Journey to the West in popular culture
Encyclopedia
Journey to the West
, and its characters, have appeared many times in works of popular culture.
.
uses the character of the Monkey King to be used as a light entertainment to keep the continuity between acts.
, Liu Xiao Ling Tong
, Stephen Chow
, Yueh Hua (of Shaw Brothers fame), and Dicky Cheung
have portrayed Sun Wukong in films and television shows. Jet Li
portrays the character in the 2008 movie The Forbidden Kingdom, which condenses many of the elements of his character (his mischief, his playing havoc amongst the gods, his magical staff obtained from the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea, and his three magical hairs) into a single narrative.
The 1960 Japanese animated feature Alakazam the Great
was based on "Boku no Son Goku" (My Son Goku), a manga adaptation of 'Journey to the West' created by Osamu Tezuka
.
In 1979-1980, Nippon Television ran 2 seasons of the Japanese television live-action series Saiyūki
. This was a more humorous take on the characters, with Masaaki Sakai
as "Monkey", though it was true to the parameters of the story, and retained a respectful thread of Buddhist philosophy throughout. Sold to Britain, the series was redubbed into English by the BBC with British actors doing stage-Chinese accents and working from slightly re-written scripts to accentuate the humour. Titled "Monkey", it was broadcast in the UK, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Very popular, it achieved long-term cult status and has been re-run many times. In the UK, is sometimes known as "Monkey Magic", after the hit title song by Japanese band Godiego. Both seasons of the series, including episodes not originally chosen for redubbing, are available on DVD in these 3 countries.
Sun was also portrayed in the 1983 NBC special Big Bird in China
. He was the guide of Big Bird
, Barkley, and their young friend, Xiao Foo, while they searched for Feng Huang.
In 1985, filmmaker Chris Columbus
wrote an early draft for the third Indiana Jones film (which eventually became Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
), which featured the Monkey King. In Columbus' first draft, Sun Wu Kung (sic) is benevolent deity and god to a city of pygmies and apes in Africa
; but in the second draft he is a villain. George Lucas eventually decided the character was too unrealistic . The script was leaked online in 1997, and many believed it was an early draft for the fourth film as the date was mistakenly printed as 1995..
In 1986 a Chinese serial called "Monkey King" was filmed (Xi you ji, directed by Jie Yang), which featured 25 episodes of length from 40 to 55 minutes. It tells the story of the Monkey King Sun Wukong from his birth from rock through his journey with the monk.
The manga and anime series Dragon Ball
was based on Journey to the West
, and the protagonist was named Son Goku
(the Japanese way to pronounce the kanji
Sun Wukong). Although Goku had a few items in his possession similar to the Monkey King (such as a somersault cloud and an extending magical staff), he appeared to be more human than monkey (he is later revealed to be a member of a race of monkey-tailed aliens called Saiyans), and his initial mischievous behavior stems from his youth and innocence, rather than from arrogance and sometimes outright malice.
The manga Saiyuki (the original Japanese pronunciation of "Hsi Yu Chi", the original Chinese name of the novel) and its subsequent anime adaptions modernize and satirize the general story to appeal to a teenage audience. Like Dragon Ball, the monkey character is referred to as "Son Goku", and the other main characters likewise share names and traits with their legendary antecedents.
The manga and anime Love Hina
have both a chapter where characters play the Journey to the West
.
addendum to the famous Chinese novel Journey to the West, which takes place between the end of chapter 61 and the beginning of 62. In the novel, The Monkey King faces a representation of his own carnal desires and is trapped inside of a tower full of mirrors, each with its own powers. One mirror causes him to travel forward in time from the Tang
to the Song Dynasty
. There, some junior devils appear and tell him that the ruler of the underworld King Yama has recently died of an illness and so Monkey must take his place until a suitable replacement can be found. Monkey ends up judging the fate of the recently deceased Prime Minster Qin Hui
. He tortures Qin into confessing his sins. These tortures include having millions of embroidery needles shoved into his flesh, being ground into paste, thrown onto a mountain of swords and spears, hacked into bits, forced to drink human puss, and his rib cage ripped apart to give him the appearance of a dragon fly
. A demon is charged with using his magic breath to "blow" Qin back into his proper form. Monkey finally sends a demon to heaven to retrieve a powerful magic gourd that sucks anyone who speaks before it inside and melts them down into a bloody stew. He uses this gourd for Qin's final punishment. Meanwhile, Monkey invites the ghost of Yue Fei to the underworld and takes him as his third master. (He claims this completes his lessons on the three religions since: 1) the immortal Subhodhi taught him Taoist magic 2) the Tang Monk
taught him Buddhist restraint and 3) Yue Fei taught him Confucian ideals.) He entertains Yue Fei until Qin has been reduced to liquid and offers the general a cup of Qin's "blood wine." Yue, however, refuses on the grounds that drinking it would sully his soul. Monkey then does an experiment where he makes a junior devil drink of the wine. Sometime later, the devil, apparently under the evil influence of the blood wine, murders his personal religious teacher and escapes into the "gate of ghosts," presumably being reborn into another existence. Yue Fei then takes his leave to return to his heavenly abode. Monkey sends him off with a huge display of respect by making all of the millions of denizens of the underworld kowtow before him.
Gene Luen Yang's graphic novel American Born Chinese
, uses the legend of the Monkey King as a major metaphor throughout the book. He uses the Monkey King's quest to be equal to a god to compare the feelings the main character, a Chinese immigrant, is having fitting in to American society.
Laurence Yep
's Dragon (fantasy series)
features a character, Monkey, who is heavily based upon Sun Wukong.
In Alan James Brown's novel for children Michael and the Monkey King Monkey's mythical Journey to the West becomes a modern day quest to save the lives of a young boy's parents.
and Warriors Orochi 2
. It is notable that in the latter, he is an antagonist character (albeit along with Himiko certainly the least malevolent of them) since in this game he was freed not by Xuanzang
but by Taira Kiyomori, who he then felt obligated to support. The expansion Warriors Orochi Z
later features a female Xuanzang
, which foreshadows Wukong's true redemption.
He also appears in the Japan-only Shin Sangoku Musou Multi Raid 2 for the PSP as an optional character. The player can unlock Him by gathering 'Community Points' from online play.
In LittleBigPlanet
a costume that depicts the Monkey King is available as free DLC
.
In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
and Pokémon Platinum
, Chimchar's (Hikozaru in Japanese) final evolution is Infernape (Goukazaru in Japanese) which is based on the Monkey King.
In Capcom's game SonSon
the title character is based on Sun Wukong. SonSon's granddaughter (with the same name) appears in Marvel vs. Capcom 2 in which she portrays many more of Sun Wukong's traditional abilities.
The character Goku in World Heroes
is based upon Sun Wukong.
His weapon is alluded in the Warcraft 3 map Defense of the Ancients as the Monkey King Bar. It is a powerful 4th tier weapon that deals immense damage and is capable of stunning any opponent momentarily.
He also appeared in the game Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom
as Hero for the player's city.
The 2010 game Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, written by Alex Garland
, borrows several concepts, plot devices, and even basic appearances for the main characters from Journey to the West. The main protagonist Monkey retains several abilities displayed by Sun Wukong
.
Buster Rod G, a boss from Mega Man: The Wily Wars
, is based on Sun Wukong.
The Monkey King is an upcoming hero in Heroes of Newerth
Wukong, The Monkey King is a playable champion in League of Legends
Dragon Ball and the anime
Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT, there is a pig named Oolong which is loosely based on Zhu Bajie; he is greedy, ugly, stupid and has the shape-changing ability (though Oolong's shapeshifting works only for five minutes, after which he needs an one-minute break), as well as being behind an attempt to kidnap several young girls of a local village when he first appears.
Saiyuki, an anime and manga loosely based on Journey to the West
, features a major character named Cho Hakkai is loosely based on Zhu Bajie; indeed, Cho Hakkai is Japanese for Zhu Bajie, as is his previous name Cho Gonou (Zhu Wuneng). Hakkai, being gentle (at least superficially) and polite, and hardly resembling anything but a human, is nothing like Bajie. However, in a team of impostors who take the party's place in a few episodes, Hakkai's counterpart is in fact a slobbish glutton.
In the anime InuYasha
, Zhu Bajie's descendant is a demon named Chokyukai (Cho Kyukai "Pig with Nine Prohibitions"; if in Chinese Zhū Jiǔjiè) that abducts young unmarried women and takes them to his palace.
The Capcom
arcade game
SonSon, also loosely based on Journey to the West, features a character drawn from Zhu Bajie in the form of the second-player character Tonton.
The game Kodai Shiyou/Ether Saga Online is somewhat based on the story of Zhu Bajie.
In Pokémon Black and White
The Pokémon Emboar, is based on Zhu Ba Jie
In the game Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, Pigsy is based on the character, being gluttonous, lazy, and spending a lot of time hitting on Trip.
Journey to the West
Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...
, and its characters, have appeared many times in works of popular culture.
Princess Iron Fan
Princess Iron Fan has appeared as an optional playable character in the Playstation game Saiyuki: Journey to the West. However, she is called Lady Tessen instead of Princess Iron Fan (though it essentially means the same thing). Her element is fire rather than wind and her fan is used (not visibly) in her Fire Fan special attack, where she creates a massive tornado of flames around a group of enemies. Her husband, the Bull King Taurus, is also an optional playable character and her son Red Boy is an enemy character.Sun Wukong
Sun Wukong has been a staple character in many forms of media from many East Asian countries, most famously the 1965 Chinese animated film Havoc in HeavenHavoc in Heaven
Havoc in Heaven , also known as Uproar in Heaven, is a Chinese animated feature film directed by Wan Laiming and produced by all four of the Wan brothers. The film was created at the height of the Chinese animation industry in the 1960s, and received numerous awards...
.
Circus
UK Touring Circus The Chinese State CircusChinese State Circus
To say the Chinese State Circus is merely a show is grossly to underestimate it; it is the embodiment of a traditional art form which can trace its history back over 2000 years. The presentation lives and breathes with the enthusiasm of its acrobatic artistes whose whole lives centre in the...
uses the character of the Monkey King to be used as a light entertainment to keep the continuity between acts.
Film and television
Many actors including Masaaki SakaiMasaaki Sakai
is a popular Japanese performer from Tokyo. He is best known to English-speaking audiences as the title star of the TV show Monkey.- Biography :...
, Liu Xiao Ling Tong
Liu Xiao Ling Tong
Liu Xiao Ling Tong is the stage name of Zhang Jinlai , a famous Chinese actor who was known for his critically acclaimed portrayal of Sun Wukong in the 1986 Journey to the West TV series.-Biography:...
, Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow Sing-Chi is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, screenwriter, film director and producer.- Professional career :Stephen Chow began as a temporary actor for TVB. He entered TVB in early 1980s, and was trained there, although he had few opportunities to appear in films. Chow graduated from...
, Yueh Hua (of Shaw Brothers fame), and Dicky Cheung
Dicky Cheung
-Career:He entered show business in the early 1980s, signing a contract with television station TVB. He won the 3rd annual New Talent Singing Awards in 1984. Up until the mid 90's, Dicky struggled for many years working as a low-paid actor, singer, and appeared occasionally in films...
have portrayed Sun Wukong in films and television shows. Jet Li
Jet Li
The fame gained by his sports winnings led to a career as a martial arts film star, beginning in mainland China and then continuing into Hong Kong. Li acquired his screen name in 1982 in the Philippines when a publicity company thought his real name was too hard to pronounce...
portrays the character in the 2008 movie The Forbidden Kingdom, which condenses many of the elements of his character (his mischief, his playing havoc amongst the gods, his magical staff obtained from the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea, and his three magical hairs) into a single narrative.
The 1960 Japanese animated feature Alakazam the Great
Alakazam the Great
is a 1960 Japanese anime film, based on the Chinese novel Journey to the West, and was one of the earliest anime films to be released in the United States. Based on the manga by Osamu Tezuka, he was named as a director of the film by Toei Company. However, Tezuka later stated that the only time he...
was based on "Boku no Son Goku" (My Son Goku), a manga adaptation of 'Journey to the West' created by Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Tezuka
was a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer, activist and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack...
.
In 1979-1980, Nippon Television ran 2 seasons of the Japanese television live-action series Saiyūki
Monkey (TV series)
Monkey is the dubbed English language version of the Japanese television series , based on the classic sixteenth century Chinese novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en. It was originally produced by Nippon Television and International Television Films in association with NHK.The series ran for...
. This was a more humorous take on the characters, with Masaaki Sakai
Masaaki Sakai
is a popular Japanese performer from Tokyo. He is best known to English-speaking audiences as the title star of the TV show Monkey.- Biography :...
as "Monkey", though it was true to the parameters of the story, and retained a respectful thread of Buddhist philosophy throughout. Sold to Britain, the series was redubbed into English by the BBC with British actors doing stage-Chinese accents and working from slightly re-written scripts to accentuate the humour. Titled "Monkey", it was broadcast in the UK, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Very popular, it achieved long-term cult status and has been re-run many times. In the UK, is sometimes known as "Monkey Magic", after the hit title song by Japanese band Godiego. Both seasons of the series, including episodes not originally chosen for redubbing, are available on DVD in these 3 countries.
Sun was also portrayed in the 1983 NBC special Big Bird in China
Big Bird in China
Big Bird in China was a 1983 special produced by the Children's Television Workshop and CCTV. It was originally broadcast on May 29, 1983 on NBC. The special was based on the popular television series Sesame Street...
. He was the guide of Big Bird
Big Bird
Big Bird is a protagonist of the children's television show Sesame Street. Big Bird, like many of the other Sesame Street characters, is a Muppet character. He is sometimes referred to simply as "Bird" by his friends....
, Barkley, and their young friend, Xiao Foo, while they searched for Feng Huang.
In 1985, filmmaker Chris Columbus
Chris Columbus (filmmaker)
Christopher Joseph "Chris" Columbus is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Columbus had his largest success with the first two films in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, along with Home Alone, the last...
wrote an early draft for the third Indiana Jones film (which eventually became Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third film in the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison Ford reprises the title role and Sean Connery plays Indiana's father, Henry...
), which featured the Monkey King. In Columbus' first draft, Sun Wu Kung (sic) is benevolent deity and god to a city of pygmies and apes in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
; but in the second draft he is a villain. George Lucas eventually decided the character was too unrealistic . The script was leaked online in 1997, and many believed it was an early draft for the fourth film as the date was mistakenly printed as 1995..
In 1986 a Chinese serial called "Monkey King" was filmed (Xi you ji, directed by Jie Yang), which featured 25 episodes of length from 40 to 55 minutes. It tells the story of the Monkey King Sun Wukong from his birth from rock through his journey with the monk.
The manga and anime series Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995; later the 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Dragon Ball was inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the...
was based on Journey to the West
Journey to the West
Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...
, and the protagonist was named Son Goku
Son Goku (Dragon Ball)
Goku, known as in the English-language manga and original Japanese-language version, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball franchise created by Akira Toriyama. He is loosely based on Sun Wukong, a central character in Journey to the West...
(the Japanese way to pronounce the kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
Sun Wukong). Although Goku had a few items in his possession similar to the Monkey King (such as a somersault cloud and an extending magical staff), he appeared to be more human than monkey (he is later revealed to be a member of a race of monkey-tailed aliens called Saiyans), and his initial mischievous behavior stems from his youth and innocence, rather than from arrogance and sometimes outright malice.
The manga Saiyuki (the original Japanese pronunciation of "Hsi Yu Chi", the original Chinese name of the novel) and its subsequent anime adaptions modernize and satirize the general story to appeal to a teenage audience. Like Dragon Ball, the monkey character is referred to as "Son Goku", and the other main characters likewise share names and traits with their legendary antecedents.
The manga and anime Love Hina
Love Hina
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ken Akamatsu. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine by Kodansha from October 21, 1998 to October 31, 2001 and was published in 14 tankōbon volumes by Kodansha. The series tells the story of Keitaro Urashima and his attempts to...
have both a chapter where characters play the Journey to the West
Journey to the West
Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...
.
Literature
Xiyoubu (西遊補 - "Supplement to the Journey to the West", 1640) - A Ming DynastyMing Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
addendum to the famous Chinese novel Journey to the West, which takes place between the end of chapter 61 and the beginning of 62. In the novel, The Monkey King faces a representation of his own carnal desires and is trapped inside of a tower full of mirrors, each with its own powers. One mirror causes him to travel forward in time from the Tang
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
to the Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
. There, some junior devils appear and tell him that the ruler of the underworld King Yama has recently died of an illness and so Monkey must take his place until a suitable replacement can be found. Monkey ends up judging the fate of the recently deceased Prime Minster Qin Hui
Qin Hui (Song Dynasty)
Qin Hui or Qin Kuai was a Chancellor of the Song Dynasty in China, who is widely regarded as a traitor of the Han race for his part in the political execution of General Yue Fei...
. He tortures Qin into confessing his sins. These tortures include having millions of embroidery needles shoved into his flesh, being ground into paste, thrown onto a mountain of swords and spears, hacked into bits, forced to drink human puss, and his rib cage ripped apart to give him the appearance of a dragon fly
Dragon Fly
- Personnel :*Grace Slick – vocals, piano on "Be Young You"*Paul Kantner – vocals, rhythm guitar*John Barbata – drums, percussion*Craig Chaquico – lead guitar*Papa John Creach – electric violin...
. A demon is charged with using his magic breath to "blow" Qin back into his proper form. Monkey finally sends a demon to heaven to retrieve a powerful magic gourd that sucks anyone who speaks before it inside and melts them down into a bloody stew. He uses this gourd for Qin's final punishment. Meanwhile, Monkey invites the ghost of Yue Fei to the underworld and takes him as his third master. (He claims this completes his lessons on the three religions since: 1) the immortal Subhodhi taught him Taoist magic 2) the Tang Monk
Xuanzang (fictional character)
The fictional character Xuanzang is a central character of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West.For most of the novel he is known as Táng-sānzàng, the title Sānzàng referring to his mission to seek the Sānzàngjīng, the "Three Collections of Scriptures"...
taught him Buddhist restraint and 3) Yue Fei taught him Confucian ideals.) He entertains Yue Fei until Qin has been reduced to liquid and offers the general a cup of Qin's "blood wine." Yue, however, refuses on the grounds that drinking it would sully his soul. Monkey then does an experiment where he makes a junior devil drink of the wine. Sometime later, the devil, apparently under the evil influence of the blood wine, murders his personal religious teacher and escapes into the "gate of ghosts," presumably being reborn into another existence. Yue Fei then takes his leave to return to his heavenly abode. Monkey sends him off with a huge display of respect by making all of the millions of denizens of the underworld kowtow before him.
Gene Luen Yang's graphic novel American Born Chinese
American Born Chinese
American Born Chinese is a graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang. Released in 2006 by First Second Books, it was a finalist for the 2006 National Book Awards in the category of Young People's Literature. It won the 2007 Michael L. Printz Award and the 2007 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album: New. It...
, uses the legend of the Monkey King as a major metaphor throughout the book. He uses the Monkey King's quest to be equal to a god to compare the feelings the main character, a Chinese immigrant, is having fitting in to American society.
Laurence Yep
Laurence Yep
-Background:Chinese-American, Yep was born in San Francisco, California to Yep Gim Lew and Franche. His older brother, Thomas named him after studying a particular saint in a multicultural neighborhood that consisted of mostly African Americans. Growing up, he often felt torn between both...
's Dragon (fantasy series)
Dragon (fantasy series)
The Dragon series is a tetralogy of fantasy novels by Chinese-American author Laurence Yep. Yep had already written several books including the Newbery Honor novel Dragonwings by 1980, when, after undertaking careful research, he decided to adapt Chinese mythology into a fantasy form, something he...
features a character, Monkey, who is heavily based upon Sun Wukong.
In Alan James Brown's novel for children Michael and the Monkey King Monkey's mythical Journey to the West becomes a modern day quest to save the lives of a young boy's parents.
Video games
Sun Wukong has also appeared as a playable character in numerous titles such as Saiyuki: Journey WestSaiyuki: Journey West
Saiyuki: Journey West is a tactical role-playing video game released for the Sony PlayStation by Koei. It is based loosely on the Great Classical Novel Journey to the West...
and Warriors Orochi 2
Warriors Orochi 2
is a video game developed by Koei and Omega Force for the Sony PlayStation 2. It is the sequel to Warriors Orochi, a crossover video game of the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors series. The game was released on September 23 in North America and September 19 in Europe...
. It is notable that in the latter, he is an antagonist character (albeit along with Himiko certainly the least malevolent of them) since in this game he was freed not by Xuanzang
Xuanzang
Xuanzang was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator who described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang period...
but by Taira Kiyomori, who he then felt obligated to support. The expansion Warriors Orochi Z
Warriors Orochi Z
, is a hack and slash video game developed by Koei and Omega Force for the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Windows. Z' is the third installment of the Warriors Orochi series, a crossover video game of the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors series...
later features a female Xuanzang
Xuanzang
Xuanzang was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator who described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang period...
, which foreshadows Wukong's true redemption.
He also appears in the Japan-only Shin Sangoku Musou Multi Raid 2 for the PSP as an optional character. The player can unlock Him by gathering 'Community Points' from online play.
In LittleBigPlanet
LittleBigPlanet
LittleBigPlanet, commonly abbreviated LBP, is a puzzle platformer video game, based on user-generated content, for the PlayStation 3 first announced on 7 March 2007, by Phil Harrison at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California...
a costume that depicts the Monkey King is available as free DLC
Downloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
.
In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. With the enhanced remake Pokémon Platinum, the games comprise the fifth installment and fourth generation of the Pokémon series of RPGs...
and Pokémon Platinum
Pokémon Platinum
is a title in the Pokémon series of video games. It was developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It is an enhanced remake of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl in the same vein as Pokémon Yellow, Crystal, and Emerald were for their respective games...
, Chimchar's (Hikozaru in Japanese) final evolution is Infernape (Goukazaru in Japanese) which is based on the Monkey King.
In Capcom's game SonSon
SonSon
is a video game by Capcom. It is loosely based on the Chinese classic Journey to the West. The player assumes the role of a monkey boy 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...
the title character is based on Sun Wukong. SonSon's granddaughter (with the same name) appears in Marvel vs. Capcom 2 in which she portrays many more of Sun Wukong's traditional abilities.
The character Goku in World Heroes
World Heroes
is a series of fighting games created by ADK originally created for the Neo Geo MVS arcade cabinets with the assistance of SNK, though some of the games in the series were also ported to the Neo Geo AES and Neo-Geo CD platforms, as well as some non-SNK platforms such as the Super NES and the Sega...
is based upon Sun Wukong.
His weapon is alluded in the Warcraft 3 map Defense of the Ancients as the Monkey King Bar. It is a powerful 4th tier weapon that deals immense damage and is capable of stunning any opponent momentarily.
He also appeared in the game Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom
Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom
Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom is the sixth title in the City Building Series. BreakAway Games was contracted for Emperor after having previously worked on Queen of the Nile...
as Hero for the player's city.
The 2010 game Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, written by Alex Garland
Alex Garland
Alexander Medawar "Alex" Garland is a British novelist and screenwriter.-Early life:Garland was born in London, England, the son of psychoanalyst Caroline and political cartoonist Nicholas Garland. His maternal grandparents were zoologist Peter Medawar and author Jean Medawar...
, borrows several concepts, plot devices, and even basic appearances for the main characters from Journey to the West. The main protagonist Monkey retains several abilities displayed by Sun Wukong
Sun Wukong
Sun Wukong , also known as the Monkey King is a main character in the classical Chinese epic novel Journey to the West . In the novel, he is a monkey born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers through Taoist practices...
.
Buster Rod G, a boss from Mega Man: The Wily Wars
Mega Man: The Wily Wars
Mega Man: The Wily Wars, released in Japan as is a video game compilation by Capcom for the Sega Mega Drive. The game features remakes of the first three Mega Man games that were originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The Wily Wars was released in cartridge format in Japan and...
, is based on Sun Wukong.
The Monkey King is an upcoming hero in Heroes of Newerth
Heroes of Newerth
Heroes of Newerth is a free-to-play science fantasy, action real-time strategy game developed by S2 Games for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. The game was heavily inspired by the Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne custom map, Defense of the Ancients and is S2 Games' first game title in the...
Wukong, The Monkey King is a playable champion in League of Legends
League of Legends
The BetFred League of Legends was a darts tournament featuring some of the legends of the game of darts which commenced in May 2008. The tournament is broadcast on Setanta Sports in the United Kingdom....
Zhu Bajie
In the mangaManga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
Dragon Ball and the anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT, there is a pig named Oolong which is loosely based on Zhu Bajie; he is greedy, ugly, stupid and has the shape-changing ability (though Oolong's shapeshifting works only for five minutes, after which he needs an one-minute break), as well as being behind an attempt to kidnap several young girls of a local village when he first appears.
Saiyuki, an anime and manga loosely based on Journey to the West
Journey to the West
Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...
, features a major character named Cho Hakkai is loosely based on Zhu Bajie; indeed, Cho Hakkai is Japanese for Zhu Bajie, as is his previous name Cho Gonou (Zhu Wuneng). Hakkai, being gentle (at least superficially) and polite, and hardly resembling anything but a human, is nothing like Bajie. However, in a team of impostors who take the party's place in a few episodes, Hakkai's counterpart is in fact a slobbish glutton.
In the anime InuYasha
InuYasha
, also known as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It premiered in Weekly Shōnen Sunday on November 13, 1996 and concluded on June 18, 2008...
, Zhu Bajie's descendant is a demon named Chokyukai (Cho Kyukai "Pig with Nine Prohibitions"; if in Chinese Zhū Jiǔjiè) that abducts young unmarried women and takes them to his palace.
The Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
SonSon, also loosely based on Journey to the West, features a character drawn from Zhu Bajie in the form of the second-player character Tonton.
The game Kodai Shiyou/Ether Saga Online is somewhat based on the story of Zhu Bajie.
In Pokémon Black and White
Pokémon Black and White
are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. They are the first installments in the fifth generation of the Pokémon series of role-playing games...
The Pokémon Emboar, is based on Zhu Ba Jie
In the game Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, Pigsy is based on the character, being gluttonous, lazy, and spending a lot of time hitting on Trip.