Wild Sumo Slot Machine
Japanese based Gamatron develops online casino slot machines with themes and influences from the land of the rising sun, and perhaps there’s nothing more iconic about the country than Sumo wrestling. Wild Sumo is a classic slot that takes players through several rounds to a Grand Tournament, triggering free games, extra wilds, multipliers and more along the way, and it comes with some awesome 3D effect graphics that brings all the excitement of this traditional sport to online and mobile optimised casinos.
It’s a 5-reel game, crossed by 50 paylines, and to win a prize in normal play, you will need 3 or more of the same symbol type to stop across a line, in an unbroken run from the left side. Those symbols include lower value Japanese letters, or icons, and high-paying Sumo stars, along with a wild symbol that completes winning combinations. There’s no separate bonus symbol, as the special scoreboard to the right side of the reels is all that’s needed to trigger the features in this good-looking slot game. Behind the hexagonal symbols, we get a glimpse of the Sumo stage, flanked by some strange illuminated figures that we presume are signs leading the crowd into the stadium. Whatever these may be, it all adds to the atmosphere.
Gamatron online slots are all fair, reliable and can be trusted to deliver high returns, and with the Wild Sumo video slot, players will on average get a generous 98% of their wagers back as winnings, and of course, will have great chances to land some massive wins and land a profit. All Gamatron games are independently tested for fair play and reliability, while also being licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority, so spinners know that this is a range that they can trust.
Entering the ring
The amount won depends on how much you have staked, so higher wagers will equal higher prizes. There’s winnings of 5x, 10x, or 75x the amount staked per line when some blue paddles or a hand print land on 3, 4, or 5 reels, while the red letter pays a little more and the blue letter is worth up to 100x.
There’s a total of 8 different Sumo wrestlers who can make up the higher-paying combinations, although we’re not entirely sure if these are based on real guys or fictional characters, although one of the competitors is bright blue and another bright red, complete with horns, so maybe they are fictional. Anyway, the lowest value Sumo wrestlers pay you 5x, 50x, or 100x the line bet, while the top prizes come from a gold-painted character who is worth 15x, 100x, or 400x depending on how much of a payline he lands across.
The wild symbol is a wrestler silhouetted against a rising sun, and this is able to act as any other, completing lines when it’s in the right places. It can be stacked several high on a reel, which helps in this task, or can become a sticky wild, which is preceded by a nice animation of a Sumo fight that puts sticky wilds on the reels wherever the loser bounces across the screen. Another fight sequence sees random multipliers awarded on wins.
Banzuke Bonuses
The Grand Tournament ladder to the right of the reels is a unique feature. The 10 levels are all named after professional Sumo divisions, and players will start out at the Jonokuchi level, rising up with winning spins created with the help of the wild symbol. Once the top of this Banzuke meter is reached, players are taken to the Grand Tournament, which is a card-based game that leads automatically to a free spins bonus round.
But the cards can also award multipliers of between 2x and 5x that will be added to any wins in the bonus round, along with up to 4 completely wild reels, which are sure to lead to some massive wins throughout the free games, or you could also get extra spins added on.
Whatever the result of the Grand Tournament round, the free games are certain to be enhanced on some way, and perhaps several ways at once, although they can’t be retriggered.
Betting and Control Options
While free Wild Sumo video slots can be found, this funplay mode isn’t going to win you anything, so the majority of people will play for real cash and start collecting wins right away. It only takes a stake of 0.50 and the maximum bet is set at 250.00 per spin, so this game is great for both casual punters and high rollers alike.
A Japanese-style drumbeat can be played in the background, and this adds to the Sumo atmosphere, while other options include a quick spin mode and an autoplay function. This lets you spin the reels without needing to click each time, and you can set win or loss limits before playing, although the auto spins will stop if the Grand Tournament feature begins.
Sumo Slots to Wrestle with
There’s lots of Asian themed online slot games available, but only a few are dedicated to the noble sport of Sumo wrestling. The Grand Sumo video slot from Fugaso has a similar feel to Wild Sumo, although perhaps the graphics are not as realistic. However, a unique diamond pattern to the reels leads players to a free spins bonus game where the whole of the middle reel is filled with the wild symbol, which should help spinners to claim a few prizes before the feature ends.
Bally Technology has taken a more humorous approach to the sport with their cartoon style Sumo Kitty game. It’s got 5 reels of animated fun, along with some bonus treats such as extra wilds created by a Hotzone feature, and Bally’s unique uWin bonus that adds free games. There’s also 1,024 ways to win across the reels, turning this into a slot machine that can spin up multiple prizes each time.
Is Wild Sumo a slot Worth Fighting for?
The Wild Sumo video slot certainly lives up to its name, with Sumo characters and wild symbols being the most important pieces on the reels. The Banzuke meter is another fascinating part though, especially when you see it filling up, with anticipation building as you get towards the Grand Tournament, where big coin wins are all but guaranteed.
Gameplay and animations are up to the high standard that punters have come to expect from Gamatron, which develops its range from a head office in Tokyo but adds input from a number of other centres around the world, to give their games a truly international appeal.
