Zillard King: Slot Overview
On the off-chance 'Zillard' had some hidden cultural meaning that eluded us, we had a little internet search to enlighten ourselves. However, unless the connection is buried deep on page 2 of Google, it seems Zillard King from Red Tiger is basically a Godzilla wannabe without going through the time or expense of obtaining a licensing. So, while Zillard King isn't a branded slot as such, it definitely puts you in mind of a giant lizard rising from the sea to destroy some coastal city. Gaming wise, the rules are straightforward – collect coins to improve the wild symbol and unlock an extra reel. That's it; there are no bonus games around here.
If a giant lizard pulled itself out of the ocean on a mission of destruction, it would probably do so on the sort of day found in Zillard King. We're talking dark throbbing clouds, crackling lightning, strong winds, heavy sea - a storm is definitely brewing in more ways than one. In the background lies a generic city, naively unaware it's about to be devastated while the sea looks nothing short of menacing. It's all a bit of a rip-off, but oh well, Red Tiger has ripped it well, and the game was fun for a few spins.
Zillard King is played on a 5-reel, 4-row game grid, while the sixth reel starts as a progress meter where coins are stored when they are collected. The game is playable on any device and allows players to set bets from 10 p/c to $/€20 per spin. It's also medium volatile, generating a return to player value of 96%. Potential isn't amazing at 3,800x, but with the way Zillard King is set up, as in no bonus game, the rewards aren't so bad.
To win, players are provided with 30 fixed paylines to land winning combinations of at least three of a kind across. Play long enough, and you can unlock the sixth reel, which only displays high paying symbols. These are compasses, gas masks, choppers, and orbs worth 3-15 times the bet for five of a kind, increasing to 6-30x the stake for six of a kind. Low pays never appear on the sixth reel and consists of the four card suits (clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades), paying out 0.6 to 1.5x the bet for five of a kind.
Zillard King: Slot Features
The main objective of Zillard King is to collect gold coins to unlock Zillard Wild upgrades. Gold coins randomly appear on the bottom right-hand corner of any symbols on the game grid. If gold coins land on the same spin as a Zillard Wild, they are collected and progress the Zillard Wild Progress Bar.
Zillard Wild
The wild replaces any paying symbols to complete winning lines. As gold coins are collected, the Zillard Wild is upgraded in a series of three steps:
- Upgrade 1 occurs after 30 gold coins have been collected and turns the Zillard Wild into a full reel 1x4 size symbol.
- Upgrade 2 occurs after 60 gold coins have been collected and adds a random multiplier to the Zillard Wild.
- Upgrade 3 occurs after 90 gold coins have been collected and turns the Zillard Wild sticky. It remains locked on the reels until it participates in one win, followed by a non-winning spin.
For each consecutive win it participates in, the win multiplier increases up to x20. After the first non-winning spin after at least one winning spin, the Zillard Wild is removed from the reels and reset. Once all of the three upgrades have occurred, the Progress Bar turns into a 6th reel. On this reel, only high paying symbols can land - no low pays or any wilds appear on it.
Thunder Wilds
When a Zillard Wild symbol lands but there is no win, there is a chance he roars to summon Thunder Wilds onto the game grid to guarantee a win. You get 3-6 Thunder Wilds if five reels are active, or 3-9 if the sixth reel has been unlocked.
Zillard King: Slot Verdict
For what it is, Zillard King provided quite a fun playthrough. Red Tiger has combined an upgrade element with a dash of cinematography to create a slot with a video game-esque feel. Red Tiger has a soft spot for slots that slowly get better and better the longer you play them, unlocking features as you progress. This is an approach with pros and cons, and in Zillard King, it's mostly positive. Some will argue against having to put in a bit of effort to get to the best bits, which has merit, yet Zillard King's journey was half the fun, and it didn't take obscene amounts of time to progress through the upgrades.
On that note, Zillard King felt quite well balanced between presenting a challenge and dropping enough rewards and upgrades along the way to stay engaged. The actual upgrades themselves are good at providing motivation to keep pushing forward to see what the next one will do. Once you reach the end, there is a danger of interest levels dropping off once you have seen everything. It was a clever move, only dropping high paying symbols on the sixth reel, though, doubling the values of six premium symbol wins over five symbol combinations. Zillard King isn't a massive potential slot, though with max wins at 3,800x stake possible, without a bonus game, potential isn't terrible either.
Some less than great points are the slightly corny way the Godzilla concept has been used, avoiding any use of the G-word to sidestep copyright issues. Doing it this way does give Zillard King a sort of cheap knock-off feel a proper branded slot wouldn't have. But, if this isn't an issue, and you consider the journey to be as good as the destination, then Zillard King's thriller movie flavoured progression system is probably worth a whirl.
If you consider the journey to be as good as the destination, then Zillard King's thriller movie flavoured progression system is probably worth a whirl.
