Dragon Warrior Slot Review

Dragon Warrior harks back to ancient China in a quest for riches. Popular conceptions of Chinese culture are redolent in this Novomatic video slot, and players apparently find the theme endlessly fascinating as there are a huge number of games using it. To be fair, this particular game is beautifully designed and stylish, with slick animations, attractive characters, and a thematic soundtrack, so it might be worth taking a look at it.

Dragon Warrior Slot Setup

In keeping the ancient China theme, there is a palace as the background with dragon statues and pagoda roofed buildings embellishing the scene behind the 5×3 reel matrix. In general layout, it’s not much different from Amazon Queen Slot, but much slicker.

As with most slot machines, the goal is to get 5 matching symbols in a line across 30 paylines starting from the left. Aside from the base fame, special symbols can multiply a line wager by as much as 1000.

The game is mobile-optimized, so the game play goes just as well on a desktop, mobile device, or online. It is a multi-round game with substantial story lines. The symbols include the classic alphanumeric playing card symbols J, Q, K, and A plus three warrior figures, traditional paper fans, treasure chests, and dragons. Also, the playing card symbols are low paying, while the three warrior symbols are high paying. The dragon is the wild symbol, which helps significantly in creating winning combinations.

Players can win by matching at least three of the playing card symbols and wild card combinations, in line or stacked, or at least two matching warriors (save for the swordswoman) starting from the left. The Bonus card appears in the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th reels and can trigger the free spin feature if at least seven lands in a spin.

Gameplay

At any point during the game (except during free spins), Dragon Warrior allows the player to choose the number of active lines and the total amount wagered per spin. The problem of not activating all the lines, of course, is that it reduces the chances of the player to get winning combinations.

The three warrior figures feature prominently in many of the spins, and they are striking enough to be easily distinguishable. The first figure is a woman with a sword, and her appearance in three, four, or five reels on an active payline can earn the player 64, 160, or 320 coins respectively.

The second figure is an archer, which only has to appear in the first two reels from the left to pay out 32 coins, while five on a line results in a 360-coin payout.  A third figure is a man with a sword, which only has to appear in the first two reels from the left to pay out 48 coins, while five on a line results in a 400-coin payout. These warrior symbols can be stacked, so it is much easier for a player to get winning combinations and full reels.

Dragon wilds always come out stacked and represent any symbol on the board save for the Bonus card to increase the chances of a winning combo. When the dragon wild goes right through a payline, it multiplies the line bet by 1000. The Bonus symbol is simply a card with the word “Bonus” on it, so it is easy to recognize. It will only land on the middle reels, but it can come out stacked.

When it lands on at least seven spots, it doubles the total wager of that spin. Seven, eight, or nine bonus cards will also award the player 7, 16, or 32 free spins, respectively, activating the free spin feature. The Xtra Stax feature also activates during extra spins in which random symbols will also be stacked, effectively ensuring that wilds and bonus symbols will fill reels completely when they appear.

Dragon Warrior also has a Gamble feature, which comes out in quite a few video slots, even older ones. When a player hits a big winning combination during the free spins, the Gamble button comes out.

The player can press it and try to double the winnings by guessing the correct color (red or black) of a flashing playing card. Guessing right gives the player the option to go double again or go home. Guessing wrong means the player loses all winnings in that round.

Dragon Warrior has a final feature that might not go down too well with many enthusiasts. It has a Reality Check timer, where the game will interrupt play after a specified time to provide the player about the time spent on the game, total wagers, and total winnings.

Some people might find this feature intrusive, but it is an effective way to keep players on top of their situation.

Verdict

Dragon Warrior has an attractive design and dynamic gameplay, slightly less impactful on smaller devices.  It is a good choice for players that like the Asian themes and relative predictability in their slot games.

Of course, because it has low to medium volatility, the payouts are not as spectacular as games with higher volatility. At an RTP of 95.04%, that should be expected. Overall, there is nothing special about Dragon Warrior slot as video slots go despite the nice design and soundtrack, and you don’t need a slot guide to help you. . It’s a fun game that has extra features that make it a bit more interesting than most, but not enough to make a beeline for it.