Microgaming launches Manga themed Fortune Girl Pokies

When I saw the title of Microgaming‘s latest 5 reel release, Fortune Girl Pokies, my first thought was, “Okay, they’re putting out a new game for the ladies”. When it appeared on Royal Vegas, I quickly realized the error of my assumption. This abundantly endowed, manga-style girl is definitely targeting the male audience.

In reality, it’s another Oriental themed poker machine. This one incorporates popular Japanese, manga-style comic book graphics. I actually found the main character to be a little off-putting. She seems a bit young to be bouncy her chest about in such suggestive animation.

But I’m not here to judge the graphic designers. My goal, as always, is to deliver an honest Fortune Girl review, deciphering the features and pay table to determine whether it’s a game worth recommending to you, the reader. So without further ado…

Fortune Girl Review – From the Top

A I said, Fortune Girl pokies has a manga-theme, where the main character is a rich (spoiled) young girl who’s showing off all her material goodies. The sound track is 100% Oriental, and gentle enough not to get annoying. It’s a 5 reel game with 15 fixed paylines, so the bet range starts at (and increases in increments of) $0.15.

The symbols include the Fortune Girl, gold lion, gold chest, ornate purse, abacus, ingots, a “mystery” symbol, and five Japanese writing symbols as the game’s lower paying icons. I don’t know Japanese myself, but I’d be willing to bet they represent the same generic playing card values Microgaming loves so much.

Fortune Girl Review – Features

The Fortune Girl is the wild, but there’s nothing special about it. There’s no multiplier or payout for wilds on a line. It only replaces all other symbols besides scatters.

This game also features a Mystery Symbol, represented by a pair of circular golden doors. Once the reels stop, the doors will open to reveal another symbol. It can be any other symbol in the game, including wilds. All doors on the screen will always reveal the same symbol, and it will always be a symbol that is already present somewhere else on the reels, thereby increasing the chance of winning something.

During free spins, Mystery Symbols always appear stacked, and they can also become scatters.

The Gold Lion idol is the scatter, and will deliver 14 free spins when 3 or more appear on the reels. Free spins can’t be retriggered, but for every 3 that appear in a single spin during free games, the multiplier will increase 1x. The multiplier starts at 1x and is capped at 5x. If 15 scatters happen to appear at once during free games, a bonus payout of 1,200x is awarded.

Fortune Girl Review – My Opinion

Regardless of the theme, no good pokies game should lack a decent pay table. I don’t expect to win every time – no realistic player does. But they have to give us something to work with.

Unfortunately, Microgaming has been delivering some abysmally low pay tables recently in an ostensible effort to infuse more frequent wins and features. Fortune Girl pokies is no different. Lining up a winning combo that’s worth more than the total bet isn’t an easy thing to do.

In my experience, Fortune Girl pokies hits winning combos like a medium variance game, but only offers the pays of a low variance game. Maybe I just had a bad run of luck, but I don’t see myself playing this one again, and can’t honestly recommend it to others.