Saiyuki: Journey West is loosely based on the Chinese novel, Journey to the West. This is one of the more creative games from Koei, as it isn’t one of the long-running strategy games. It is also not based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which is something different for this company.
I remember being very excited for this game when it was first released. Later on, I learned about the material it was based on, which made me enjoy the game a little more. Going back to read and watch the other adaptations of this story has been quite a bit of fun over the years.
Koei released this game in North America in 2001. At this time, reviewers were trashing games that weren’t using 3D graphics. I’m expecting to see that when I look over the different reviews for this game. It is something that I’ve noticed as I go back to look at the reviews for these retro games.
TLDR: One of the better Tactical RPGs on the PS1.
About the Book
Journey to the West is a fictional account of a Buddhist monk’s book. The original manuscript was based on a 19-year journey by Xuanzang, which is titled Records of the Western Regions. Fantasy elements were added to the story to make Journey to the West, and it was written about 900 years after Xuanzang’s pilgrimage.
Narrative
The story is fairly straightforward. You play as a monk and are tasked with traveling from China to India. After you get attacked by bandits, Goku, the Monkey King, is assigned as your protector. This is when a whole other plot is introduced, where you and the other members of your party are largely pawns.
As the game goes on, there is a whole war in heaven going on. The player’s character gets roped into this whole mess because of his pilgrimage. There is a lot of manipulation going on as other groups are tricked into attacking you.
This is a fun take on this story. The original novel added a lot to it as it was based on some historical accounts. It is similar to how Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a fictional account of China’s Three Kingdoms period. The fantasy elements in Journey to the West were added to spice up the story and were retained for the video game.
Gameplay
The gameplay is pretty good. It has some different mechanics that help it stand out from a crowded field. There are also a few annoying things about this game that hold it back from being truly great.
The transformation mechanic is very cool! This acts like a super attack, and can change the course of a battle in your favor. There is a limit to how long a character can be transformed, which forces you to use this strategically. Most of your party members have this mechanic, which is explained as you play the game.
There is a magic system in this game. It isn’t all that special and is dependent on an enemy’s alignment. This is a nice thing to have, even if it isn’t as big a deal as it could be.
Much of what you’re doing is moving characters around a battlefield. Like many of the games in this genre, I liken it to a game of chess. There is a large cast of characters that join your group as you go through the game.
The difficulty ramps up as the game goes on, and there are some spots where you can earn extra money and experience for your characters. I don’t remember if there is a training ground, but that isn’t all that important for this game.
Overall, I do enjoy the gameplay. There are a number of things that I wish were different. Mainly, I wanted my characters to be in their were-form longer. I didn’t really like the point system for it, or that you are largely limited to one character transforming in each battle. It was a cool idea, but I just wish it had been done a little better.
Visuals
This is one of my favorite parts of the game. I love pixel art, and this game has some of the better pixel graphics on the PS1. This art style tends to hold up better than the 3D graphics on the PS1. It is also a little fun reading the reviewers whine about it at the time the game was released.
Character sprites look wonderful. I love how different each of your characters looks, and the enemies are great. There are quite a few human enemies early in the game, but things get crazier as it goes on.
Cut scenes are mostly in game graphics. This isn’t out of the norm for games in this genre. I like how everything looks in these. The character portraits are very good, and the way these cutscenes play out is very nice.
Spells, transformations, and the battle screens all look good. There is a lot of variety in the battle screens, which is very impressive for a game like this. The animations are very good, and I love how everything in the game looks. Having more anime cut scenes would’ve been nice, but not having them doesn’t hold the game back.
The visuals are consistently good. I enjoyed the overall look of the game. Games like this tend to age better than their 3D counterparts. It looks better than Vanguard Bandits.
Reviews at the Time
This game received above average scores when it was released. The scores I can see range between 7 and 8.5/10. This is very good for a game like this. There are three reviews that I went over for this section.
GameSpot gave the game an 8.1/10. In a short and odd review, the reviewer said it was great despite its age. This review is littered with inconsistent spelling, which makes me think it was translated from another language.
IGN gave the game an 8.4/10. The reviewer said that “Koei’s done the RPG market a favor with this one.” They praised the game overall and said that it “deserves the attention of gamers.”
NextGen gave the game a 4/5. They called the graphics “dated” and said that the character should be able to spend more time in their “were-forms.” The reviewer ended things by saying that it “won’t dazzle your eyes,” but it has good characters and a “unique setting and plot.”
This is what I was expecting. Two of the reviews mentioned the graphics, which I kind of understand. The PS2 was out at this time, and many late PS1 games had good 3D graphics. It does seem like many publications were on this weird crusade to demonize pixel graphics, which is the opposite of what happens today.
8/10. This is a fun take on the genre. Saiyuki is one of the better Tactical RPGs on the PS1, but it isn’t as good as games like Tactics Ogre or Final Fantasy Tactics. I would put this on par with Vandal Hearts and Kartia.
Pros
- Great graphics
- Character Transformation
- Very fun take on the story
- Good Gameplay
Cons
- Useless Main Character
- Too Easy for experienced Tactical RPG players
Conclusion
My biggest memory of this game is the anime intro and the hypnotically annoying theme song. It just keeps repeating “Magic Son Goku,” ad nauseam. I think I played this game during the COVID-19 lockdown, and I accidentally turned it on while I was doing something else. That annoying theme song is burned into my brain. The intro video is nice, though.
For me, this game is in the middle tier of tactical RPGs on the PS1. I like it about as much as Vandal Hearts, Kartia, and Vanguard Bandits. It has some great ideas, but they aren’t enough to elevate the game’s gameplay.
Stuff like this got me interested in studying history. Because it is based on a historical account, I went back to read that, and feel down a rabbit hole of other media that is based on that story. It was a ton of fun to look into all of it, and I’m sure there is more for me to explore.
If you liked this post, check out some of my others about PS1 RPGs. Such as Thousand Arms or Wild Arms.