Sakura Fortune 2

Sakura Fortune 2: Slot Overview

Cherry blossom season has bloomed again, players, thanks to the folks at Quickspin and a sequel to one of their most beloved games. Sakura Fortune 2 sees a return to the Land of the Rising sun for a spot of gaming amidst one of the most delightful times of the year. Known locally as Hanami, walking under the cherry blossoms is a custom that began during the Nara Period around 1300 years ago. The blossom angle worked like a charm in the original Sakura Fortune (2017) slot, and to calm fans from the start, it works just as well, if not better in the sequel. If you're ready to get a bit zen, chill out in nature, take a load off, let's wander the land of Japan once again and see what makes the new Sakura tick.

Sakura means 'cherry blossom' and is also a very popular name for girls in Japan. However, the heroine of Sakura Fortune is as far from being a delicate flower as she could possibly be. This one dominates the middle three reels of this 5-reel game, hacking and slashing her way to help players build wins. Speaking of reels, Quickspin has altered the layout, so players now get a 3-4-4-4-3 arranged game panel, effectively swapping the 40 paylines of the original game for 576 ways to win. The game grid has also been shrunk in size, so Quickspin could paint a prettier picture of Japan in the background displaying temple-like structures in nature, drenched in cherry blossoms. It looks and feels familiar, yet when you go back to check on the first Sakura game, the audio-visual upgrades are immediately apparent.

Playable on smartphones, tablets, or desktops, Sakura Fortune 2 has a stake range of 20 p/c to $/€100 per spin. The sequel comes with a more volatile math model than before while packing way higher max win to boot. There are three new feature buy options for players who prefer slicing their way to the chase, which also affects the RTP value when activated. However, all but the most expensive feature buy option has a theoretical return value that is less than the original Sakura slot, though not by much. The default value is 96.03%, the other three RTP values we list below.

In Sakura Fortune 2, wins occur when matching symbols land left to right, in any row, starting from the leftmost side. The paytable feels familiar too, yet a cosmetic change and a few symbol swaps make it fresh. Low pays are four of those Asian coins with squares cut in them, while the rest are Koi Statues, Jizo Statues, Yoshida, Tomoe, and Sensei, worth 0.8 to 6 times the stake for a five symbols combination win.

Sakura Fortune 2: Slot Features

If you've played part one, many of the features covered in this section will be the same, though they have been shaken up as well. Here we find Sakura Wilds, Respins, Fortune Free Spins with Locked Wilds, and the Buy Feature

Sakura Wild

Sakura Wilds are central to the action and appear on the middle three reels (2, 3, or 4). When one or more lands partially in view, there is a chance they nudge to cover the whole reel. Each Sakura Wild covering all positions on a reel awards a respin with the triggering wilds locked in place.

Fortune Free Spins

Landing 3 sword scatters on the middle reels causes the first and last reel to respin, while the scatters remain locked in place. Only swords appear on the outer reels during the respin to give players the chance of winning better free spins. After the respin, players win:

• 3 sword scatters award 9 Fortune Free Spins.
• 4 sword scatters award 10 Fortune Free Spins with 1 locked Sakura Wild.
• 5 sword scatters award 11 Fortune Free Spins with 2 locked Sakura Wild.

During free spins, whenever a Sakura Wild hits, it always nudges to cover the entire reel. When it does so, each full reel Sakura Wild locks in place until the feature comes to an end. Having 3 locked Sakura Wilds multiplies all wins by x3.

Buy Feature

Depending on the market, players can buy free spins rather than rely on sword scatters to appear naturally. There are three choices costing 55x, 70x, or 320x the bet to land 3, 4, or 5 sword scatters. Each option has a return value of 96.24%, 96.44%, or 96.72%, respectively.

Sakura Fortune 2: Slot Verdict

It seems Quickspin decided to not completely revolutionise the whole game, which can be a tempting thing to do, but instead have polished a graphic here, tightened a feature there to hold true to the Sakura spirit while ramping up the experience for the modern demanding gambler. Sakura Fortune 2 is a clear upgrade, though, no question about that with an improved look and feel pulling players back for cherry blossom season one more time.

The gameplay has paradoxically remained largely unchanged while being extra lethal at the same time. Features have been tinkered with rather than overhauled, and now build on each other in a more exponential way. On paper, extras have pretty much stayed the same with the addition of an x3 multiplier when three Sakura's have locked during free spins. What accelerates things is having so many additional ways to win – from 40 up to 576. The final ingredient is winning extra free spins. Where the original awarded 5 for landing three scatters, it's now possible to start the bonus round with up to 11 free spins, not to mention up to two starting locked wilds. After ploughing through a bunch of bonus rounds, the starting two locked wilds did tend to appear mostly on the 3rd and 4th reel and landing the third locking wild was a major challenge. It makes sense, though, because having three locked Sakuras can blow the game wide open. Having played it for a while and bought a bunch of features, it becomes painfully obvious that without a third locked Sakura wild it's hard to get past 2-300x. Even with all three of them, it's a bit hard to imagine it's actually possible to get anywhere near its stated 19,000x max potential.

Still, there's much more to play for this time around, and the best part is the actual playing part is better than ever. Not to take anything away from the original Sakura Fortune, but it is getting on, and several things about the original might well put off new players. Sakura Fortune 2 addresses all those issues while tightening the whole experience into a lush Asian themed slot that mixes tradition with contemporary gaming.