It would be hard to find a modern Anime-themed slot with the gravitas and popularity on par with Starlight Princess. It’s the anime-themed counterpart to Pragmatic Play’s Gates of Olympus, one of the best-known slots in recent years. Starlight Princess slot was released on 23 September 2021 — around two months after the original Greek mythology version. It has a Tumble feature, a multiplier symbol range, and a 5,000x maximum win with an equal volatility profile and RTP.
The differences are purely visual. In the Starlight Princess game, players see a wide-eyed anime princess, hovering beside the reels, which are filled with celestial emblems and gems. Due to its popularity, this 2021 slot has since spawned a wider family of titles, including Starlight Princess 1000, Starlight Christmas, and Starlight Princess Super Scatter, to name a few. Our in-depth review of the original Starlight Princess will cover every crucial aspect of this game to help you prepare for responsible real money play.
Starlight Princess Slot Key Facts
| Game Provider | Pragmatic Play |
| Theme | Anime, Fantasy |
| Release Date | 23 September 2021 |
| Maximum Win | 5,000x bet |
| RTP | 92.10% |
| Min Bet | £0.20 |
| Max Bet | £5 |
| Volatility | High (5/5) |
| Paylines | Scatter pays / pay anywhere (8+ matching symbols) |
| Features | Tumble (Cascading wins), Multiplier symbols, Free Spins, Ante Bet |
| Reels | 6 |
| Rows | 5 |
Is it Worth Playing Starlight Princess?
Right from the get-go, players notice that the Starlight Princess slot offers a familiar experience that revolves around the well-established gameplay loop, refined across Pragmatic Play’s Scatter-pays family of releases. The strengths of this release rely on the high volatility profile (appreciated by some gamers), tumbling Scatter-Pays mechanic of the grid and meaningful snowball effects across the bonus round. Thus, the frustration of nearly-missed paylines is generally avoided. The anime aesthetic is also worth mentioning, as it really sets the slot apart from most other releases in Pragmatic’s catalogue, delivering a distinct identity.
The trade-offs can mostly be discussed when comparing Starlight Princess to Gates of Olympus. There’s the same grid, same maths and Features, so any player who already plays Gates regularly is effectively playing the same game with a different skin. Plus, the max win might feel modest for a high variance release, but there are different versions to cater for the desire for more top-end upside.
In short, you could play Starlight Princess online if you fancy anime-themed slots and/or the Scatter-pays mechanic. With a volatility profile that demands patience, this 2021 hit slot from Pragmatic can feel quite unique to gamers used to more traditional payline grid structures.
How the Starlight Princess Slot Works?
This section will walk through exactly how the Starlight Princess slot behaves under real-play conditions. We’ll gloss over core mechanics, win formation and Feature interaction to help you understand the foundation needed for responsible play.
Core Mechanics
Starlight Princess is a 6-reel slot built on a Scatter-pays (also called “pay anywhere”) win system. No paylines or cluster requirements here. The grid is non-expandable, fixed at a 6×5 layout with 30 active positions per spin.
Wins are formed when enough matching symbols land on the grid. The winning symbols will disappear and start a Tumble sequence.
How Wins are Formed?
A win is formed when 8 or more identical symbols land anywhere on the grid in a single spin. Positions don’t matter, since the slot is payline-free. Symbols can be scattered all over the grid, randomly, and the win still counts as long as the total is sufficient. Payouts have three tiers, depending on the final symbol tally: 8-9, 10-11 and 12-30.
When a win lands, all winning symbols are removed from the grid with the help of the Tumble feature. All remaining symbols drop down to fill the empty positions, while new ones enter from above, potentially forming additional wins. This means that one lucky spin can result in multiple payouts.
For example, landing 10 blue gems would return 1.2x of the bet, while 15 total matches would see a much larger – 8x payout. The tumbling sequence will continue until no new wins can form.
Feature Triggers & Interaction
All Feature triggers in Starlight Princess are straightforward. Here’s how they work:
- Free Spins – triggered when the player manages to land 4+ Princess SCATTER symbols anywhere on the grid.
- Tumble – whenever a win forms, the participating symbols disappear from the grid, making way for new ones.
- Multipliers – they land randomly and can enhance wins in the base game or Free Spins.
- Ante Bet – manually triggered by the player, increasing the likelihood of SCATTERS, in exchange for a bump up in the bet.
The interaction of Features feels very well-refined. Each winning spin starts a Tumble chain, and Multiplier symbols that land at any point during the chain hold their values on the screen until the chain ends. Once the chain concludes, all visible Multiplier values will be summed (e.g., 2x and 4x become 6x) and applied to the total base game win.
In Free Spins, however, the behaviour of Multipliers in this slot game strengthens as it persists for the duration of the Bonus round. This 2021 slot does not have a WILD symbol or upgrades to focus on, so the Feature loop feels easy to pick up, as there aren’t too many moving parts to divert your attention between.
Progression in Free Spins
The Free Spins round is the only real area where you can encounter something similar to a progression system when you play Starlight Princess. Each multiplier symbol that lands and contributes to a winning Tumble during Free Spins adds its value to the global multiplier counter. That multiplier is displayed permanently and does not reset between spins.
There are no unlockable or achievable progression systems beyond this.
Gameplay Flow Summary
The slot feels pacey. However, due to the high volatility, most of the value will be in the Free Spins round, while the base game remains prone to dry stretches. Thanks to the Tumble Feature, gamers can expect spins that stay active for longer, while the random Multipliers can add a sense of escalation that keeps sessions more entertaining. All things considered, if you have previously tried Gates of Olympus, you’ll know what we’re talking about as the rhythm proves to be immediately familiar.
Features in Starlight Princess
The Starlight Princess Features feel properly polished, yet lightweight compared to modern slots. There are no WILDS or symbol upgrades, and no separate Bonus modes. Thus, the entire gameplay loop can be enjoyable for both new and more experienced UK players. The sections below will break down each component in detail to help you understand how they impact your sessions.
Tumbling Reels
This is the backbone of the slot, which is active during every base game or Bonus spin. Whenever a player lands 8 or more identical symbols on the grid, they form a win and are removed from the grid. What remains drops down while new random icons pile in.
If the resulting arrangement is sufficient for another set of matches, the sequence will continue. There is no cap on the chain length so that you can win multiple payouts from a single spin. The Tumble also interacts with Multipliers, as the latter remain on the grid until the chain ends. Only then are they applied to the tally.
Multiplier Symbols
Winged-Hear icons serve as Multipliers and get randomly assigned Multiplier values during the base game or Free Spins. There are 15 total values: 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 6x, 8x, 10x, 12x, 15x, 20x, 25x, 50x, 100x, 250x, 500x. As expected, lower values are much more common, as most Multipliers the players see will sit in the 2x to 10x range.
In the base game, Multipliers become active if they land when at least one win is present. When the chain ends, all visible Multiplier values are summed and applied to the Tumble win. If no win lands, the Multiplier symbols aren’t triggered, and a new spin commences.
In Free Spins, Multipliers gain more persistence and strength. Instead of expiring at the end of each spin, Multiplier values landing during the round are added to a single global multiplier counter. The counter persists across the entire bonus, applying to every subsequent winning Tumble sequence for the rest of the round. There’s a catch. The Global Multiplier is only triggered and increased when a new win with a Multiplier is achieved.
Hence, when a Multiplier lands on an empty Free Spin, it doesn’t impact anything. However, if the Global Multiplier sits at 10x, and the player lands a 2x multiplier during a Free Spin, which is lucky, the final prize will be multiplied by 12x, with the latter figure progressing to the remaining spins. This quality makes the accumulation of Free Spins Multipliers the primary path to large wins in Starlight Princess.
Free Spins
You can trigger the Free Spins Bonus by landing 4 or more Princess SCATTER symbols anywhere on the grid. Hitting the trigger will award 15 Free Spins every time, plus an appropriate cash reward, based on the SCATTER count (exact payouts will be listed below).
Inside the round, every multiplier symbol that lands and contributes to a winning Tumble adds its value to the accumulating global multiplier counter. The counter does not reset between spins.
Free Spins can be retriggered with the help of landing 3+ Princess SCATTERS within the Bonus. Every time that happens, the game will award the player with 5 extra Free Spins. No cap on retriggers.
Ante Bet
This Feature is standard across most Pragmatic Play slots. It’s an optional, player-controlled staking option that increases the bet by 25% (so a £1.00 base stake becomes £1.25) in exchange for roughly doubling the probability of triggering the Free Spins round.
It’s a useful Feature for gamers who want to reach Free Spins more often, but it must be used with caution as the bankroll drain is much faster.
Winning Symbols in Starlight Princess
Let’s see how the paytable and payout mechanics look in the Starlight Princess slot with more detail. Knowing this can be the separating factor between a stressful and more enjoyable session.
- The paytable and symbol design reflect the slot’s celestial and anime theme. The lower-value symbols are coloured gemstones, while the higher-value symbols are four celestial emblems: a star, a moon, a heart and a sun, each rendered in pastel colours with subtle animations.
- There are 9 regular paying icons, as well as the Princess SCATTER and the Winged-Heart Multiplier symbols. In total, Starlight Princess delivers 11 unique in-game symbols.
- The Scatter-Pays system requires players to land 8 or more identical symbols anywhere on the grid to trigger a payout. There are no paylines or cluster adjacency requirements, so patterns don’t play a role.
- The best-paying regular symbol is the Celestial Sun, which awards 50x the bet for 12 to 30 matches. However, the Princess SCATTER can be even more valuable with up to 100x payouts for 6 hits.
- The Princess SCATTER symbol has a twofold effect. First, anything above 4 SCATTERS on the same spin will trigger 15 Free Spins. Second, there’s an instant cash prize (4 = 3x bet, 5 = 5x bet, 6 = 100x bet).
High-Paying Symbols
There are 4 celestial emblems that serve as the slot’s high-paying symbols. Here’s a list of their payouts:
- Sun (top): 8-9 = 10x, 10-11 = 25x, 12+ = 50x
- Heart: 8-9 = 2.5x, 10-11 = 10x, 12+ = 25x
- Moon: 8-9 = 2x, 10-11 = 5x, 12+ = 15x
- Star: 8-9 = 1.5x, 10-11 = 2x, 12+ = 12x
Low-Paying Symbols
If you play Starlight Princess for real money, you’ll also encounter 5 low-paying gem icons that have payouts which look like this:
- Red Heart Gem: 8-9 = 1x, 10-11 = 1.5x, 12+ = 10x
- Blue Cylinder Gem: 8-9 = 0.8x, 10-11 = 1.2x, 12+ = 8x
- Green Diamond Gem: 8-9 = 0.5x, 10-11 = 1x, 12+ = 5x
- Turquoise Gem: 8-9 = 0.4x, 10-11 = 0.9x, 12+ = 4x
- Yellow Hexagon Gem: 8-9 = 0.25x, 10-11 = 0.75x, 12+ = 2x
Starlight Princess vs Other Slots in the Series
Within the wider library of the Starlight Princess family, there are three other entries, which you can try and compare with the original.
- Starlight Princess 1000 (Released in October 2023) is the higher-variance follow-up. The maximum multiplier value is doubled to 1,000x, and the top-end potential is also higher at 15,000x. It followed a pattern of “1,000”-themed slots from Pragmatic.
- Starlight Christmas is a Holiday-themed reskin of the original. Expect the same RTP and the same core maths.
- Starlight Princess Super Scatter is a 2024 update that includes the Super SCATTER symbol to top off the original framework. This symbol increases the volatility along with the bonus round’s peak potential and the chance for huge SCATTER payouts.
You could definitely play Starlight Princess (the original) first, if you haven’t already tried Gates of Olympus or any of the other variants from this series. It’s a solid starting point that allows gamers to familiarise themselves with the setup and the mechanics, before testing out new, more complex or Feature-rich variants.
Starlight Princess: Volatility, RTP & Max Win Potential
This 2021 slot is rated for high volatility. It means that winning spins tend to occur less frequently but carry more value when they do. Most value is concentrated in the Free Spins round. The Starlight Princess RTP is 92.10%. Finally, the Starlight Princess max win is capped at 5,000x of the player’s bet.
FAQ
How is Starlight Princess Different from Gates of Olympus?
Mechanically, they are identical slots, but there are plenty of visual and audio differences, as well as unique animations. Starlight Princess uses an anime / celestial theme, while Gates of Olympus uses Greek mythology. Choose based on which aesthetic you prefer.
How to Play Starlight Princess in the UK?
If you want to try Starlight Princess in the UK, you should have an active, verified account at 7bet, so sign up if you haven’t done this already. You must be over 18 for that. Once you have a verified account, deposit funds with the most convenient method and launch the slot. Set the wager amount within your means and enjoy the session. Don’t forget about the Responsible Gaming tools, which are available on your profile at all times.
What’s a Smart Bankroll Management Strategy for Starlight Princess?
Since this is a high volatility slot, we strongly emphasise wagering no more than 1% of your bankroll per spin, or the minimum possible amount.
Can I Play Starlight Princess Online on Mobile?
As we mentioned in this Starlight Princess review, this slot is developed by Pragmatic Play – one of the industry’s leaders. They have been renowned for making mobile-friendly slots for years now. So you can enjoy this 2021 release on any mobile device in-browser, without any dedicated app downloads required.
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