Son Son
Capcom
1984
1–2 Players
Arcade
Arcade
Platform
Not Rated
Yes
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Description
Son Son was produced by Capcom in 1984.
Son Son and Ton Ton must travel through many different stages fighting against Japanese enemies on their way to rescue their friends.
The game is a 2-D side-scrolling platformer. The screen scrolls automatically, only stopping to fight major enemies. The screen features six continuous platforms that occasionally feature small gaps. Sonson and Tonton walk automatically across these platforms. Pressing up or down will cause them to jump up or down to the next platform. Pressing left causes them to move more slowly than the screen scrolls, essentially continuing to move forward but at a reduced pace. Pressing right does the opposite – SonSon and TonTon will move across the platforms faster than the screen scrolls. The duo have only one attack – the ability to fire energy blasts from their staves. Touching an enemy or an unfriendly projectile causes the player to lose a life. If a player has any additional lives, they will return to the screen riding on a cloud that will give them temporary invincibility. If the player presses the control stick in any direction, the cloud will disappear and the character will resume its usual walking mode. The cloud will eventually disappear on its own if the control stick is not used.
Power-ups come in the form of various fruits which produce points (with enough points giving the player an extra life). Gathering certain fruit will cause all enemies currently on a screen to turn into point-bearing fruits. Walking across certain platforms will randomly cause a bamboo shoot to sprout, yielding many extra points.
It is possible to play the game cooperatively with partner who plays as TonTon (who is Zhu Wuneng in the original story).
Son Son
Overview & History
Released by Capcom in 1984, Son Son is a foundational side-scrolling arcade classic loosely inspired by the legendary Chinese epic Journey to the West. While heavily associated with the titular monkey hero, the game famously introduces a dual-character cooperative system—allowing player one to control Son Son (the monkey) and player two to control Ton Ton (the pig) on a quest to reach the sacred Buddhist scriptures at the end of a perilous journey.
Gameplay Features & Mechanics
Unlike standard platformers of its era, Son Son takes place across six distinct, vertically stacked horizontal ledges. Players automatically advance forward, constantly shifting vertically between rows to dodge relentless waves of enemies, collect floating red power-up icons (which temporarily turn your character invincible), and grab delicious bamboo shoots or fruit for bonus points. The signature weapon is a mystical magical rod, which fires continuous projectiles straight ahead across the lane. Navigating the screen requires precise timing, as leaping between upper and lower ledges leaves you momentarily vulnerable. Special flower items scattered throughout the stages can trigger screen-clearing effects or spawn high-value treasures, driving players to balance aggressive enemy eradication with high-score optimization across the game's looping difficulty tiers.
Keyboard Controls
- Arrow Keys / D-Pad: Move
- Action Keys: Attack / Jump
- Enter: Start / Pause
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