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Tenchu

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Genre(s)Stealth game
Developer(s)Acquire, From Software, K2 LLC
Publisher(s)Sony Music Entertainment, Activision, From Software, Sega, Microsoft, Nintendo, Ubisoft
Creator(s)Acquire

Tenchu (天誅) is the title of a stealth game series of video games originally developed by Acquire wherein the player assumes the role of a ninja.

The title in Japanese literally translates in English as: "Divine Retribution", with 天 (ten), meaning heaven and 誅 (chu), meaning death penalty (another translation of this phrase, Wrath of Heaven is the title of the first PlayStation 2 entry in the series).

Storyline

The series takes place in 16th-century feudal Japan.[1] The original story (Stealth Assassins) revolves around two ninja, Rikimaru and Ayame, who have been both members of the Azuma ninja clan since childhood. The two ninja serve the heroic Lord Gohda and work for him as his secret spies to root out corruption and gather intelligence in his province. However, the evil demonic sorcerer Lord Mei-Oh seeks to destroy Lord Gohda, and using his demon warrior Onikage, wreaks havoc throughout Lord Gohda's province. Although Mei-Oh was killed in the first game, Onikage appeared in all subsequent games (except Fatal Shadows) as the archenemy of the two ninja, especially Rikimaru. Another major character who shows up frequently is Princess Kiku, Lord Gohda's daughter who is often the damsel in distress.

The storyline has been continuously expanded with the release of newer Tenchu games.

Unrelated to main storyline are:

Gameplay

The game perspective is third-person. There are numerous items to help the ninja on his/her mission, but unlockable items can be acquired if the player gets a "Grand Master" rating at the end of the level by being as stealthy as possible. Items and controls vary from game to game, but the gameplay is essentially the same throughout with the exception of Tenchu: Shadow Assassins. 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 manoeuvre by using Stealth Kills, and a player can avoid detection by using the Ki meter. The larger the number, the closer the player's position to an enemy. If a player is spotted, the Ki meter will turn red, the enemy will alert everyone in the area, and the player is forced to fight hand-to-hand or hide somewhere until the enemies give up their search and resume their patrol routes (similar to Metal Gear Solid's "Soliton Radar").

Characters

The main characters of the game are Rikimaru and Ayame. Rikimaru is a tall, silver-haired ninja with a single ninjato named "Izayoi" and a scar over his right eye. He is physically stronger than Ayame but relatively slower. Ayame is a kunoichi or female ninja who wears standard ninja clothes with her midriff exposed. She carries a pair of kodachi. She is faster and could perform more combos than Rikimaru, but is the weaker of the two.

Games

Activision purchased the rights to this game from Sony Music Entertainment, 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 and Tenchu Z to Microsoft.

Main Series

Tenchu: Stealth Assassins (1998)

Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins (2000)

  • Platform: PlayStation
  • Developer: Acquire
  • Publisher: Activision

Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven (2003)

Tenchu: Shadow Assassins (2008)

Spin-Offs

Tenchu: Fatal Shadows (2004)

  • Platform: PlayStation 2
  • Developer: K2
  • Publisher: From Software, Sega

Tenchu: Time of the Assassins (2005)

  • Platform: PlayStation Portable
  • Developer: K2
  • Publisher: From Software, Sega

Tenchu: Dark Secret (2006)

Tenchu Z (2006)

  • Platform: Xbox 360
  • Developer: K2
  • Publisher: From Software, Microsoft

Shadow Assault: Tenchu (2008)

There was an additional Japan-exclusive release for Tenchu on the PlayStation. One hundred of the best competing levels designed with the level editor of Tenchu: Shinobi Gaisen (an expanded version of Tenchu re-released in Japan) 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 European versions were released however.

Several games were also ported to mobile phones with graphic changes. This includes: Tenchu: Ayame's Tale 3D which was released for The Sony Ericsson mobile phone series and Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven by TKO-Software and Digital Bridges which was released for mobile phones in 2005, although it used two-dimensional graphics.

Reception

Aggregate review scores
As of February 26, 2011.
Game GameRankings Metacritic
Tenchu: Stealth Assassins 86.45%[4] 87[5]
Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins 79.43%[6] 77[7]
Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven (Mobile) 80.67%[8]
(PS2) 79.62%[9]
(Xbox) 70.09%[10] 		(PS2) 79[11]
(Xbox) 70[12]
(Mobile) -
Tenchu: Shadow Assassins (Wii) 70.16%[13]
(PSP) 65.18%[14] 		(Wii) 70[15]
(PSP) 68[16]

In 2010, CraveOnline featured the Tenchu series in the article Top 10 Ninja Games Of All Time.[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ Tenchu: Return from Darkness Official Trailer
  2. ^ Mielke, James. Tenchu: Shadow Assassins (Wii) Preview. 1UP. Retrieved on 2009-02-02
  3. ^ From Software details next-gen games - Xbox 360 News at GameSpot
  4. ^ "Tenchu: Stealth Assassins Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved February 26, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ "Tenchu: Stealth Assassins Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 26, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ "Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved February 26, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ "Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 26, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ "Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved February 26, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  9. ^ "Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved February 26, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  10. ^ "Tenchu: Return From Darkness Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved February 26, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  11. ^ "Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 26, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  12. ^ "Tenchu: Return From Darkness Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 26, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ "Tenchu: Shadow Assassins Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved February 26, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  14. ^ "Tenchu: Shadow Assassins Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved February 26, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  15. ^ "Tenchu: Shadow Assassins Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 26, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  16. ^ "Tenchu: Shadow Assassins Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 26, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  17. ^ Top 10 Ninja Games Of All Time, CraveOnline, September 18, 2008
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