China seems to be the most popular destination for video slots developers at the moment and Microgaming has given the old theme a fresh new look in Fortune Girl. Boasting modern, manga-style visuals, this 5 reel, 15 payline game comes with mystery transforming symbols and a bonus feature that awards 14 free spins with expanding multipliers that can boost payouts by up to 5x. Stakes range from between 15p and £15 per spin.
Visually, Fortune Girl is nicely done – a treasury full of coins and jewels forms the backdrop to the reels which are dominated by pink and purple shades. The lower value symbols are done in the style of Chinese letters. More valuable are the Chinese-themed objects such as an abacus, silvers hats, golden ingots and chests full of gold. Most rewarding of all is Fortune Girl herself.
Helping your winning chances is the Fortune Girl logo which is the game’s wild – this can land on all 5 reels and replaces everything bar the scatter and the golden door which is the Mystery Symbol.
These Mystery Symbols can magically transform into the same matching symbol when they land – they can land fully stacked too, giving you the chance to land some impressive clusters of the same symbol with potential payouts to match.
Fortune Girl also comes with a Free Spins feature – to trigger it, you’ll need to land at least 3 of the scatter anywhere on the reels on the same spin. These can land in stacked formation too and can be extremely lucrative in their own right. Fill all 5 reels with 15 scatters and the cashier will sing to the tune of 1,200 times your total stake.
Once triggered, you’ll be awarded 14 free spins. The Mystery Symbols are in play during the feature – they spin in stacks 20 high during the feature and can transform into any other symbol, including the wild. Hope to see the scatters during the free spins. Rather than adding extra free spins to your total, a multiplier will increase by 1 every time you land 3 or more scatters. This can boost payouts up to a maximum of 5x.
Most Chinese-themed video slots have taken their inspiration from historical figures, folk tales or myth and legend. It’s nice to see something a little more up to date – the manga-style visuals work well. There’s plenty of gameplay on offer here too, especially during the free spins round where the super stacked mystery symbols and expanding multipliers can deliver some impressive rewards. The overall variance is in the medium range with potential wins of up to 6,000 times your stake on each free spin.
This offering from Microgaming offers something a little different to the usual Asian-themed fare we’ve come to expect. For a fresh take on a classic genre, Fortune Girl is worth a look. Get lucky in the feature and Fortune Girl has the potential to live up to her name. If you like rewarding females, Novomatic’s Spring Queen sees high value symbols upgrade to the Spring Queen for big wins.
