Summary
Part history, part fantasy, part comedy, and part religious treatise, Wu Cheng’en’sJourney to the Westis an iconic piece of Chinese literature. Based loosely on the priest Xuanzeng’s real pilgrimage to India, it spiced up proceedings by giving the monk Sanzang three divine protectors in the river ogre Sha Wujing, the pig demon Zhu Bajie, and the magic monkey Sun Wukong.
It has inspired a wide range of media, from books, shows, and movies to comics and video games — though some games are closer to the legend than others. Whether they let players control Wukong and co. themselves, or pit them against Sanzang’s guardians, these are the best games inspired byJourney to the West.
One of the oldest examples is Capcom’sSonSon, a side-scrolling arcade platformer like SNK’s later effortPsycho Soldier. Players control SonSon (Wukong) and/or TonTon (Bajie) across a continuous range of platforms with gaps they can stroll over or move up or down a level on. Their goal is to reach the Buddha statue at the end and blast any enemy away with magic.
It’s simple to pick up, though tricky to master, as those lanes can get crowded — even when they get special fruit power-ups to turn the tide. The game has been re-released through many Capcom compilations, like theCapcom Arcade 2nd Stadium, and has been referenced in many more, like SonSon’s granddaughter appearing as a playable character inMarvel Vs Capcom 2.
Wait, wasn’tMega Man: The Wily Warsjust a Genesis remake ofthe first 3 NES games? Well, yes. However, that was only part of the story. After beating all 3 remade games, it would unlock a new section called ‘The Wily Tower,’ where Mega Man could choose any of the weapons fromMM’s 1-3to tackle its stages.
They had to choose wisely, as at the end of its stages, they’d face a boss based onJourney to the West’s heroes. The aquabot Mega Water.S, based on Sha Wujing, would dive and blast Mega Man with water jets. Hyper Storm.H uses his bulk to barge into Mega Man, though he’s just as dim as his book counterpart, Zhu Bajie. Then, Buster Rod.G swings his rod and clones himself like Wukong.
6Saiyuki: Journey West
A Tactical Approach To The Story
SonSonandMega Man: The Wily Warsare good for references, but what if players wanted to experience the actual novel in a video game format? Later games managed this with some artistic license, though some old school games did attempt to cram the novel into an NES cartridge or an arcade board, to varying degrees of success.
One standout wasSaiyuki: Journey West, a tactical RPG akin toFinal Fantasy Tactics, where Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing could use their transformations in battle, with Sanzang as the healer. It didn’t set the world on fire back in the day, being a PS1 game released nearly a year after the PS2’s launch. Still, Gamespot liked it enough to nominate it for their ‘Best Game No One Played’ prize at their 2001 awards.
Nowadays, most people may knowJourney to the Westfor inspiring theDragon Ballseries. Its main hero even uses Wukong’s Japanese name, Son Goku. That said, mostDragon Ballfans outside Japan got into the series withthe explosive sagas ofDragon Ball Z, where theJourney to the Westinfluences got turned down and other influences, likeSuperman, got turned up.
But, if players wanted to see those influences more overtly, one of the best ways outside the show itself would beDragon Ball: Origins. The DSZelda-like saw Goku’s first meetings with his friends, some closer to the book than others — Oolong’s introduction is almost 1:1 to Bajie’s debut in the novel, while others take more artistic license, like Erlang Shen inspiring Tien, or Wujing’s ugly river ogre becoming the desert-dwelling Yamcha.
TheWarriors Orochiseries are basicallyDynasty Warriors Vs Samurai Warriors, with someSino-Japanese history and mythologythrown in. Sun Wukong turned up inWarriors Orochi 2as a playable bad guy since the main villain, Taira Kiyomori, freed him from serving Sanzang and Nezha. Sanzang turned up in the PSP update, though it tookWarriors Orochi 3and its Ultimate update to go deeper.
To unlock Sanzang inWO3, players follow the monkey-ish Hideyoshi Toyotomi and pig-like buffoon, Goemon, as they search for treasure. Instead, they get Sanzang, who aids them against the demonic hordes. Their arguing and clumsy scheming even reminds her of her old adventures with Bajie and Wukong. Nezha also makes his playable debut, though he originally came from an older story before turning up inJourney to the West.
Sanzang is supposed to be a male monk, but because of the Japanese translation’s ambiguous use of gender, he’s often turned up in their media as a woman, be it asDragon Ball’s Bulma,Warriors Orochi 3’s Sanzang, or in the 1978Monkeyseries. This show actually made it abroad to the West, where Ninja Theory continued the trend forEnslaved: Odyssey to the West.
It’s a post-apocalyptic, futuristic take on the tale, where, after Monkey forces their ship to crash, Trip (Sanzang) uses a special headband to make him escort her home safely as recompense. The game played well, despite some frame rate hiccups, and earned multiple awards, particularly for Andy Serkis’ performance as Monkey. Unfortunately, that didn’t translate into sales, leaving it as one of Ninja Theory’s most underrated games.
Enslavedhad stunning, vibrant graphics for its time, though its story was a relatively moody affair. The originalJourney to the Westnovel, while not always sunshine and rainbows with its murder and monsters, had plenty of comedy in it (usually through Bajie and Monkey’s bickering childishness).Unruly Heroesplays up the novel’s lighter aspects by taking it in a more cartoony, fun-filled direction.
It turns the story intoaDonkey Kong Country-esque platformerwithPrince of Persiapuzzle-solving, where players can switch between Sanzang, Wukong, Kihong (Bajie), and Sandmonk (Wujing) on the fly. That way, they can switch between their different skills and abilities (gliding, double jumping, etc.) to navigate various obstacles. It’s a fun little game that fell under the radar for many, but it delivers a strong showing through its deep ties toJourney to the West.
The most recentJourney to the Westvideo game adaptation as of this writing isBlack Myth: Wukong, which provides an alternate epilogue to the tale. Here, Wukong rejects the offer of immortality after his pilgrimage and is punished by Heaven for doing so by being sealed in stone. Since then,monkeys from Mount Huaguohave ventured out to try to revive him by collecting the 6 Relics he divided his spirit into. The latest one, armed with a staff like Wukong, is known only as The Destined One.
The game is filled with characters from the novel who either help the Destined One on his journey, like Bajie, or fight him, like Red Boy and Erlang Shen. Made by Chinese developers Game Science, it’s arguably the best and most authentic game based on the novel. It aims to be the first of manyBlack Mythgames based on Chinese mythology. Since the game has already hit10 million sales within the first three days, players should have little doubt about seeing moreBlack Mythgames in the future.
