Tenchu: Stealth Assassins on the PS1- A Review From a Nobody

I used an old review I wrote for this game for this Quick Review. This isn't a full review by my standards, just a quick review. I am going to start uploading a few Quick Reviews here and there as they are a good way to keep me motivated and active on the site.

Tenchu: Stealth Assassins-

Here's a game that requires no introduction for those familiar with the PS1. The tenchu series has since fallen into near obscurity in today's gaming world, but back in 1998, it made a pretty big splash. A modern stealth ninja game that had stealth gameplay elements, but released prior to Metal Gear Solid. Metal Gear Solid was the standard bearer for the modern stealth genre, but Tenchu was a nice appetizer to the main course.

In Tenchu, you take control of either Rikimaru, or Ayame, a female ninja, and you traverse openly designed levels, trying to avoid detection while killing enemies silently. Attack an enemy without being seen and you are rewarded with an instant stealth kill. However, upon detection, disposing of your opponents becomes quite a bit more difficult, especially with the quirky and sometimes frustrating fighting system in place that takes quite a bit of learning to get the hang of. Until you learn the fighting system, there will be a lot of frustrating deaths. The levels leave the players open to explore, some even having hidden paths to find. The designs leave it open to choose how the player wants to play. If you don't want to be stealthy, there is no punishment for running in with blatant disregard for stealth. Well, aside from your life being drained from the tough in-game combat against multiple foes.

The coolest gameplay mechanic has to be the grappling hook. Players aim the grappling hook at any roof or high structure and watch as their chosen character zooms away to the spot they aimed at. This allows players to stalk an enemy, unseen from the rooftops, drop down for a stealth kill, and then zoom back to the safety of those rooftops. The grappling hook isn't without it's quirks, you have to line it up just right or your character won't grab the edge of the roof or structure you are aiming for, but that's part of what makes the use of the grappeling hook so exhilarating. Dropping down to stealth kill an enemy, knowing another enemy is close by, and having a few second window to zoom away before you are seen by the other enemy in the area really gets your blood pumping. Among the cool stealth kills, tough swordfighting, and other cool items you gain and use along the way, the grappling hook is still the most fun an distinguishing feature of Tenchu's Gameplay.

In 1999, Japanese gamers got an upgraded version of Tenchu that had the levels that were added for the American release that weren't in the original Japanese release. The upgraded version also had a level editor in it. This version was never made available in North America, so we never had the opportunity to design our own levels in the original Tenchu, that is unless you had the import version of the game. I know it seems like a small complaint because of the level editor in Tenchu 2, but it would have been a very nice touch to have it in the original Tenchu, which is, generally, favored over Tenchu 2 by fans. There is, however, a debug mode cheat that players can play around with that allows you to set items and enemies in a level, and I have heard of people losing hours to playing around with it, making sort of modified versions of each level.

Tenchu is one of the more fondly remembered PS1 games. It's design and feel is uniquely Playstation One, that's the best way to describe the overall feel. I can't really describe it, but there are games that just have a uniquely PS1 feel about them, usually it's a generic sci-fi game with electronic music and explosive special effects, while other times it's games like Tenchu. There are just games that have the PS1 feel, and I don't really have the words to describe what that means. If you know, you know.

1998 was the year of the stealth game with Tenchu, Thief, and Metal Gear Solid. Tenchu is still beloved among PS1 gamers to this day. If you can get past the early 3D tank controls and get a handle on the, at first, janky feeling combat, you might come to appreciate this PS1 era gem as much as it's fans have since it was first released in 1998. It's definitely a game that anyone looking for the authentic PS1 experience needs at least play. Tenchu 2 is also a solid choice to play. Fans didn't like it as much as the original, but it did add an addictive level editor to the fray. I don't think I've ever played all the way through Tenchu 2, unlike the original, but it's still another great PS1 experience that's worth looking into.

#ps1 #tenchu #retrogaming