The player assumes the role of a monkey boy (who is patterned after Sun Wukong from the story) and fights their way from one side to another, eventually reaching the statue of Buddha.

A sequel, titled SonSon II, heavily based on Black Tiger, was released for the PC Engine, published by NEC Avenue.

According to composer Manami Matsumae, the PC Engine title was made by Capcom, one of the few games that they developed for the console themselves.

If the player presses the control stick in any direction, the cloud will disappear and the character will resume its usual walking mode.

This same shop is also featured in stages from Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo and Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000.

In Japan, Game Machine listed SonSon on their August 1, 1984 issue as being the fifth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.