Kawaii Kitty

With the rising popularity of anime bleeding into the mainstream, such as that new Ghost in a Shell movie, it was only a matter of time before slot companies started to make a move for the market, and Kawaii Kitty’s name makes it a dead giveaway that it is aimed to people who enjoy such an artstyle, and people who love cats. It’s a 5-reel, 10-payline game in which you take care of a white kitten and the icons on the playing field are based around grooming and feeding it. If it seems familiar – it should, as this Betsoft release is a clone of Fruit Zen by the same developer.

The presentation is quite smooth and relaxed, with somewhat calming music that you might end up hearing in an elevator. However, whether or not you will enjoy the graphics depends if you enjoy a somewhat overtly cutesy style. This is cemented by the fact that, much like in Gonzo’s Quest, the kitty is always sitting off to the side and reacting to your wins, and can be a distraction, or an annoyance if you aren’t a fan of her design.
Meanwhile, the gameplay side was a bit sparse. Betsoft made the choice to remove free spins and use a smaller number of paylines, and to make up for this, they allowed players to win from left to right, and right to left, and each time a Wild appears, in the shape of a yarn, it activates a re-spin. None of this is bad by itself, but it isn’t enough to make up for the fact that there are no other special features to activate, nor the somewhat boring paytable.

The issue only grows worse as we progress forward and find out there aren’t any progressive jackpots to work towards. This means that your highest possible win is 250 coins for a five-of-a-kind score, not even breaking 50x your total bet, despite the fact five-of-a-kind wins count pay twice. And the wins below it drop off rapidly, which ends up being a net disappointment.

It isn’t as if Kawaii Kitty is meant to be won a lot, either. We had a fair few wins from time to time, but far from enough that it’d balance out by the end of it all. You can play this slot for $0.02 up to $100 per spin, which should cover both casual players and profit minded gamblers, even if the gameplay itself might leave them a bit bored.

Since this is all about one cute white kitten, it makes sense all the symbols are about pampering said cat. A can of tuna, a bowl full of treats, a little yellow bow, fish shaped toys, a squeaky mouse, a cheerful green brush, and a cartoon of milk will be the symbols you see most when playing, even more so as they tend to come in stacked from time to time.

Wilds will be what you will count on the most to shake things up. Largely due to the fact Kawaii Kitty has no other bonuses on offer, which is a major oversight in our opinion. Wilds can only appear on the second, third and fourth reel, and when they do, they expand to fully cover the reel and grant you a re-spin. Thanks to the fact reels pay left to right and right to left, Wilds will usually end up with a satisfying win, but not always.