Tenchu: Stealth Assassins

• Release Date: 1998
• Genre: Action
• Style: Stealth
• Similar Games: Ninja Gaiden (Nintendo Entertainment System), Shinobi (Nintendo Entertainment System), Ninja Gaiden (Sega Game Gear), Shinobi (Sega Game Gear), Shinobi (Sega Master System), Ninja (Commodore 64/128), Ninja Gaiden (Arcade), Shinobi (Arcade), Metal Gear Solid (PlayStation), Ninja Gaiden (Sega Genesis), Ninja Gaiden (Atari Lynx), Ninja Gaiden (TurboGrafx-16), Shinobi (TurboGrafx-16), The Ninja (Sega Master System), Ninja Gaiden (Sega Master System), Ninja Gaiden (IBM PC Compatible), Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins (PlayStation)

Game Description

After firing your grappling hook to the rooftop of a small house, you pull yourself up and notice a guard pacing back and forth on the ground. He doesn't see you as you begin to crawl and sneak around on the roof. If he detects your presence, you will be in a world of hurt; you will blow your mission and risk death. Patiently, you wait for the right time to jump down -- and end his life while his back is turned.

Set in 16th century Japan, Tenchu: Stealth Assassins is a simulation of the ways of the stealthy ninja. You'll chose between two characters, Rikimaru and Ayame, with a main objective of remaining unseen throughout ten non-linear missions. You will move through the shadows, make your way across rooftops, dash through trees -- anything to cloak yourself from enemy sight. While completing the missions, you are judged on three levels that measure your success in the fields of elusiveness and effectiveness.

Each mission is different in its design and goal. Your mentor will have you run secret errands to informants, kill evil merchants and thieves, and rescue captive ninjas. Along the way, the enemy resistance has set up traps and assigned guards to keep a watchful eye for any interference (that would be you). Because Tenchu is a simulation of sorts, running up and engaging an enemy combat is not advised -- that's not the way of the ninja.

A ninja is cunning and in order to uphold his duty, he must remain unseen. If you brazenly walk up to a group of enemies and try to kill them all, you may get through a couple, but you will ultimately fail and dishonor your people. As far as weaponry goes, make use of throwing stars and actual ninja assassin swords. For the truly cunning players, poisoned rice and smoke bombs are included as special items. If a guard will not go away, try putting some rice down for him to eat - he'll get sick and collapse.

Review: Overall

The people who developed Tenchu: Stealth Assassins must have had a stroke of inspiration when they dreamed up its premise. Its a real ninja/assassin simulator set in 16th century Japan requiring you to use your brain, stealth and the ability to hide from enemies up on rooftops and in shadows. Just the idea alone is shear brilliance and no one had ever attempted something like this before.

Sure, there we had Sega's Shinobi series and the Ninja Gaiden games back in the day, but those weren't authentic ninja games. They were side-scrolling platformers and were accessible to a very large group of Arcade fanatics. Tenchu, on the other hand, is the real deal. Go ahead and try to play this game by running up to enemies and hacking them up (you'll die trying).

You see, patience is a virtue and in Tenchu, it'll save your life. Sure, you can walk up to guards and other foes and try a more frontal assault, but it won't work. That's not the way of the ninja. Let's face it, ninjas just aren't the almighty one-man armies some people may think they are. Instead, they use their stealth and intellect to get by, using dark shadows and rooftops to hide their presence.

If you wish to get a decent rating and complete a mission successfully, doing the aforementioned is a must. If you're hiding up on a rooftop, you'll need to drop down at precisely the right time -- when the enemy's back is turned. At times, you'll have to hide in the same position for five minutes and if you're not patient enough, you may blow the entire mission. If you don't take your time and lack the ability to wait, chances are you won't like this game.

Tenchu's worlds are fully 3D non-linear environments. You're presented with a mission and how you decide to carry it out is completely up to you. You can go anywhere you want, kill however you want, and basically do whatever you want as long as you keep your basic mission in mind.

Though Tenchu's graphics aren't award winning, they're very adequate. The textures are realistic looking and there's lots of Japanese scenery. In this regard, the visuals do a great job in capturing the essence and look of Japan -- kudos to the developers! Additionally, the characters look believable and animate well. Guards pause to stretch their arms or yawn -- they even lay down and fall asleep.

To get you better used to the controls, you can opt to try the training missions. They present you with things that you will find in each mission and demonstrate how to go about hiding, crawling, using your grappling hook, etc. Because each button is used, the controls look very intimidating at first -- but they're not. Instead, the controls are excellently laid out and are very easy to master.

There's not really much else to say about Tenchu: Stealth Assassins. It's a brilliant and unique game that features lots of cool ninja weapons, such as throwing stars and the grappling hook, realistic Japanese scenery, stealth and patience tactics, etc. Players who like their games to be linear and planned out beforehand won't like this game; neither will the players with no patience. This is an incredibly difficult and involved game that screams for your respect...Tenchu is another PlayStation winner.

Review: Enjoyment

Tenchu is a brilliant game. You'll lose hours at a time just waiting on the rooftops for the perfect moment to drop down and kill your enemy. It's extremely fun and tactical with a good amount of challenge.

Review: Graphics

Though not perfect (lots of clipping and pop-up issues), the graphics are realistic looking and does a good job of capturing 16th century Japan. The motion capture animation is exceptionally good and the movie sequences are very nice.

Review: Sound

The sound is a mixed bag. Sure, the music is good but it really doesn't fit the mood of the game too well -- it's way to upbeat and "poppy". The voice acting, for the most part, is good, but why would Japanese people talk in English? This kind of hampers the mood of the game as well.

Review: Replay Value

There could have been more than 10 missions but it really doesn't matter. It'll take a very long time to complete this game just because it's so hard. And even once you do complete it, it's fun enough to go back for a second time.

Review: Documentation

The instruction manual isn't the most pleasant looking thing in the world, but it does a very good job in outlining all the various controls you need to know and explains how to play the game.

Production Credits