SonSon

Not to be mistaken with the character SonSon III.

Son Son
Arcade flyer
Developer	Capcom
Publisher	Capcom
Release Date	1984
Genre	Action
Platforms	Arcade Famicom Saturn PlayStation PlayStation 2 XBox

SonSon (ソンソン) is a platform game released by Capcom in July 1984 that is loosely based on the Chinese classic novel Journey to the West. It is the first game in the SonSon series.

The player assumes the role of a monkey boy (who is patterned after Sun Wukong from the story) and fights their way from one side to another, eventually reaching the statue of Buddha. One battles bats, rats, and mad bombers along the way with his stout fighting rod that shoots balls of fire. The game was ported from the arcade to the Nintendo Famicom in Japan, and eventually included in Capcom Classics Collection in North America. It is available for purchase on the Virtual Console. This game also had a sequel that was later released on the Turbografx/PC Engline called SonSon II.

Gameplay

The game is a 2-D sidescrolling platformer. The screen scrolls automatically, only stopping to fight major enemies. The screen features six continuous platforms that occasionally feature small gaps. SonSon and TonTon walk automatically across these platforms. Pressing up or down will cause them to jump up or down to the next platform. Pressing left causes them to move more slowly than the screen scrolls, essentially continuing to move forward, but at a reduced pace. Pressing right does the opposite - SonSon and TonTon will move across the platforms faster than the screen scrolls. The duo have only one attack - the ability to fire energy blasts from their poles.

Touching an enemy or an unfriendly projectile causes the player to lose a life. If a player has any additional lives, they will return to the screen riding on a cloud that will give them temporary invincibility. If the player presses the control stick in any direction, the cloud will disappear and the character will resume its usual walking mode. The cloud will eventually disappear on its own, even if the control stick is not used.

Power-ups come in the form of various fruits which produce points. Enough points will give the player an extra life. Gathering certain fruits will cause all enemies currently onscreen to turn into point-bearing fruits. Walking across certain platforms will randomly cause a bamboo shoot to sprout, yielding many extra points.

Characters

• SonSon (ソンソン) - The monkey hero, based on the character Sūn Wùkōng / Son Gokū from Journey to the West.
• TonTon (トントン) - Player 2's character, a pig with a pitchfork based on the character Zhu Bajie / Cho Hakkai. While his gameplay is the same as SonSon in most versions, in the mobile phone version he is stronger but slower.
• SuiSui (スイスイ) - A companion of SonSon and TonTon that is captured alongside Sanzo in the beginning of the game. He is based on the character Shā Wùjìng / Sa Gojō. Became a playable character in the mobile phone version, where he is faster but weaker than SonSon.
• ? - Unnamed character based on Tang Sanzang / Sanzō Hōshi, a man travelling to retrieve a Buddhist scripture in Tenjiku (天竺). Although he is helpless in defending himself, SonSon, TonTon, and SuiSui aid and protect him on his journey.
• Great Demon (大魔神) - The antagonist. He captured SuiSui, "Sanzō", and a horse in the beginning of the game.

Enemies

Son Son (Arcade) Demo

Arcade Demo

• Anbre
• Chain
• Burigan
• Deku
• Dragonfly
• Musashi
• Rania
• Spin Skull

Trivia

• The name SonSon comes from "Son Gokū's Grandchild" (孫悟空の孫, Son Gokū no Son), SonSon being Son Gokū's grandson as the staff didn't wish to use Son Gokū himself.
• The game's main theme has lyrics, which are included in the Famicom version instruction manual.
• SonSon, a character created for Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, is the granddaughter of the original SonSon. She uses the staff and learns the teachings of her grandfather, though her powers in this game are more based on the book than the game.
• SonSon, TonTon, SuiSui, and a red demon make cameo appearances in Super Gem Fighter: Mini Mix. They randomly float across the top of the stages on clouds during fights. If a player attacks them, they will drop gems, food, or cause damage, depending upon which character is hit by the player.
  • They also appear in a similar level in Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo.
• The bamboo shoot (タケノコ, Takenoko) item that appears from the ground was based on the Sol citadel from Namco's Xevious. The item also appeared in other Capcom games, such as Black Tiger, Strider 2 and the Ultimate All-Shooters minigame from Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars.
• SonSon appeared as an item in Strider 2.
• SonSon, TonTon, and SuiSui are included as hidden collectible items in Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure.

Gallery

SonSon

TonTon

Box Art

Japan

External Links

• SonSon (mobile version) official page (archive)