Moon Maidens II Pokies
Impressive animations, detailed images of a futuristic world and some rewarding features are some of the obvious upgrades that Aristocrat have made with their new Moon Maidens II pokie. The original game has proved to be a big success at land based casinos and the latest version adds to the things that worked so well, so it’s sure to be just as big a hit.
They run on Aristocrats’ Arc cabinets which sees a big curved screen holding 5 reels and a choice of how many rows of symbols are in play. The more rows of symbols that players activate, the more times winning combinations will line up across them, but of course, there also higher stakes involved.
Walking on the Moon
There’s actually 2 pokies here, with our mysterious maidens called Selene and Mona each having their own games, but the gameplay is the same and there’s just differences in the design, with Selene being set in a colder environment and Mona enjoying a warmer climate. Whichever game is chosen, there’s some stunning animations taking players to the reels, along with background images of cities in space, planets and for some reason, birds and bulls.
The Maidens themselves also stare out from behind the reels, and have been beautifully designed, so there’s really no issues with how these games look. How they play is pretty good as well, with free spins, stacked symbols, and a jackpot wheel that can land players any of 4 progressive payouts.
Like most games from this developer, Moon Maidens II sees the playing card icons 9, 10, J, Q, K and A making up the smaller prizes, while unique picture symbols are worth more. These will mostly consist of seemingly random items like a horn, binoculars and the animals, that may seem a little out of place but look very nice anyway.
Moon Maidens 2
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Bonus Features
There’s a series of bonuses, some of which will occur in the normal run of play, with some symbols appearing stacked on the reels which makes it easier to get a winning line of them, plus there’s a wild icon that will complete even more lines when it substitutes for any other. This is another symbol that can be stacked on a reel, which can create multiple lines at once and it’s even possible, if unlikely, that all spots on the reels become fully wild for some massive rewards.
The Spy Glass Bonus is triggered by the binoculars and sees a high-quality animation of the city and a couple of gemstones appearing in the lenses. Players need to pick a gem for a quick bonus award, a spin on the bonus wheel, or entry to a free spins game.
Before the free spins begin, there’s another pick to make, with a choice of which symbol will become stacked throughout them, but players will need to pick carefully, as the more valuable symbols will reduce the number of spins that then play out, with anyone who picks the 10 symbols seeing 18 spins, and anyone who decided to have stacked wilds seeing just 6 of them.
Whichever is chosen, the average returns will be similar, so it’s really a matter of personal preference.
If the jackpot wheel is awarded, a new screen opens up with a colourful segmented wheel on it, with different features triggered depending on which segment comes to rest against a pointer. While most of them have straight credit prizes, there’s others that trigger the free spins round and the one that players will really want to see is the Jackpot award.
It’s not over yet, though, as landing the jackpot segment opens up a further screen where 16 Moons are laid out in a 4 x 4 grid and players need to click on them in turn to see which of the jackpots they have won. Each Moon will reveal either Mini, Minor, Major or Grand jackpots and once 3 of the same type have been uncovered, the corresponding prize is paid out.
Mooney for Nothing?
Both Moon Maiden II games are presented in a stunning style, with graphics that wouldn’t look out of place in an animated movie, and fortunately for players it’s not all about the looks, as the gameplay is of an equally high standard.
The upgrades to the original versions are immediately apparent, but not over the top, so Moon Maiden fans won’t feel that Aristocrat have completely done away with the appealing original features, and by adding bonus wheels and jackpot payouts, these games should attract new players to their reels as well as retaining those who have enjoyed them in the past.