Tropicool 3

Tropicool 3: Slot Overview

Swedish software provider ELK Studios is a creative lot, and one of the more out-there game worlds it has come up with is one originally populated by two birds known as Tony Toucan and Fiona Flamingo. Both were fed up with migrating each year, so they created their own little beachside paradise… in Antarctica. Not sure about the icy weather, but it would be a good place to go if you like avoiding crowds. Tropicool 2 introduced a sloth named Elmo, and we've now got part three in the series to contend with. Tropicool 3 is the name, and it keeps to the cold theme while bringing in a different set of mechanics.

We say different, yet the tilted columns of symbols and the gravity effect have been lifted straight out of ELK's Cygnus range. The scene has changed too. There's still loads of snow about the place, and the overall sensorial effect is a chilly one, but it looks like we're in Las Vegas this time around rather than the southernmost parts of the world. No doubt there is a back story that explains everything, except it was not available at the time of review. Players are free to make one up. Maybe Tony and Fiona came to get hitched? Maybe Elmo snaked Fiona away from Tony, and the two of them eloped to Vegas for a shotgun wedding? Hey, feel free to go wild with the story.

Hitting the spin button drops 6 columns onto the grid, each column holding 6 symbols, where there are up to 46,656 connecting paylines. Wins pay when matching symbols are in at least 3 adjacent columns starting from the leftmost side, and an Avalanche feature triggers when wins appear. Tropicool 3 is a medium-high volatile slot, carrying ELK Studios' goto RTP figure of 94%. This return value remains the same whether activating bonuses from the X-iter or straight wagering 20 c to $/€100 per game round.

Symbols time, and for low pays, Tropicool 3 has four fruits encased in ice worth 0.25x the bet for 6 OAK, then a lizard, a snake, a scarab, and birds icons as the higher paying symbols. Hitting 6 matching high pays awards 0.5 to 5 times the bet. Two wild symbols appear in the game – regular wilds, and locked wilds, both substitute any regular pay symbols. The difference is a locked wild lasts for 3 wins before it is removed by the Avalanche mechanic.

Tropicool 3: Slot Features

Tropicool 3's list of extras includes the Cool Reel, Elmo's Revenge, feature symbols, a free spins bonus game, a super free spins bonus game, and X-iter feature buys.

Cool Reel

The Cool Reel on top of the grid has 3 rows with feature symbols, scatter symbols, and empty symbols. Feature symbols are activated when they drop into the main grid. A game round starts with new symbols dropping onto the main grid and new feature symbols sliding in from the right on the Cool Reel. Each winning combination on the main grid is paid, and the symbols (not unspent Locked Wilds) are removed from the reels; then, the remaining symbols drop vertically with gravity. The symbols from the first row on the Cool Reel above the winning columns drop onto the main grid and roll as far left or right as possible. Gravity also applies to the Cool Reel, which gets refilled from the right. Any new wins are paid, and the Avalanche process repeats until no more wins occur.

Elmo's Revenge

When an Elmo symbol reaches the leftmost column, the Elmo's Revenge feature triggers by dropping the complete Cool Reel onto the main grid. If the Elmo symbol ends on the bottom of columns 2-6, it is removed and dropped down again in the column one step to the left if possible.

Feature Symbols

The feature symbols available in the game are these:

• Multiplier Symbol – increases the win multiplier by x1 to x25 when dropping down from the Cool Reel.
• Row Swap – replaces payout symbols on a line with the same symbol.
• Mystery – all reveal a common pay symbol at the end of a drop.

Bonus Game

Hitting 3, 4, 5, or 6 bonus scatter symbols awards players 6, 9, 12, or 15 free spins, respectively. During free spins, the Cool Reel is repopulated with new feature symbols for each free drop, and the win multiplier is sticky between drops. Locked wilds remain on the grid between drops till fully used. Getting Extra Drop symbols from the Cool Reel adds +1, +2, or +3 extra drops. In the base game, when 3 or more scatters are in view at the same time as an Elmo symbol, the super bonus game is awarded. In this round, 1 Elmo symbol is always in play on the main grid.

X-iter

From the X-iter menu, players have access to these bonus modes:

• Bonus Hunt – 3x the bet buys a game round with more than triple the chance of triggering the bonus game.
• Locked Wilds – 25x the bet buys a game round with 3 locked wilds dropping on the grid.
• Elmo's Revenge – 50x the bet buys a game round with a guaranteed Elmo symbol.
• Bonus Game – 100x the bet.
• Super Bonus Game – 500x the bet.

Tropicool 3: Slot Verdict

Pretty much all of Tropicool 3's features have a familiar ring to them, but ELK Studios has made tweaks and alterations around the edges to bring something relatively new to the table. The gameplay, in general, feels like the studio has sewed together parts of the Tropicool line with parts of the Cygnus range into one odd, oddly good at times slot. Thematically, Tropicool 3 makes for an unusual break from the previous two games, adding quirk to a series that was already pretty out there. Frozen Vegas or a Vegas-like location with Ancient Egyptian overtones, huh? Okay, why not.

Shame the animal characters don't really make much of an appearance on the screen or grid like they did in the original release, yet Tropicool fans are compensated by a new way of mechanically experiencing the game. It's not entirely new-new, obviously, since we've seen this mechanism power the Cygnus range. But it gels well with the Cool Reel and the goodies the feature reel is able to unload onto the grid. Elmo's Revenge becomes one of the most desirable outcomes then, and adds fire to the super bonus game since an Elmo symbol is visible the whole time. Yes, the gravity effect can be frustrating when it gravities in annoying ways, yet potentially highly satisfying when chains of symbols plop around the grid just the way you wanted them to. Hitting full satisfaction levels would mean achieving Tropicool 3's maximum winning potential of 25,000x the bet - this is a lot higher than it was in the first release, though the same as Tropicool 2.

All in all, the meeting of Tropicool and Cygnus was, for the most part, a success. Each component brings its particular way of tantalising and/or rewarding to the mix, making for not exactly a raging hotbed of innovation but original in that the combination of mechanics gives players hungry for novelty an option to try. Tropicool was a fine game, though the blending of two forms rather than emphasising one or the other, at times, threatened to dilute rather than enhance the final product, losing some individuality in the process.