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 s this a historical irony, or just another quirk in the industry? I do believe that the finer
subtleties of the Asian culture are about to take off in the Western world. After
experiencing what one would otherwise describe as the most comprehensive simulation
of Japanese weapons combat in Square's Bushido Blade, Sony Music Entertainment have
decided to focus on one particular aspect of warrior-dom: the mystical art of the ninja.
Tenchu, literally meaning "Wrath of the Heavens", is an action/adventure that borrows the
winning traits of other games like Tomb Raider and Goldeneye 007 to create a ninja
simulation like no other.
Set in feudal Japan, Tenchu places you in control of either a male or female ninja. The
game then takes you through a series of mission-based levels in which the majority of the
gameplay is left principally to your own discretion. For instance, the first level may
simply require you to find the whereabouts of an influential yet lecherous old man,
located somewhere in a town. Now, you could do things the hard way and kill every last
minion you see in a flurry of screams and blood, or, you could hide in the shadows,
skillfully evade any patrolling guards, and enter the target building from the roof.
Gameplay first requires you to select a number of secondary weapons, such as shurikens,
smoke bombs, and so on to aid you in your missions. After that, you are launched into a
vast three-dimensional world where you can run, jump, and climb in a similar fashion to
Tomb Raider. Using a special grappling hook, you can target rooftops and adjacent
buildings, shoot a tow-cable, and winch yourself up to the targeted area Bionic
Commando-style. Using the R1 button allows you to crouch behind rooftops and boxes,
while the L1 button allows you to take a good look around your general area. Using a
small green meter at the bottom of the screen and listening to your character's heartbeat,
you'll know if an enemy is nearby.
The heart and soul of this game lies in stealth, which is splendidly conveyed through the
visuals. Tenchu has beautifully textured buildings, roads, and backgrounds that put the
cluttered look of Tomb Raider 2 to shame. There is also a clever use of night-time effect
similar to Nightmare Creatures, along with real-time light and shadow effects that create
all sorts of atmospheric contrast. The net effect is that you actually feel as though you
are sneaking around, and you'll be cursing every time you are detected. Perhaps the
coolest feature that conveys this feeling is how you can press yourself against the wall
while the camera discreetly pans around to show you what, or who, is around the corner.
Should you choose to do so, you can engage an enemy in combat. The hardest way is
probably to run right up to them and slash away like a maniac. It's actually more fun to
lay a spike in the ground and watch from the shadows as they step on it; or to position
yourself in such a way that you can jump down behind them and slit their throat. Heck,
you can break a few of their bones with some of your special moves before you do that.
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The heart and soul of this game lies in stealth, which is splendidly conveyed through the
visuals.
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While we're considering the enemies, it's heartening to know that a lot of design and
general effort has gone into their production. They all vary in appearance (well, as much
as ninjas can anyway) and carry all sorts of different weapons. But the quirkiest thing of
all is their animation and movement. The way in which they casually walk around is
wonderfully lifelike, right down to when they suddenly detect a foreign presence (that
would be you) and place their hands over their weapon as they look left and right.
The character that you control is no less impressive. The textures are almost soft to the
touch and rich with variety in the lifelike animation. At the risk of sounding juvenile, it
just looks so cool when you crouch over and crawl along the rooftop like Spiderman and
scope out the enemy positions.
Perhaps the strangest thing of all is the music. Sound effects are all fine, and in a game
of this nature, you'd expect for there to be no music whatsoever (the concentration being
on ambient effects etc). However, Tenchu is accompanied by an amazing musical score
that has an excellent beat, sounds completely out of place, but somehow fits in perfectly
well. The best comparison would be to the music in Bushido Blade, except the music in
Tenchu does not sound half as much the PCM affair that Bushido Blade did.
Tenchu is not without its problems, though. From a control point of view, it is not quite
as smooth as Tomb Raider 2. Some of the motions look a little on the jerky side,
particularly when you are up close to 3 attackers at once. Tenchu is Dual Shock
compatible, and the smoother analogue controls remedy this problem to a degree.
Speaking of the Dual Shock, though, every little rumble feels absolutely perfect. It
doesn't feel quite as raw and sudden as Bushido Blade did, even though that was with the
original dual analogue pad.
The second fault with Tenchu is with the enemy AI. Players who sit and watch the
enemy do their patrolling rounds will be immediately reminded of the stealth-related
affair of Goldeneye 007 on the N64. The funny thing with Tenchu is that you won't be
detected if you are not on the same horizontal plane as your enemy. For instance, you
could stand in plain daylight on the roof as a guard walks by directly below, and be
perfectly fine. This is remedied to some degree by placing lots of enemies on all
horizontal planes. The other quirk is how you can run away from an enemy, and if you
get far away enough for a few seconds, they will completely forget about you and go
about their business.
Now, for people who truly appreciate the subtle art of the ninja, these aren't really glaring
faults at all. I'll still be crouching down on the roof like I'm supposed to and finish off
every fight that I start as an honorable warrior should. That, perhaps, is what SME were
relying on. But those who treat Tenchu as simply "any other game" would see this as a
fail-safe and exploit it as they would any other cheat or fault in a game's AI. To each
their own, of course, but this reviewer does not think of the AI quirks as much of a
problem since they don't impede the flow of the game in any way.
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You actually feel as though you
are sneaking around, and you'll be cursing every time you are detected.
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As far as Japanese text is concerned, you will need a medium skill in Kanji, but that is
only for the mission directives. Most of the remainder of the on-screen dialogue, which
is inconsequential to the action nut, is in Hiragana. In the end, however, it is not required
to know Japanese in order to play. Appreciate, and enjoy this game.
In terms of alternatives, there aren't really any, unless you're counting the Core/Eidos
Interactive release called Ninja. But think of it this way: the Japanese already
demonstrated how much of their culture we didn't know with games like Bushido Blade.
Is there any reason to believe that a British company knows more about the art of the
ninja than the stereotypical Western myths? Tenchu already dispels all those myths with
its opening FMV.
In light of the oodles of post-New Year releases, such as Tekken 3, Parasite Eve, and
Bushido Blade 2, it's difficult to decide which one is worth getting. Tenchu is definitely
one such game. It doesn't have the glamour or the profile of Tekken 3 or Bushido Blade
2, but it has enough variety and distinction from the institutionalized Square and Namco
mold of games to be thoroughly enjoyable. This is one import that you will not regret
purchasing.
-- Kevin Cheung
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