Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins
| Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Acquire |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Director(s) | Takuma Endo |
| Producer(s) |
Yutaka Hoshina Masami Yamamoto |
| Designer(s) |
Nobuhito Kuramochi Yoshiaki Arimura |
| Programmer(s) | Daisuke Hisamatsu |
| Artist(s) | Koshi Nakanishi |
| Writer(s) | Mikasa Hiragi |
| Composer(s) | Noriyuki Asakura |
| Series | Tenchu |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Stealth |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins is a stealth game developed by Acquire and published by Activision worldwide and Sony Music Entertainment in Japan 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
One of the game's most acclaimed features was the Mission Editor. It gave the player the opportunity to create their own mission, including level layout, deciding which characters to put in, and mission objective. It spawned a tournament in North America to find the best created mission. 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, Rikimaru, Ayame, and Tatsumaru, must protect Lord Gohda Matsunoshin against a coup d'état attempt and a mysterious ninja group calling themselves the Burning Dawn.
After the three ninja are accepted into the Azuma clan, they are called to Gohda castle, which is under attack by Lord Gohda's uncle, Motohide. After a bloody battle, which includes the death of Lady Kei, Lord Gohda's wife, and the kidnapping of Princess Kiku, Lord Gohda's daughter, Rikimaru stops Motohide from killing Lord Gohda, but can't stop Motohide from escaping. It turns out that Motohide was working for a rival Lord, Lord Toda. Toda kills Motohide, only to be killed himself and decapitated by Lady Kagami, the leader of Lord Toda's ninja. She is leading a group of rebel ninja group calling themselves the Burning Dawn, consisting of Suzaku, Genbu, Seiryu, and Byakko, the four Lords of the Burning Dawn, and led by Lady Kagami. To make matters worse, the recently made leader of the Azuma Ninja, Tatsumaru, has gone missing. It is later revealed that Tatsumaru has lost his memory and is now part of 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
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Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins received "favorable" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[1]
References
- 1 2 "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).
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ Boyce, Ryan (August 8, 2000). "Tenchu 2". Maxim. Archived from the original on June 26, 2001. Retrieved November 9, 2014.