Sakura Mystery - Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

Introduction

For a company that was founded as recently as March 2021, Thunderspin has made swift progress in getting its games available at online casinos. It is getting easier all the time to find places to play Thunderspin free slots online so you should take a note of the name. Sakura Mystery is a game that takes a slightly different approach to an Asian setting from the frequent forays into Chinese legend and culture that are so common amongst game developers. Here we are in a serene Japanese setting, reminiscent of Playson’s Sakura Dragon slot, and like all demo slots it enables you to get a good feel of the game before deciding whether you want to risk betting on it.

Sakura Mystery has 5 reels and 3 rows with 243 ways to win. There is 1 fixed bet level of 10 coins which allows a minimum bet of 0.10 and a maximum of 10. There are 10 regular symbols: Maneki Neko the charmed cat, a sack of gold, three lucky coins, a fan and the top six playing cards. The scatter is a scroll and the wild features two leaping Koi carp.

Theme, graphics and soundtrack

Although there are no humans or anthropomorphic animals, this has a very engaging look. The gently swaying branches of the cherry blossom trees with the swaying lanterns in a bright glade provide a very serene backdrop to a semi-opaque grid of beautifully presented images. The soundtrack is a pleasure to listen to with its mixture of electronic music and traditional Japanese strings.

Sakura Mystery RTP and variance

The game’s RTP is 95.60 per cent, which is slightly below the average for slot games. The variance is high.

How to play Sakura Mystery

1. Click on the image of coins to the left of the play button to open the bet menu. Here you can choose the bet level or opt for the Max Bet.
2. Press the large play button, which features a circular arrow, or you can press the space bar to spin the reels. 
3. If you want to check the game information including details of the paytable values click on the three-line burger menu.
4. The credit balance is shown at the bottom left of the screen next to the current bet level indicator. Your balance will update after each spin.
5. If you want to use the autoplay option click the small play button to the right of the play button and choose between 10, 25, 50, 100, 250 and 500. Make your choice, click start and the reels will begin to spin. The number of spins remaining will be displayed on the play button. You can exit auto play mode by pressing the auto button gain.
6. Enter turbo play using the toggle switch to the left of the auto play button.
7. Only the highest win is paid per winning combination on the same pay way but multiple wins on different pay ways are added to the total.
8. The wild symbol substitutes for any other symbol in a winning combination except the scatter symbol. It lands only on the 2nd, 3rd or 4th reels. The wild symbol is replaced by a moving wild symbol in the free spins game.
9. Combination winnings that contain scatter symbols will pay out wherever they land. 
10. We encourage responsible gaming and support BeGambleAware. If you choose to play for money then don’t forget that you could lose it. Set limits for yourself and be sure not to bet more than you can afford to lose. When you stop enjoying the game you should leave it.

Bet sizes and paytable wins

The bet size ranges from 0.10 to 10.00. Maximum payout is 1,000x

The symbols pay on matching combinations of 3x to 5x. Full details are in the information menu, but the highest values are as follows:

Maneki Neko

5 = 500

Sack of Gold

5 = 300

Lucky Coins, Fan

5 = 200
        
Ace, King

5 = 15

Queen, Jack

5 = 12

10, 9

5 = 10

Max-win 1,000x

Volatility High

Top RTP 95.60%

Sakura Mystery bonus features

Free Spins

3 or more scatter symbols trigger the free spins bonus with moving wild symbols. For each scatter symbol that lands in the main game you will win 4 free spins. The number of scatters you can land is unlimited. Wild symbols from the main game are replaced by moving wild symbols during free spins. Moving wilds can land on reels 2, 3 and 4. The number of moving wilds depends on the number of activating scatters. 3 scatters give 2 moving wilds, 4 give you 3, and 5 or more give you 4.

Unlimited Respins Feature

A winning combination of regular symbols will activate this feature in both the main and free spins game. Symbols on the reels move to the right and the leftmost reel spins again. Symbols furthest to the right will disappear. New symbols can create a new winning combination or improve and existing one. The feature continues until there are no more winning combinations.

Sakura Mystery review: our verdict

There isn’t a bonus game beyond the free spins and respins, but the base game is solid enough that, combined with the excellent graphics, it kept our attention very well. If only the RTP were a little higher and the maximum payout more generous, we’d happily recommend it.

Disclaimer: Sakura Mystery trademark / license is owned by Thunderspin. This site is not endorsed by Thunderspin.