Sakura Fortune Epic Bloom

Sakura Fortune Epic Bloom: Slot Overview

The Asian-themed slot category, much like the continent itself, is a heavily populated one that consistently attracts the attention of players and game makers alike. With such a sea of choices, it can be hard to stand out, for, after all, what is one individual grain of rice in a paddy field? One studio that has made a lasting impression in this venerable slot genre is Swedish game developer Quickspin, with slots such as Eastern Emeralds and the flower petal storm Sakura Fortune. Both of those slots have been revisited over the years, the studio releasing a Megaways version of Eastern Emerald, for example, and it has now turned its attention to Sakura, designing a third instalment titled Sakura Fortune Epic Bloom.

Where Sakura Fortune 2 played around with the reel configuration, emphasising the 4-position high Princess Wilds on the middle three reels and hitting them with a ways to win pay system, Sakura Fortune Epic Bloom circles things back to the original. In some ways, such as being played on a 5x4 gaming grid with 40 paylines rather than ways, which feels both like a step backwards and a cosy nod to the past, though more the latter than the former. The game remains absolutely drenched in cherry blossoms, the music is stirring, and the visuals are a riot of Asian culture, making Sakura Fortune Epic Bloom feel like a warm, fuzzy walk down memory lane.

Gamblers have way more betting options now than they did in the original game. As well as choosing a stake of 20 c $/€200, there are two bonus buys and an Extra Bet. The Extra Bet can be activated in the base game. When activated, the Extra Bet increases the chance of landing Princess Wilds, triggering free spins and Epic Bloom Free Spins. The cost for this is a doubling of the stake. Sakura Fortune Epic Bloom is available in a 96% RTP version as well as lower return versions and is highly volatile.

Coins with squares cut out of the middle are Sakura Fortune Epic Bloom's 4 low symbols. A lion, a dragon, a young man, and a woman are the mediums, while an older gentleman is the lone high-pay symbol. Winning lines of 5 matching low symbols pay 1 times the bet, the mediums award 2-5 times the bet, and 5 of the highs pay out 10x the bet. A line of all 5 wilds is worth 20x the stake.

Sakura Fortune Epic Bloom: Slot Features

For the most part, the features in Sakura Fortune Epic Bloom will feel familiar to players who played either of the previous Sakura Fortune slots. There are new bits to discover, though, so it's not like we've got a dry rerun on our hands here.

Nudge

The 4x1 Princess symbol is wild, so it substitutes for any regular paying symbols. It is also used as a form of bonus symbol to trigger free spins when fully stacked. Princess Wilds are present on all reels. When a Princess Wild is partially visible, it may nudge to cover the whole reel and trigger a Sakura Fortune Respin. Princess Wilds cannot land on the same reels as bonus scatters or super bonus scatters.

Sakura Fortune Respins

A fully stacked Princess Wild landing or nudging in triggers a respin. Landing or nudging an additional Princess Wild awards an extra +1 respin per Princess Wild. Bonus scatters and super bonus scatters are sticky during respins.

Free Spins

Landing 3, 4, or 5 Princess Wilds or bonus scatter symbols awards 8, 12, or 16 free spins, respectively. Bonus scatter symbols are present only in the base game and land on any reel. Landing a Princess Wild in free spins will expand it to cover the whole reel and trigger a respin. Expanded Princess Wilds lock into position for the full duration of the feature and award +1 free spin.

Epic Bloom Free Spins

Landing 1 super bonus scatter symbol plus 2, 3, or 4 Princess Wilds or bonus scatter symbols awards 8, 12, or 16 Epic Bloom Free Spins. Super bonus scatter symbols are present only in the base game and land on the rightmost reel. The rules of regular free spins apply here, plus, in this feature, when 1 or more Princess Wilds covers an entire reel, a multiplier of x2, x3, x5, or x100 is chosen to be applied to the spin and its respin. If a new Princess Wild lands on a respin, a greater or equal new multiplier is chosen.

Gamble & Feature Buy

Players can gamble and win up to 16 free spins when free spins are triggered by 3 or 4 scatters and Princess Wild symbols. It is also possible to gamble and win up to 16 Epic Bloom Free Spins when the feature is triggered by 2 or 3 scatters or Princess Wilds plus a Super Bonus symbol. For 80x the bet, payers can buy entry to free spins with 3 scatter symbols. Another option is spending 160x the bet to buy Epic Bloom Free Spins with 2+ scatter symbols and 1 Super Bonus symbol.

Sakura Fortune Epic Bloom: Slot Verdict

As mentioned, Sakura Fortune Epic Bloom felt like a return to the original slot's roots rather than a springboard into an unknown future. Not in a negative way, though; Quickspin hasn't just rested on past glories here but rather used previous games (mostly the first one) to build something bigger and more commanding. No gentle stroll throughout Osaka Castle Park to see all the pretty pink petals is this. Sakura Fortune Epic Bloom means business and diverges from the original in several key ways.

One is by triggering respins when just a single Princess Wild lands and covers its reel. This links to the Extra Bet since it technically pops more Princess Wild symbols on the reels, not forgetting that activating it doubles the bet. Regular free spins are basically the same in principle - lock Princess Wilds to the reels in the hopes of getting more than 1 in strategic positions in order to link as many wins as possible. This makes the super bonus symbol a coveted symbol since Epic Bloom Free Spins are where multipliers become a possibility, and the first look at this feature produced a hearty 735x the bet win, which was encouraging.

Epic Bloom Free Spins obviously benefit from the inclusion of the random multiplier when at least one Princess Wild locks and respins occur. Yep, the randomness of the multiplier is a tease because the bulkiest x100 is probably not going to be the easiest thing to get. Too bad the multiplier is not active on every free spin, too, but only the spin when a full reel Princess Wild occurs and resulting respins. Getting stuck on x1 can be frustrating.

Still, it's exciting to know an x100 is a possibility, and however this may be achieved, Sakura Fortune Epic Bloom boasts a 10,000x the bet win cap, putting it between the paltry by today's standards 1,023x of the original and the 19,664x of the sequel. All in all, Sakura Fortune Epic Bloom is an entertaining return to the series' roots, with an injection of a substantial amount of extra harmonious grunt.