Konami Review
General Information
- Android
- Iphone
- Windows Phone
Overview
Konami is one of the world’s oldest slot machine developers, and the company was founded way back in 1969, in Osaka, Japan. The company was created by Kagamasa Kouzuki, and his business partners were Yoshinobu Nakama and Tatuso Miyasako. Initially, the company was a repair business (also renting jukeboxes to local residents), although just a few years after launching, Konami started developing its own arcade games. Two of their games – Super Cobra and Scramble – achieved notable success in Japan, and Konami also enjoyed high levels of success in the USA, being one of the first companies to enter the home game console niche.
As the company continued to grow, they started developing slot machines – and while they didn’t really see large-scale success until the late 90’s – Konami stuck at it, and in 2005 they moved their headquarters to Vegas. Today, the company has offices in a number of locations across the globe, including the USA, Australia, and Japan – and the developer continues to push out volatile, yet exciting games for players to enjoy.
In this software review, we’re going to be taking a look at what Konami have to offer – and we will be looking at, first, the software platform used by the company to deliver their games, followed by some company information, and pros and cons. We will also take a look at 10 of the game developer’s most popular and successful releases, so that you have an idea of which of their games have proved to be the most successful. So, without waiting around any longer, let’s get started!
Software Platform
Unfortunately, a lot of Konami’s slots still rely on using Flash to deliver their games – and this means that not all of their games render too well on mobile devices. Only some of their newest releases are mobile-optimized – meaning they can be played from phones and tablets – and while this is likely to change in the near-future, it’s worth pointing this out, as players who enjoy playing from their mobile devices may find Konami’s games difficult to load.
Popular Games
Konami offer a varied selection of games – and the vast majority of their titles are video slots. While they’ve developed games for both the on, and offline markets, their efforts are primarily focused on online video slots today – and below, we’re going to take a look at 10 of their most popular video slots, available to play at online casinos today.
Wonder Rose: Wonder Rose is a mythical-themed video slot from Konami, and from the moment you first open up the game, you’ll be transported to a beautiful-looking garden, filled with exotic birds, colourful insects, and red roses and diamonds. The game is one of Konami’s first online releases to feature a free-spins round (a bonus that can end up paying massively), and this 30-payline slot delivers exciting action on every spin, making it a “must play” for those unfamiliar with Konami’s games.
Chili Chili Fire: Chili Chili Fire is Konami’s hottest game – and from the moment you load up the slot, you’ll be inundated with hotness. Yes, this Mexican-themed slot is packed-full with exciting features and bonuses, one of the best of which is known as the “Fade Away” bonus. During this bonus, low-value symbols are chosen at random, and ‘scorched’ off the reels, giving you a much better chance of hitting a 4-of-a-kind or 5-of-a-kind win with one of the premium symbols.
China Shores: China Shores is one of Konami’s most popular Oriental-themed video slots, and this game is themed heavily around the cute, cuddly, and loveable pandas! The game is also one of the game developer’s most volatile releases – so if you’re going to give it a play, be aware that you could find yourself waiting around for quite some time before hitting a decent win; that being said, the win-potential is insane, especially during the bonus round – so it can often be well-worth waiting around for!
Dragon’s Law: Dragon’s Law is an Asian-influenced video slot from Konami – and, keeping in line with many of the developer’s releases, the slot offers up an exciting (yet highly volatile) gambling experience. This 30-payline slot uses a combination of game specific symbols (the higher-paying ones), and playing card values, including 10, jack, queen, king, and ace – the lower-paying symbols – on the reels, and a number of exciting bonuses and features await you, including the “Action Stacked Symbol” bonus, which sees entire reels filled!
Fortune Stacks: Fortune Stacks is yet another Oriental-themed video slot from Konami, and while it hasn’t achieved quite as much commercial success as some of the developer’s other games – it’s a title that packs some massive win-potential, thanks to the bonus round where you can find multiplying wilds, that multiply against one another! While landing the actual bonus isn’t the easiest of tasks, it can often be well-worth the wait in doing so – and if you’re lucky, you may even score a re-trigger, amounting to more free-spins!
Golden Wolves: If you’ve ever wanted to go a bit crazy and live amongst wolves for a bit, then Konami’s “Golden Wolves” is a game you will not want to miss! This mystic-themed slot transports you to a distant landscape, where you’ll see a stunning landscape backdrop, complete with beautiful native animals. The game offers decent win-potential in the form of a free-spins bonus – and this is triggered by landing three of the scatter symbols anywhere in view during the base-game. If you manage to land it, you could find yourself walking away with over 1,000X your bet each spin – so it can be worth sticking around for!
Imperial Wealth: Imperial Wealth is yet another Asian-inspired video slot from Konami, and this game features around the powerful Chinese Empire. Inside the game, you’ll see a number of fitting images and symbols, and the mighty red dragon is just one, that happens to be one of the best-paying symbols present in the game. Also notable for being one of Konami’s only games to render well on mobile devices, Imperial Wealth is both fun-to-play and exciting; it’s well-worth checking out if you’re looking to enjoy a new game from the developer.
Lion Festival: Boosted Celebration: Lion Festival: Boosted Celebration is another Oriental-themed slot from Konami (are you beginning to notice a pattern yet?), and this 30-payline game uses a relatively standardized format, to deliver an exciting and enchanting gaming experience. Like some of Konami’s slots, Lion Festival: Boosted Celebration is fully mobile-optimized, so you can enjoy the game’s action from your mobile devices as well as your desktop PC/laptop – and you’ll find yourself able to spin from as little as $0.30 as spin, making the game ideal, for those on a lower budget.
Pride of Egypt: Finally! A non-Asian themed slot from Konami! As you can probably tell, Pride of Egypt is themed around… well, Egypt… and this exciting video slot features everything from great-looking graphics and imagery, to exciting bonuses, and a lucrative base-game. It’s a game well-worth checking out – especially if you’re new to Konami slots, and want something that’s not too volatile to begin with.
Roman Tribune: Roman Tribune is a slot set back in the times of Ancient Rome – and this violent, bloodthirsty game will have you on the edge of your seat from the moment you load it up! Now, that’s not to say it’s not worth playing – and indeed, it’s quite the contrary – but just be aware that you’re going to need to enter battle courageously if you want to stand a chance of winning! Roman Tribune features exciting bonuses, great graphics and animations, and a whole lot more – so be sure to play it if you’re new to Konami games!
As you can see, Konami offer a broad and varied selection of slot games, and one of the things players like most about their titles, is the volatility. While this does mean their games are prone to what are known as dry spells, it also means that the games are capable of delivering BIG wins – it just might take a little longer than compared to conventional/traditional games to actually hit the bonus rounds and features.
Pros
Konami’s games are often incredibly volatile - and while this will be a turn-off to some players, it means there’s BIG win-potential available in many of their titles.
The game developer is pretty creative when it comes to their games; they often trial new concepts.
Their games can be found in multiple jurisdictions around the world
Cons
Many of their games (in particular, some of their older titles), don’t render particularly well on mobile devices.
As noted above, the volatility in many of their slots is incredibly high; while this can be seen as a positive, it can also be listed as a ‘con’, as many players prefer low-volatility games with frequent wins.
Games appear to be released quite sporadically