Imperial Opera Slots
With so many Asian slot games already active on the online scene, it can be really tough for game makers to come up with something original when producing slots with such themes. But not for the experienced Swedish studio Play’n GO, which managed to revive Chinese folklore with new and refreshing ideas in its latest Imperial Opera video slot. By combining a set of familiar symbols with a variety of creative bonus rounds, Play’n GO has created an Asian-themed slot machine that stands out effortlessly from its competition.
The setting of the game is the imaginary Imperial Opera House, which was designed with a traditional Chinese flavor by Play’n GO. The center stage of this opera is reserved for the 5 reels and 3 rows which spin to produce a variety of redesigned card symbols and pictures of the main performers. The biggest star of the show is the princess wild, joined by three other performers dressed in full costume. Some of them are dressed as deities, like the god of prosperity Luxing, and others look like young monks. As you watch the show in this dim opera house, you hear a soft intro song quietly playing in the background. In a real theatrical fashion, the song develops into a catchy chorus when you trigger a payout, before fading away softly once again to let you focus on the next act in your playing session.
However, this 20 payline slot game isn’t only about impressive sound effects and graphics. Apart from having a pay table that’s half-full of symbols which pay even for 2-of-a-kind wins, Imperial Opera also packs more than a few bonus features. Free spins, 3x3 symbols, synchronizing reels, and stacks of wilds are all to be found in this original slot machine, but they are not the only bonuses you can claim.
Waiting for the Crescendo
You can play Imperial Opera by spending a penny for a payline, but also with much higher bet sizes. Since the game has fixed paylines, the minimum stake you can place in this slot is 0.20 credits (0.01 line bet x 20 paylines). The highest line bet you can make is 5 credits, and it will end up costing you 100 credits for each round you play (20 paylines x 5 credits).
Payouts in the game can be won when a combination of two or more of the same symbols lands on at least one of the slot’s 20 paylines. Since the game pays the standard way of left to right, your combinations will have to start from the leftmost reel and stretch towards the right to trigger a prize. To bag the biggest prizes, you will need to collect at least two of the princess wild symbols. This picture symbol hides payouts that start at 5x your line bet for 2-of-a-kind wins and end at 500x the payline bet for five of her symbols on a payline.
There are three other picture symbols which likewise offer payouts for 2-symbol combinations, but their prizes are much smaller than when you land the princess. These picture cards can pay 1-2x your line bet for two symbols and a maximum of 125x for collecting five matching symbols. Still, they are much more profitable than the five card symbols, which only pay prizes for 3-, 4-, and 5-of-a-kind wins that vary between 2x and 50x your line bet.
But the Imperial Opera slot is less about the lowest prizes offered by its symbols, and more about the randomly activated bonus features. While playing any round in this game, you can trigger up to four different types of bonus features. And one of them can also help you trigger the free spins bonus round.
The first random bonus feature is called the Crescendo, and it randomly chooses either one or two reels to turn them into stacks of wild symbols. The second bonus feature is called the Showcase. This randomly chooses one symbol from your screen to duplicate it across an entire reel, forming a full stack. The third feature is called the Mega Symbols and makes any character symbol turn into a large 3x3 symbol. The fourth and final feature is called the Harmony. This one chooses 2 or 3 adjacent reels and has them synchronize to display the same symbols.
The Harmony feature can also trigger the free spins round if it produces a 3x3-sized scatter symbol. This symbol can only be seen during the Harmony feature, and here it triggers 10 free spins. During the free spins round, reels 2, 3, and 4 are always synchronized to show the same symbol. The Showcase feature is also active during the bonus spins to bring you stacks of randomly chosen symbols on reels 1 and 5. The free spins can also be retriggered when you collect another 3x3 scatter symbol.
Do I Have to Pay for a Ticket?
You don’t necessarily have to spend money to see Imperial Opera in action. Play’n GO, like any game provider nowadays, also provides a demo of the slot for players who want to try before they buy. This game demo can allow you to play the slot with any bet size you want, and for as many hours as you need to. If you want to play for free, you can try a free Imperial Opera slot on our website, where you can also try out dozens of other free online slots.
However, a free demo will only let you go as far as to test the game, and it won’t allow you to earn money on it. So, if you want to make some real cash at Imperial Opera, you will have to play for real money. For that, you will need to register at a Play’n GO casino and deposit money via your credit card, e-wallet, or other payment option that works best for you. The whole process from registration to playing with your own money shouldn’t take you longer than a couple of minutes. And since most casinos now offer free money transfers, it shouldn’t cost you any more than you’re willing to spend on the game either.
Try Some Mariachi Music Instead
If the operatic theme is too serious for you, you can explore some alternatives to the Imperial Opera slot game. One popular slot machine that likewise offers 20 paylines, 3x3 colossal symbols, and free spins is the funky Mariachi Mayhem video slot. Instead of operas, female singers, and string music, this slot is full of vivid colors and loud mariachi sounds. It even has walking colossal symbols that can shift positions once they appear on your screen.
Another alternative worth checking out is Play’n GO’s own Planet Fortune slot game. Like Imperial Opera, Planet Fortune randomly forms 3x3 mega symbols and transforms single reels into stacks of the same symbols. It also comes with 10 free spins that can be retriggered. But instead of charging you for every payline it has, Planet Fortune charges only for 20 while giving you 40 different paylines to trigger payouts.
Have a Night at the Opera
Imperial Opera is one of those slots that win you over right from the first time you play them. Not only does this game have a great presentation, but it also offers a fair RTP of 96.50% on top of five different types of bonus features. Free spins, 3x3 symbols, stacks of wilds, and a jackpot payout of 10,000x are all hiding in this entertaining slot machine. What else do you really need?
