Casino Bonuses
| Provider | Hacksaw Gaming |
| Reels | 5 |
| Rows | 5 |
| Paylines | 15 |
| Bonus Rounds | 1 |
| Bet Range | 0.20 - 100 |
| Volatility | High |
| Max Win | 10,000x |
| Bonus Buy | Yes |
| RTP | 96.17% |
| Our Rating | 8.0 |
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Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Game Overview
I remember when I first saw the opening screen of Hacksaw Gaming’s Toshi Video Club online slot, and thought to myself could this game perhaps be inspired by the old Japanese game show hit Takeshi’s Castle? After the game finished loading, I soon saw that this was not the case, but the game does have a very distinctive Japanese look to it that I find visually pleasing in a silly type of way! Despite the larger than average reel set there are only 15-pay lines on this great looking game, although the maximum win of 10,000x+ is also higher than average. Some sites have stated the RTP of Toshi Video Club incorrectly – the correct figure is 96.17%, or 96.24% when using the feature buy option.
Aside from the feature buy, the main draw here are the various multipliers which can be collected during play. I’m not talking tiny 2x or 3x maximum multipliers here either, as with most other games – Toshi’ video club will often throw you a 5x, 10x, or 20x multiplier on your winnings. The free spin-based bonus round will keep your multiplier active between spins too, and the numbers can get extremely high very fast – all you need to do is hit something!
This is a fun one for sure, and if you haven’t played the game yet you should definitely give it a try – our free demo slot of Toshi Video Club is available to access below on your desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.
Toshi Video Club Slot Theme, Stakes, Pays & Symbols
We established the obvious Far-Eastern look of Toshi’ video club earlier, but it is worth looking a little closer and appreciating the finer details of this game while we are discussing the theme. From watching YouTube videos about Japan, I understand that most bars in the country will offer patrons small booths where groups of friends can drink in private, including a small TV screen which may be used for karaoke, video games, or watching sports events or movies. I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that Toshi’ Video Club – note the apostrophe in the game’s official title – is probably an imaginary Japanese bar. The apostrophe, by the way, usually means “Dash” when written in Japan and is a bit like adding “Super” or “Mega” as a prefix in the West. For example, the upgraded Champion Edition of the Street Fighter 2 arcade game was known as Street Fighter II’ in Japan.
A quick glance at the paytable reveals that the Wild symbol has a special return of 40x your stake – double that of the next highest symbol in the game. The highest-paying regular symbol is a small Frog Character, who I think we can assume may be Toshi himself, who returns 20x your bet for five-of-a-kind. After this, we have a Video Game Controller at 15x, a Television Screen at 10x, and a Videotape – remember those – also at 10x for all five. The higher-paying symbols just described all have an orange accent colour to them, whilst the regular-paying symbols are all denoted by monochrome grey icons. All the regular-paying symbols also pay identically at 5x stake for five-of-a-kind.
Stake selection is controlled by two buttons located either side of the spin button, so it is impossible to accidentally press the wrong button and make a huge max bet spin whilst playing Toshi Video Club. The minimum wager per spin is set at €0.20, whilst the maximum goes all the way to €100.00 per spin.
Base Game & Modifiers
You could be forgiven for thinking that this is a grid slot of some kind at first glance – the large, 5×5 reel set for example does give the game the same feel as a typical grid slot. It might be worth having a quick look at the layout of the fifteen pay lines before starting to play, as they are quite different from what you might expect. This is another “rolling reels” game where winning combinations are removed from the screen immediately after landing, allowing new symbols to appear in their place. This is particularly useful in Toshi Video Club because it allows you to collect additional multiplier symbols. Your total multiplier is displayed at the top of the screen as part of the game logo.
Daruma Multiplier Symbols
These strange looking symbols look like small, egg-shaped creatures with a cross on their forehead. The “small” Daruma has a babyish appearance and awards multipliers of up to 5x, whilst the “medium” Daruma has acquired a kind of moustache and can reward you with larger multipliers of up to 20x. There is also a “big” Daruma who appears much less often to throw you a 25x, 50x, or 100x multiplier, and finally, the Green Daruma will multiply your current multiplier by up to 5x – things can get really crazy when this guy shows up on the scene!
Toshi Video Club Slot Free Spins Feature
You’ll need to hit three or more of the “Free Spins” scatter symbols to win the bonus round in Toshi Video Club, but sadly these symbols do not have a return of their own. It doesn’t matter if you hit three, four, or five scatters – you still only win ten free spins, which feels a little unfair given that there is no cash prize assigned to them either.
The advantage of the free spin bonus round is that your current multiplier is retained for the duration of the feature, instead of just being held until you make your next paid spin. This gives you the opportunity to get some really crazy multipliers up on the board, and indeed I did get myself a multiplier of several hundred times on a handful of occasions while I was testing this game.
I was really excited the first time this happened and felt sure I was going to end my free spins with a gigantic score. It wasn’t to be, however – I had a couple of three-symbol hits that started out as €0.10, but you are going to need a multiplier in the thousands to convert a ten-cent win into something truly exciting.
In fairness to Hacksaw Gaming and the Toshi Video Club video slot, I didn’t spend enough time with this one to get a true feel for the potential of this bonus round – you need to spend a lot of hours and spin many, many, thousands of times before you reach that point. I have no doubt, however, that this game can deliver some amazing wins – I even found a couple of great hits on YouTube, if you are interested in watching what this game can do for yourself!
Bonus Buy Feature
Skipping to the free spins is a dream come true for any online slot player – the question will always be, “Is it worth the price?” In Toshi Video Club, the cost of entry is set at 120x your current stake, which is a little higher than average for a feature buy option, but overall doesn’t feel hugely unfair to me. This bonus round has a tonne of potential, and the multipliers ensure that every run will be exciting – even if, many times, it will not end with you making a profit.
Pros
- Fantastic design.
- Great blend of features resulting in awesome gameplay.
Cons
- The retro feel may not appeal to all players.
Toshi Video Club Slot Review Final Thoughts
I love the look of this slot, I love the big multipliers, and I feel as if there is a decent balance here between base game potential and keeping a big chunk of RTP in reserve for the bonus round. It’s a simple game that may not end up being an all-time favourite, but I have no doubt most players are going to enjoy this game for at least a handful of sessions before growing tired of it.
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