Red Phoenix Slot
The Phoenix, if you didn’t know already, is a mythical bird that rises from the ashes of a fire to signify rebirth, or a new beginning. It’s a particularly significant feature in tales of Asian cultures, and it should therefore come as no surprise to find that the Red Phoenix video slot game comes from a developer based in Taiwan. CQ9 Gaming has become popular in the region for its many games themed around regional customs and traditions, but Red Phoenix is part of a rapidly growing collection designed to appeal to a more international audience without forgetting the Asian roots of the company.
Red Phoenix is a 5-reel, 50-line game where the symbols are laid out over 3 rows. Like most CQ9 Gaming slots, it’s highly detailed with lots of little design features to make it stand out. These include a nice background image of trees and mountains, plus intricately rendered symbols where even the individual feathers of the Phoenix can be picked out. Some of those feathers serve as a wild symbol to complete extra winning lines, while a golden Phoenix egg triggers a free spins bonus round in which a flaming Phoenix becomes an extra wild icon.
In common with all CQ9 Gaming slot machines, this one is optimized for play across multiple devices – although on the smaller screens of smartphones, you could lose some of the finer details. But the gameplay is unaffected, and you still benefit from the high return-to-player percentages and guarantees of fair play that are found across the CQ9 range. Some 200 designers, developers, mathematicians and software engineers are based at the studios of this company, all devoted to bringing easy-to-play slot games with unique features to clients and players alike. By picking a popular creature from local legends, they will be hoping they won’t get their fingers burned by Red Phoenix.
Seeing Red
Standard wins come from landing 3 of the same symbol across any of the 50 lines from the left side. The lowest value is paid by the 10, J, or Q, with each being worth 5, 20, or 100 times the line stake when seen on 3, 4, or 5 reels. The K and A symbols are worth 30 times when seen on 4 reels, but other than this difference, the payouts are identical. It’s perhaps a shame that these common symbols have been included without even looking suitably Oriental in style. But many punters won’t mind and will just be happy to collect the frequent prizes that are spun up by these icons.
Higher prizes are claimed when the animal symbols appear, and each of these is made to look like a gold painting on colored stone tablets – which is fairly unique but still quite attractive. There’s a swift and tortoise, each worth up to 200x, while the songbird pays up to 250x and a stylized koi carp pays a high limit of 300x when it crosses a line.
The Phoenix is worth a consolation prize of 5x the line stake just for landing on reels 1 and 2, but when this magnificent beast is also on reels 3, 4 and 5, the returns are worth 30x, 120x and then 600x. The wild feathers symbol is worth the same, but of course it has the added advantage of being able to substitute for all except the golden egg if it can then complete a winning combination.
Cracking Open the Free Spins Feature
A scaly golden egg, which must have been uncomfortable to lay for the poor Phoenix, is a scatter symbol worth 2x, 10x or 100x the total bet when it stops in any 3, 4, or 5 places in a single spin. Depending on how many scatter symbols appeared, you are then awarded 10, 15, or 25 free spins. CQ9 Gaming has evenroughout these spins. When the standard Phoenix symbol appears on reel 1 in any free game, it will transform into a wild symbol, where it’s seen flying out of the flames. This image will then move across one reel at a time over the next 4 spins, or until the round ends, whichever is sooner.
It’s worth noting that if the wild symbol appears on the right-side reel, it will become another walking wild that moves to reel 1 on the left side in the next spin. This Walking Wildmax feature can lead to prizes of 3000x the line stake, and as the free games can be retriggered to a total of up to 50 spins, there should be plenty of opportunities to claim winnings before they are done. Any new spins start as soon as the current round is done, and while you’re going to have to be pretty lucky to retrigger the games several times over, anything is possible.
Betting on the Big Bird
Wagering options range from the low limit of just 0.50 each spin right up to 300.00. Most punters are going to find a sweet spot between these to suit their bankrolls, although free Red Phoenix video slots are also there for practice purposes. Other control buttons can speed things up in turbo mode, and there’s an autoplay button that sets them spinning on their own, over and over again, until either the feature is triggered, you click to stop them, or your preset win and loss limits are hit. A nice, calming soundtrack can be played, accompanying the soft whirrs and clicks as the symbols tumble into place. However, it doesn’t have any obvious connection to the subject matter.
More Phoenix-Themed Games
A couple of other online casino slots are based around this magical creature, including Phoenix and the Dragon from Genesis Gaming. If these battling beasts land on reels 1 and 5 at the same time, a unique feature is triggered where they fight for supremacy. This sees them awarding either free spins with extra wild symbols on the reels if the Phoenix wins, or a pick-a-cloud feature if the Dragon comes out on top. It’s a 5-reel game where the action unfolds over 25 paylines. Other treats include wild multiplier payouts and a game logo that’s worth up to 50x the total stake.
Fire Bird, from Italian developer Octavian Gaming, is themed around a magical sorceress who’s got a pet Phoenix with her that acts as a scatter symbol to launch a free spins bonus feature. A book of spells also comes with magical properties. This dusty tome will open up to reveal win multipliers, while a second level to the bonus round sees jewelry boxes revealing even more coin awards.
Rising From the Ashes?
The Red Phoenix video slot comes with some hot features and gameplay guaranteed to warm the hearts of players. While the impressive design features are a factor that’s going to draw the players to this slot, what’s really interesting is the ease of play, wide choice of betting options, and high returns it comes with.
We mustn’t forget the bonus round, of course, with those wild symbols marching across a reel at a time throughout. While this won’t always see extra combinations being formed, with up to 25 spins awarded, there’s plenty of scope to collect prizes. This slot machine is playable across multiple mobile devices, and it is now available at casinos in Asia and beyond where the extensive CQ9 Gaming range is featured.
