Sun Princess: Slot Overview
We’ve met the Cloud Princess, we’ve met the Rainbow Princess, now it’s time for another princess to shine. Literally, in this instance, as the game is Sun Princess, an addition to developer Hacksaw Gaming‘s range of anime-style slots. This one uses cluster pays to create combinations, and it relies on the studio’s fondness for spreading mechanics to accomplish the task of entertaining players and knocking out thrills. Hacksaw Gaming is one of the more creative teams out there, so before jaded players start rolling their eyes over yet more spreading hijinks, know that Sun Princess has squeezed some innovative touches in there to go with the radiantly regal cartoon theme.
One thing Hacksaw Gaming’s princess slots share is ethereal, wondrous settings. Sun Princess is no different, as its base game is situated in a bushy outdoor setting, like the steps leading into a palace or a charming part of a garden where a princess can be alone with her thoughts and do princessy things, whatever they may be. In the case of this particular princess, this means hanging about coquettishly in a more down-to-earth setting, draped in a barely there outfit, all golden-crowned and friendly-eyed.
A 7×7 gaming area is where symbols land, and they create winning combinations when at least 5 matching pay symbols are connected vertically and/or horizontally. Sun Princess does not have a cascading feature when wins appear, but a Chain Reaction feature is linked to the spreading mechanic as we’ll soon see. The math model is medium volatile, and when betting $/€0.10 to $/€100 per spin, the maximum RTP comes in at 96.29%.
The pay symbol hierarchy is made up of 5 lower-value gem pieces and 5 princessy anime-type objects. Clusters made up of 5 matching symbols are worth 0.1x to 1x the bet, while a full grid of 49 matching symbols is worth 300x to 10,000x the bet. Wilds help by substituting for all paying symbols. Filling the grid with wilds has the same payout value as the most valuable pay symbol.
Sun Princess: Slot Features
Sun Ray Frames bring the spread, which can also create multipliers in certain situations, as well as Chain Reactions. On the bonus round side, there are three of them, Solaris Grove, Sunfire Palace, and Golden Eclipse, as well as feature buys.
Sun Ray Frames & Chain Reaction
Sun Ray Frames may land on pay symbols or wilds at the start of a spin and activate after wins are evaluated. When triggered, they spread in a straight line, transforming all symbols in their path into the same type as the original. Vertical rays spread up and down, horizontal rays spread sideways, and four-way rays extend in all directions to the grid’s edge. A new win evaluation follows.
If a Sun Ray hits a wild, it adds a x2 multiplier to it, increasing by x2 each time it’s struck. Multiple multipliers in the same win are added together before being applied. Only one Sun Ray Frame can land at the start of a spin. If a Sun Ray spreads over a matching pay symbol or wild, it triggers a Chain Reaction, placing a new Frame on that symbol. This can continue until the grid is filled.
Solaris Grove Bonus Game
10 free spins are activated by landing 3 FS scatters in the base game. This feature has the mechanics of the base game, with a greater chance of landing Sun Ray Frames. In all bonus rounds, hitting 2 or 3 FS scatters awards an extra +2 or +4 free spins, respectively.
Sunfire Palace Bonus Game
Hitting 4 FS scatters in the base game triggers this feature and 10 free spins. As well as the Solaris Grove rules, during this feature, when a Sun Ray Frame spreads through a wild symbol, the wild gets an x2 multiplier and becomes sticky on the grid till the round ends. The multiplier increases by x2 every time that wild symbol is hit by a Sun Ray Frame.
Golden Eclipse Hidden Epic Bonus Game
The Golden Eclipse hidden epic bonus game is unlocked and awards 10 free spins when 5 FS scatters land in the base game. On top of the Sunfire Palace mechanics, this feature guarantees at least 1 Sun Ray Frame lands on every spin.
Feature Buys
Here we find BonusHunt FeatureSpins at 2x the bet, making spins 3 times more likely to trigger a bonus game, and Stellar FeatureSpins that guarantee at least 1 Sun Ray Frame on a spin for 50x the bet. Two bonus rounds are up for sale, Solaris Grove and Sunfire Palace for 80x and 200x the bet, respectively.
Sun Princess: Slot Verdict
We knew Hacksaw Gaming had a soft spot for spreading stuff across gaming grids in various forms, but Sun Princess takes the mechanic to a new level. Sun Princess has symbols going sideways, up, down, and even all four directions. A lesser studio might have left things there, and the result would have been a lesser, albeit attractively presented anime-style slot. However, Hacksaw Gaming has stacked several effects on top to give Sun Princess extra depth, while adding potency to the Sun Ray Frames.
One of the first effects to note is Chain Reactions. This is actually quite critical in a game that only lands one Sun Ray Frame per spin and does not have a cascading win mechanic, which often goes hand in hand with a cluster paying win mechanic. Thanks to Chain Reactions, it is possible to trigger lines of matching symbols spreading off in all sorts of directions. And this is a game with enormous values for its most valuable symbols, making Chain Reactions extra desirable. The next key component is the way wild symbols attain growable multipliers when they are hit by the spread, which makes their stickiness in the Sunfire Palace and Golden Eclipse bonus rounds extra precious. These extras make Sun Princess a more sophisticated slot than first suspected, and one capable of hitting its 10,000x cap in any mode.
Hacksaw Gaming’s first Cloud Princess slot felt a little out of place amongst a portfolio that included games like Rotten, Cursed Seas, or Hand of Anubis. But, Rainbow Princess came along to keep it company, as did Aiko and the Wind Spirit. Three Princess slots in now means the studio has committed to the movement, and Sun Princess not only delivers a delightful anime playground to roll around in, but its spreading mechanic, a feature Hacksaw Gaming is a strong advocate for, benefits from several smart expansions.
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