Legendary Battle of the Nian Slot Review

Legendary Battle of the Nian - Slot Game Overview

I first sat down with Legendary Battle of the Nian because I like myth based slots, and the Ancient China setting grabbed me. The story of villagers terrorised by a monstrous beast with the head of a lion comes straight from the Chinese legend, and the slot plays it out with drums, lanterns and fireworks. On the surface it looks like a fairly standard oriental cascading reels game.

It runs on a 5 by 3 layout with 243 ways to win, so any three matching symbols on consecutive reels from the left will do. Cascading wins clear any combination and drop new symbols in, with wild dragons helping out on reels two to five. Base game play can feel a bit slow, though the legend theme and constant symbol drops give the slot a steady rhythm.

Legendary Battle of the Nian Slot Details

Legendary Battle of the Nian is a medium volatility video slot from Blue Guru Games with a default RTP of 96.14 percent, though there are versions at 94.20, 92.22 and even 90.20. Stakes run from about 0.30 up to 130 credits per spin, with a hit frequency close to one in four spins. The maximum advertised win sits around 5,000 times bet, with some sheets quoting 5,956 times stake.

Symbols in Legendary Battle of the Nian

I found the paytable in Legendary Battle of the Nian straightforward. At the low end you get 9, 10, J, Q, K and A, paying from around 0.54 up to 1 times your bet for five of a kind. Premium symbols are cymbals, bells, drums and lanterns, and lining up five across the reels pays between about 1.33 and 6.66 times your stake, depending on the icon.

The Chinese dragon wild has no value on its own, yet it does the heavy lifting by substituting for pay symbols on reels two, three, four and five. Firework scatters are the other key icon – land at least three in view to trigger free games, and during the bonus each scatter marks or upgrades its reel position for the later cash prize reveal sequence.

Symbols and Paytable

Symbol	Quantity	Payout
	5	x6.66
	4	x1.33
	3	x0.66
	5	x1.66
	4	x1
	3	x0.5
	5	x1.33
	4	x0.66
	3	x0.33
	5	x1.33
	4	x0.66
	3	x0.33
	5	x1
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.33
	5	x1
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.33
	5	x0.66
	4	x0.33
	3	x0.16
	5	x0.66
	4	x0.33
	3	x0.16
	5	x0.66
	4	x0.33
	3	x0.16
	5	x0.66
	4	x0.33
	3	x0.16
	Scatter
	Wild

Legendary Battle of the Nian Slot Features

In regular play Legendary Battle of the Nian is all about cascades. After each win, the winning symbols explode from the grid and new or existing ones fall in from above, and this keeps going as long as you connect more ways. Wild dragons appear on the middle four reels only, standing in for everything except scatters, and they can be vital for stretching a single spin into a long cascade chain.

Hitting three or more firework scatters launches the Battle of the Nian feature with fifteen free spins. The positions that held the triggering scatters turn into level one firework spots, shown in bronze, and any new scatter that lands during the feature will mark or upgrade its position. A second scatter on the same spot turns it silver (level two), while a third one changes it to a gold level three firework position.

When the free spins finish, all highlighted positions in Legendary Battle of the Nian reveal cash prizes. Level one spots award between 0.5 and 1.33 times bet, level two pays from 1.67 up to 5 times bet, and level three gives 6.67 to 16.67 times stake or a Minor prize of 33.33 times bet or Major prize of 166.67 times bet. Three scatters during the bonus add fifteen spins, and in certain markets a feature buy costs 60 times stake.

Legendary Battle of the Nian - How to Play

Playing Legendary Battle of the Nian is very simple. I pick a stake that suits my balance, hit spin and then watch for three or more matching symbols from the leftmost reel. Any win can lead into a cascade sequence, which is where a lot of the value hides. For bonus hunting I focus on landing three firework scatters, as those fifteen free games and the prize reveal can save a session.

The 200 Spins Legendary Battle of the Nian Slot Experience

I ran a long test session that went past two hundred spins on Legendary Battle of the Nian. The base game was mainly a steady grind of small cascades, with the odd longer chain when wilds dropped in on the middle reels. It felt like a scatter hunt more than anything, and I often bailed out by buying the feature instead of waiting for natural triggers.

In one highlight I triggered the bonus with four scatters, so started with an extra marked position. Spins came and went with plenty of level one and a couple of level two upgrades, yet very few level three spots. The final reveal gave a chunk of small prizes but no Minor or Major, which matched my feeling that the feature can be a predictable anti climax unless you hit gold positions early.

Legendary Battle of the Nian Final Verdict

For me Legendary Battle of the Nian sits somewhere in the middle of Blue Guru's catalogue. It is far from their most ambitious work, and the oriental visuals can feel a bit disorienting, while the pace of the cascading mechanic in the base game is on the slow side. It also lacks any random features, so a long dry patch without scatters can drag if you play without a feature buy.

On the upside, I like the medium volatility profile and steady hit rate, as it gives more game time than many high variance ways slots. The prize reveal at the end of the free spins can deliver a nice crescendo when several positions reach level three, and the 5,000 times bet Grand Prize with overall potential around 5,956 times stake keeps me coming back when I fancy a Chinese themed cascade session.

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