Saiyuki: Journey West

Saiyuki: Journey West is a PlayStation strategy RPG adaption of the Chinese novel, Journey to the West. The Japanese name is Saiyuki (西遊記) which is the Japanese pronunciation of the novel's title. The character designer is Akihiro Yamada.

Due to the open gender of Xuanzang commonly found in Japanese translations of the original novel, the hero can either be male or female. Choosing to play as either gender does not change the overall story, only affecting some dialogues.

Plot
Genjo, a sixteen year old monk, was raised in Gold Temple without knowing his/her real parents. One day, Genjo had a dream of Lady Kannon, who bestowed a staff to the youth. She told the monk to seek the assistance of divine Guardians and deliver the staff to Thunder Temple in India. Once an Emperor's messenger visits the temple with a similar order, Genjo is appointed as the temple's representative. Donning a proper monk's garb, Genjo is named Sanzo and begins his/her journey with two escorts. Along the way, Sanzo loses his/her guards and frees Goku from his boulder prison. Gaining his/her first companion, Sanzo continues his/her travels while guarding the staff he/she carries from several entities.

Gameplay
Generally, the game plays in a similar manner as Fu-Qi's previous title, Fengshen Yanyi. The overworld map is shown in a similar manner and training spots have been adjusted to dojos in select towns. Players now have the choice to select their next location. Battles take place on a 3D isometric map with animated 2D sprites. Turns are determined by the speed of each character present and each action is determined by a length of squares. Treasure boxes can be found on the field and other gimmicks –such as dropping log bridges and stepping on elevators– can now be used. The ability to shape the land has been removed and it is replaced with a few new features to separate the titles.

Elements are assigned to each character. This attribute determines the strengths and weaknesses for the individual, as well as their proficiency with spells of a particular element. The five elements are Fire, Nature, Metal, Earth and Water. Taking advantage of an element's weakness can increase or decrease the damage a party member can deal and may additionally award more experience for each character. The following lists the element chain present in the game.
 * Earth defeats Water
 * Water defeats Fire
 * Fire defeats Metal
 * Metal defeats Nature
 * Nature defeats Earth

Every party member but Sanzo has the ability to change into a larger beast dubbed as their Wereform. Only one character at a time can shift into their real forms during battle. The length of their transformation is dictated by the length of the player's Were Gauge, located at the upper left corner of the screen. One bar is needed to transform and the rest maybe used for powerful attacks, which guzzles a preset amount of bars in the gauge. Attacking certain obstacles on the field while in this state may reveal hidden treasures or create new walking paths for characters. Transformed characters cannot be healed through common means but gain a substantial boost in life points to compensate, as well immunity to all negative status. Earning experience while in this state goes towards leveling the Were Gauge.

Sanzo's counterpart to the Wereforms is his/her ability to summon the Guardians he/she has collected during the story. These Guardians require magic points to bring into the field but each comes with their unique, no-cost abilities. Sanzo can only summon one Guardian at a time and each lasts for a maximum of three of Sanzo's turns. Each Guardian has unique combat traits that separate one from the other.
 * Mother - Nature element, can attack in a two square radius; restores party HP per turn
 * Warrior - Metal element, can attack in a two square radius; increases physical defense
 * Fool - Fire element, has a linear attack; increases physical offense
 * Luna - Earth element, attacks with a bow's range; restores party MP per turn (except for Sanzo's)
 * Cavalier - Water element, hits in a one square area near Sanzo; increases movement and allows Sanzo to float
 * Emperor - No element, attacks in a three square radius from Sanzo; grants the traits from all other Guardians

Towns can be visited during the journey, and each has at least a store for equipment and spells and chemist for curative items. Some villages also have a dojo for training, where players can level up their characters without fear of their characters being routed. However, they cannot use Wereform, hence the Were Gauge can't be leveled up at the dojo. They can fight on a beginner, advanced or master setting. Defeating the dojo master in the last option rewards the player with a dojo license which may be collected to obtain a particular item. Since characters also keep the same weapons throughout the game, they can improve their arsenal by visiting blacksmiths. Sanzo is an exception to that, and can only improve his/her staff by finding Guardians through the course of the game.

Larger cities have Posts, a building that offers part-time jobs and monetary awards. If the player encounters a battle while on these miniature quests, they may use the opportunity to increase their Were Gauge. Posts also offer a card mini-game (similar to Blackjack) that the player may choose to play. Using medals bought from the dealer, the player bets on the card stack with highest winning single digit number. Medals can be exchanged for unique prizes and each card dealer has their own set of items.

Game extras include Sanzo's diary from the main screen and the bonus section unlocked when the game is cleared once.

The Japanese version has characters speak with limited audio clips during cutscenes and battle. The staff roll movie is also different in both languages. Voices are omitted in the English version.

Main Party

 * Sanzo
 * Son Goku
 * Cho Hakkai
 * Shu Ryorin
 * Sha Gojo
 * Lady Kikka

Optional Party Members

 * So Kinrei and So Ginrei
 * Chin Genshi
 * Prince Reikan
 * King Taurus
 * Madame Tessen

Guardians

 * Sei Oubo - Mother
 * Hei Reiko - Warrior
 * Nata Taishi - Fool
 * Kano Usenko - Luna
 * Jiro Shingun - Cavalier
 * Kyuten Raitei - Emperor

Taurus's Allies

 * Old Man Nyoi
 * Rhinon
 * Roku Jiko
 * Master Tigra
 * Windy
 * Ko Horo
 * Master Baa

Eight Devils

 * Asura
 * Mahoraga
 * Yaksa
 * Vala
 * Apsara
 * Deva
 * Nagini
 * Garda

Others

 * Lady Kannon
 * Elder Homei
 * Kid Pyric
 * Asha

Related Media
A two volume novelization of the game was authored by Akira Nanao in 1999. The covers of both books were illustrated by the game's illustrator and they can be combined to form one image.

Image Song

 * Magic Goku
 * Performed by Yukihide Takekawa from GODIEGO.

Allusions

 * All of the Guardians are characters from Fengshen Yanyi. King Zhou, Huang Feihu and Chi You also receive small references in the game. Some of the game's rarest equipment were items used by the characters in the novel.
 * Buddha, Heilong, and other mystical/religious figures in Chinese culture form the names of some the game's equipment. The Eight Devils are all based on Hindu gods.