Play Pikotaro's Pineapple Pen For Real Money With Bonus
Pikotaro’s Pineapple Pen Slots
It’s unusual to come across an entire slot machine centered around a single song, but the Pikotaro’s Pineapple Pen video slot from Japanese company Ganapati is themed after a tune by a fictional artist that has garnered 170 million views on YouTube, suggesting a built-in fanbase. The terms ‘tune’ and ‘artist’ are used quite loosely here, as anyone familiar with this infectiously catchy video will recognize it as essentially a novelty song cooked up by Japanese comedian Daimaou Kosaka. If you’re not familiar with it, here’s a link to the Youtube video for your listening pleasure, joining the ranks as the 170,000,001st viewer to have the tune stuck in your head.
All caught up? Let’s return to the online slot game, featuring 5 reels and 40 pineapple-themed paylines, complete with wild symbols that you need to collect to activate reel re-spins, a free spins bonus round with extra wilds, and lucrative win multipliers in a side game of apple-picking. The game unfolds in a vibrant, colorful setting against a sunburst backdrop with simply designed symbols arranged in 4 rows. A pen impales an apple and a pineapple on one side of the reels, while the letters P P A P run down the right side, corresponding to the Pen, Pineapple, Apple, Pen chorus of the song.
Ganapati’s online casino slot games each offer something unique, as the company aims to introduce Japanese culture to a global audience. While the source material for this game may be unfamiliar to many around the world, it’s worth exploring, offering plenty of opportunities to score wins and even groove along to the soundtrack if you’re so inclined.
Playing Pikotaro’s Pineapple Pen (Try saying that fast a few times)
The fictional singer Pikotaro is characterized by his sunglasses, leopard-print scarf, white shoes, and designer watch, serving as the lower-value symbols. To win a prize, you must land at least 3 of any symbol (excluding wilds and bonuses) on a payline from the left. These stylish items range in value from 5x to 40x, climbing to 60x for the watch.
A pen fetches 60x, 100x, or 200x when landing on 3, 4, or 5 reels across a line, while the pineapple rewards you with 40x, 100x, or 300x. The highest prize comes from the red apple symbol, yielding 20x, 100x, or 500x the line stake.
Pikotaro’s portrait serves as the wild symbol, not offering any value on its own but able to substitute for the aforementioned symbols to create additional winning combinations. Each wild symbol features a tiny pen, apple, or pineapple attached, which are accumulated in the P P A P spaces along the right side of the reels.
Reel Re-spins and Picking Apples
Every appearance of a wild symbol adds a pen, apple, or pineapple to the meter and triggers a free reel re-spin. Once all 4 letters are filled, you’ll enter a special bonus round where you’ll find 15 apples; selecting one reveals a bonus payout as a pen skewers it.
After choosing 3 apples, the hidden values of the others are revealed to determine your success. Rest assured that there are no duds among the apples, guaranteeing wins.
If more wild symbols land during a reel re-spin, extra spins are granted, up to a maximum of 3 per round. Although that may seem limited, there’s a separate free spins bonus feature waiting to be triggered.
PPAP Free Games
The PPAP symbol, a bonus icon, activates the free spins feature when seen in 3 or more locations in a single spin. Landing 3 symbols initiates 5 free spins, while 4 symbols trigger 7 spins, and the most rewarding scenario is 9 free games for landing 5 or more symbols at once.
Additional wild symbols are introduced during these spins, making it easier to form winning combinations and trigger the re-spins feature. Although the round cannot be retriggered, even with more bonus symbols, once the free games conclude, you’ll return to the main reels.
Betting Options
To start spinning the reels for real money prizes, a minimum of 0.40 is required, which can be increased to a maximum bet of 120.00 per spin for potentially larger winnings. Free Pikotaro’s Pineapple Pen video slots are available, but winnings can only be claimed when placing real bets, thanks to the impressively high over 98% return to player percentage, ensuring most bets are returned as winnings on average.
If you prefer faster gameplay, there’s the option to activate Autoplay and quick spin modes, alongside the opportunity to enjoy the iconic song as the background soundtrack.
Similar Slots
While basing a slot game on a single song is rather unique, there are numerous games inspired by bands or solo artists. However, few focus on a Japanese or novelty musical group, so aficionados of music-themed slots may need to explore offerings from more conventional artists like Guns N’ Roses or Jimi Hendrix.
The Guns N’ Roses video slot by NetEnt features the band’s top hits as the 5 reels spin, with symbols of Axl Rose, Slash, and Duff offering generous payouts, and the band logo serving as a wild. A bonus wheel unlocks extra features such as the Crowd Pleaser pick-a-prize round, free spins with stacked wilds, or Legend spins with increasing wilds in each free game.
Jimi Hendrix presents a psychedelically themed slot game leading players through a musical journey with guitar-focused bonus features. These features include free spins, pick-a-prize rounds, and multipliers, all complemented by a soundtrack featuring some of his most famous tracks.
The Verdict on Pikotaro’s Pineapple Pen
This delightfully original game is sure to attract a significant following in Japan, although international players may need some coaxing to give these vibrant reels a spin. Despite initial hesitations, the game boasts unique features, particularly the way wild symbols trigger reel re-spins and apple-picking bonuses.
While the free games offer added wild symbols, it’s a tad disappointing that the maximum triggered games are limited to 9. However, with more opportunities to activate re-spins in this round, you could be in for more bonus gameplay than initially anticipated.
Fully optimized for play on iPhones, iPads, Windows, or Android smartphones and tablets, just remember to switch off the sound, or pop in some earphones if playing in a public setting to inconspicuously enjoy the gameplay.
