Rising Samurai

Rising Samurai Overview

Created by iSoftBet, Rising Samurai takes players to a cartoon Japan where highly decorated Samurai warriors grace the reels brandishing elegant Katana swords. This slot feels like a colour manga comic brought to life in slot form, with exciting characters and an amazing setting. Mechanically this is a five-reel, expanding reels game, meaning that the number of reels in this game can change thanks to the influence of the features. The top win available from one spin here is 16,215x the stake. The RTP is 95.98%.
There are basically two features in this game.

The main one is the hold and win bonus game which is triggered when players land five or more of the coin symbols in view simultaneously. When this happens, three re-spins are granted with the triggering coins held in place. Every new coin that falls onto the reels refills the re-spins and has a cash value attached. All cash values are added up and paid out at the end of the feature. The other feature is the free spins game triggered when players land three or more of the free spin scatters. Reels can be expanded in both bonus games. All features will be explained in more detail later on in the review.

Theme and Symbols

The Samurai aesthetic has been used in many different mediums spanning Hollywood to console games. The main elements that designers pick up on are the intricate and colourful armour, the deadly swords and the amazing Japanese settings - and this game is no different. As is usually the ploy of designers, they have taken this look and dialled it up to a very saturated version of itself to make it more appealing. The high-quality animations, excellent level of detail and fun and thematically harmonious soundtrack certainly make for an entertaining look and feel to this game.

The background for Rising Samurai is a rural Japanese town in the springtime. The game takes players to the courtyard of a small hamlet surrounded by beautiful cherry blossom trees laden with stunning and delicate blossoms. Behind these iconic trees is a range of misty mountains fading into the very depths of the image. The entire sky has been turned a pinkish hue to reflect the blossoms on the trees. The whole scene is incredibly appealing and powerfully Japanese.

The playing board for this game is a wooden pagoda-shaped construction with a wealth of detail carved into the various frames.
The symbols are split into low-paying, high-paying and special symbols. The low-paying symbols are the J, Q, K and A in playing card royals. The maximum payout you can get with these symbols is 3x the bet for the A symbol. The higher paying symbols start with the four different warriors. The top payout for these is 12.5x the stake for the top combination achieved with the red Samurai. Finally, the specials are the golden coin Hold and win symbol, and the free spins scatter.

Game Play

Rising Samurai is played on a 5-reel, expanding row pay machine, meaning that the number of reels changes when in the free spins or hold and win game. This means pay-lines also change from spin to spin. The maximum that can be available is 3,087. To win combinations, players must land three or more matching symbols on pay lines moving from left to right, starting from the leftmost reel.

The betting range for Rising Samurai is 20p to £100 per spin. To adjust their bet levels, players can toggle their stake up and down using the tool located at the bottom left-hand side of the screen.
Further information, including a short tutorial and a display of the paytable, can be found via the menu button in the right-hand corner of the screen. The spin and auto spin buttons are located in the centre of the screen.
Volatility for this slot is rated in the medium range. The return to player percentage for Rising Samurai is 95.98%, which is below average. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 16,215x your stake.

Features

The main feature in this game is the hold and win feature triggered when players land five or more of the golden ring symbols on the reels at the same time. Do this, and you will be taken to a new board with three re-spins to play with, with the winning symbols sticking to their original positions. Only coins fall on this new board, each carrying a cash value or a jackpot value. Land enough of any jackpot symbol, and the corresponding jackpots will be paid out to you. Every time a new symbol falls, your re-spins are refilled. The feature ends when all positions are full, or you run out of re-spins. When this happens, all visible values on the coins are added up and paid out to you in one lump sum.
In addition, special Samurai Booster Coins may land - these symbols do not stick in place. One is the Arrow Booster Coins, which add an extra row on reels 2, 3, and 4. The other one, 'X' Booster Coins, increases the win multiplier by +1, and all prizes are multiplied by this value at the end of the feature. Once three of the same Coin Boosters have been collected, the specific Booster type will no longer land in the game.
The other feature in this game is the free spins game triggered when players land three or more free spin symbols. The more scatters you land, the more free spins are awarded to you. Samurai boosters are also available in this game. You cannot retrigger the free spins game.

Conclusion

A Samurai slot to remember, RisingSamurai is a really fun game with some top features. The visual and graphic quality of this game is amazing too. It's a shame about the relatively low RTP and low top win, however, which sees players not seeing much in terms of returns.