Tenchu
Tenchu (天誅) is a popular stealth game series involving ninja. It is popular for its sword-fighting, stealth gameplay, and the eerie settings of Feudal Japan. It is one of the first ninja games to incorporate stealth, a very crucial aspect of Ninjutsu that's often ignored in the media. However, aside from having traditional martial arts battles, the game incorporates elements of fantasy and Japanese mythology. So far, the series has had three(one being a standalone expansion) games for the PlayStation, two games for the PlayStation 2, one game for the Xbox, and one game for the PlayStation Portable.
Story
The series takes place in feudal Japan. For the first story, it revolves around two ninja: Rikimaru and Ayame. Rikimaru is a tall, gray-haired ninja with a single sword and a scar over his eye. He is stronger than Ayame but relatively slower. Ayame is a kunoichi (くノ一), or female ninja, wearing standard ninja clothes with her midriff exposed. She carries a pair of twin short swords. She's faster and has more combos than Rikimaru, but is the weaker of the two.
The two ninja work for Lord Gohda, and work for him as his secret spies to root out corruption and gather intelligence in his province. However, the evil Lord Meioh seeks to destroy Lord Gohda, and using his lackey Onikage, wreaks havoc throughout Lord Gohda's province.
However, the storyline has been continuously expanded with the release of the newer Tenchu series.
Tenchu: Stealth Assassins is the first game. Tenchu 2: Birth of the Assasins is actually a prequel of Stealth Assassins. Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven is a continuation of Stealth Assassins. Tenchu: Fatal Shadows is a side-story of sorts; focusing on Ayame, and a new character called Rin.
Other than the playable characters above, some other ninjas, who are also part of the story, will be made playable if you finish all the missions (only in Tenchu 2 and Tenchu 3).
Name Meanings
Rikimaru = "Circle of Power"
Ayame = "Iris"
Kiku = "Chrysanthemum"
Onikage = "Demon Shadow"
Meioh = "Dark King"
Gameplay
The game is played in a third-person perspective. There are numerous items to help the ninja on his mission, but unlockable items can be acquired if the player gets a "Grand Master" rating at the end of the level. Items and controls vary from game to game, but the gameplay is essentially the same throughout. Stealth is a very important element in the game, where players have to duck, crouch, and hide behind walls to avoid detection. Enemies can be killed with one hit by using Stealth Kills, and a player can avoid detection by looking at his Ki meter. The larger the number, the closer the player is to an enemy. If a player is spotted, the Ki meter will turn red and the enemy will alert everyone in the area, and the player is forced to fight hand to hand.
Games
Tenchu: Stealth Assassins (1998)
- Platform: PlayStation
- Developer: Acquire
- Publisher: Activision
Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins (2000)
- Platform: PlayStation
- Developer: Acquire
- Publisher: Activision
Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven (2003)
- Platform: PlayStation 2
- Developer: K2
- Publisher: Activision
Tenchu: Return From Darkness (2004)
- Platform: Xbox
- Developer: K2
- Publisher: Activision
Tenchu: Fatal Shadows (2005)
- Platform: PlayStation 2
- Developer: K2
- Publisher: Sega
Tenchu: Shinobi Taizen (2005)
- Platform: PlayStation Portable
- Developer: K2
- Publisher: From Software
- Other: Not yet released outside of Japan
Activision purchased the rights to this game from Sony, who originally published the game in Japan. However, Activision sold the rights to the Japanese game publisher From Software in 2004. From Software's rights agreement does not include games previously published by Activision. From Software licensed distribution of Fatal Shadows to Sega.
There was an additional Japan-exclusive release for Tenchu on the PlayStation. 100 of the best competing levels designed with the level editor of the Japanese version were put together to form a stand-alone, non-story based expansion set called Tenchu: Shinobi Hyakusen. The engine and game fundamentals remained unchanged. Shinobi Hyakusen is still famous for the hardest level settings among Tenchu fans, especially because of the tight time limits and the overall lack of the items, excluding the caltrops and the throwing stars. No North American or Europen versions were released. Tenchu: Shinboi Hyakusen is not to be mistaken with Tenchu: Shinobi Gaisen, which is the Japanese name for Tenchu: Stealth Assassins.