Overview
The first notable aspect about this 5 reel game is that it has 100 pay lines. The standard for many slots is 20 to 30 pay lines, so you can immediately see why this game is still intriguing today.
The 100 pay lines become even more attractive when you consider that you can activate 2 pay lines for only one cent. So you can unlock all 100 pay lines for as little as $0.50 per spin.
Of course, this doesn't mean you're going to break the casino bank, but 100 pay lines creates a lot of possibilities on any single spin.
You can also set the coin size from $0.01 to $1.00, making the minimum bet one cent and the maximum bet $50.00. And like many Aristocrat slots, you can use the auto spin feature to let the reels take anywhere from 5 to 50 spins without you having to do anything.
We have to say that the number of pay lines and the relatively low cost are definite assets for Wild Panda.
Unfortunately, the rest of the game is pretty basic.
Graphics and Animations
The graphics are mediocre, the sound effects are generic and you won't find any wild symbols during the main game. This isn't the first Aristocrat slot to only have wilds in the bonus round, but it's still worth noting.
As for the theme, you won't be surprised to learn that it's about pandas in an Asian bamboo forest. Symbols include many stereotypical aspects of Asian culture such as temples, lotus flowers, oriental umbrellas, Chinese coins and golden fish statues.
The game's background is nothing special either, as it's a red bamboo forest, although it's hard to tell that it's bamboo until you take a closer look.
On the plus side, this slot machine's cover art, featuring a realistic panda eating bamboo, certainly looks good. We imagine this is one of the reasons why Wild Panda initially caught the attention of players walking around casinos.
You won't see many animations for winning payouts in this game, as most of the animations consist of the symbols flashing when you win. A few exceptions include the panda eating bamboo when it appears in a winning combination and cherry blossom leaves sweeping over the temple.
The Temple winning combinations feature traditional Asian music, which is one of the few times you can hear a unique jingle during wins. The Temple is also the top paying symbol, paying 1,000 coins when it appears five times in a winning combination.
The Chinese coin is the scatter symbol and multiplies payouts by 4x for 3 symbols, 40x for 4 symbols and 200x for 5 symbols. Assuming you're able to get five temples on a payline coupled with three scatters on the reels, you'll win the grand total prize of 200,000 credits.
Bonus Round
So far, we've painted a picture that Wild Panda simply doesn't have anything special to offer players in the modern slots industry.
However, we have to give this game credit for the inventive way it triggers the bonus round.
Like many slots, Wild Panda has generic letters and numbers for some of its lower paying symbols. But the A, K and Q have letters written over them that, when combined, spell out the word PANDA.
If you are able to get all five of these letters on the reels at once, all other symbols will disappear while the word PANDA is formed.
The bonus round is pretty basic as you only get 5 free spins. But what makes it special is that you finally get to use the panda wild symbol.
The panda substitutes for any symbol except the Chinese coin scatter and you'll usually see a lot of pandas on screen during the free spins.
We're back to something that's pretty basic here in Wild Panda's bonus round. But trying to spell out the word PANDA can be really addictive and keep you spinning the reels.
We noticed quite a few near misses where three or four letters would appear on the screen. While this doesn't trigger any free spins, it does keep your hopes up and makes the game a little more interesting.
Wild Panda Online
You can easily find Wild Panda online these days, which is more than can be said for some of Aristocrat's other popular slots.
The only downside to this is that the online version is exactly the same as what you'll find in land-based casinos. We imagine that Aristocrat did this because the land-based machine has become rarer and some people still want a chance to enjoy this classic game.
Regardless, if you've played Wild Panda in a land-based casino, you'll be playing exactly the same game online.
Unfortunately, Wild Panda is not available for Android or iOS devices, unlike many modern mobile slot games.
Wild Panda Compared to Other Aristocrat Slots
Since Aristocrat hasn't released any updated versions or sequels to Wild Panda, we'll compare this game to some other popular slots that Aristocrat released around the same time.
Big Red
This is pretty much a replica of Wild Panda, except that it takes place in the Australian outback and features a muscle-bound kangaroo.
The graphics are a little worse in this game, and you don't have to spell out words to trigger the 5-spin bonus round. But one nice feature is that day turns to night as you play.
Buffalo
Buffalo has slightly better graphics and animations than Wild Panda. For example, the buffalo will charge at you when it appears in a winning combination.
The bonus variety is a little better too, as you can trigger 8, 15 or 20 free spins by getting 3 to 5 scatters on the reels.
Tiki Torch
This Polynesian adventure features Tiki statues, huts and canoes. The graphics quality and animations are about the same as what you'll see in Wild Panda.
The bonus round consists of 8 free spins, which is similar to the basic setup of the Wild Panda bonus round. However, you trigger the Tiki Torch bonus round with three Pearl scatter symbols.
Summary
It's always hard to compare a slot from the 90's to something released a decade or two later. Slots technology has improved so much that there's no way that Wild Panda can really compete with anything produced in the 2000s.
But there are some good qualities to Wild Panda, such as its low spin cost, 100 pay lines and bonus triggering concept.
As mentioned before, only having to spend one cent to activate two pay lines is nice. And trying to get all five PANDA letters on the screen also adds a little fun to the game.
So if any of this sounds appealing to you, keep in mind that you can easily try Wild Panda online. However, for the vast majority of slots players, this game doesn't have the graphics or features that make it worth playing over many other games.
