Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins
This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (September 2013) |
Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Acquire |
Publisher(s) | Activision |
Director(s) | Takuma Endo |
Producer(s) | Yutaka Hoshina Masami Yamamoto |
Designer(s) | Nobuhito Kuramochi Yoshiaki Arimura |
Programmer(s) | Daisuke kHisamatsu |
Artist(s) | Koshi Nakanishi |
Writer(s) | Mikasa Hiragi |
Composer(s) | Noriyuki Asakura |
Series | Tenchu |
Platform(s) | PlayStation |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Action-adventure, Stealth |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins[a] is an action-adventure stealth game developed by Acquire and published by Activision for the PlayStation in 2000. The game is intended as a prequel to the game Tenchu: Stealth Assassins and depicts the series' heroes Rikimaru and Ayame as teens, being taught by their elderly master named Shiunsai as well as another Azuma ninja named Tatsumaru.
Gameplay[]
This section needs expansion. You can help by . (January 2011) |
The game consists of controlling a character in a 3D environment through a third-person viewpoint. The player can use a variety of ninja tools and equipment and stealth to dispatch enemies and complete the game's missions. Missions are set in different locales at varying times of day, ranging from rural farmland, bamboo forests, mountainous regions, beaches, ships, villages and caverns. After the player completes a mission, they are given a rank depending on their accomplishments during that mission such as number of enemies killed, number of times spotted etc. High ranks are then used to unlock special gadgets that can be used in-game.
One of the game's most acclaimed features was the Mission Editor. This gave the player the opportunity to create their own missions, including level layout, deciding which characters to place in it and mission objectives to complete. It spawned a tournament in North America to find the best created mission.[citation needed] Due to this acclaim, the Mission Editor was later brought back and revamped for the PSP installment, Tenchu: Time of the Assassins.
Plot[]
The Azuma Ninja have served the House of Gohda for countless generations. Now three young ninja, Tatsumaru, Rikimaru and Ayame, must protect Lord Gohda Matsunoshin against a coup d'état attempt and a mysterious ninja group calling themselves the Burning Dawn consisting of their leader, Lady Kagami, Suzaku "The Red Sparrow", Genbu "The Green Turtle", Seiryu "The Blue Dragon", and Byakko "The White Tiger", the four Lords of the Burning Dawn. To make matters worse, the recently made leader of the Azuma Ninja Tatsumaru, goes missing during a battle with Lady Kagami. It is later revealed that Tatsumaru has lost his memory and as a result of this, has now took on the mantle of Seiryu "The Blue Dragon" and allied himself with the Burning Dawn.Rikimaru and Ayame now have to save Lord Gohda, and stop a ninja uprising intended to plunge the country back into the civil war.
The Burning Dawn has its origins when Lord Gohda's uncle Motohide allied himself with a warlord called Toda Yoshisada in order take control over his kingdom. Toda launched an attack against Gohda castle which resulted in the death of Lord Gohda's wife Lady Kei and the kidnapping of his daughter Princess Kiku. Motohide is later betrayed and killed by Toda, only to be betrayed and killed himself by his chief assassin Lady Kagami: the founder of the Burning Dawn. Over an unknown period of time following the death of Lord Toda, the Burning Dawn partake in a series of underground criminal activities such as kidnapping, theft, forced labor, smuggling and murder. This in turn attracts the attention of Lord Gohda and the Azuma Ninja, who make efforts to end the illegal activities of the organization.
The end finally arrives when the Burning Dawns hierarchy and its flagship 'Fire Demon' are destroyed by the combined efforts of Rikimaru and Ayame, as well as naval elements of the Gohda army.
Reception[]
Aggregator | Score |
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Metacritic | 77/100[2] |
Publication | Score |
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AllGame | [3] |
Edge | 6/10[4] |
GameFan | 72%[5] |
GamePro | [6] |
GameRevolution | B−[7] |
GameSpot | 8.3/10[8] |
IGN | 9.1/10[9] |
Next Generation | [10] |
Maxim | 6/10[11] |
This section needs expansion. You can help by . (August 2013) |
Jim Preston reviewed the PlayStation version of the game for Next Generation, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "Tenchu 2 doesn't surpass the original but does succeed in capturing its smooth gameplay and despite some minor weaknesses, the game is without a doubt exceedingly cool."[10]
Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[2]
Notes[]
- ^ Tenchu 2 (立体忍者活劇 天誅 弐, Rittai Ninja Katsugeki Tenchū Ni, lit. "Stereoscopic Ninja Theatrical Drama: Divine Retribution 2")
References[]
- ^ Roether, Julia (August 15, 2000). "Activision Releases Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins, the Ground Breaking Prequel to the Worldwide Hit, Tenchu". Activision. Archived from the original on January 7, 2001.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins for PlayStation Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
- ^ Knight, Kyle. "Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 13, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
- ^ Edge staff (October 2000). "Tenchu: Birth of the [Stealth] Assassins" (89). Cite journal requires
|journal=
(help) - ^ "REVIEW for Tenchu II: Birth of the Stealth Assassins". GameFan. August 10, 2000.
- ^ Cheat Monkey (August 10, 2000). "Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins Review for PlayStation on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 7, 2005. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
- ^ Sanders, Shawn (August 2000). "Tenchu 2: Birth of the [Stealth] Assassins". Game Revolution. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
- ^ Fielder, Joe (August 8, 2000). "Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins Review". GameSpot. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
- ^ Perry, Douglass C. (August 9, 2000). "Tenchu II: Birth of the [Stealth] Assassins". IGN. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Preston, Jim (October 2000). "Finals". Next Generation. Vol. 3 no. 10. Imagine Media. p. 115.
- ^ Boyce, Ryan (August 8, 2000). "Tenchu 2". Maxim. Archived from the original on June 26, 2001. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
External links[]
- 2000 video games
- Action-adventure games
- Activision games
- PlayStation (console) games
- PlayStation (console)-only games
- Single-player video games
- Tenchu games
- Video game prequels
- Video games developed in Japan
- Video games featuring female protagonists
- Video games scored by Noriyuki Asakura
- Video games set in feudal Japan
- Works set in castles