Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins

"Bad camera kills alot more than ninja and surly campers"

When I first read about the details of Tenchu 2, in a feature article of OPM, I was highly impressed; as a matter of fact, it read so well that I began to think that this may be the greatest of the stealth games on the PSX, beside the unconquerable perfection of the genre, Metal Gear Solid. Being a fan of the original Tenchu, you could understand how excited I was when I read that there were not 8, but 27 missions in the game, with three characters to choose from (all with different missions), an intertwining story, and a create your own level feature. Then I went on to read some other stuff about there being improved camera angles, better graphics, enhanced AI, better gameplay, and a good storyline. Months later, the demo was released; setting aside my fears that this game would not be as good as I had imagined. However... sometimes the demos, even when they are good, can be very misleading. Case in point: Tenchu 2.

Graphics: Tenchu 2 boasts some very rough and uneven character maps that, for the most part, are not well drawn and lacking. My decision here is unbiased by the measuring stick of Squaresoft's example. These graphics may have worked well with the first or second generation run of PSX games; but they certainly don't have the same effect on gamers who have seen far better, four years later. Really, flat shaded graphics (ala FFVII) would have been more welcome here. Most of the characters resemble a bunch of sordid boxes put together and painted to look like people. Despite appearing as boxy as they come, there are still a couple of characters who got away looking nearly decent; such as Rikimaru and Tetsumaru. The character designs are very plain with little in the way of originality. The developers should have focused more of their time on better character models and maps.
The texture graphics for the missions are well done; albeit not the greatest, they still elicit the ambiance needed to bring the world of Tenchu to life.
The FMV graphics are nice; but not on the same level of quality as Resident Evil 2 and 3. The best comparison are the FMV graphics from Bushido Blade; but with more detail and better direction.

Music: Tenchu had one of my favorite video game soundtracks which fit the stealth action perfectly; at all times. In Tenchu 2, aside from the boss encounters, there is no music during the stealth missions. Instead we're treated to a repetitious loop of birds, crickets, wolves, and flaling swords. The cinematic music is DOA and the boss song is forgettable; standard fare. Actually the best music in the game can be heard during the opening movie and title screen.

Story: The story in Tenchu 2 is typical and predictable; with little to no substance. Be prepared to hear some of the worst diologue in any videogame; in Ayame's mission. For example, after defeating a boss he says something pitiful like ''I like you. You are such a nice girl''. This is after you hack him with your blade about 50 times. There's some stuff that's said which is alot worse than this but it's not my business as a critic to spoil (and even if I did, what would there be to spoil?). I can understand attempts at rye humor to break the ice, but there is nothing funny because whatever jokes there are, they all suck. There is practically no emotion in any of the characters to give them true dimension and if there is, it's completely irrational and illogical when under the circumstance. If a girls mother dies, she's going to be crying and she's going to be depressed. She isn't going to say in a peppy voice ''Let's get back to the castle.''. Urgh, it's total crap here folks.

Gameplay: The gameplay here is pretty much the same as that featured in Tenchu; with the exception of being able to swim and drag the bodies. There are also 21 nice stealth kills that sweeten the gameplay element. However the bosses are cheap; whereas they will hit you as you are getting up, leaving you with no ability to run and regain your energy. A couple of times, I have encountered bosses and had them keep hitting me until I died (this was after a mission that took me nearly 40 minutes to complete). The camera angles make the action frustrating; especially in closed environments; leaving you with no view of your opponent (whom you have to assume is right behind you)or even your surroundings. For example: there was a point in Tetsumaru's final stage (which is very long); where I could not see what was behind me and ended up falling down a pit when blocking an enemies attack (because of this I had to start the mission all over again; even when I was so close to finishing it)!
Characters turn with the same alacrity as turtles or slugs; leaving you open to multiple and unnecessary attacks by bosses. Basically, boss battles suck all the fun right out of Tenchu 2. The computer AI is pitiful too. Somtimes I perform stealth kills in another enemies' plain view and it goes undetected. Sometimes the guy who I'm killing is screaming like a girl and yet it still goes undetected; even if it's within a stone throw distance away from another enemy. Sometimes the enemy says ''I found you'' and goes running in the opposite direction. Sometimes I'm positioned right in front of the enemy within a 2 ft distance and he still can't see me (this happens alot when I'm hanging from a rail. For some reason I can't be seen through the transparant texture when I'm doing this). Anyway, you get the picture. Even if the AI is unrealisitic, it doesn't detract from the sense of fun and excitement; and this is what matters most when playing games like Tenchu. It is just a shame that Death By Camera Angle is prevalent. Honestly, incase you're wondering, I think the camera in Tenchu 2 is alot worse than the crittically appalled camera work in Tenchu.

The loading times are too long and often unnecessary. Why was it that in Metal Gear Solid, there was virtually no loading time for cinematics but in Tenchu 2, it takes nearly a minute to load for cinematics which aren't even remotely close to the beauty and complexity of those of MGS? There is even a long load exclusively for a simple screen that displays all of your items! God forbid you fail your mission, you'll have to wait nearly two minutes for it all to load back up; because the game over screen, cinematics, and item screen all have to reload. During stealth missions, this can become a real pisser; since in those missions, if you are detected, it's Game Over!


Tenchu 2, like it's predicessor, features outstanding environments and engrossing stealth gameplay. Unlike it's predicessor, the camera work has been exacerbated to make battles frustrating and not fun at all. A combination of boss battles and really bad camera work are this games weakest link. The mission editor is a BIG plus and is guaranteed to cripple just about any Tenchu fan's social life. The story is bland and the diologue is atrocious. The music is not nearly as good as that in the original. Graphics are severly dated and crudely drawn (look at Ayame's face! It looks like it's been flattened by a brick!). For these reasons, my final verdict on Tenchu 2, is a 6/10.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 09/19/00, Updated 09/19/00