J-POP Slot Review
In J-POP, a slot machine from ELK Studios, you’ll find a game packed to the brim with bonus features. Expanding columns, sticky, walking, and multiplying wilds, grid flip, big symbols, and multiple Bonus Buy features await. Find out all there is to know in our detailed J-POP review.
Software Provider | ELK Studios |
Release Date | October 2023 |
RTP | 94% |
Volatility | Medium |
Max Win | 25,000x |
Reels x Rows | 6 x 4 – 6 x 8 |
Minimum – Maximum Bet | $0.20 – $100 |
Number of Paylines | 262,144 |
Themes | J-pop, Music |
Slot Details, RTP and Volatility
In the J-POP slot, you’ll find six columns that always have at least four symbols, giving you a minimum of 4,096 ways to win. But, the columns can expand in height, so that you get up to eight symbols per column, which again offers a whopping 262,144 ways to win.
To win, you need matching symbols on at least three adjacent columns, starting from the leftmost one. The maximum you can win is 25,000x your bet. Every time you win you’ll get an avalanche, meaning the winning symbols are removed and replaced with new ones falling down. Each avalanche also causes the columns to expand, so you get more ways to win.
ELK Studios has created J-POP with an RTP of 94%, which is low compared to most other modern online slots. The volatility is set to medium. While playing, you get to bet from 20c to $100 per spin.
Theme & Graphics in J-POP
In the J-POP slot machine, the theme is, not surprisingly, J-pop, but also candy. If you don’t know what J-pop is, it’s Japanese pop music. This is why you can see symbols like records, jukeboxes, cassette tapes, and even some band members, although these are blubber-style monsters or something like that. Candies appear both as symbols and in the background of the game.
The game itself is set on a stage, and you’ll see that there is a colorful background. Around the stage, there are both speakers and lights, setting the scene for a concert.
As for the audio, the soundtrack is typical soft J-pop style music, but the majority of what you hear is the blubbery sound of the symbols landing in the game.
In all honestly, the theme of this game is fun, and ELK Studios has done a great job combining the graphics with the audio.
J-POP Slot Features
ELK Studios has packed the J-POP online slot machine with bonus features, so there’s always something new happening. Let’s see what the game has in store for you:
Regular Symbols
There are 12 regular symbols in J-POP, and the four most valuable are the band members. In order of value, these are the red, yellow, purple, and blue blubber figures. The next four symbols are candies in various colors, and the lowest-valued symbols are J, Q, K, and A. To win you need three of a kind, but a larger combination gives you a bigger win. The maximum win from one combination is 5x your bet, but most symbols tend to come stacked, so you’re likely to trigger multiple wins in one spin.
Big Symbols
All regular symbols, and the wilds, can appear as big symbols. They can come as 2×2, 3×3, or 4×4. If these land towards the top of the columns, they will expand the column until all are filled with the same number of symbols.
Wild Symbols
There are three kinds of wild symbols in J-POP, and the black normal record is the standard one that doesn’t do anything more than substitute for all regular symbols. Then, the jukebox will, when activated by a win, split itself into several wilds that are placed randomly in the game on the avalanche spin.
The gold record is a walking wild, and this one persists even after it’s been part of a win, for all consecutive avalanches. In addition, it gives you a multiplier of x1 for each win it’s a part of, until the end of the game round. The walking feature allows it to walk one step sideways, lengthwise, or diagonally for each avalanche where it triggered a win.
Big Drop
If you get an amplifier, it triggers a big drop. This feature crushes all single symbols in the game, and you’ll get an avalanche of big symbols. The big drop symbol turns into a wild symbol.
Grid Flip
One of the best symbols is the one that triggers the grid flip. This flips the game so that you can win from the other end. When you get this one, you’ll first play through the wins and avalanches you get from the standard way, and only when you don’t win anymore will it flip the grid to give you a new chance. Once the game is flipped, the symbol turns into a wild.
Free Spins
The free spins game offers either 10, 12, 15, or 20 free spins, depending on if you get 3, 4, 5, or 6 bonus symbols, which is the cassette tape. During the free spins game, you have safety levels, and you gain one new level for every spin that gives you a win. This basically means that the game won’t reset to the standard 4 symbol height for every new spin, as the game will only go back to the current safety level. As such, you’re likely to end up playing many of your spins starting at the top level, offering a maximum of 262,144 ways to win.
X-iter
The X-iter feature, which you’ll always see on the left side of the game, offers various bonus buy options. You can buy a Bonus Hunt for 3x your bet, a Big Drop for 10x your bet, a walking wild for 25x your bet, the standard bonus game for 100x your bet, or a Super Bonus for 500x your bet. The Super Bonus starts the free spins mode with a guaranteed walking wild.
How to Play J-POP Online
Even though the game is jam-packed with features, playing it is very easy. You just have to set your bet and start the game. Press the play button or activate auto-spins. Then, hope for a winning combination, which means having matching symbols on three adjacent columns, starting from the left.
Try the J-POP Demo for Free Before Playing for Real Money
In slots like J-POP, which comes with a lot of bonus games and special symbols, it can be a good idea to get to know the game before you bet real money. To do that, play the J-POP demo game for free before you head to a casino. Here at Slotjava, you can play the free J-POP game, and you get a starting balance of fun money of $1,000.
If you like the game as much as we do, you can find a new casino to play at and also claim a welcome bonus. With a boosted bankroll you can play more spins on J-POP, or up the bet so you can win even larger cash prizes.
The J-POP Review – Our Final Verdict
Few online slots come with as many special features as J-POP, and we absolutely love it. The game has so much to offer, and is truly a new slot experience, even for Slotjava’s veteran slot players. The best part, in our opinion, is all the different wild symbols, and the flip grid feature.
The only thing that is bad in this game is the RTP, as 94% is lower than the average we tend to find in modern slots. Nevertheless, the J-POP slot machine is well worth a try.
J-POP - FAQ
Does J-POP have free spins?
Yes, the J-POP free spins bonus offers 10, 12, 15, or 20 free spins, depending on how many bonus scatters you get. You can also choose to buy two versions of the free spins by using the Bonus Buy feature.
Is the J-POP online slot available to play on mobile?
Yes, J-POP is available to play using your phone, and you won’t have to download anything in order to play. Just start the game, and it will load directly in your web browser or in your casino app.
Where can I play J-POP for real money?
You can play the real money version of J-POP at any online casino that offers games from ELK Studios. To find the best online casino, have a look at our top recommended casinos list.
What is the RTP of the J-POP slot machine?
The return to player percentage in J-POP is 94%. Compared to other online slots, this is quite low.