Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven

"It only looks like a bad game"

I've always enjoyed the Tenchu series, well, not Tenchu 2 so much, being that I was a fan of Rikimaru who died in Tenchu 1 making all hope of me buying another Tenchu very unlikely. (yes I know you could use Rikimaru in Tenchu 2 but this argument will be left for later) But with Rikimaru's return in Tenchu 3 and highely updated graphics, it made a purchase inevitable!

...and so I recieved Tenchu 3 in the mail. I played it and was filled with mixed feelings. And so the review begins...

Graphics: The graphics are whatever you make of them. I thought they were awful, but I now consider them to be decent, or pretty good. Graphics have never been the boasting place for Tenchu games: Dynamic lighting is unheard of, high polygon characters non existent, and textures are bland at best. The color pallete is a disaster. Still, I knew this from the moment I bought the game, and I don't regret it. Admitedly, I was a bit dissapointed, but considering the excessive delays of the release of this game I somewhat assumed something grand was going to happen. It did, just not the way I expected it.

Still, its a great improvement over Tenchu 1. Characters are much more detailed, relatively, and stages are unbelievably easier to navigate through. This is not to say the gameplay is dumb down too much...Maps are now detailed to every inch (in Tenchu 3 quality) as oppose to being filled with the darkness that spreads beyond the 3 foot draw distance the Playstation console was capable of. Those days caused great frustration and confusion. Tenchu 3 has less of that, but sometimes its just TOO easy when you can see the other side of the stage and know where you have to go. Getting lost in Tenchu 1 was fun at times.....but usually not.

Sound/Music: The music is another mixed bucket. It usually does its job greatly. but at times I wonder if this is really authentic Japanese music. Not that it has to be authentic traditional japanese music to be fun or anything, but it'd be awkward to listen to New age techno while being a Ninja right?

I remember how mad I was when I played the first stage with Rikimaru. The classic Tenchu theme was updated and beefed up into some Techno version. Combined with the abnormally ''slick'' graphics (it seemes excessively clean compared to how I like tenchu, the grittyness) it seemed like Tenchu 3 was whored out to sell more copies. Luckily this music didn't bother me that much after I realized its one of the only themes in the game that were technoed. Every other musical score in the game retains the insturmental sounds.

I wish some stages used ambient sounds, though.

Story: the story sucks. There's no getting used to this one like the graphics and sound. There are moments in the game that really work, but I can't understand how choppy some of the narrative is. Tenchu 1 let you have a show down with the king of hell. I had difficulty believing Tenchu 3 could top that. it couldnt.

Gameplay: This is where the game shines. If you get used to the gameplay, ITs FANTASTIC. I say get used to, becase the camera in this game is extremely picky. It never wants to listen to you, which is why the developers gave you almost all control over it. Once you master the camera, you master the art of shinobi. Stealth kIlls are a blast. many of the stages work.....and its great.

These are exceptional situtaions, but still important to bring up. The frame rate drops on a few stages for no reason, most notably on Ayame's Stage 4. For no reason. This phenomenon is unpredictable. It happens very rarely, though.

I also hate the introduction of invinsible enemies. THATS RIGHT. invinsible enemies. What the hell? You could kill these guys in the past, what makes them so special this time around? Nothing short of FRUSTRATING. Luckily these guys only appear in a handful of stages.

there are smaller problems like my arm or sword poking out when Im peeking around a corner, or the shuriken aiming being slightely off, or the AI being retarded at times. These are all traits that are not new to Tenchu. I can forgive them.

Replay: Whats not more fun than stealth killing? you get to play the same stage with different enem placements. Surely to last you a long time of fun.

Regrets:Stages are to bright. Yo can see the other side of the stage, makes it much easier to get around in this game. Invinsible enemies. Bosses can be extremely frustrating as they block you almost all the time especially in later stages.

Overall the game does what it needs to do very well. Being a Tenchu 3 sequel. I hav many gripes with it, and admittedly, Im dissapointed that the developers didn't try to improve the game engine significantly but at least users get to enjoy something that they know they can't experience anywhere else. Stealt ninja kills is a Tenchu exclusive treat

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/05/04