Slot machines with an Asian theme are as common from Pragmatic Play as pork and fried rice, and here we have another one called Dragon Hero. We put in a lot of time trying to figure out who the game’s true protagonist is, but to no avail. Perhaps the designers of Dragon Hero believe in the concept of the player as hero, allowing players to imagine themselves in the shoes of the game’s protagonist if they so want. Whatever the case may be, Dragon Hero is a basic game, some may even call it filler, but it does include a cool element in the form of a super wild/wild addition.
Dragon Hero is not a game with global conquest as its primary goal. The team has decorated it with somewhat conventional artwork; nevertheless, dragon fans will be pleased to know that the team has included a plethora of dragons. A dragon, whose form is impossible to grasp, appears not only on a few of the symbols but also on top of the reels. The remainder of the scene is quite generic, with a pagoda or temple illuminated by the ominous purple light of a full moon, giving fans of these games a sense of familiarity.
Five reels, four rows of symbols, and twenty paylines make up the game matrix. Payouts occur when three or more identical symbols appear on a payline, which runs from left to right across an entire set of successive reels. Return to player value is prominently displayed in the paytable, and it reaches a maximum of 96% when played without using any bonus buys, indicating that the underlying mathematical model is quite volatile. All devices are welcome, and players may wager anywhere from 20 pence to £/€100 every spin.
Dragon Hero’s icons are also quite typical for the style. The lowest part of the table features brush-stroked representations of the card values from 10 to A, followed by money, a scroll, an urn, fish, a frog, and a sycee as the high payouts. Five matching symbols on an active payline result in a payout of between 1.25x and 2.5x the wager for the lows and 5x to 40x the wager for the premiums.
Featured Games: Dragon Hero Slots
In Dragon Hero, you should look out for Wilds, Super Wilds, and scatters. The wild symbol is the only exception to the scatter rule, and it can be found on any reel. Given their flexibility, wilds can create their own winning combinations, paying up to 60 times the wager for a full line of five.
Monster Mutants
Reels 2, 3, and 4 feature Super Wilds. They can take the place of any other icon besides the scatter. When a Super Wild appears, it can include anywhere from one to three standard wilds. Following the spin, all Super Wilds will release their wilds onto the reels in a completely random fashion. It is possible for many wilds to fall into the same location.
Bonus Turns
Scatters may be found both in the main game and in the bonus feature. Bonus spins of 6, 8, or 10 are activated when 3, 4, or 5 scatters appear during the main game. The number of free spins awarded by each bonus wheel is determined at random. The sum is tallied, and prizes are distributed accordingly. Super Wilds that appear during free spins will now stick around until the bonus ends, instead of being flung to random locations on the reels after each play. When Super Wilds appear, they still include a random number of wilds (1, 2, or 3) as previously. When a scatter symbol appears, it will pair up with a random Super Wild on the screen to create a new Wild. When a Super Wild is fully charged, it will continuously release an additional wild until it is depleted. As was previously noted, Super Wilds’ wilds might overlap with one another. Finally, there is no way to activate bonus spins.
Costing 100 times the wager will get you ten free spins. When you buy free spins, you’ll have a 100% chance of getting three scatters on the spin that activates the bonus round, and the maximum RTP will increase to 96.13% from the usual 95%.
Slot Evaluation of “Dragon Hero”
Fair enough, Dragon Hero has a lot of dragony qualities, but it lacks in the heroism department. If the dragon element doesn’t grab you, it might be really boring. The same shiny finish, hiding the same old collection of pictures and music. While it is clear that Pragmatic Play has a lot of experience developing Asian-themed online slots, it would be wonderful if they sometimes challenged themselves to do something more daring with the theme, rather from simply combining it with a few really creative features. Although there are a lot of games like this in its library, they are often forgotten soon after they have been played. Unless you happen to have a special skill in this area.
It’s not fair to immediately dismiss Dragon Hero, though. Despite a seemingly mundane premise, Pragmatic Play always manages to instill a sense of playability. Free games have the potential for a high concentration of wilds and Super Wilds on the reels. If that happens, the huge win count animation might feature a deluge of coins as a result of a string of consecutive wins. Dragon Hero makes more sense after you enter one of these victory cycles and the screen fills up with Super Wilds. During the review’s bonus round, a number of Super Wilds appeared, each of which acted as a wild and released a cascade of further wilds. Though tidy outcomes did occur, they did not exceed the win maximum of 5,000x the stake.
Players looking for a dragon-themed Asian slot to while away some time may find what they’re looking for in Dragon Hero. Since Asian culture is a common Pragmatic Play topic, it does feel like a secure choice. It makes a good first impression because to the possibility of several sticky/added wilds during free spins, but it may not leave a very profound or lasting memory. Perhaps even in the near or intermediate term?