Aiko and the Wind Spirit

Aiko and the Wind Spirit: Slot Overview

In an industry that gets bored easily and demands innovation, studios have to think outside the box or risk withering into irrelevance. One studio which consistently steps up to lead gamblers into the unknown is software provider Hacksaw Gaming - both in terms of imaginative themes and groundbreaking gameplay. In the case of Aiko and the Wind Spirit, the studio surprises in its choice of subject matter, and while its gameplay possesses some bread 'n' butter Hacksaw Gaming techniques, modifications add a certain freshness to the familiarity.

If you're into this sort of topic or style, Aiko and the Wind Spirit is likely to come across as very enchanting. It has an almost dream-like quality, which progresses from a base game depicting Aiku and her cat Mishu in a calm, quiet, peaceful rural environment into other more mystical situations. It is very different to possible competitor slots such as Moon Princess, Mochimon, or Starlight Princess 1000. It's less, what's the way to put it, focused on leggy cartoon femmes and more focused on dreamy storytelling. There are spirits, a cuddly cat, and a naive innocence that's not only very different from Hacksaw Gaming's usual work but also very different from the majority of slots in general.

With 14 paylines, winning combinations form from the leftmost side of the 5x4 gaming grid on adjacent reels. Aiko and the Wind Spirit is a medium-high volatility slot with an RTP of 96.29% at its highest configuration, accepting bets ranging from 10c to $/€100 per spin.

Jack to Ace card ranks lead the pay symbol list off, followed by a hard-to-identify object, panpipes, Mishu the cat, Aiku, and what looks like another character. Winning combinations 5 symbols in length pay 1x when made up of royals or 2.5x to 10x when made up of premiums. When wilds are on the grid, they substitute any pay symbols and award 10x for a 5 OAK wild line.

Aiko and the Wind Spirit: Slot Features

Aiko and the Wind Spirit delivers a bit of old, a bit of newer, for Hacksaw Gaming. Old comes in the form of expanding wild multiplier symbols, the newer-ish from the respin and nudge effect. On top of these are three bonus rounds, one of which is hidden, and feature buys.

Expanded Wild Spirits

When a Spirit symbol lands, it expands into a Wild Spirit, upwards to the top of the reel - if the expanded symbol would be part of a win. When a wild symbol expands, it reveals a multiplier of x2 to x100, which applies to all wins that pass through it. Spirit symbols on the top row will still be counted as expanded Wild Spirits if part of a win. Multipliers are added together before being applied when more than one is part of the same win.

Zephyr Crest Symbols

The Zephyr Crest symbol activates when at least one Wild Spirit and one Zephyr Crest symbol are on the grid at the same time. When activated, the Zephyr Crest expands all Spirit symbols, even if they are not part of a win. All Wild Spirit symbols are nudged one reel to the left if the reel is not already occupied by a Wild Spirit (they cannot be nudged off the leftmost reel), awarding a respin, and applying a new multiplier to each Wild Spirit in view. New Spirits and Zephyr Crest symbols can land on a respin, triggering more Wild Spirits and nudges. Only one Zephyr Crest can land at a time.

Spirited Spins - Bonus Game

This bonus is activated by landing 3 FS scatters in the base game, awarding 10 free spins. The base game mechanics carry over, plus there is a greater chance of landing Spirit and Zephyr Crest symbols. In all three bonus rounds, hitting 2 or 3 FS symbols awards a further +2 or +4 free spins, respectively.

Whispering Winds - Bonus Game

Whispering Winds and 10 free spins are triggered when landing 4 FS scatters in the base game. This feature has the same rules as Spirited Spins, with the addition of an x0 Memory multiplier above each reel. When a Wild Spirit lands on a reel with a Memory value of x0, it reveals a multiplier that applies to the win. This multiplier is then stored in the Memory. When a new Wild Spirit lands on a reel with a Memory Value of x2 or higher, its multiplier is revealed and combined with the Memory multiplier. This total multiplier applies to all wins the reel is part of. Before the next spin, the total multiplier is stored in the Memory. This process remains the same during respins, where Wild Spirits receive a new multiplier when nudged.

Midnight Magic - Hidden Epic Bonus

Landing 5 FS scatters in the base game awards 10 free Midnight Magic spins. This feature has the same rules as Whispering Wind, plus each spin guarantees at least 2 Wild Spirits.

Feature Buy

This is where it is possible to activate BonusHunt FeatureSpins at 3x the bet to make each spin 5 times more likely to trigger a bonus game or Aiko FeatureSpins at 50x, which guarantees a win with at least 2 Spirit symbols. Non-hidden bonus rounds can be bought at 100x for Spirited Spins or 200x for Whispering Winds.

Aiko and the Wind Spirit: Slot Verdict

Hacksaw Gaming hasn't gone wild with Aiko and the Wind Spirit's features, preferring to lean on the expanding wild multiplier symbol antics the studio is famous for. It is a useful modifier, not only potentially making an entire reel wild, helping connect matching symbols, but multiplying them by up to x100 - or more when more than one wild reel is part of the same win. Fortunately, the studio hasn't just dredged up a favoured effect then left things there, but has tinkered via the nudge and respin effect - triggered by the Zephyr Chest symbol. Generally speaking, since the bulk of a slot's action tends to happen towards the leftmost side of the grid, having expanded multiplier wilds move to the left might be a positive move.

It's not the most crazy, unique mechanic Hacksaw Gaming has come up with since a variation appeared in Undead Fortune back in 2022, but it does add a twist and prevents the expanding wild multipliers feature from coming across as completely stale. The addition of Memory multipliers when reaching the Whispering Wind bonus round or higher helps, too, though they feel very Hacksaw as well. None of it is bad stuff by any means, and good for knocking out payouts up to a 10,000x the bet cap. Having said that, it feels like players may be drawn to Aiko and the Wind Spirit for its theme as much, if not more, than anything else, given how enchanting the skin is, though this is no bad thing.

In short, gamblers with a fondness for anime, manga, or Asian-style animation owe it to themselves to give Aiko and the Wind Spirit a try. It has a gentleness that you just don't see much in a slot. Even if the subject matter isn't your cup of tea, Aiko and the Wind Spirit might also suit players who get a kick from Hacksaw Gaming's expanding wild multipliers and are keen to sample an evolution of the feature.