Legend of Wukong

By: Derek Yu

On: December 20th, 2008

Legend of Wukong

Legend of Wukong

Super Fighter Team, which was responsible for the the worldwide release of Beggar Prince, has produced yet another classic-style, 16-bit Sega Genesis/Megadrive game, Legend of Wukong. Like Beggar Prince, this cartridge-based, Taiwanese RPG comes in a very authentic-looking black clamshell case (with a full-color instruction manual) and you can purchase it online for $48. This is pretty serious homebrew!

The graphics in this one look a little more rough than Beggar Prince (although still charming), but it’s cool to see a Taiwanese game in English. And the main characters are based on Journey to the West, which is one of THE classic stories from China, which is sadly under-heard of in the Western world. It’s ridiculously cool and weird.

You can see a short video of Legend of Wukong here.

(Source: Brandon, via Insert Credit)

  • Skofo

    $48 and only for Sega Genesis/Megadrive, eh?

    Good luck is the best I can say.

    P.S. Have you guys seen those pictures of my penis yet? You really should check it out. Just email me and I’ll send them back. ;)

  • RocketSlug

    Is it just me or did they make Friar Sand into a girl?

  • http://chaoseed.com/garden John Evans

    People are still making Mega Drive games? Well, I guess they are in Taiwan…That’s pretty amazing, I’m impressed.

    And yes, I agree Western-ish people should know more about Journey to the West. ;)

  • :>

    the nature of monkey was irrepressible!

  • Hamoozi

    Why does it seem like every shitty Asian product is later explain to be derived from Journey to the West? It’s not like the west hasn’t already been supersaturated with other shitty spin offs (like Dragon Ball Z) so the idea that the west needs “exposure” to such garbage is, to say the least, a little dubious.

    But hey, if Whomp ‘Em and DBZ don’t satisfy your yen, there’s always Legend of Wukong, apparently.

  • http://chaoseed.com/garden John Evans

    Well, maybe we need exposure to interesting and well-done spinoffs. ;)

  • Phasma Felis

    Your point would be stronger if you could think of any non-Dragonball examples besides Whomp ‘Em.

    I mean really? Whomp ‘Em? That’s the best you can do?

  • Nameko

    I’m more interested in seeing how Zaku turns out.

  • Sparky

    Releasing games on cartridge is incredible, if you ask me. There’s something very right about actually using old hardware instead of just immitating in on the PC.

    Cheers to our brothers-at-arms inthe homebrew scene. :)

  • OrR

    I love projects like this. :) I only wish I could buy the rom for playing on an emulator…

  • Gr.Viper

    The post was successful at getting me to get a pdf of TJTTW. Won’t bother with the rest :)

  • Mark

    Just let me know when there’s a ROM.

  • http://0xdeadc0de.org/ Eclipse

    i’m so waiting for this one too: http://www.piersolar.com/

  • Gutter

    Wow, an indie developer, making a retro cart available by himself, announced on an indie site, and this is the feedback they get?

    Cool… Why are people coming here anyway? Free games?

  • moi

    Seconding Hamoozi here, if you think the west needs more exposure to JTTW I think you don’t know what you’re talking about.
    BTW I have the DVD of the two parts movie adaptation done by stephen chow (MONKEY KING). It’s worth it.

  • moi

    BTW these carts have rather good sales (or they wouldn’t continue doing them obviously).

    The genesis(and other consoles) collectors are a bigger market than one could think.

  • Hamoozi

    Err, by which we mean, a shitty, dated commercial game with a mediocre indie translation being sold for more than current AAA releases? Yeah, why aren’t people going nuts over this thing? It’s the second coming of Cave Story, only, errr, not fun, not free, and not made by an independent developer. But hey, you still have that nostalgia thing going on, if you like blowing . . . dust off your connection pins.

  • Craig Stern

    It’s pretty impressive that these guys have developed this for actual Genesis consoles, but based on the video, the game itself looks terribly linear and unimaginative. Just because it’s made for the Genesis hardware, it doesn’t mean the gameplay has to be archaic and outdated as well.

  • Hamoozi

    Craig,

    They didn’t develop it. A large Taiwanese developer did. All they did was translate it.

  • Troy RULES

    So am I playing Dragon Ball, or Gorillaz?

  • Mr Anon

    “unheard of in the west” Jesus, you can’t escape Monkey: Journey to the West around here. There are, or were posters for it everywhere and interviews on TV.
    Oh you mean America-West.

  • Craig Stern

    @ Hamoozi:

    So this isn’t even an indie game to begin with, but we’re supposed to care because because it tells us an important cultural story about a little kid jacking his uncle’s time machine and showing up in ancient China?

  • Derek

    “The Independent Gaming Source: You’re Supposed to Care”

    Naw, I just thought it was neat to see people producing new Genesis games in clamshell cases. And I enjoy making dubious connections to things I like so that I have an excuse to link them. Sue me!

    EDIT: But if tons of people do know about JttW (the original classic, not DBZ), then I stand corrected and that is great. I’d heard of the Jamie Hewlett thing, and thought it was awesome, but didn’t know how widespread it was.

  • falsedan

    dunno about the US but UK & AU both had Monkey Magic (japanese adaptation of JttW) broadcasting on the TV in the 70s, complete with ridiculous dubbing and a androgynous Tripitaka.

    Plus Damon Albarn’s Monkey musical is back on in London

  • Craig Stern

    “Naw, I just thought it was neat to see people producing new Genesis games in clamshell cases. And I enjoy making dubious connections to things I like so that I have an excuse to link them. Sue me!”

    Fair enough. I don’t think I’ll sue you, though. :P

  • Phasma Felis

    Craig: How do you figure this isn’t an indie game? I’m pretty sure that even in Taiwan no one’s making millions off of Mega Drive carts.

  • Hamoozi

    Because, like Beggar Prince, it’s an old game that was originally released with the system was the current generation. HamooooO!

  • godsavant

    Mega Drive obsolete? You kidding me? I just sold my N64 to those guys for $350.