Players, the cherry blossom season has returned due to Quickspin and a new installment of a fan favorite game. In Sakura Fortune 2, you’ll travel back to Japan during cherry blossom season for some gaming fun. During the Nara Period, some 1300 years ago, people started going for walks beneath the cherry blossoms, a tradition now known as Hanami. The cherry blossom theme was a huge hit in the first Sakura Fortune (2017) slot, and the sequel continues this success, if not improves upon it. If you need to find some serenity and relax in the great outdoors, then come with me as we explore Japan once more and discover the secrets of the modern Sakura.
Sakura, which translates to “cherry blossom,” is a common Japanese female given name. The protagonist of Sakura Fortune, however, could not be more unlike a sturdy blossom. This one can be found on reels two, three, and five of the game, and she will assist players generate winnings by cutting and slicing her way across the reels. Speaking of reels, Quickspin has changed the design so that players have a gaming panel that is 3-4-4-4-3 in configuration, thus exchanging the original game’s 40 paylines for 576 chances to win. The game grid’s size was reduced as well, allowing Quickspin to create a more picturesque background depicting Japanese temples set against a floral backdrop. It has a similar look and feel to the original Sakura game, but the audio-visual enhancements are striking.
Sakura Fortune 2 may be played for as little as 20 cents per spin all the way up to £/€100 per spin across mobile devices, tablets, and desktop computers. The second installment has a more unpredictable mathematical model and significantly increased maximum win. When engaged, one of three new feature purchase choices will change the RTP value, catering to gamers who like to cut to the chase. However, the potential return value of all except the most costly feature buy choice is lower than the original Sakura slot, but not by much. Three alternative RTP settings are shown below, with the default set to 96.03%.
Sakura Fortune 2 pays out for matching symbols in any row, beginning on the leftmost one. Even though there have been some cosmetic adjustments and symbol changes made, the paytable still seems like old territory. Low-paying symbols include four of the Asian coins with square cuts in them; higher-paying symbols include the Koi Statue, Jizo Statue, Yoshida, Tomoe, and Sensei, which pay between 0.8 and 6 times the wager for a combination of five symbols.
Sakura Fortune 2 Slot Machine Functions
If you’ve played the first installment, you’ll recognize many of the elements discussed here, but they’ve been tweaked as well. Sakura Wilds, Respins, Free Spins with Locked Wilds in the Fortune Bonus Game, and a Buy Feature can all be found here.
Wild Sakura
The key feature, Sakura Wilds, occur in the middle three reels (2, 3, and 4). There is a probability that if one or more partly covers the reel, they will eventually nudge to cover it entirely. A respin is granted with the triggering wilds still in place once a Sakura Wild fills a whole reel.
Lucky Free Turns
When 3 sword scatters appear in the middle reels, the first and final reels will respin while the scatters stay in place for the next spin. Players have a higher chance of getting more valuable free spins during the respin since only sword symbols show on the outer reels. Winners after the re-spin are those who:
If you get three sword scatters, you’ll get nine free spins in the Fortune Bonus Round.
If you get 4 sword scatters, you’ll activate 10 free games where you get 1 locked Sakura wild.
When you get 5 sword scatters, you’ll unlock 11 free games with 2 locked Sakura wilds.
Sakura Wilds always expand to fill a complete reel during free spins. As soon as this happens, the Sakura Wilds fill the whole reel and stay put until the movie ends. When there are three locked Sakura Wilds, all payouts are tripled.
Add-On Purchase
Depending on the state of the market, players may be able to purchase free spins rather than waiting for sword scatters to emerge. If you get 3, 4, or 5 sword scatters, you may choose from three payouts for 55x, 70x, or 320x your wager. The payout percentages for each choice are 96.24 percent, 96.4 percent, and 96.72 percent.
Final Say on Sakura Fortune 2 Slots
To stay loyal to the Sakura essence while amplifying the experience for today’s demanding gamblers, it appears Quickspin opted not to entirely revolutionize the game, which can be a tempting thing to do. There’s no denying that Sakura Fortune 2 is an advancement, with its sleeker visuals and more engaging gameplay luring fans of the cherry blossom genre back for more.
In a strange twist, the gameplay is the same as before yet more dangerous than ever. Instead than being completely redesigned, features have been refined to build exponentially on one another. On paper, bonuses have remained largely same, however a new x3 multiplier is awarded if three Sakura symbols lock into place during free spins. The increase in potential outcomes, from 40 to 576, is what speeds things up. The final step is to accumulate free spins bonuses. Rather from awarding 5 free games for hitting 3 scatters, as was the case in the original, up to 11 free games and two locked wilds can now be won at the start of the bonus round. The first two locked wilds did seem to occur on the third and fourth reel after playing through several bonus rounds, and the third locking wild was quite difficult to obtain. It does make sense, though, as unlocking all three Sakuras may completely change the game. After playing for a long and purchasing a number of upgrades, it becomes painfully evident that getting over 2-300x is difficult without a third locked Sakura wild. It is unlikely that even with all three, the claimed maximum potential of 19,000x will be reached.
Nonetheless, the stakes are higher and the playing experience is better than ever before. The original Sakura Fortune is a great game, but it’s getting on in age, and there are a few things about it that might turn off potential new players. Sakura Fortune 2 fixes these problems and streamlines the gameplay into a deluxe Asian-themed slot that successfully combines classic and modern slot mechanics.