself.

2.) Rio: Rainbow Gate

Rio: Rainbow Gate, unlike our previous anime, takes place in an island casino resort. The main character is a popular casino dealer believed to bring good luck to gamblers earning her the nickname the Goddess of Victory. Rio is discovered to be a Gate Holder, a dealer who holds ones of 13 legendary Gate cards. Whoever can collect all 13 cards will be the most valuable casino dealer. In order to obtain all 13 cards. Rio takes part in special card games called Gate Battles against the other dealers in hopes of defeating them to obtain their Gate cards in order to become the most valuable casino dealer in the world.

The Gate Battles and Ladder scheme remind me a lot of Pokemon and Pokemon Battles like when they challenge the gym leaders for their badges. It gives off kinda the same concept. It is exciting to watch, even though it is predictable and we all know or expect the main characters to be the champion.

3.) Liar Game

There is no anime adaptation but there is a live action adaptation of this popular manga. You can watch the live action Liar Game on Viki.

What if you received a package with $1,000,000 and a note forcing you to become a contestant in a dangerous high stakes game. That is exactly what happens to poor, naive college girl, Nao Kanzaki in the Liar Game. The Liar game encourages you to lie and cheat to obtain your opponent’s money. Nao loses her money because she is too trusting.

Needing to find a way to win back her money, she seeks help from someone her exact opposite, a skilled con artist named Shinichi Akiyama. After winning back her money, the two agree to continue playing the Liar Game to advance through the tournament and free their opponents from their debts, with the ultimate goal being to take down the Liar Game organization once and for all.

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What are some of your favorite casino or gambling themed anime? Leave a comment below.

3 Must Watch Anime and Manga About Gambling With a Twist was originally published on

3 Important Tips to Record High Quality Gameplay Videos

Recording gameplay videos has become much easier nowadays with many different tools making it possible. However the quality of the gameplay videos that you’re able to record can differ greatly, with some looking smooth and crisp while others look blurry and stutter a lot.

To start recording high quality gameplay videos, there are a few tips in particular that you should try to use:

• Set the frame rate to high

Gameplay videos tend to have a lot of movement, which is why recording at high frame rates can improve their quality dramatically. A higher frame rate will make the movement in the video look smoother and much more fluid, and you should try to set the frame rate to at least 30, or 60 if possible.

Keep in mind that recording gameplay videos at high frame rates does require more processing power – and the video file size will be larger as well.

• Record in HD resolutions

The ‘standard’ for high quality videos nowadays is 1080p Full HD – so you should try to record in it wherever possible. If your computer supports it you can record in 4K, but that is definitely going to take a lot more processing power.

In order to truly record in HD, your game needs to be running in HD as well – otherwise the difference won’t be as noticeable.

• Optimize the graphics settings

As you may have noticed recording at high frame rates and in HD will place a certain load on your computer – and you’ll need to optimize your graphics settings accordingly. After all there is no point in running your game at the highest possible graphics settings if its performance is poor when you start recording.

Taking steps to optimize the game performance will help you to record videos in much better quality overall. Be sure to carry out a test recording beforehand, to make sure that your game performance is steady even while the recording is ongoing.

Not all game screen recorder software will let you adjust the recording parameters mentioned above, so it is important that you find one that does. For example you could try Gecata by Movavi if you require one that will let you adjust the recording parameters based on your needs.

On top of the tips listed above it is important that you encode it using the right settings after the recording is complete. Ideally it is best to encode the video in the same resolution and frame rate that it was recorded in, and use an appropriate bitrate.

By following all of these tips, you should end up with gameplay videos that have far better quality than previously. At the end of the day the quality will be affected by the hardware that you’re using, but that is unavoidable. That being said – if you find that you still have difficulty, it may be a good idea to consider upgrading your computer so that you can run games and record better quality videos at the same time.

3 Important Tips to Record High Quality Gameplay Videos was originally published on