Home /
NES

SonSon

NES

NES

In this game, you play the role of either Son Son or Ton Ton as you try to rescue your three friends from the clutches of a random bad guy who kidnapped them right in front of you. Son Son is a side-scrolling action game, where the game field advances automatically, and the screen is divided in s...

Download

0/5 Votes: 0

Report

Developer
Micronics

Released on
1986

Size
1–2 Players

Version
NES

Requirements
Nintendo Entertainment System

Downloads
Platform

Publisher
Capcom

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

Cooperative
Yes

Wikipedia
View article →

Report this app

Images

Description

In this game, you play the role of either Son Son or Ton Ton as you try to rescue your three friends from the clutches of a random bad guy who kidnapped them right in front of you. Son Son is a side-scrolling action game, where the game field advances automatically, and the screen is divided in six different floors, all of which are populated by enemies or obstacles that will kill you if you touch them; but both Son Son and Ton Ton attack their enemies by shooting small bullets at them out of their weapons (a magic cane and a pitchfork, respectively). Their attack can also stop many enemy projectiles! Your chosen character must jump from floor to floor, evading hunters, bats, fish, statues, insects, skull coins, and mad bombers! As you advance, you can pick up several food items to increase your score. Clearing the screen of enemies will also net you several hefty bonuses.

The story is heavily based upon “Journey To The West”; the player characters as well as the kidnapped ones are based upon the main characters in the story.

It is possible to play the game co-operatively with partner who plays as TonTon (who is Zhu Wuneng in the original story).

SonSon

Overview & History

Released by Capcom for the Family Computer in 1986, SonSon is a whimsical, side-scrolling platformer loosely adapted from the classic Chinese literary epic Journey to the West. Unlike Capcom's later beat-em-up adaptation, this Famicom port tasks the mischievous monkey-king hero SonSon and his porcine companion TonTon with journeying across a horizontally scrolling landscape to rescue their captured friends and reach the sacred mountains. Originally an arcade title, the NES version retains its frantic, fast-paced vertical lane-shifting gameplay while introducing home-console progression and scoring milestones. Its vibrant, colorful sprite work and relentlessly upbeat chiptune soundtrack mask a surprisingly punishing difficulty curve that demands absolute precision and memorization from the player.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

Unlike standard platformers where players enjoy full freedom of movement, SonSon utilizes a distinct three-tier vertical track system. Players constantly auto-run or manually push forward through bamboo thickets and cavernous stages, jumping instantaneously between the top, middle, and bottom lanes to dodge incoming enemy projectiles, spear-wielding goblins, and cascading boulders. The primary offensive tool is a rapid-fire projectile staff, capable of turning aggressive wildlife and mythological beasts into bonus-yielding red and green flowers. Collecting these flora items alongside floating sake jugs and bamboo shoots multiplies the player's score and occasionally spawns a glowing power-up icon that temporarily clears the entire screen of threats. Navigating the treacherous shifting platforms requires flawless timing, as missing a jump plunges the hero into bottomless pits, resulting in an immediate life loss. Cooperative two-player simultaneous action allows SonSon and TonTon to team up, adding tactical synergy when fighting off massive waves of boss-tier demons.