Proving that you can't keep a good samurai down is Rise of Samurai 3, a martial art-filled slot from developer Pragmatic Play. As the name says, the series has now become a trilogy, which includes Rise of Samurai, Rise of Samurai Megaways, and now, Rise of Samurai 3. The first instalment was a little on the simplistic side, whereas the second was basically a copy of Madame Destiny Megaways, so perhaps the creative juices have been stored up for use in part three? Well, no, not exactly. As you will see, Rise of Samurai 3 gets the majority of its features from another Pragmatic Play slot called The Dog House, though it does manage to bring something different to the table.
The game is played on a 5x3 aligned panel, with 40 fixed paylines for landing winning combinations across. It's a full-on Asian-slot, located in what could be a temple courtyard or training ground, and has a darker, moodier look than was found in the previous two games. Several dragon references reinforce the Asian genre, and fans of this style should find the battle of the warriors thing kinda neat.
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Rise of Samurai 3 might use a previously established set of features, yet it's not a straight clone, and the numbers bear this out. For one, the potential is much greater than before, while default RTP is also up a bit to 96.57%, making the game numerically more attractive. It's also highly volatile and takes bets of 20 p/c to $/€100 per spin. Any device can be used, and players score a win when three to five identical symbols land left to right, starting from the leftmost reel.
Eleven regular paying symbols pop up on the reels, starting with 10-A as the lows, two shield-like objects as mids, and four martial artists as the high-value symbols. Scoring a full winning line triggers a payout worth 1-1.5x for five royals, 2.5-3.75x for five mids, or 5-20x the bet for five premiums. The values are a bit down on The Dog House, but there are twice as many paylines after all.
Wild multipliers are one of the most important parts of Rise of Samurai 3, appearing in the base game and in free spins where they then become sticky. The wild is represented by a treasure chest and is present on reels 2, 3, or 4. When a wild symbol hits, it comes with a multiplier of x2, x3, or x5, which multiplies any win the wild is a part of. If more than one wild is used to complete a winning line, then the value of each multiplier is added together before being applied.
Green eyed dragon symbols are the scatter and landing 3 of them on reels 1, 3, and 5 awards 8 free spins. During free spins, Yin & Yang overlay symbols can appear on regular symbols. Landing 2, 3, 4, or 5 of them awards 4, 8, 12, or 20 extra free spins, respectively. The main difference between the base and bonus games is that when wild symbols land on reels 2, 3, or 4, they remain on the grid for the rest of the feature. As in the main game, sticky wilds reveal a multiplier which they keep until the end of the round. Free spins also come with a minimum win guarantee. If the winning total of the round is less than 10x the total bet, a prize of 10x the bet will be awarded instead.
Rise of Samurai 3 rounds off the trilogy with a game that might not revolutionise the kung-fu market but offers solid entertainment for fans of the genre. Even if Asian slots aren't a personal preference, it might still appeal to players who like the wild/sticky wild multiplier dynamic used in slots like The Dog House, which this is basically a copy of. Well, the key mechanics are more or less the same; only this time, players find themselves in a new setting with martial artists instead of suburbia with a bunch of house pets. One game's cute and fluffy, the other is all business; take your pick as to which theme you think works best, really.
However, Rise of Samurai 3 does have one or two things The Dog House does not. Or, better put, it expands the same features to squeeze a bit more juice out of them. One is the wild multiplier values, which were either x2 or x3 in the doggie game, but here can come in x5 form. It means getting three full x5's on the middle three reels creates an x15 total multiplier rather than x9. Other differences are technical and include a greater number of pay ways and reduced symbol values. Add everything up, and Rise of Samurai 3 ends up with a larger max win than The Dog House, of 10,000x the bet – but it also means both the hit frequency and bonus frequency have been lowered. Triggering the bonus can take time, so be prepared for the fact that your balance can take a big hit.
The Dog House is one of Pragmatic Play's beloved slots, and it's no wonder the simple yet effective wild multiplier/sticky wild multiplier feature has seen repeated use. Not long ago, in fact, we experienced the thrills they can produce in Fortune of Giza, so it won't be a big surprise to see them again in the future. It's a long way from poochies to karate, but if the theme suits, then Rise of Samurai 3's bigger multipliers, slightly better RTP and larger max win make it a decent option.
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