Shōgun (TaDa Gaming) Slot Demo & Review

The Samurai has proved a popular theme for many slot developers, especially those targeting players in Asian markets. Let’s face it, the sword-swinging shenanigans of Samurai warriors are also considered cool by many on this side of the world, too, so it’s a win-win for these studios. Pragmatic Play has occasionally ventured into the territory with its Rise of Samurai series, with Rise of Samurai Megaways being my favourite, closely followed by Rise of Samurai IV. Other developers, like Elk Studios and Kalamba Studios, have also ridden the Samurai wave successfully, thanks to titles like Toro Shogun and Bushido Princess.

Back to the slot in question, and now we’ll look at the paytable for Shōgun. The Shamisen (Japanese guitar) is the most lucrative symbol on the reels, and landing a 20+ combination will result in a 1,440x stake payout. The Samurai Outfit follows that with a 630x the stake return, while the Throwing Star and Flag both top out at 540x. The Ace and King deliver up to 270x, and the Queen and Jack round things off with maximum returns of 180x. 

Joining the action for real money play on Shōgun starts from €0.10 per spin, with 15 betting options available up to a maximum stake of €100.00. It’s a fairly standard betting range and one that should cater to most of you.

Shōgun is played across a 5×3 reel format that utilises a mechanic similar to cluster pays. The difference here is that the winning clusters must start from the first reel rather than anywhere on the reels, like with other cluster pays slots. You’ll receive a payout as long as those matching symbols start from the leftmost reel and land on consecutive reels or are connected horizontally or vertically. 

Special Bonus Reel

Across the top of the main playing grid is a horizontal reel that can land the following special symbols:

• Blanks: These do nothing.
• Single Samurai Sword: Splits all symbols on the reel below into two.
• Two Samurai Swords: Splits all symbols on the reel below into three.
• Three Samurai Swords: Splits all symbols on the reel below into four.

Once symbols are split, they count as more instances of the same symbol in winning combinations and, therefore, deliver larger payouts as per the paytable. As well as regular symbols, Wilds, which can land anywhere in view and will help create winning combinations by substituting for other symbols, can be split.

The free spins bonus on Shōgun will trigger when three or more scatter symbols land anywhere in view during the base game. Let’s take a look at how it plays out below.

Free Spins Feature

You’ll receive 7 free spins as standard and an additional spin for each scatter symbol on top of the three required to trigger the bonus. Each new scatter that lands during the bonus also adds an extra spin, with no upper limit on how many you can receive. 

During the bonus, whenever a special symbol lands in a position on the horizontal reel, it becomes the minimum that can land on the reel going forward. For instance, if a Single Sword appears, future spins will only reveal Single Swords or better. Land a Three Sword symbol, and that becomes the least you can expect to see on future spins.

Furthermore, the Special Symbols that land remain sticky on the reels until the end of the bonus.