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History comes to life on the reels right before your eyes. The great samurai Hattori Hanzō opens the doors of his dojo to welcome the warriors who are going to fight for supremacy. This is a review of “Hanzō’s Dojo” video slot game by Yggdrasil.
The Tree
The name of “Yggdrasil” comes from the Norse mythology. It was the name of the great World Tree that had its branches up in the heavens, its roots deep in the Underworld, and supported all the nine worlds including the world of mortal men and the world of gods. With a name like that, the company that provides gaming solutions can be nothing short of excellent. Yggdrasil was founded in 2013 and has since then become one of the best-known providers in the gaming industry. It takes video slot games to a whole new level, creating state-of-the-art visuals and offering the players an experience close to actual video games so that you get to participate in the action rather than just push the button.
Hattori Hanzō
The central character of this slot game is an actual historical figure, Hattori Hanzō, a famous samurai who lived in the 16th century. Hanzō, born in the Iga province, fought in his first battle when he was only sixteen. He distinguished himself in numerous battles and military operations and earned the nickname of Oni no Hanzō, which means “Demon Hanzō”, for his fierceness. He was also known as an excellent spear fighter and tactician.
Today, one of the gates of the Tokyo Imperial Palace bears Hanzō’s name, and so does a subway line and a station in central Tokyo. Hanzō’s favorite spear and his ceremonial helmet have been placed at the Sainen-ji temple. Naturally, Hanzō has been portrayed in multiple books, film, manga series, and even such video games as Overwatch and Witcher. This year, Yggrdasil has adapted the image of the celebrated warrior for a video slot game.
The Game
“Hanzō’s Dojo” is a medium-variance, 5-reel, 3-row video slot with 25 paylines and a 96.1% RTP. The bets can range from €0.10 to €125. The maximum possible win is 3000x your bet. You can play this slot game on the desktop, tablet, and mobile devices, for fun or for Bitcoins.
The game is set at a mythical location in Japan – the dojo (hall for learning martial arts and meditation) that belongs to Hattori Hanzō, the legendary samurai warrior. Four greatest fighters have come together on Hanzō’s training grounds to fight for the title of the best warrior. The lowest-paying symbols in the game are the warriors’ emblems: the Bonsai Tree, the Tsuru Cranes, Storms, and Waves. The higher-value symbols are the portraits of the warriors themselves: the Rikishi (Sumo wrestler), Samurai, Fan Fighter, and Ninja. The Men-yoroi, a metal mask worn to protect the face in battle, is a Wild Symbol that replaces all other symbols except for the Scatter. The most valuable symbol is the portrait of Hanzo himself. If you get five portraits of the great sensei in a row, the award is 9x your bet.
The special features in store for you are the Rooftop Slots, Free Spins, and Hanzo Spins.
Rooftop Slot
Rooftop Slot feature opens up three additional slots above the main block, in the Sensei Sector. The Wild symbols that you get on the rooftops will expand and descend to the main reels, turning the whole reel Wild.
Free Spins
The Free Spins feature is triggered when three or more Scatter symbols land on your reels. Each of these Scatters gives you three free spins, and the Dragon Free Spins symbol will give you four of these.
If you land Free Spins symbols in the Rooftop Slots, you get one of the five boosters:
- 3×3 symbol nudge that moves the 3×3 symbol on the central reels to put together a better winning combination;
- Wild Reel, which turns the fifth reel completely Wild;
- 2 extra free spins;
- Win both ways, which means that the lines will pay both from far left and far right;
- 2x multiplier that is applied to the whole round of free spins.
Hanzō Spins
The Hanzō Spins feature is triggered when you get three Hanzō symbols or Expanding Wilds in the Rooftop Slot game. You then get three Hanzō Spins. A random regular symbol will be revealed and expanded to become a huge 3×3 that is fixed in the center of the reels for the duration of the Hanzō Spins game. This expanding symbol may turn out to be a Wild.
Conclusion
As is usually the case with Yggdrasil’s creations, “Hanzō’s Dojo” is an exceptionally beautiful game. The game trailer is an animated short movie and a piece of digital art in its own right. The reels are well-drawn, and the little details such as the falling sakura leaves and the paper lanterns moving subtly in the wind add to the atmosphere.
The game gives you plenty of opportunities for the big win, but the abundance of extra features, all of them intertwined, is rather confusing at the beginning. It can be argued that these are somewhat overcomplicated. However, once you start spinning the reels, things get much clearer and you quickly learn to aim for your free spins and boosters.
To sum up, there is plenty of action in this game, gorgeous visuals, and satisfactory rewards.
Words: Jelena Schmidt
Images: Shutterstock
