SonSon
Released by Capcom in 1984, this arcade hybrid of shooting and platforming is one of the earliest Japanese video games to feature Sun Wukong as the protagonist.
SonSon is a side-scrolling automatic action-shooter released by Capcom for arcades in July 1984. It was designed and illustrated by Yoshiki Okamoto—who would later create series such as Street Fighter II and Resident Evil—with music composed by Ayako Mori and Keiyo Kawamoto. This was one of the earliest video games in the Japanese industry to feature Sun Wukong as the protagonist. The main character is named "SonSon," a monkey youth who wields the Ruyi Jingu Bang and can fire light bullets. In two-player mode, a second player can provide assistance as "TonTon," a character based on Zhu Bajie. The game automatically scrolls to the right across six continuous platforms; players can move between levels, shoot aerial enemies, and collect fruit items for extra points, eventually reaching a Buddha statue to complete the stage. In August 1984, the Japanese magazine Game Machine ranked it as the fifth most successful cabinet arcade game of the month, helping to establish Capcom's early commercial foundation. The game was ported to the Famicom in 1986 and subsequently included in various retro collections for PS, Xbox, and Switch, such as the Capcom Classics Collection. A sequel, SonSon II, was released for the PC Engine. The character "SonSon" reappeared as a playable fighter in 2000's Comic Jam Museum (and Comic Hero vs. Capcom 2), confirming his continuity as one of Capcom's "legacy" IPs. Although the game is dated and the plot is sparse, it served as one of the earliest windows for Western arcade halls to encounter the image of the "Monkey King."