Journey to the West is one of the great literary classics, a seminal Chinese novel that’s shone through Asian culture for ages and had no shortage of influence worldwide, including a Dota 2 hero based on its lead character.
If you’re starting your own Dota 2 journey, take a look at the best heroes for beginners.
If you’re a nerdy sort you might recognize Dragon Ball as a very loose adaptation of Journey to the West, but the novel’s most faithful adaptation is a 80s Chinese TV series of the same title, a show so beloved it’s been rebroadcast every year since it originally aired. Part of its charm is the playful portrayal of Sun Wukong, otherwise known as the Monkey King. Now the same actor is voicing the character in Dota 2 – in China, at least.
Li Shihong voiced the character in 1986, and he’s doing it again in the Chinese version of Dota 2. Since I don’t speak Chinese or even really understand Google Translate’s interpretation of the language I’m at the mercy of a few Redditors in reporting this, but it seems that Perfect World made the call for this lovely bit of localization. You can listen to some sample clips here.
It’s worth noting that it was actually two actors who brought the Monkey King to live for the TV series. Liu Xiao Ling Tong portrayed the character on camera while Li Shihong provided the voice, and only the latter is involved in the Dota 2 character. Still, it’s an example of what great localization can look like. Monkey King was the first original hero added to Dota 2, and I can’t help but wonder if it was a little push to help gain the interest of Chinese players.