Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins
Tenchu 2 is a prequel to Tenchu, telling a tale of events prior to those of the previous game.
Once again, you can play as Ayame or Rikimaru, two faithful and honorable ninja whose lord is a gentle man in an age of warfare. With your training nearly complete, you find yourself caught up in aiding your lord against a civil war in his own domain. All is not what it seems, however, and you'll soon realize that your greatest threat has been forged much like you.
Much like its predecessor, Tenchu 2 is a 3D third person stealth action game. You are not only rewarded for stealth, but also for efficiency of movement this time. This extra feature increases the difficulty of achieving the better items, as you not only have to be quiet, but be direct and near perfect in your steps.
82Wit Score
Details
DeveloperACQUIRE Corp.
PublisherActivision
ReleasedAugust 15, 2000
StatusReleased
Genres
Themes
Platforms
Modes
Wit-Index Intelligence
Community Score
Highly Recommended82/100
About This Game
A prequel to Tenchu: Stealth Assassins, this game shows series heroes Rikimaru and Ayame as teenagers, trained alongside a third young ninja, Tatsumaru, by their aging master Shiunsai. It even reveals how Rikimaru earned the famous scar over his right eye — a detail absent from the cover art.
The Azuma Ninja have served the House of Gohda for generations, and now the three young ninja must defend Lord Gohda Matsunoshin against both an attempted coup and a shadowy ninja organization calling itself the Burning Dawn. The trouble traces back to Lord Gohda's uncle, Motohide, who allied with the warlord Toda Yoshisada to seize the kingdom. Toda's assault on Gohda Castle costs Lady Kei — Gohda's wife — her life and ends with the kidnapping of his daughter, Princess Kiku. Rikimaru stops Motohide from killing Lord Gohda but can't prevent his escape. Motohide is soon betrayed and killed by Toda, who is in turn slain and beheaded by his own chief assassin, Lady Kagami — the founder of the Burning Dawn.
Kagami leads a band of rebel ninja: Suzaku, Genbu, Seiryu, and Byakko, the four Lords of the Burning Dawn. Over time the group turns to kidnapping, theft, forced labor, smuggling, and murder, eventually drawing the attention of Lord Gohda and the Azuma. Worse still, the Azuma's newly named leader, Tatsumaru, has vanished — and is later revealed to have lost his memory and joined the Burning Dawn. With the country at risk of being plunged back into civil war, Rikimaru and Ayame must rescue Lord Gohda and crush the uprising. In the end, the combined might of the two ninja and the naval forces of the Gohda army destroys the Burning Dawn's hierarchy and its flagship, the Fire Demon.