Tenchu: Shadow Assassins

Last updated
Tenchu: Shadow Assassins
Tenchu Shadow Assassins.jpg
Developer(s) Acquire
Publisher(s)
Director(s) Keisuke Kanayama
Producer(s) Masanori Takeuchi
Designer(s) Yasuhiro Abe
Programmer(s) Nobuhiro Momiyama
Artist(s) Yoshiyuki Okada
Writer(s) Yasuhiro Abe
Composer(s) Noriyuki Asakura
Series Tenchu
Engine Gamebryo
Platform(s) Wii
PlayStation Portable
ReleaseWii
  • JP: October 23, 2008
  • NA: February 5, 2009
  • PAL: March 12, 2009
PlayStation Portable
  • JP: February 12, 2009
  • NA: March 24, 2009
  • EU: April 3, 2009
  • AU: April 9, 2009
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Stealth
Mode(s) Single-player

Tenchu: Shadow Assassins [lower-alpha 1] is a stealth game developed by Acquire and published by FromSoftware in Japan and Ubisoft worldwide for the Wii in 2008 and the PlayStation Portable in 2009.

Contents

Gameplay

Shadow Assassins allows players to take control of both Rikimaru and Ayame. The camera is an over-the-shoulder point of view. All of the 10 missions are ground-based. There are no healthbars in this game except sword fight parts. Players will play the first five stages and the last one using Rikimaru and stages six to nine as Ayame. There are also 50 side missions called "Assignments".

Ayame is faster but weaker, making it harder for her to hide bodies. According to FromSoftware, their stages are also completely different; Rikimaru's are more straightforward, while Ayame's are "a little trickier, she can use the environment more." There are about 10 multi-purpose items in the game; for example, a cat can be used as distraction as well as a scout. [1]

On Wii, players use the analog stick on the Wii Remote's Nunchuck accessory to move, A button for actions, holding B button while moving forward to run or while moving sideways to strafe, and the C button for jumping (a long jump can be performed while running). The Wii Remote is also used for first-person perspective sword fighting.

The gameplay of the PlayStation Portable version is generally the same. However, its controls have been altered to fit the handheld's functionality, thus removing the motion controls; however, some similar controls have been retained, such as moving the analog stick to move forward, and pressing the D-pad to choose between the player's items. The controls for doing a stealth kill has been slightly changed; the player now has to press the face buttons of the PSP console to trigger it and moving the analog stick. [2]

Plot

In the land of Lord Gohda, peace has not been fully restored and rumors of betrayal have been swirling around the lord and his subjects. As a result, Lord Gohda calls upon the Azuma Ninja, Rikimaru and Ayame, to investigate. Rikimaru soon discovers that someone is planning to start a war. Meanwhile, Counselor Sekiya, Lord Gohda's right-hand man, arranges for a fortune-teller to predict the future of Lord Gohda's kingdom. Unfortunately, the fortune-teller turns out to be an imposter and kidnaps Princess Kiku, Lord Gohda's daughter.

Ayame chases after her without hesitation, while Rikimaru goes on another mission for Lord Gohda instead: resume the investigation on the nuisances that have been troubling the land. He then discovers that Daimyō Tado is the one behind all this. Lord Gohda then decides to declare war on Tado and travels to his land with Rikimaru. After Rikimaru succeeds in taking Daimyō Tado's life, the woman who posed as the fortune-teller, a Kunoichi named Rinshi, appears and tries to kill Rikimaru, but fails thanks to the intervention of Tachibana Hyakubei, who was hired by Lord Gohda. After Lord Gohda's order, Rikimaru heads back to the castle. When he arrives however, he is attacked by the guards, who were ordered to consider him a traitor by Sekiya. Ayame had actually succeeded in rescuing the Princess Kiku, but had been attacked by someone who seemed to be Rikimaru, who was actually Rinshi in disguise. Ayame and Princess Kiku then flee the castle as the real Rikimaru arrives, and the two women head for a secret hideout suggested by Sekiya. The Princess then reveals to be Rinshi in disguise and wounds Ayame, but Rikimaru arrives just in time to save her and kills Rinshi.

Lord Gohda, noticing his castle in flames, realizes that it was all Sekiya's doing and orders Rikimaru to get back there and eliminate him. After he seemingly takes Sekiya's life and saves Princess Kiku, Sekiya rises again and reveals himself to be Onikage, who then challenges Rikimaru to a duel. Rikimaru ultimately gains the upper hand but Onikage uses the princess as a shield, forcing Rikimaru to drive his sword through her to get to Onikage and kill him. Ayame, who had followed Rikimaru, cries upon Princess Kiku's death. The extended ending (attained by collecting all of the map pieces in normal mode) shows Ayame speaking in Onikage's voice, suggesting his hatred survived in her since Rikimaru murdered her best friend.

Characters

Reception

Tenchu: Shadow Assassins received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. [4] [3]

Notes

  1. ↑ Tenchu 4 (天誅 4, Tenchū Yon, lit. "Divine Retribution 4")

Related Research Articles

A stealth game is a type of video game in which the player primarily uses stealth to avoid or overcome opponents. Games in the genre typically allow the player to remain undetected by hiding, sneaking, or using disguises. Some games allow the player to choose between a stealthy approach or directly attacking antagonists, but rewarding the player for greater use of stealth. The genre has employed espionage, counter-terrorism, and rogue themes, with protagonists that are special forces operatives, special agents, secret agents, thieves, ninjas, or assassins. Some games have also combined stealth elements with other genres, such as first-person shooters and also platformers.

<i>The Legend of Kage</i> 1985 video game

The Legend of Kage is a side-scrolling hack-and-slash game developed and published by Taito in 1985. In this game, the player controls the ninja Kage, with the objective being to get through five stages in order to save the princess Kirihime. These stages are littered with enemies, but Kage has various skills and weapons on his hands in order to get through them.

<i>The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess</i> 2006 video game

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is a 2006 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube and Wii. Originally planned for release exclusively on the GameCube in November 2005, Twilight Princess was delayed by Nintendo to allow its developers to refine the game, add more content, and port it to the Wii. The Wii version was a launch game in North America in November 2006, and in Japan, Europe, and Australia the following month. The GameCube version was released in December 2006 as the final first-party game for the console.

<i>Tenchu</i> Video game series

Tenchu is an action-adventure stealth video game series, originally developed by Japanese developer Acquire, where the player assumes the role of a ninja in 16th-century Japan. The title in Japanese literally translates in English as "Divine Retribution", with 天 (ten) meaning heaven and 誅 (chū) meaning death penalty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D3 Publisher</span> Japanese video game developer and publisher

D3 Publisher Inc. is a Japanese video game developer and publisher founded on February 5, 1992. The company is known for the Simple series of budget-priced video games. Their games have been released for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, GameCube, Wii, Xbox, Xbox 360, Wii U, Android, and iOS.

<i>Yōtōden</i> 1987 film directed by Osamu Yamasaki

Yōtōden is a 3-episode Japanese original video animation produced by J.C.Staff, the studio's first production. In 1989, Yōtōden was re-edited into a feature film version titled Wrath of the Ninja for English-speaking regions, but is currently out of print. A manga adaptation was serialized in Newtype.

<i>Tenchu: Stealth Assassins</i> 1998 video game

Tenchu: Stealth Assassins is a 1998 stealth video game developed by Acquire for the PlayStation. The debut entry in the Tenchu series, it was published in Japan by Sony Music Entertainment Japan, and by Activision in the West. Following Rikimaru and Ayame of the Azuma ninja clan as they complete missions for their employer Lord Gohda in Sengoku-era Japan, the gameplay involves the player guiding their chosen character through missions, the aim being to remain undetected while either avoiding or quietly killing enemies.

<i>Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins</i> 2000 video game

Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins is a 2000 stealth video game developed by Acquire for the PlayStation. The second entry in the Tenchu series, it was published in the West by Activision and in Japan by Acquire. Tenchu 2 is a prequel to Tenchu: Stealth Assassins (1998), following the early lives of Azuma ninja Rikimaru and Ayame as they and their fellow Tatsumaru must confront a militant force called the Burning Dawn. Gameplay follows the chosen protagonist as they complete missions, the goal being to remain undetected and either avoid or silently kill enemies.

<i>Tenchu: Dark Secret</i> 2006 video game

Tenchu: Dark Secret is an action-adventure stealth video game developed by Polygon Magic and published by FromSoftware in Japan and Nintendo worldwide for the Nintendo DS in 2006. It is also the first game in the Tenchu series to be released for the Nintendo system and not to have a Mature rating from the ESRB.

<i>Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven</i> 2003 action-adventure stealth video game

Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven is an action-adventure stealth video game developed by K2 and published by Activision for the PlayStation 2 in 2003. FromSoftware published the game in Japan as Tenchu 3. It was later ported to the Xbox in 2004 under the title Tenchu: Return from Darkness and to the PlayStation Portable in 2009 by FromSoftware under the title Tenchu 3 Portable. A mobile version featuring 2D side-scrolling action gameplay was developed by TKO Software and released in 2005.

<i>Tenchu: Fatal Shadows</i> 2004 video game

Tenchu: Fatal Shadows is an action-adventure stealth video game developed by K2 LLC and published by FromSoftware in Japan and Sega in North America and Europe for the PlayStation 2 in 2004. The PlayStation Portable version of the game, Tenchu Kurenai Portable, was released in Japan in 2010.

<i>Tenchu: Time of the Assassins</i> 2005 video game

Tenchu: Time of the Assassins is an action-adventure stealth video game developed by K2 LLC and published by FromSoftware in Japan and Sega in Europe for the PlayStation Portable in 2005. This marks the first game in the series not to be released in North America.

<i>Tenchu Z</i> 2006 video game

Tenchu Z is an action-adventure stealth video game developed by K2 LLC and published by FromSoftware in Japan and Microsoft Game Studios worldwide for the Xbox 360 in 2006.

<i>Star Wars: The Force Unleashed</i> 2008 video game

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is an action-adventure game developed and published by LucasArts, and part of The Force Unleashed multimedia project. It was initially developed for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 consoles and on iOS, second-generation N-Gage, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, and Java-equipped mobile phone handhelds. The game was released in North America on September 16, 2008, in Australia and Southeast Asia on September 17, and in Europe on September 19. LucasArts released downloadable content for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. An Ultimate Sith Edition of the game, containing both new and previously released downloadable content, was released in November 2009, and later ported to the macOS and Microsoft Windows. An enhanced remaster of the Wii version, developed by Aspyr, was released on Nintendo Switch on April 20, 2022.

<i>Valhalla Knights</i> 2006 video game

Valhalla Knights is a fantasy action role-playing game developed by K2 LLC and published by Marvelous Entertainment for Sony PlayStation Portable.

<i>TMNT</i> (video game) 2007 video game

TMNT is an action video game featuring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It was developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft for Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable, as well as for Microsoft Windows on March 20, 2007. It is based on the 2007 film of the same name.

<i>Shadow Assault: Tenchu</i> 2008 video game

Shadow Assault: Tenchu is a 2008 action game by FromSoftware for the Xbox 360. It is a part of the Tenchu series. Shadow Assault: Tenchu received mixed reviews from critics.

Tomohiro Tsuboi is a male Japanese voice actor. He is part of 81 Produce, previously Mausu Promotion.

<i>Ninja: Shadow of Darkness</i> 1998 video game

Ninja: Shadow of Darkness is an action beat 'em up platform video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive for the PlayStation. The story follows a warrior named Kurosawa, who is tasked of ridding Feudal Japan of an unspeakable evil.

<i>Ninja Gaiden 3: Razors Edge</i> 2012 video game

Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge is a 2012 action adventure hack and slash game developed by Team Ninja and published by Nintendo. It was released for the Wii U from November 2012 to May 2013, and subsequently released by Tecmo Koei for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in April 2013. It is an enhanced port of Ninja Gaiden 3 that includes all downloadable content from the original title, as well as additional enhancements made to improve the game. The game can be considered an equivalent to the Ninja Gaiden Sigma games, as it makes several changes to the original title.

References

  1. ↑ Tenchu 4: Art of the Ninja Interview Archived 2012-03-12 at the Wayback Machine , IGN, October 17, 2008
  2. ↑ Tenchu: Shadow Assassins: The Stealthily Released PSP Version Archived 2009-05-27 at the Wayback Machine . Siliconer. Retrieved on 2009-05-29
  3. 1 2 "Tenchu: Shadow Assassins for PSP Reviews". Metacritic . Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Tenchu: Shadow Assassins for Wii Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  5. ↑ Mielke, James (February 5, 2009). "Tenchu: Shadow Assassins Review (Wii)". 1UP.com . Archived from the original on June 7, 2016. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  6. ↑ Edge staff (March 2009). "Tenchu: Shadow Assassins (Wii)". Edge . No. 199. p. 93.
  7. ↑ Reeves, Ben (April 2009). "Tenchu: Shadow Assassin[s] (Wii): A Stealthy Franchise Stumbles Onto the Wii". Game Informer . No. 192. p. 86. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  8. ↑ Bartron, Heather (March 25, 2009). "Tenchu: Shadow Assassins (PSP)". GamePro . Archived from the original on March 28, 2009. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  9. ↑ Watters, Chris (February 19, 2009). "Tenchu: Shadow Assassins Review (Wii)". GameSpot . Archived from the original on June 13, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Tenchu: Shadow Assassins Review (Wii)". GameTrailers. February 20, 2009. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  11. ↑ Romano, Natalie (April 5, 2009). "Tenchu: Shadow Assassins - PSP - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on April 11, 2009. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  12. ↑ Bedigian, Louis (February 22, 2009). "Tenchu: Shadow Assassins - WII - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on February 25, 2009. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  13. ↑ Casamassina, Matt (April 8, 2009). "Tenchu: Shadow Assassins Review (PSP)". IGN. Archived from the original on December 6, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  14. ↑ Casamassina, Matt (February 3, 2009). "Tenchu: Shadow Assassins Review (Wii)". IGN. Archived from the original on February 5, 2009. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  15. ↑ Aaron, Sean (July 30, 2009). "Tenchu: Shadow Assassins (Wii) Review". NintendoLife. Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Tenchu: Shadow Assassins". Nintendo Power . Vol. 238. February 2009. p. 88.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.