Zimba and Friends

Arrow's Edge has never been shy about the themes they use, and Zimba and Friends is a good example of that. If it looks familiar when you first load it up, that's because it's clearly copying the idea of the Lion King with characters and motifs that look extremely similar. Regardless of that, it has a fair amount of action and an atypical layout that will appeal to some players. The graphics are about average, but they have included some features that give this title pretty good gameplay that's hard to argue with.

Format and Layout

With this game, there are five reels and three rows, just like pretty much every other video slot ever, with a minority of exceptions. There are 12 paylines, however, which we can't remember having ever seen. This leads to an atypical betting range of $0.24 to $240 per spin, which is like betting between $0.02 and $20 per payline. This is a reasonable range, but the fact that the bet sizes are so uneven is something that will turn some players off to various degrees.

Horizontal Expanding Wilds and Re-spins

The monkey is the wild symbol in this game, and when he lands on the middle reel, he will expans throughout the reels in different patterns. You'll get up to six free re-spins with the wild symbols sticky in place, and this is a good way to run up a quick win because of all of the wilds that will be present on the reels.

The wild in general will pay 1,000x for five of a kind and 500x for four. You'll score 30x for three of a kind, and he's one of the symbols that pays for just two of a kind as well with a 5x prize.

Vertical Expanding Wilds and Re-spins

The giraffe symbol offers a similar feature. Get her on the second or fourth reel to have it expand as a wild to cover the entire reel vertically. You'll get up to six free-spins (at random) with this feature as well, so it seems that Arrow's Edge has caught the re-spin and expanding wild bug with this game in a major way.

Jackpots and Important Payouts

There are three jackpots at the top of the screen, and you win them at random on any given spin. You can also take down a 1,000x prize for five of the lion. The payout drops to 500x for five of the elephant, which is still a pretty significant win. A 300x prize is yours for five of the zebra or the other animal symbol. All five of the animal symbols pay for just two of a kind or more, which increases your hit-rate, especially considering the wild symbols in the game and the re-spin features.

The three fruit symbols are the mid-level symbols in this game, and they pay 125x to 100x for five of a kind. You'll need at least three to score with these symbols or to get a payout with the A, K, Q and J symbols. We think that these card rank symbols have been stylized pretty well since they have vines growing through them, which is more effort than you frequently see on those particular types of symbols.

The wins for the card rank symbols are pretty easy to remember. You'll get 60x for five of the A or K and 50x for five of the Q or J. The pay table is pretty balanced from top to bottom, and the feature set is designed to give a high hit-rate, especially with the two of a kind wins.

In Summary

Zimba and Friends might be a clear rip-off of an animated movie theme, but Arrow's Edge has given this slot some pretty good gameplay with a nice mix of features. These features combine with the pay schedule to offer a low-volatility experience that still gives you a chance to win some pretty significant prizes, especially thanks to the three progressive jackpots. While this game won't be for everyone, what we do know is that there are plenty of players who will really enjoy what this slot has to offer.