Sun Wukong

Sun Wukong (onyomi: Son Gokū) is one of Sanzang's famous traveling disciples in Journey to the West. About 500 years before he met Sanzang, he prided himself on his immortality, strength, and stature as the Handsome Monkey King. After losing a war with heaven, Sun Wukong is sealed within a rock prison and is forced to protect Sanzang to atone for his past grievances. He is popularly known for using his mischievousness, optimism, and his wily cleverness to protect his master. Not to mention the on'yomi reading of his name has spawned very popular alternate incarnations of him in most of Japan's works.

His Warriors Orochi incarnation can be unlocked during his debut by clearing Wei's scenario. Players can unlock him in Warriors Orochi 3 by viewing all of the game's endings.

The English port of Saiyuki: Journey West keeps the Japanese romanji for the character names, so he is called Son Goku throughout the script. He visually appears to be 15 years old.

Role in Games

 * "Enjoy this hellish plain, monkey."
 * Orochi; Warriors Orochi 2

Warriors Orochi
Freed from his prison by Kiyomori, he seeks to repay the gigantic favor by serving under him. He is very dedicated in his new task yet shows no personal interest in resurrecting Orochi. During battle, he usually creates clones of himself to help defend and attack oncoming armies.

During Shu's story mode, he leads an army to escort a captured Mitsuhide and daughter Gracia to Kiyomori. A small force led by Xing Cai and Ina stop him at Wuhang Mountains. During the Battle of Jia Meng Gate, he also tried to halt Guan Yu and Zhang Liao's armies with his doubles. At the Battle of Koshi Castle, he is defeated along with his master.

In Wei's story mode, Sun Wukong first appears at Battle of Si Province leading an army with Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo is called a "monkey-handler" by Cao Cao. He is defeated here and at Tong Gate.

He gets upset at Da Ji's party for intruding near Wuhang Mountains and tries to punish them in one of the new dream stages for Musou OROCHI Z. When he is beaten, he pleads San Zang -who was still his master at the time- to help him. During Sanzo's Gaiden dream stages, he is surprised to see his old master looking for him in the new world created by Orochi. However, he feels indebted to Kiyomori and uses it as an excuse to avoid reuniting with San Zang. He also appears on Kiyomori's order to save Da Ji during Benkei's dream stage, bluntly replying that he is the reason why they escape the peril caused by the coalition forces.

In the Nan Zhong dream stage with San Zang and Himiko, he is reluctant to follow his master's trip back to India and is annoyed with the idea of rescuing the stranded generals along the way. As Sima Yi concentrates on putting out the fire, Sun Wukong helps bide time by creating duplicates of himself. When he tries to leave Sanzo, Himiko tattles on him and he teases her height. Wanting her companions to get along, Sanzo uses an incantation on Sun Wukong's headband and soon has him sprawling on the ground in pain.

Sun Wukong is still serving under Kiyomori in Warriors Orochi 3. Empowered by his master's strengthened spells, he helps Kiyomori maintain the mind-control spell on their defeated victims and leads enemy troops throughout the dimensional realm. Hoping to prevent Sanzang from being dragged into the wars, he imprisons her and her companion with a spell at one point. Whenever he can, Sun Wukong also seeks to help his friend, Nezha, in his fight against the coalition. By the end of the war with the Hydra and Kiyomori, it is not seen whether he was captured or killed.

Ultimate has Sun Wukong on the run from the Coalition with Da Ji and Himiko accompanying him. The three of them are led to Hinokawa by a mysterious voice who Sun Wukong assumes to be that of the real Orochi. One of the side scenarios of the seventh chapter has him and Seimei help Tamamo escape the Mystic Realm only to lure her into a trap, leading to her imprisonment by the Three Sovereign.

Dynasty Warriors
He appears as an optional character in Shin Sangoku Musou Multi Raid 2 and can only be played when players have accumulated enough Community Points for him. The same game includes a bonus downloadable scenario in which he and Sanzang team up to face the player's party. He is also included in a collaborative project with V Jump in which players can unlock a Son Goku outfit for him.

Saiyuki: Journey West
Gokuu continues to be a jack-of-all-trades and Sanzou's companion in Saiyuki: Journey West. Shortly after Sanzou leaves his/her home, his/her guards are killed by monsters. Gokuu, asked by Lady Kannon to aid the monk, tells Sanzo to release him from his rock prison. Once he is freed, he vanquishes the monsters and tries to make a quick exit. Lady Kannon stops him and bids the monkey to act as Sanzou's guide. When he refuses, she demonstrates the spell she placed on the golden headband around his forehead and teaches it to Sanzou. Stuck with the monk, Gokuu guards Sanzou to India. Along the way, he causes mischief in the various towns they visit and picks fights with any bandit groups they meet. As they near the doorway to heaven, he fears for the safety of his friends and admits his worries to them, showing new found affection for his comrades.

After heaven is saved, Gokuu decides to head back to his homeland.

Personality
Along with an almost always jolly demeanor, Sun Wukong is a non-malevolent villain. Akin to his novel counterpart, he is quite the trickster and arrogant of his abilities. He is also snarky to most of his opponents, supremely confident that he can win. He takes offense at being called a simple monkey and loves his new found freedom. He is obedient to his new master Kiyomori, who gives him a great deal of leeway in his missions, yet fears his old master, San Zang, who still has control of Wukong's "headache circlet".

As they come from the same realm, he is also old acquaintances with Nu Wa and Fu Xi though they do not warmly receive his playful comments. Both he and Da Ji have a mutual distaste for one another, the latter especially suspicious that he wants to take Himiko for himself. He is forced to serve under her in one of the dream stages in Warriors Orochi 2 and is glad to leave at any given opportunity. Throughout the game, he will have special dialogue with Kiyomori and Hideyoshi Toyotomi.

Character Symbolism
Ruyi Jingu Bang/Nyoi Kinko Bō (lit. Compliant Gold-Rimmed Staff), Sun Wukong's trademark weapon from Journey to the West, acts as his third weapon in Warriors Orochi. It was previously used by Da Yu, the first ruler and founder of the Xia Dynasty of China. Though the Monkey King used it as a weapon, Da Yu used it to measure the depth of flood waters that were destroying China. On his journeys, Sun Wukong finds it in the undersea temple of the Dragon King of the East Sea, Ao Guang. The staff was able to grow at its user's will, but was extremely heavy, in modern scales, about 7.7 tons of iron (made of very rare "crow iron", a type of black iron) for its base. With its high relativity to water, the staff would be the only one that could control the ebb and flow of the ocean's tides, acting as a "sea needle". Like it's name, the staff was well known for its elegant golden rims on each end. The staff also was famous for its small text on the base: "Compliant Gold-Rimmed Staff." "Weighing 13,500 jīn." (Which is roughly 8,100 kg/17,800 lbs). It was due to Wukong's immense strength the staff unlike the other weapons the Monkey King tried beforehand, it could be wielded without being broken. Some adaptations also show the staff to be somewhat alive, acting and moving according to the master's will.

Sun Wukong's fourth weapon takes characters within his title from the novel, "Equaling Heaven Great Sage" (known as the Qitian Dasheng in Chinese and Seiten Taisei in Japanese). Given to him to stop his rampage, it serves little purpose in Heaven aside from appeasing the Monkey King's ego, though lesser gods and a few others throughout the legend respect this title and continue to refer him to such. His latest mystic weapon is a play on his title of Meihouwang/Mikō'ō (Handsome Monkey King), only in nod with his "sage" motif, it is known as Meihousheng/Mikōsen instead.

Voice Actors

 * Christopher Corey Smith - Warriors Orochi 2 (English-uncredited)
 * Rikiya Koyama - Warriors Orochi series, Shin Sangoku Musou Multi Raid 2 (Japanese)
 * Yūji Ueda - Saiyuki Journey West (Japanese)

Quotes

 * See also: Sun Wukong/Quotes


 * "Ohh... Just when I was getting ready for a nice nap."
 * "It's time to paint the town red!... And I'm all outta paint!"
 * "I'm not slowing down to let you lot catch me, I'll see ya later."
 * "I am no ordinary monkey. I am the great, supreme, wonderful and illustrious Lord Sun Wukong the magnificent."
 * "Wow! A real monkey! Can I pet you?"
 * "If you can keep up with me, girl... I might let you touch my fur."
 * Xiao Qiao and Sun Wukong; Warriors Orochi 2

Ground Moveset

 * undefined: A dark horizontal wind tunnel is launched from the staff as Wukong does a leaping turning swing. Looks around for briefly after landing. The swing itself also has a hitbox.
 * , undefined: A staff-propelled lift accompanied by a twin-upward kick.
 * ,, undefined, (undefined), (undefined), (undefined), (undefined): A rolling dance with afterimages, followed by a leaping somersault smash to the ground that creates a stunning quake. Looks around for a while just after the quake.
 * ,, , undefined: A few spins in a crowbar like fashion with the staff extended. Briefly kneels down and looks around for a while after the attack ends.
 * ,, , , undefined: A staff-twirling, spinning leap into the air, accompanied with a lifting wind. Oddly has a strange double jump effect if Wukong cancels it with a jump at the right time during the peak of the attack (only pre-Warriors Orochi 3).
 * ,, , , , undefined: Holds the staff with both hands, extends it forward and awkwardly spins around with a shifting-yet-battering swing to the right just slightly off balance into another turn. Puts the staff back over his right shoulder and scratches his bottom during the ending animation.
 * Wukong rides on his signature Jindouyun/Kinto'un (Somersault Cloud) AKA his Nimbus, while spinning his two copies of his staff on both sides. At the end, Wukong leaps off the cloud as he kneels down to observe it flying high up a certain height, where it then rains down a purple lightning bolt from right behind Wukong. For the True Musou version, continuous emerald/jade raindrops instead pour down from the cloud.
 * , : Aerial dash. Sun Wukong rolls forward. Only for pre-Warriors Orochi 3 due to Wukong still being a Speed-type character in those games.
 * , : Jump, then a swipe similar to Wei Yan's that sends out a cutting wave from the opposite end of Wukong's staff; both being aimed at a downward angle.
 * Dashing : Twirls staff forward in a windmill fashion in front of him with left hand as his rides on his cloud. Gives him a small speed boost during the attack, and can often be done in a continuous fashion (which is no longer possible in Warriors Orochi 3).
 * , undefined: Jump, then a horizontal drilling spin while twirling his staff forward wildly and sends him a far distance. Acts similar to Ma Chao and Xiao Qiao's jumping charge attacks.
 * ,, , , , , , , : Twirls staff to left then right while advancing, pushes forward with whole staff in a crouching position, plants staff towards left side to rapidly kick foes in a vaulting position (a nod to his famous vaulting kick in several adaptations), sweeps low to the left as he lands. From there, he repeats his C4 chain; one of the only few characters to have an evolution chain naturally without any full musou bar boost.


 * R1: Hops back in a somersault, and blows on his free hand a wad of hair ripped from his body, and said hair through magic turns into three miniature replicas of himself. They perform his normal, , , undefined (his C4 chain) set until they disappear. Uses some musou.
 * R1 + (simultaneously): Unlisted special. Sun Wukong pounds his chest and grows into a giant version of himself. He smashes the ground a few times while he hops forward. He reverts to his normal size on the final smash, creating quakes all over during the attack and during the beginning of his transformation. Uses some Musou.
 * Direction + R1: Spins once while perching himself atop his staff. Lets loose jade raindrops from his cloud from above, just like his True Musou, only the cloud moves forward instead of staying stationary. Uses some Musou.


 * Triple Attack 1: Fires five energy waves traveling in a fan formation.
 * Triple Attack 2: Causes the ground to tremble by slamming it with sufficient might.
 * Triple Attack 3: Immediately creates a giant tornado.


 * Warriors Orochi 3
 * Same as before, only instead of a single lightning bolt for the normal version, it rains down more at once for more range.
 * R1: Same as before, only the doubles produced are now normal-sized to Wukong's size and perform his original R1 + . They no longer cause quakes with their motions like before. The copies also count as other units separate from the original Wukong himself that can be pushed around, but cannot be damaged or have their action(s) interrupted.
 * (Cancel): Dashes forward with a flying kick forward via a pole vault.
 * , R1 (Ultimate only): Twirls his staff in his right hand in midair for a delay and then elongates it holding it with two hands, then strikes the ground while landing down via a slamming blow with enough impact to launch enemies upward via a large quake in front, which also leaves an aftermath tremor further in front in a cone-formation.

Horse Moveset

 * undefined: Splits his weapon in half, and while perched on his horse on the balls of his feet, he stabs rapidly on both sides sending out energy darts. Reattaches his weapon together and returns to normal mount position shortly after.
 * ,, , , , : Sun Wukong holds his staff in the middle and strikes enemies on both sides of the horse for each attack, he batons his staff between his hands after each swing.
 * Splits his staff in 2 and continually stabs in front of the horse on either side.

Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce
Sun Wukong mainly uses the long pole moveset in this title.

Fighting Style
In Warriors Orochi 2, he is the fastest character in the game as he can dash almost as fast as mounts in the game with his Nimbus cloud. While Sun Wukong maxes out on speed fairly fast, speed attributes do not effect his nimbus's movement speed and only affects strafing. A mid-running attack, in which he spins his staff, can propel and make the running faster for a small millisecond. The Monkey King has an excellent horse moveset as well. While on the horse, his attacks provide at least two hits per button press, and each is fast and powerful. Due to his said form of unique movement and decent movelist, Wukong arguably has some of the better stage-clearing times since he can deal a good amount of damage while moving quickly from place to place, especially if maxed out enough.

The Monkey's special attacks are very unique. The first one, that requires movement, sends a rain of green spearheads to fall on the enemy. The second, which does not require movement, includes Wukong sending out two mini-clones of himself, that have their own unique attack. The special move inflicts heavy damage, and juggles enemies. The third move, which requires an additional press, makes Wukong grow to a giant, and bangs on the floor. The attack has a special bolt-like attribute, and covers good range.

Sun Wukong's charge attacks are great for crowd-clearing, and possibly every attack has its own function. The undefined attack goes in a straight line, and with a high attack, kills weak enemies. As with a majority of Warriors,, , undefined, (undefined), (undefined), (undefined), (undefined) is the best officer killers. With Wukong, you can curve behind a guarding officer, and launch your attack from there. The last hit has activated elements, making it an effective, but small area crowd killer. The, , , undefined string is easily the best charge attack in the whole moveset, as it has a very long range from the beginner levels, and elements activate on it. The, , , , , undefined has a similar function. The difference is that it knocks back enemies, has one attack, and has slower start up speed, but faster recovery speed (although since he is a Speed character and all his charge attacks can be canceled with a double jump, recovery time is irrelevant).

Like all characters, some elements are highly recommended for Sun Wukong. Examples are Multi, Bolt, Might, Brave, and Absorb. Multi, Might, Brave, and Bolt serve as the extra damage-appliers for peons and officers alike. Like some other characters, he is compatible with the Bolt/Multi combination, allowing Wukong's charge attacks to deal massive damage. Might and Brave both increase damage to soldiers and officers, respectively. The Absorb is useful, as, unlike most other Speed-type characters, Sun Wukong's special attacks use Musou. One element not recommended for the Monkey King is Range, as it does not affect his charge attacks, particularly his C4.

Flash is an exceptionally useful crutch, as it can break enemies' guards, though, again, is just a crutch, with the, , undefined, (undefined), (undefined), (undefined), (undefined). Agility is also a nice, but generally unneeded helper.

A weakness of his would be a small interval at some of his attack strings. For example, in the, , , undefined, after spinning the Jingu Bang twice, Wukong gets on his knees, puts a palm to his forehead, and waves his head around, seeming to be searching for something. As explained before, the issue can easily be resolved with a high-level Agility boost on his weapon, or even better, a double jump.

Another notable weakness of his is that Wukong, being a Speed type, is fast, but often not too sturdy, making it easy for some to pummel him shortly if caught off guard, and not to mention some of his attacks leave him open to an instant knockdown/juggle state during their recovery.

In Shin Sangoku Musou Multi Raid 2 he offers the following traits:


 * Support Skill - Increases party's attack strength
 * Joint Party Ability - Distinguished Service: while near allies, increases likelihood of earning distinguished honors after defeating enemies
 * Card - Warrior type, Wood element, +18 to Studios

In the most recent Warriors Orochi title, Wukong still roughly plays the same, only he now has his speed decreased and many of his cancels no longer work due to the character types being reworked. Wukong still has his decent damage output and range, and with being a Wonder type character instead, he's able to do instead charge attack cancels, opening new combo possibilities compared to his time as a Speed type. His speed from his normal dash involving his nimbus cloud has been greatly nerfed, as well as the time it takes for his R1 to start doing damage. However, as a trade off, similar to his source material, Wukong gains much needed sturdiness on the defensive side.

Weapons

 * See also: Sun Wukong/Weapons

Big Star Weapons
Sun Wukong uses the following big star weapons in the game.
 * Staff of Victory
 * Celestial Simian

Acquiring Mystic Weapon

 * Chapter 2: Breakthrough at Jiange - Defeat Oichi and 800 enemies in under 7 minutes.
 * Chapter 5: The Chaos Revisited - Defeat Nagamasa Azai and 800 enemies in under 11 minutes.
 * Chapter 7: Escape from the Mystic Realm - Defeat Shennong and 800 enemies in under 11 minutes.

Journey to the West
In the story, Sun Wukong possesses an immense amount of strength, being able to lift his 13,500 jīn (8,100 kg, or roughly 7.7 tons) Ruyi Jingu Bang with ease. He also has superb speed, traveling 108,000 li (54,000 kilometers) in one somersault. He can ride a cloud that can travel at blinding speeds.

Sun Wukong knows 72 transformation styles, which allows him to transform into various animals and objects; he is, however, shown with slight problems transforming into other people, since he is unable to complete the transformation of his tail which always gives him away. It also gives him the power to transform his hairs into clones of himself, so it is almost impossible to outnumber him. He is a skilled fighter, capable of holding his own against the best generals of heaven. Each of his hairs possesses magical properties, and is capable of transforming into a clone of the Monkey King himself, or various weapons, animals, phantom soldiers, and other objects. He also knows various spells in order to command wind, part water, conjure protective circles against demons, freeze humans, demons, and gods alike. In Japanese interpretations of his character, he often has the power to transform into a giant ape.

Sun Wukong is next to impossible to kill. Being born from stone, his skin is as hard to pierce as rock, and he can survive being dismembered, disemboweled, and beheaded.

His power makes him very arrogant and confident. His sense of humor makes him a trickster and a prankster, and he caused havoc in the heavenly court of the Jade Emperor simply to amuse himself. However, his cleverness and power were no match for the wisdom of Buddha, who imprisoned him under a mountain. The only way that he can be freed is if he agrees to aid the one who frees him. In Journey to the West, he was freed by the monk Xuanzang, and became a great help to him on his mission to bring the Buddhist sutras from India to China. After being freed from the eight-trigram cauldron of Lao Tzu, Sun Wukong gained the ability to sense evil in all forms.

Birth of a King
Sun Wukong was born from a mystical stone from the sky, on the Huāguǒ-shān (literally meaning,"mountain of flowers and fruit"). Within the mountain, were many hidden areas. To display his own bravery, Wukong nominated himself to jump through a large waterfall in order to find out what was behind it. The monkey boldly leaped through the waterfall, and described his findings as almost celestial. A cave was behind the water, with exotic plant life, emerald-green moss, comfortable stone beds and chairs, a mystical colored fog, and much more. A stone tablet was featured in the middle of a bridge, carved with the words, "Happy Land of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, Cave Heaven of the Water Curtain". The clans of monkeys soon inhabited the cave. After the event, Wukong is recognized by all inhabitants of the mountain as king, specifically known as the "Handsome Monkey King". Soon, the mountain becomes civilized, and became extremely prepared for future conflicts. The mountain would continue to strive for centuries.

However, soon, Wukong realized that, though he was past the others in rank, he was not beyond them in mortality. On a quest for immortality, he traveled on a raft to more civilized lands, where he found a Buhddist monk named Bohdi. Through constant traveling, the Monkey King gained able human speech and manners. Bodhi was reluctant to teach the Monkey, as he was not human, but, through determination and will from the other party, decided to. It was around this time that Bodhi gave him the name, "Sun Wukong". Sun, relating his monkey origins, and Wukong, or aware of emptiness. With the monk, Wukong gained favoritism of his teacher, and learned many magical abilities. The Monkey King gained confidence, and bragged about his new powers, so Bodhi threw him out of the temple. Before this, Bodhi made Wukong promise to never tell where he got his new abilities.

Back on the Huāguǒ-shān, finds himself as one of the most influential demons globally. He began an earch for a weapon that he thought would be worthy of himself, which, after searching into the sea, was the Ruyi Jingu Bang, a staff treasured by the Dragon King of the East Sea. The act caused beings of the sea, as well as the sea itself to be driven to fear and confusion, because of the Jingu Bang's properties. The staff started to glow as Wukong would approach it. This meant that it's new master has been found. From there, Wukong defeated the four dragons of the four seas in battle, with the elements of the Ruyi Jingu Bang. He then forced them to give them their ultimate battle armor, a golden chain mail, cloud-walking boots, and a phoenix feather cap. After, Wukong resisted Hell's attempt to reap his soul. Therefore, the Monkey King did not reincarnate as all others did, and he wiped his, and all other monkeys' names out of the "Book of Life and Death". The Dragon Kings and Kings of Hell reported him to the Jade Emperor of Heaven for the Monkey's outrageous acts.

With a plan to make the Monkey King more stable, the Jade Emperor invited Sun Wukong to Heaven. Instead of the divine promotion to a god which Wukong expected, he was made a Head of the Heavenly Stables. The annoyed Monkey King decided it would be more fun to rebel instead and made an alliance with some of the most powerful demons in the world. The attempts of Heaven at subduing the rebellion failed. The rebellion, however, defeated Heavens' armies, proving himself equal to even Heaven's greatest general. Though eventually, with the combined forces of Taoist and Buddhist forces defeated Wukong's forces. After repeated failed executions (each attempt only amused the monkey), Sun Wukong was locked into a magical cauldron to be made into an elixir. After seven weeks, the cauldron burst open, with Wukong more powerful than ever, now with eyes that could recognize evil in any form (which also made his eyes water when exposed to smoke). The Jade Emperor and Heavens, out of any options, appealed to the Buddha, the only one with any possible knowledge of how to defeat Wukong. The Buddha fooled the Monkey King into thinking that he could actually complete the Buddha's own challenge of leaping out of his own hand. The Buddha then sealed him into an imprisonment for five centuries.

Journey to the West
Five centuries later, the Goddess of Mercy, Guanyin, was searching for disciples to protect a pilgrim, Xuanzang, in search for Buddhist literary compositions from India. Wukong accepted the offer in exchange for freedom. Guanyin fully understood Wukong's uncontrollable capabilities (suspecting that Wukong would probably ditch Xuanzang at the first opportunity), so she gave Xuanzang a headband from Buddha, and tricked Wukong into wearing it. The headband could never be removed, and would cause extreme pain via tightening with a special chant. Guanyin gave the Monkey King three hairs, to be used in the most dangerous of situations. Accompanied by priest Xuanzang, Wukong was allowed to journey to the West.

During the journey, Wukong faithfully served Xuanzang, and they were accompanied by two others who wished to repent for their sins, Zhu Bajie (whom Sun teased with the nickname "Bacon Brain"), and Sha Wujing (whome he nicknamed "Sandy"). The group of four (including the priest's horse who was actually a dragon prince) were constantly attacked by demons and supernatural beings who believed that Xuanzang's flesh would grant them immortality. In this situation, the Monkey King was granted access to the powers of Heaven. They, after eighty-one trials, finished the mission, then returning to China. The Monkey King was granted the passage to Nirvana, or perfect enlightenment, for his service.

Trivia

 * Sun Wukong is lightly parodied by a character named Monkichi in Garakutale.
 * One of the alternate outfits for Inori in 100man-nin no Harukanaru Toki no Naka de is a Son Goku costume and his staff.

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