Review: Cherry Blossom, Dolphin King
Software developers Vegas Technology have been pumping out a few good-to-outstanding games lately, stuff like the retro-in-theme Evel Knievel, the retro-in-feel Go For Gold, and the most excellent Solomon’s Mines. And so the twin release of a couple of new games is a bit of a disappointment to this Vegas Technology fan: While both Cherry Blossom and Dolphin King are decent enough plays, neither is up to Vegas’ recent blood-pumping standards.
The flip of a coin and ... we’ll talk Cherry Blossom first. Oddly released this month (shouldn’t it have been in January, at the very least?), Cherry Blossom is a pretty enough 5-reel online slot featuring lots of Japana with building, red lamp, fan and – naturally – geisha symbols. A bar of ethereal music (think epic Hollywood movie-type fluff) of either woodwind or string plays with a win. And, despite the overwhelming presence of the cherry blossom in real-life Japan, the SCATTERing symbol appears rarely here but good for 15 to 25 free spins with three or more.
Nice-looking, too, is the new online slot Dolphin King. LCD is a sucker for the aquatic theme in general and Dolphin King is just as pleasingly blue and organic as the best of ‘em. The fish and seashell symbols are pleasant enough, while the eponymous marine mammal (oddly the only anthropomorphized character) chitters realistically on a win, a brilliant sound effect that – despite what you’d suspect – doesn’t get old quickly. The SCATTER is a black pearl; slightly ominous for those who have read Steinbeck's book on that particular subject.
Cherry Blossom and Dolphin King have a few commonalities, including the bouncing reel video effect, the mellow rhythm of play, the ubiquitous A-K-Q-J-10-9 (Do they really play poker in Atlantis?) run, and seemingly an unfortunate tightness of reel – LCD’ll have to give it a shot later, maybe. And while both are OK enough games, LCD’s eagerly awaiting the next original work outta Vegas. LCD rating for both games: Average, average, average...
Cherry Blossom and Dolphin King are yours for the playin' at any Vegas Technology-powered online casino, including Online Vegas and Go Casino.