- Journey To The West Board Game
- Journey To The West Free
- Journey To The West Game Supervision
- Journey To The West Game Online
Some plants from Plants vs. Zombies 2 are in the game, and have their Plant Food abilities as their secondary attacks. This is not the first Journey to The West inspired game created by PopCap. In Bookworm Adventures Vol. 2, the 5th Book: The Monkey King, introduced characters inspired by the novel and the legend.
Games
Video Games
Saiyuki: Journey West by Koei
Click on the image to buy!
Judging from the reviews from various sites this has to be one of the best games based on Journey to the West and probably even the best so far. From what I've heard about it, it has an amazing storyline, interesting and highly engaging characterization and character interaction, as well as very enjoyable tactical game play. Saiyuki: Journey West is a turn-based strategy RPG where you get to control your characters on a map to fight enemies. The story begins you playing as Sanzo (Tang San Zhang/Xuan Zang) starting out on your journey to gather your companions to reach the Thunderclap Monastery. As the game progresses, you'll acquire characters such as Son Goku (the Monkey King), Cho Hakkai (the pig), Sha Gojyo (Sha Wu Jing), a girl dragon called Ryorin (probably based on Yu Long, the Jade Dragon), and many more! You'll mostly be using the main characters only though. Everyone has their own unique personalities as in the novel and also special abilities, like Gojyo can recover his HP by staying in the water. An interesting aspect of the game play is the were-gauge. Every character has a were-form that they can change into (for example Cho Hakkai's were-form is the Roaring Boar). But this can only happen when the were-gauge is full. Basically once they change into their were-form they become much more powerful and gain unique powers and abilities. Once the were-gauge reaches zero they revert to their original form. The were-gauge is quite small in the beginning but grows as you gain experience. From what I've heard, this game is absolutely fantastic. If you like Journey to the West, even just a little, you should definitely play this game.
'Each character is given several expressions to accompany and emphasize their dialogue, and their designs are well-executed to reflect their character; the self-serving, mischievious Monkey King Son Goku, the innocent and earnest monk Sanzo, the haughty Daughter of the Dragon, and so on. The characters do not just focus exclusively on the plotline, but often banter amongst each other, giving us insights into what they are like and how they get along during their travels. There's nothing tremendously deep or literary about these characters, but for a video game they're amazingly well executed. When I'm playing, I'm looking forward to each interaction and wondering what I'm going to learn about the characters.'
'The combat is fun, which is good, because tactical RPG's are all about the combat. It is also a little innovative, mainly in the fact that members of your party can transform into Weres, giant monsters with more hit points and a variety of special attacks.'
'The plot is actually very good, especially for a tactical RPG. It is linear, but very interesting. It is based on a Chinese myth, the same one which spawned Dragon Ball Z (although it is similar in Goku's name only). It is cool, without having a fancy presentation. Saiyuki also has a very good cast of characters, including the main enemies.'
'Interesting characters, good story, fun gameplay and a pretty good class system.'
(Reviews taken from this page about Saiyuki: Journey West in www.amazon.com)
The Monkey King: The Legend Begins
Click on the image to buy!
Yay! Finally Wu Kong has made his way into the Wii console! One wonders how many gods he had to threaten and bribe to ensure himself a spot on the Wii. Unluckily he has had to share his time in the limelight with someone called Mei Mei, who is a cute, pigtailed generic Chinese girl with the customary buns for cheeks. Seriously though, I love the character design of all the characters, including Wu Kong. They're all of the super deformed variety (don't be fooled by the box art), and UBER CUTE. Seriously. If they make plushies of the characters they'll be selling better than Pikachu plushies, trust me. The only thing that bugs me about Wu Kong is his face. Why a white face? Do monkeys have white faces? Last time I checked, no. But yeah, since his face is still very cute and pretty and pinchable and huggable, I forgive them. And I've just realized I haven't explained what type of game it is yet.
Basically it's a classic side-scroller shooter. You get to control either Wu Kong or Mei Mei on a cloud (and if you're here reading this website, presumably you're an avid Wu Kong fan and will choose him every time you play leaving Mei Mei to sulk in the shadows) and blast down enemies that come at you from the right side of the screen. Supposedly the innovative part of this game is that you can tilt the Wii controller to either side to control the angle of the screen and the speed at which it scrolls. As a casual gamer I don't really play a lot of shooters and so am unable to appreciate the absolute glory of this feature. Apparently, according to www.amazon.com's page on Monkey King: The Legend Begins, this allows 'players to dodge and move in a way never seen before'. Hah. Like I care. All I want to see is cute cute little Wu Kong kicking ass and destroying monsters like crazy. Speaking of monsters you get to fight Wu Jing in the form of a kappa boss, and the attacks are simply exquisite, exquisite I tell you! Super shiny sharp crescents of all sizes slicing through the screen (check out the alliteration XD). And that brings me to what I consider the winning point of the game.
The graphics.
No, let me rephrase that.
The Graphics (with a capital G).
Words cannot describe how beautiful and wonderful the graphics are. The backgrounds are beautiful in a smoky, soft way, like they're secretly made out of candy floss and will dissolve at a touch. The textures are amazing. The water shines with a quiet sheen that is just exquisite to look at. The attacks are cute and beautiful and the monsters and demons are cute as well! The bosses are always rendered with a lot of care and attention, and basically the whole thing can be summed up with: cute characters, beautiful supporting graphics.
And there's more! Apart from the normal mode, there's also a two-player mode where you can use both Wu Kong and Mei Mei at the same time! (Finally we find out the reason for Mei Mei being there and not Ba Jie or Wu Jing... neither of them are particularly cute or aesthetically pleasing and your friends will presumably not be pleased if you stick them with a perverted, greedy pig while you control the coolest monkey in the world.) And more! There's even a story mode which will let you follow the adventures of Sun Wu Kong on his quest to become a god... or something like that. Apparently Heaven has been overrun by demons and you have to protect your land or something. Doesn't sound like it's the original story to me, but hopefully they don't mangle the characterization too much. And hey, we all need a bit of fresh plot from time to time eh?
Just for including a really cute Wu Kong, I give this game 5 peaches out of 5. Heh.
Monkey Magic is a side-scrolling platform game for the PlayStation based on the animated series of the same name, which is based on Journey to the West. It is extremely cheap (I think about $4 at the cheapest), because like the show, it had basically no advertising and no support and so was condemned to obscurity. Which it doesn't deserve. From various reviews, I gather that the game play is highly engaging and complex, some reviewers even going so far as to say that it is one of the Playstation's best platform games. You get to play as Kongo from the series and while you are quite weak at first, you can gain various powers and spells as you proceed through the game, which then can be used in a variety of ways to create many different effects. It is said to be an extremely fun action RPG. While it might not be as amazing as they claim, it still seems to be quite a decent platform game. Since it's so cheap anyway, why don't you try it out? Anything Monkey King related is bound to be good anyway. XD
Click here to buy Monkey Magic!
Online Games
Xi You Ji Online a.k.a Xi You Fu Mo Lu (Westward Journey Demon Vanquishing Chronicles)
This is a fun-filled MMORPG based on Journey to the West. You have five characters to choose from, San Zang (his element is Wood), Wu Kong (Fire - obviously XD), Ba Jie (Earth), Wu Jing (Water), Xiao Long Nu or Little Dragon Girl, obviously a female version of the White Dragon Horse (her element is Metal). The elements of the characters are extremely important in gameplay, following the ancient rules of Wu Xing Xiang Ke and Wu Xing Xiang Sheng. Metal is strong against Wood, Wood is strong against Earth, Earth is strong against Water, Water is strong against Fire, and Fire is strong against Metal. Which means players have to take into account their characters' elements and the elements of the demons they face in order to win. For example, if your opponent is the Red Child, Hong Hai Er, who has devastating fire attacks, evidently using Wu Jing, who is of the Water element, would be more effective than using Wu Kong who is of the Fire element, even though he has more power.
In addition to having different elements, the characters all have different abilities and powers. San Zang is the equivalent of a mage in fantasy RPG. He has awesome aggressive magical attacks, but needs to have enough mana to be used easily. Wu Kong is an easy character to use, with high strength, power and accuracy. However, his items and armour are hard to get. Xiao Long Nu is an archer, with magical attacks to enhance her archery skills. However, she lacks in power. Ba Jie is good for both attack and defense, has high HP, but low accuracy and intelligence. Wu Jing is an ultra-defensive character, extremely strong defensive spells, but lacks in power and attacks. Has magic attacks to make up for the lack of strength and power, however it will be hard to make it on his own. Is extremely useful in groups, though.
To know more about this game and to play it, gohere. It has screencaps from the game.
Xi You Ji 2000
A popular MUD that has been around since.... yeah, the year 2000. ^o^ I played it when I was 10, and I really, really loved it. For those who don't know, a MUD is a kind of text-based MMORPG and you can create you own character and beat up monsters and up levels and just explore the whole rambling world around you. Xi You Ji 2000 is no different. It has a massive map, filled with hundreds of different locations from the book and from the creators' imaginations, including Heaven, Fang Cun Shan where Wu kong studied, the Dragon King Palace (you'll have to walk down there with a water-repelling charm that you can get by..... well if I told you I would be spoiling the fun, yeah? >D), the island where Guan Yin lives (it's actually one of the schools in the MUD, you can become a disciple there and learn awesome skills), Dream Land (it's hard to get in, and even harder to get out), Gao Village (the place where they captured Ba Jie), soldier's barracks, the Moon Palace where Chang Er lives, and much, much more! It's so wonderful!! You not only get to kill demons, there are lots of puzzles and mini-games and quests and mazes and tournaments with demons or gods and other little gimmicks that lie waiting just around the corner! Exploring the game's various gimmicks is a mini-game already! You can even get married or have a pet in there~ There are also countless items that you can sell and buy and pick up from the ground and even STEAL! Yes, there is a skill called 'miao shou kong kong', which is basically the art of stealing, and you can try to steal items from NPCs. They'll attack you if you fail though. >D There are all sorts of wacky weapons, you can even attack with a chicken bone! The NPCs and demons are equally varied and colourful. You can even fight with a chicken or a dog and make the chicken into chicken soup! >D I was nearly killed by a chicken once, I recall. It was scary. >D The skills and magical powers are also very cool and the higher level you get, the cooler the skills you are able to learn, for example the Somersault Cloud! Sadly, I was never able to get a level high enough to be able to learn that skill. I would stand in the city square and watch all those cool characters flying in and flying out like it was nobody's business~ Gah. You can even defect from your original school and join other schools in order to learn a wider variety of skills! This game is plain AWESOME! But it's all in Chinese though. >D You have a choice of traditional chinese or simplified chinese characters.
To play Xi You Ji 2000, gohere.
Westward Journey Online II (Da Hua Xi You)
This is another MMORPG based on Journey to the West. Again, all in Chinese.
Clickhereto go to the official website.
Board Games
Monkey King Chinese Chess Xiangqi Set
Click on the image to buy!
This is awesome. A Chinese Chess set with an all Xiyouji cast! The red side features Wu Kong, San Zang, Ba Jie, Wu Jing, and other good guys, whereas the blue side consists exclusively of demons. How cool is it? You can experience for yourself the thrill of controlling Wu Kong and the rest to beat up the demons and protect San Zang! It is a bit disappointing though, that Wu Kong's only a shi, same as Ba Jie, with a very limited range of movement. It is appropriate though, that he's one of the two shi protecting San Zang. With him being so devoted to San Zang and all.
Anyway I'd buy this if only for the sheer awesomeness of owning Xiyouji characters chess pieces. Especially Wu Kong. XD
If you have any comments or info about games based on Xi You Ji, just e-mail me.
Journey to the West
by Wu Cheng En
This website is about the Chinese legend and folktale, Journey to the West (Xi You Ji or Hsi Yu Chi), also known as the legend of the Monkey King, Sun Wukong.Most of the writings in this website are by me, Yuen, unless otherwise stated. Please do not use any of the writings in this website without my permission. That said, please feel free to explore this site! Feedback and comments are much welcome, and can be sent toyuenyuen13@hotmail.com. For recent updates, go to the bottom of the page. You can also visit my Journey to the Westblog to see the newest updates. Alternatively, watch out for:
NEW!! (New Section)
NEW! (New Update)
Quick Intro
Journey to the West is a household legend and myth throughout East Asia, especially China, and among Chinese throughout the world. It is based on the real life monk Xuan Zang's (also known as Tripitaka or Tang San Zang) pilgrimage to India, to fetch back some Buddhist scriptures. Nonetheless, this fictional retelling focuses on San Zang's first disciple, the monkey king, Sun Wu Kong, who captured readers' hearts and imagination with his bold, daring, and mischievous personality. He was also very rebellious. As a matter of fact, Wu Cheng En wrote Journey to the West to criticize China's political system and society.
Basically, Journey to the West is about Tang San Zang's journey to the west (duh) and the difficulties he and his disciples face in between. It is overflowing with magic, demons, gods, immortals, and scrumptious action and adventure! It has lots of humor and some angst as well. Monkey King Wu Kong and the other disciples, a pig demon Zhu Ba Jie and the river demon Sha Wu Jing, have to battle hordes of demons, who all want their master because his flesh will give immortality to anyone who eats it.
This epic story is a captivating read, with the pilgrims getting into trouble in the most unexpected places, fighting through not only outright confrontation and abduction but also lies and disguises while using trickery of their own. Sun Wu Kong the Monkey King is especially good at this, having mastered the way of transforming himself into anything he likes, including a fly, tree, or a beautiful girl. Xi You Ji spans over a huge area, taking readers for a wild ride to the Heavens, volcanoes, seas, wide rivers, mountain peaks, demon-filled caves, right down to the pits of Hell. The plot is imaginative and full of conflict, either with external enemies or between the pilgrims themselves. The characters are well developed, with distinct, three-dimensional personalities. Well, most of them, at least. There are also underlying spiritual and religious themes. This masterpiece is frequently underestimated as it also portrays a realistic view of the political and social scenarios during the Ming Dynasty. In short, Xi You Ji is definitely worth your time. Grab the chance to experience one of the greatest classics of ancient China!
LATEST FEATURES
~ Films/Shows: Free torrent downloads to all the episodes of the 1986 CCTV Journey to the West (Liu Xiao Ling Tong version) with English and Chinese subs, courtesy of Afro Monkey (02/07/08) ~
~ Free download ofEpisode One of Journey to the West I (Dicky Cheung version) with English subs (30/06/08) ~
Info
What exactly happened on the Journey to the West? What's the story like? Here's a general summary of the story by sections.
Exactly who wrote Xi You Ji? A Taoist? A scholar? A poet? History has pointed arrows to each of these, but if you want to find out more about the real author of Journey to the West, just click on the link above!
What was the real Journey to the West like? Did Xuan Zang (Tang San Zang) really flow down a river to be adopted by an abbot? What kind of person was he? To answer all these questions and more, just click on the link above! A new, much improved account of Xuan Zang's history is waiting for you! I did proper research this time, really! It's much better than the old version! Much more information, more organized, and more fun to read! I even found a few interesting anecdotes of Xuan Zang's journeys! Enjoy~
Where did Xi You Ji come from? Did Sun Wu Kong just pop out of Wu Cheng En's head fully formed? Click on the link above to find out the origins of Journey to the West!
Where did the Pig come from? Why do people love Sun Wu Kong so much? Why does he have so many names? If he didn't have parents, who named him in the first place? In-depth info, details, and spoilers on the important characters in Xi You Ji. Also has my personal comments and insights.
Media
NEW! Interested in reading Journey to the West? Take your pick from a list of published English translations of Xi You Ji, unabridged and abridged. Now includes supplementary readings, including critical readings and (fan)fiction based on Xi You Ji.
NEW! Information about films and shows based on Xi You Ji.
Information about animation or manga based on Xi You Ji.
Download FREE songs and lyrics from shows of Xi You Ji. Also contains my comments about the songs. Translations of lyrics to be available soon!
Information about video or online games based on Xi You Ji.
Contains Journey to the West fanfiction.
Misc.
Xi You Ji forum hosted by Monkey King's World. Discuss anything about Xi You Ji here. ^_^
Guestbook
Go here to give me your comments, feedback and constructive criticism! I absolutely LOVE receiving comments about my site *hint* *hint* ^o^
Alternatively, send your feedback and comments toyuenyuen13@hotmail.com.
Contains updates andprogress reports about the projects related to Journey to the West that I'm working on. One of those projects is this website, and I've listed the features I'm planning to include in this website. Once I've updated the site with a particular feature, I mark it as 'Done' in the blog. So you can see from this blog what I'm going to add and what I've added! You can even suggest improvements or give comments on the updates! Another of those projects is the translation project for the 1996 Journey to the West drama series starring Dicky Cheung as the Monkey King so you can see what I'm contributing to it as well. Also contains information about my other Journey to the West projects.
An online store selling items related to Chinese culture such as books, movies etc. Created by me. ^_^
Contains links to websites about Xi You Ji.
DISCLAIMER
Most of the writings in this website are by me, Yuen, unless otherwise stated. Please do not use any of the writings in this website without my permission.
© Liew Xiang Xiang (a.k.a. Yuen) 2005-2008
Contact e-mail:yuenyuen13@hotmail.com
UPDATES
Updated the Books section: Added Professor Anthony C. Yu's newest abridgment of his original translation, The Monkey and the Monk: An Abridgment of The Journey to the West and an adaptation for children called The Making of Monkey King.
- Yuen, 7th August 2008
Updated the Films/Shows section. Thanks to Afro Monkey, there are now links to the free torrent downloads of all the episodes of the 1986 CCTV Journey to the West (Liu Xiao Ling Tong version) with English and Chinese subs! Hurray!
- Yuen, 2nd July 2008
Updated the Films/Shows section. Added free download ofEpisode Oneof Journey to the West I (Dicky Cheung version) with English subs, thanks to all the people from theSun Wukong Fansubs Project! Also added link to download of the Spanish sub of the same episode, thanks to afro monkey. Also added information about a dubbed version the coordinator of the project is working on. See myblog for more details.
- Yuen, 30th June 2008
Updated the Games section: Added information aboutThe Monkey King: The Legend Begins for the Wii console. Another amazing game. Also added information aboutMonkey King Chinese Chess Xiangqi Set and opened a new section for it, 'Board Games'. Added more information about Monkey Magic. The Games page is starting to look really decent now! Yeah!
- Yuen, 3rd June 2008
Journey To The West Board Game
Update in Films/Shows section. Added buy link for The Lost Empire. Added information for the remake of Monkey/Saiyuki (Japanese version of Xiyouji).
Revamped links page. Removed some links until only the best sites are left.
- Yuen, 31th May 2008
Rearranged the Films/Shows section. See myblog for more details.
- Yuen, 30th May 2008
Updated the Films/Shows section: Added information about The Forbidden Kingdom. I also added information about the 1996 Journey to the West (Xiyouji) drama series starring Dicky Cheung. Finally there a group subbing this amazing series and one of those people is me! Go here to see the part of Episode 1 that we've subbed already! The full version should be out very soon.
Journey To The West Free
Updated the Games section: Added information aboutSaiyuki: Journey West by Koei. Awesome game, must play for any Journey to the West fan.
Special Update: Added a blog! For now it contains updates to this site and progress reports about projects related to Journey to the West that I'm working on. One of those projects is this website, and I've listed the features I'm planning to include in this website. Once I've added it to the site, I mark it as done in the blog. So you can see from this blog what I'm going to add and what I've added! You can even suggest improvements or give comments on the updates! Isn't that fantastic? Yes it is. Hehehe. Another of those projects is the translation project for the 96 version of Journey to the West so you can see what I'm contributing to it as well. And some others as well, of course.
I also rearranged the format of the guestbook so that it's now part of the Misc. section.
I hope that this (relatively) massive update makes up for all those months of neglect.
Journey To The West Game Supervision
- Yuen, 25th May 2008
I LIVE! Yes, after months of hiatus, I'm finally starting to update the page again! Yay! My final exams are finally over and I have approximately 3 months of rest before flying to the US for tertiary education. And I've decided to start again nice and slow with a small update in the:
Music/Lyrics section: Added the original soundtrack for Monkey Magic.
- Yuen, 24th May 2008
The guestbook service I was using is going to shut down soon, so I have set up a new guestbook. Everyone is welcome to post messages there - your feedback makes me very happy! I know I haven't really updated in a long while, because the school work is piling up like crazy, and plus there's those uni apps to get through, but I promise that once I can actually breathe I'll update this page with more info! Thank you for your support!
Journey To The West Game Online
- Yuen, 7th October 2007
Minor update in Films/Shows section.
- Yuen, 19th July 2007
Special Update: Added Yu Long's character profile!
Updated the Music/Lyrics section: Added the theme song for Dicky Cheung's version of Journey to the West.
- Yuen, 12th July 2007
Updated the Books section: Added a graphic novel - American Born Chinese and fixed the Fictions of Enlightenment link.
Updated the Anime/Manga section: Added info about Alakazam the Great and its manga counterpart.
- Yuen, 9th July 2007
Updated the Books section: Added information about Tung Yueh's Tower of Myriad Mirrors and fixed the broken link.
Updated the Links section: Linked to an awesome new site calledMonkey - Great Sage Equal of Heaven (Monkey Magic).
- Yuen, 16th June 2007
For more updates, clickhere.
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