Sakura Fortune

Sakura Fortune: Slot Overview

In Japan, Sakura translates to 'cherry blossom' and is a very common female name. The best time to visit the country to catch cherry blossoms in bloom is said to be April when many people engage in the pastime of Hanami, or 'viewing flowers'. Not only are cherry blossoms major eye candy, but for some people they have a deeper significance, as their fleeting loveliness has come to symbolise the nature of life. They're here; they blooms, then they fade away, perhaps to return in another epoch or growth cycle. In Sakura Fortune, developer Quickspin recreates Japan's cherry blossom season in all its floral glory. This online slot provides a traditional trip to the Land of the Rising Sun, replete with stacked wilds, sticky wilds, nudges, respins, and free spins.

Sakura Fortune is a full-blown Asian extravaganza, played on a 5-reel, 3-row game grid, crisscrossed with 40 fixed paylines. Misty, mysterious cherry blossoms line the edges of the screen, setting the scene, and the whole view screams Eastern exoticism. Players keen on Asian themed slots are spoiled for choice when it comes to Chinese subject matter, though not so much Japanese for whatever reason. However, Quickspin has captured the light, delicate nature Japan is famous for through their choice of colour and handling of details large and small, teeing up the game to see what happens next.

Any device is suitable for playing Sakura Fortune on, where bets can be set from 20 p/c to 2$/€100 per spin. One thing to be aware of about Sakura Fortune is that Quickspin released another version of the game with a drastically reduced RTP. Take a few moments to check the help file before playing to make sure you've got the most generous version, which has a theoretical payout value of 96.58%. Sakura Fortune is a slightly older game, too, so the potential isn't wow by modern standards at 1,023x (in a single spin), though volatility is high, rated 4.83 out of 5. On the plus side, Sakura Fortune triggers features and extras on a regular basis, contributing to a constant flurry of activity.

The symbols used throughout Sakura Fortune are fully Asian inspired, with an Emperor and Empress as the two premium symbols worth 5-10x the bet for five of a kind. From there, the paytable has warriors, dragon statues, jade lion statues, gold, silver, and bronze coins. Players need to land at least three of all symbol types, starting from the left side of the grid, to form a winning combination.

Sakura Fortune: Slot Features

Much of the features in Sakura Fortune are centred on its full reel wild, which connects to nudges, respins, and plays an important role during the free spins bonus round.

Princess Wild Symbol

The Princess Wild is a 4x1 wild scatter symbol. It appears only on reels 2, 3, or 4 in either the base game or free spins. It acts as a wild, substituting for all symbols and as a scatter. Princess wilds may land partially or fully in view.

Sakura Fortune Respin

If 2 full Princess Wilds hit, they trigger the Respin feature. The total number of respins is equal to the number of wilds on the reels when triggered. What can help here is that when 2 Wilds land partially in view, there is a chance they are nudged to cover all positions on their reels, thereby triggering a respin. Respins continue until no new wilds land. It is possible to trigger free spins from respins.

Free Spins

Landing 3 or more consecutive scatter symbols starting from the leftmost reel initiates free spins. During free spins, any Princess Wild landing on the reels always expands to cover the reel and awards an additional free spin. Also, Princess Wilds remain in place for the duration of the free spins bonus round.

Sakura Fortune: Slot Verdict

Like the subject matter it's based on, Sakura Fortune is a colourful flower shower of a slot that blended just the right elements to make it a hit for Quickspin. As well as the warm, flowery visuals, the gameplay has a rapid-fire nature, where respins hit quite regularly, and the way wilds help trigger free spins means they aren't overly rare either. It's a game which keeps the pace up and the hits coming, though, don't expect the riches of Asia to fall into your pocket.

If you're coming across Sakura Fortune at a later date, it might be a surprise to learn that the most you can win is a relatively modest 1,023x your bet. Back when the game dropped, fewer players would have batted an eyelid at this sort of figure, but now in the era of 100,000x+ (advertised) wins, 1,023x feels a tad antiquated. It's like those stories of real estate developers who couldn't tempt an owner into selling their land, no matter how astronomical the offer, so they had to build skyscrapers around an old single-story house. In some ways, it's nice to see brave people sticking it to the man and denying progress by refusing to sell out.

The high volatile, relatively low potential pairing might seem a bit out of whack, yet that hasn't stopped Sakura Fortune from becoming one of Quickspin's most beloved slots. What resonates are the excellent Japanese visuals, the raven-haired Princess Wild, and the game's momentum. You might not be able to win an actual fortune, but the regular features mean you can potentially win often, albeit at smaller amounts, as wilds, nudges, respins and free spins converge together.

Don't Miss

In 2021, Quickspin released a significantly more potent version in a sequel titled Sakura Fortune 2, which is played utilising a different reel matrix and new features. Be sure to have a look if you're a fan of the original.