Sumo Sumo

Sumo Sumo: Slot Overview

Some say it's not the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog. That may be true in some situations, but there is one arena of combat where size offers a distinct advantage. We're talking here about the Japanese full-contact sport of Sumo. Jump in this ring, and it'll pay to have put on a bit of bulk beforehand. For instance, the bigger contestant regularly exceed 200 kg with the biggest sumo wrestler to push opponents around was a chap called ōrora, who tipped the scales at a belt-busting 292.6 kg. Players keen to push big blokes around for a bit but don't pack the right amount of heft might be intrigued by ELK Studio's foray into the scene. The slot in question is called Sumo Sumo; let's take a look and see if it really is so good they had to name it twice.

For the base game, players hang out in some quiet back street, far removed from the cheering crowds of a sumo arena. Hard to make out why ELK Studios based the action there. Whatever the reason, Sumo Sumo's main game setting evoked memories of Street Fighter 2, a sort of blend of the E. Honda and Chun-Li stage, but without any cheering people. Perhaps, this is the entrance to some off-the-books sumo tournament, like the Hong Kong-based Kumite Frank Dux was led to in the film Bloodsport. The location changes for the Speedboat Bonus to one down by the water, while free spins remain in the same back alley spot.

For a game containing some big characters, it also boasts some big numbers. One which is not so big, relatively speaking, is the theoretical return to player value of 94% - there is only this one RTP model to the best of our knowledge. Meanwhile, volatility is high, as is max winning potential clocking in at 25,000x. Another familiar ELK Studios device is the X-iter feature buy menu, allowing eligible players to alternate between bonus mode and normal mode while bet levels vary from 20 p/c to $/€100 per spin.

Not a straight ways game; wins are awarded when matching symbols line up from the leftmost side and connect on adjacent reels either horizontally or diagonally. Played on a 5x5 game board, this system provides 259 ways to win. For symbols, we get some blocky fruit as the low pays, reflecting the famous square watermelons grown in Japan to better fit in the refrigerator. These are cherries, grapes, lemons, and watermelons, paying 0.5-2x the bet for five of a kind, then two sumo symbols, a red and a blue one, as the high pays worth 5-10x the bet for five of a kind. W's are the regular wild symbol, able to replace any of the paying symbols.

Sumo Sumo: Slot Features

There's almost enough going on here to fill a hungry sumo wrestler as Sumo Sumo has a rather busy menu of features, including Wild Sumo Stacks, Brawls, a Speedboat Bonus, free spins, and the X-iter menu.

Wild Sumo Stacks

Adjacent sumo symbols may jump on top of each other to create what is called a Wild Sumo Stack. This occurs when a win hits and the same sumo symbol types jump onto one position to create a stack or when sumo symbols jump onto an already made stack of the same type. These stacks take up a single position, are wild, and have a multiplier equal to the number of sumo symbols they contain. Multipliers apply to any win that passes through them and are applied multiplicatively if more than one Wild Sumo Stack is used. Moreover, when a stack is created, a respin is awarded, and the stack moves one step to the right. If they make it to the rightmost reel, they then start moving to the left. A no-win result with no Wild Sumo Stack addition ends the respins. Also, stacks spin-off from the first reel in the base game.

Brawls

During a respin, when opposite Wild Sumo Stack types are present on the same row, the one on the right runs at the one on the left to brawl. The largest stack wins the brawl, thereby having its multiplier multiplied by the value of the losing stack. If stacks are equal, a winner is picked at random. Losing stacks are removed from the reels. Brawls can change the direction of the stack.

Speedboat Bonus

Landing 3 Speedboat Bonus symbols activates the Speedboat Bonus. This one grants 3 spins on a 5x5 grid with a collection feature. A Speedboat symbol appears on the board with an x-bet value, and other positions are spun. The Speedboat can 'see' in a horizontal and vertical line from its position. If a new symbol lands in its line of sight, spins are reset, and the boat zooms to collect it. If at the new collection position, the Speedboat can then see symbols from there, horizontally or vertically, it will collect them as well, stopping when it no longer has any symbol in its line of vision. Symbols it can collect include:

• Swimmer Sumo – the Speedboat collects the value.
• Wakeboarder Sumo – adds its value to the Speedboat, then is attached to the Speedboat. Each new position it moves increases its x-bet value. New collected Wakeboards are not attached to the Speedboat when one has already been attached, but the step value of the connected Wakeboarder counter increases.
• Ramp – multiplies the Speedboat x-bet value and Wakeboarder counter by its value.
• Harpoonist/ Turbo Harpoonist – adds its value to the Speedboat and increases the value of uncollected Swimmers or Wakeboarders on landing and for subsequent spins when symbols are uncollected. The Turbo Harpoonist increases the values of other Swimmers or Wakeboarders each time the Speedboat collects a symbol.

When spins end, the value of the Speedboat's total collection is awarded, plus any value collected by a Wakeboard if one was attached.

Free Spins

Landing 2 scatter symbols awards players with 6 free spins. During this bonus round, Wild Sumo Stacks stay in place between free spins and do not spin-off on a loss or when reaching the first reel. Retriggering the bonus round awards an extra +6 free spins.

X-iter

If there, opening up the X-iter activates Bonus Mode with these selectable options:

• Bonus Hunt – 5x the bet for a game round with an increased chance of getting the Speedboat Bonus or free spins.
• Brawl Mode – 10x the bet for a game round with a guaranteed Brawl.
• Speedboat Bonus – 50x the bet for a game round that triggers this feature.
• Super Speedboat Bonus - 100x the bet for a game round that triggers this feature where all Harpoonists are of the Turbo variety.
• Free Spins – 500x for a game round that triggers free spins.

Sumo Sumo: Slot Verdict

In a world where more people are, according to organisations like the World Health Organization, bigger than they were in the past, it's interesting that a sport like sumo hasn't really taken off globally. Will this attitude possibly change after the release of Sumo Sumo, a slot which attempts to break down the sumo stereotype by showing these big guys not just pushing each other around but getting out on the water for a bit of jetting around? Maybe not, but it makes for interesting online slot subject matter.

Like a sumo wrestler's diet, there is a lot in Sumo Sumo to digest and apologies if the features section was a little long-winded. The game comes with quite a lot of rules and technicalities but is a lot more straightforward when viewed in action on the reels. Perhaps this mirrors the sport of Sumo itself? Essentially, what you want is for as many Wild Sumo Stacks to form and start wandering around the grid, brawling each other, and stacking as high as they can go. This proved to be quite entertaining, though more so in free spins since Wild Sumo Stacks do not spin-off in the bonus round, which led to some decent results. The Speedboat Bonus was quite unique in an intriguing way, too. The way the Speedboat only collects symbols it 'sees' adds a new dimension and can lead to some checkers-like action when it collects one symbol, then sees a new one from its new position, so it collects that and so on. Worth a look if you're in the mood for something you don't really see in a slot much or at all.

The Speedboat Bonus might have a quirkier quality, yet it was free spins that delivered better results; at least it did for us during testing. Free spins are where sizable stacks could form, tottering around the grid, occasionally knocking out wins with their wild multiplicative abilities. The sport of sumo, where big men push each other about while wearing rather revealing outfits, is not to all tastes, and neither is Sumo Sumo likely to be. It's worth checking out, though, to experience one or two novelties which push online gaming to places it hasn't really been before.