Oishii Bonanza

Oishii Bonanza Slot Review

A red torii gate stands at the right edge of the screen, cherry blossom branches reach in from the left, and the reels float on a haze of pink and mint that could be mist or drifting petals. This is Oishii Bonanza, a Japanese shrine-and-sushi take on the scatter-pays format from Pragmatic Play, the studio behind Gates of Olympus, Sweet Bonanza and Sugar Rush.

On a 6×5 grid where symbols pay anywhere, the food theme gives familiar maths a warmer face than most of its family. It runs at 96.6% RTP with mid-to-high volatility and stakes from 0.20 to 125 per spin, and the multiplier symbols waiting in the bonus round give it teeth. The scatter-pays formula is one of the most copied in online slots, and the difference between the good versions and the forgettable ones usually comes down to what the bonus round does with a long tumble chain. This one has an answer.

Symbols Pay Anywhere on the Grid

There are no paylines. The total number of the same symbol on screen at the end of a spin determines the win, so eight rabbits pay the same whether they’re clustered in one corner or scattered across all six reels. It makes every spin a single counting exercise rather than a line hunt.

Wins are multiples of the total bet, and wins from multiple different symbols in the same spin all add together. The payout tiers start at eight symbols, with the top tier covering twelve or more of a kind. The premium end of the paytable is the food and animal cast, and it steps down from there through the fruit:

• Rabbit with sushi plate: 50x for 12+, 25x for 10-11, 10x for 8-9
• Cat with shrimp sushi: 25x for 12+, 10x for 10-11, 2.5x for 8-9
• White cat with sashimi roll: 15x for 12+, 5x for 10-11, 2x for 8-9
• Dessert bowl: 12x for 12+, 2x for 10-11, 1.5x for 8-9
• Apple: 10x for 12+, 1.5x for 10-11, 1x for 8-9
• Plum: 8x for 12+, 1.2x for 10-11, 0.8x for 8-9
• Watermelon: 5x for 12+, 1x for 10-11, 0.5x for 8-9
• Grapes: 4x for 12+, 0.9x for 10-11, 0.4x for 8-9
• Banana: 2x for 12+, 0.75x for 10-11, 0.25x for 8-9

The scatter is a pink flower icon, present on all reels and paying on any position: 3x the bet for four, 5x for five and 100x for six. Four scatters also open the bonus round, which is worth considerably more than the 3x they pay directly. There’s no wild in this game, so nothing bridges gaps between symbols; a win is entirely a matter of how many of a kind land.

The gap between the tiers is steep at the top and shallow at the bottom. Twelve or more rabbits pay fifty times the bet, while twelve bananas pay twice it, and the middle symbols bunch together in the low single figures. That shape puts nearly all of the base game’s value in the top three symbols and in whatever the tumble chains can build around them.

Tumble Feature

Every winning spin sets off the Tumble Feature. Winning symbols are paid and removed, the remaining symbols fall to the bottom of the screen, and new symbols drop in from above to fill the empty positions.

Tumbling continues as long as new winning combinations form, and there’s no limit to the number of tumbles in a sequence. The full value of a sequence lands in your balance only once every tumble from the base spin has finished, which is a detail worth remembering when the multipliers arrive.

Because each tumble brings fresh symbols into the grid, a single spin can pay several times over. A tumble chain that keeps connecting is also the only way to build up a big screen of matching symbols, since the count is taken at the end of each individual tumble rather than across the whole sequence. In practice, the long chains tend to run through the cheap fruit first and only reach the premiums if the drops keep favouring you.

Free Spins and Multiplier Symbols

Four or more scatters anywhere on the screen award the Free Spins Round, which starts with 10 free spins on special reels. Retriggers are generous by the format’s standards: three or more scatters during the round add 5 further spins, with no stated limit on how many times that can happen.

The round’s engine is the multiplier symbol. It only appears during free spins, and it stays on screen until the tumbling sequence ends. When it lands it takes a random value from 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 6x, 8x, 10x, 12x, 15x, 20x, 25x, 50x or 100x.

When the tumbles finish, the values of all multiplier symbols on screen are added together, and the total win of that sequence is multiplied by the combined figure. Two 20x symbols in one chain don’t apply separately; they make a single 40x multiplier applied to everything the chain earned. Several of them landing into one sequence is where the game’s real potential sits, since each one holds its position and waits for the others.

That stick-through-the-chain behaviour changes how a bonus round plays. A multiplier landing on the first tumble of a long sequence isn’t spent immediately; it sits there while the chain grows, and the sum is only applied at the end. Longer chains are worth disproportionately more than short ones, because every extra tumble is another chance for another multiplier to land and join the total.

The retrigger works the same way the original trigger does, which keeps scatter symbols relevant right through the round. A screen that’s filling with sticky multipliers can still deliver five more spins on top of whatever it’s already building.

Ante Bet and Bonus Buy

There are two ante bet options, and they change more than the stake:

• Bet multiplier 20x: unlocks the ability to buy the Free Spins Round for a price equal to 100x the base bet
• Bet multiplier 25x: doubles the chance of triggering free spins naturally, with more scatters on the reels, but disables the buy feature

The choice is between access to the buy button or better natural odds, and the two can’t be combined. At 100x the base bet, the buy is priced in line with the rest of this family of games. The base bet, before any feature-related increase, is the figure the paytable multiples and the buy price both work from.

The 25x multiplier suits the patient route: more scatters on the reels means the four-scatter trigger comes round more often, and every natural trigger carries the same multipliers a bought round would. The 20x option trades that for certainty, at a price that only makes sense with a bankroll to absorb it.

Our Honest Verdict

Overall Rating: 7.1/10

This is a waiting game dressed in blossom, and the bonus round is the only reason to sit through the wait. Base spins amount to counting fruit and hoping a chain keeps rolling; the shrine backdrop and the sushi cast make that tolerable in a way the format’s plainer entries never manage.

The strength is the sticky, summing multiplier. Because every multiplier holds its position until the chain ends, one long sequence can collect several of them and pay far beyond anything the paytable advertises, and the five-spin retrigger gives that collecting room to happen.

The weakness is everything outside those sequences: mid-to-high volatility with a bottom-heavy paytable means long stretches where the fruit pays less than the spin cost. It’s a good pick for scatter-pays players who want the prettiest version of the maths; anyone chasing frequent hits will find the gaps between rounds long and the blossom no compensation for them.

Oishii Bonanza FAQs

• What is the RTP of Oishii Bonanza?

  Oishii Bonanza runs at 96.6% RTP at its maximum setting, with a minimum possible RTP of 96.49%.
• Is Oishii Bonanza high volatility?

  Oishii Bonanza is a mid-to-high volatility slot, so wins tend to be less frequent but can be larger when they land.
• How many paylines does Oishii Bonanza have?

  It doesn’t have paylines. Symbols pay anywhere on the screen, and the total number of the same symbol at the end of a spin determines the win.
• What is the grid size of Oishii Bonanza?

  Oishii Bonanza uses a 6×5 grid of symbols.
• What is the minimum and maximum bet on Oishii Bonanza?

  Bets run from 0.20 to 125.00 per spin.
• Can you buy the bonus on Oishii Bonanza?

  Yes. On the 20x bet multiplier you can buy the Free Spins Round for a price equal to 100x the base bet. On the 25x bet multiplier the buy feature is disabled, but the natural chance of triggering free spins is doubled.
• How do you trigger free spins in Oishii Bonanza?

  Land four or more scatter symbols anywhere on the screen and the round begins with 10 free spins. Hitting three or more scatters during the round adds another 5 spins on top.
• Who makes Oishii Bonanza?

  Oishii Bonanza is made by Pragmatic Play.