Customer Reviews

Tenchu: Shadow Assassins

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Tenchu for the Wii is a mixed blessing. The game gives adult players a stealth based challenge which is fairly rare on the Wii. On the other hand the game is really challenging, partly because it is intended to be hard, but partly because it has some of the most unforgiving controls I've been exposed to in a very long time. Not bad controls, just unforgiving. I would snarkily describe this game as Resident Ninja Solid: Manhunt Edition since it feels like it is incorporating elements from many older stealth based games with a huge dose of Resident Evil controls.

First off, Tenchu is a game where the player takes the role of two stealthy assassins who have to do a lot of dirty work for their mostly good-guy boss, Lord Goda. Save the princess, assassinate the bandit leader, and so-on. The entire game is based upon stealth and environmental problem solving. Combat is entirely based on quicktime events and motion controls, which works pretty well with a few exceptions.

NINJA-TASTIC STUFF:
+++ Graphically, this game looks good despite the fact that it only runs in 480i. In fact, it looks better than most other games on the Wii right now. Lighting and shadows are well done. Backgrounds are detailed and richly colored despite the fact that nearly 100% of game appears to be taking place at night.
+++ The 10 story missions and 20+ assignment-missions are solid with quality voice-acting, but mostly the story serves as nothing more than a convenient excuse to drop your ninja into a scenario to acquire equipment and kill people.
+++ A lot of the assignment missions are unlockables, leaving a fair amount of replay value, especially for perfectionists that want to get high scores.
+++ Well-done quick-time style combat.
+++ Lots of ninja gadgets. James Bond would be proud.
+++ Gorgeous music (but it does get repetitive)

Some game design decisions leave me scratching my head though...
--- No pointer control when so many parts of the game scream to use pointer control.
--- Stiff Resident Evil style movement controls. The ninjas can do cool scripted gymnastics and stuff, but only in certain context sensitive scenarios. Prince of Persia is far more ninja-tastic in that respect. The ninja's are not very fluid or smooth in comparison.
--- No in game brightness controls. Instead the game instructs you to adjust the TV brightness instead every time the game boots up. I'm sorry, but I'm not fiddling with my television when every other game developer has figured out brightness controls. This feels lazy and really annoyed me for some reason.
--- While the in-game cut-scenes have captions, the rest of the game lacks captions. A minor quibble, but problematic if you're forced to play the sound turned completely down.
--- Frustrating difficulty level. One hit, you're dead. Or have to restart from the least checkpoint. This game is brutal.
--- Functional but un-fun swordplay mechanics using the Wii remote. Luckily, swordplay is not that common in the game.

The gameplay itself is very odd because you never directly engage in combat with anyone unless you get caught. Instead, if you manage to trigger a stealth kill you will be prompted for a quick-time button pressing/motion-control sequence. As far as I'm concerned, this actually works really well and usually feels a lot like Prince of Persia: Two Thrones handling of stealth kills, but actually a bit easier to pull off. Swordplay is rare, and when you do have to actually fight, you use the Wii remote to block enemy attacks and swing it to attack. Levels are a departure from the more open, roof-top hopping designs of previous Tenchu games and are instead crafted and broken-up into a series of mini-levels. It works well, but I miss the more open design of the earliest Tenchu titles.

All in all, I am having fun with the game and I recommend this game to the hardcore audience with a word of caution that it isn't perfect, but still enjoyable. To anyone else, I only recommend it as a rental, mostly due to the occasionally frustratingly hard difficulty level.

The Wii does not have many adult games, so I was anticipating the release of Tenchu:SA. The Tenchu series has always been my favorite since the original on playstation. I have been a loyal fan owning every US release with my favorite being XBOX Tenchu:Return from Darkness.

Tenchu:SA has not lived up to my hopes and expectations. While it is not a bad game it improves the series in some areas but corupts others.

The graphics and sound are excellent along with cinema cut scenes to tell the story. Some new ideas such as blowing out candles, torches, and shaking the wii remote to slide from bush to bush work well. Hanging from the rafters to execute a stealth kill or usiung the enemies own sword for exectution is also exhilirating. Sneaking from gaurd to gaurd anticipating the stealth kill is still exciting. Other new ideas work but are lost in the ultimate problem that you do not have as much freedom and control as in previous Tenchu games. This version feels confined to almost a single path with hiding places or items specifically placed and required for you to use to advance past an enemey guard. It is also frustrating because if you are spotted, puff! You are transported back to the last check point. If you are equiped with a sword you can fight which is just as difficult and frustrating. I am over half way through the game and have only won a couple of sword fights. Oh, and you don't use your own sword to preform stealth kills, heck you can't even walk with it in hand, what is that? There is no grappling hook, crouching, rolling, double jumping, or other acrobatic ninja moves you would expect. The controls are slow and bulky feeling, I mean really, no manual crouch button?

One of my favorite things about the Tenchu series used to be entering a new level and using the grappling hook to climb roof tops where you could observe the environment and decide how you would progress through the level. This version does not allow for that freedom, it is slow and scripted forcing you to play the levels by design.

In closing I believe the graphics and other new ideas are there but to many key elements that made the series a hit have been removed. My review score of the game is 2.5 out of 5 only because the game looks great and sneaking up on enemies to preform stealth kills is still fun. Fan or not this is probably one to rent prior to purchasing. I am a fan who is half way through but not sure if I want to continue because of the frustrating controls and lack of freedom.

Ive been waiting for this for so long and I just cant believe someone reviewed it after playing only 1 stage. You have to play the entire game to get the best of it. Anyways the series returns to its roots. The same developer(acquire) that made the first tenchu (stealth assassins) for ps1. In a simpler way of explaining it, its basically metal gear solid but ninjas in feudal japan (sorry no guns). You start as rikkimaru and at the halfway point switch to ayame. Though the game is pretty good in my opinion no game goes flawless.

The good:
+ The graphics are some of the best on the wii.
+ The setting is very accurate and beautiful.
+ Top notch voice acting. Liam O'brian (gaara's voice from naruto) totally fits rikkimaru.
+ The story actually is good this time around. I will not spoil it.
+ Very cool ways to assassinate enemies. Example: swimming and pulling a guard down into the water drowning them.
+ Classic controls make the game more user friendly.
+ Clever tool mechanics.
+ Just the fact that its a hardcore title on the Wii.

The Bad:
- During assassinations the camera is wonky and sometimes you wont be able to see your kill at a good angle.
- Dead bodies still move like crazy after being killed.
- Not much variety on the kills, there could have been more.
- When you do kill someone there is little to no blood at all. (good/bad? you decide)
- Setting someone on fire is just plain ugly.
- Gimmicky wii controls which is sometimes unresponsive.
- Sword play is really hard it requires you to react in a split second so its best avoided.

Minor flaws aside I think this game is a pretty solid hardcore title for the Wii. I finally dusted off my wii again and started playing once this came out and it was worth it. There is such a drought of hardcore titles on the Wii this finally had me get use out my wii. It is so satisfying to kill guards in this game and you will have fun.

I have played all the Tenchu games for PS and PS2. I'm obviously a really big fan of the Tenchu series. None of the Tenchu games have been as good as the first, but I love the sneaking around, story lines (most of them) and different kill moves in all the games. I always look forward to the next Tenchu game. When I saw that there was a Tenchu game for the Wii I was ecspecially excited. I briefly played the James Bond game on Wii and the little time I had with it gave me great expectations for Tenchu, thinking that the movability would be so much better than in the past. However I have been terribly dissapointed with the game. The movability is actually worse!

Cons:

~The controls are very clumsy. It is difficult to look around while moving. Impossible to turn on the spot (which you need since you are frequently on narrow beams over an enemy). While trying to turn to the side you also move forward or backward and therefore you will fall off the narrow ceiling beams.

~When you move in to kill an enemy you have to do a specific move chosen by the game (lack of freedom to choose your kill). You have to use the Wii remote to perform this specific move and there are animated instructions at the bottom of the screen for every kill. One particular move shows you pushing the remote forward as if you were stabbing the guy in the stomache, however if you try to move the remote the way the animation shows you to you will fail in your kill and be instantly sent back to the beggining. With this particular move I have found that snapping your wrist up and down works best.

~The animations are at the bottom of the screen for everything you need to do, it gets very annoying, I feel like the whole game is one big tutorial.

~Fighting with swords is impossibly hard. Again you have the animation at the bottom of the screen, however here you are not told what to do until it is almost too late.

This Tenchu has left out a lot of the good things from the original series.

~Mostly I miss my grapling hook, which was a staple through all the other Tenchus. Your grappling hook pulled you up to roofs and other high places. I am still stunned that they took it away.

~I also miss the jumping from roof to roof, not much of that in this game.

~Though Ayame is in this game, she does not seem the same person at all and therefore I miss her as well (My fav charachter through all Tenchus).

~Rolling was a great way to stealthily move through levels in previous Tenchus, there is no way to roll in this game.

~Lastly you are very limited on the number of items you can carry and even the number you can store for using on other levels. Items are always a big part of the whole Tenchu experience. I always loved luring a stupid guard with some poison rice... no poison rice in this game :(

Pros:

~Night Vision. This is awesome. With your night vision the areas you can hide in are a smokey blue color and the people in the game stand out in bright red. Not only do the people stand out but their line of sight as well. With this you are able to tell if the person around the corner is looking in your direction.

~Straffing. A quick movement from one bush to another. This is a good idea and pretty cool when it works right, however half the time you don't straff at all, instead you take one step and the other half the time you straff in the opposite direction. So not really a pro but could be if done right. Again you have to bee precise with your movement, I guess.

In closing I do not reccomend this game to anyone who has played any other Tenchu, you will be let down. The game doesn't even feel like it was made by the same creators. Actually I do not recommend it to anyone.

Having the Tenchu name, I was excited to sneak around towns and sneak up on unsuspecting victims. Sadly it was not this. The purpose of the game is to sneak around without a sword, and make it through various levels. You cannot be seen or you have to redo the level. The graphics are amazing, sounds is perfect, and controls are great. The game play is what ruined it for me. If allowed to roam free like in the early Tenchu games, it would have been perfect. Before you buy it, look for videos on youtube.

I enjoyed Wrath of Heaven so I picked up this game and beat it over the weekend (there are ten missions that take 40-60 minutes on your first playthrough). The biggest difference from WoH is that the controls in this edition are some of the stiffest and unforgiving of any game I've played. The jumping is so awkward that you avoid doing it at all costs, you turn so slowly while running that you feel like you're steering a Spanish galleon, and the Resident Evil style controls require lots of fiddling (especially true when you're trying to hide in something and the "press A to hide" prompt doesn't appear when you need it). You're just not as nimble as a ninja should be.

Luckily you don't have to fight much because the combat is even worse. If you happen to have a sword in your inventory when an enemy spots you, there is a brutally frustrating sword fight segment that has you hold your remote at different angles to deflect blows. It would have been pretty decent but the attacks happen too fast sometimes for the game to recognize what angle the remote is at. And combat happens so rarely that I didn't really figure out how it worked until the last few of boss fights where you have more chances to get hit.

If you don't have a sword and you're spotted, you automatically smoke bomb away and appear at the last checkpoint. So this game essentially has no punch-kick-block style combat and the stiff controls make you wait in the shadows for long stretches before pouncing, making play more like Manhunt than Wrath of Heaven.

Almost all the levels are on the ground, eliminating the rooftop exploits of previous Tenchus. Additionally, each level seems designed to have an optimal path through it, requiring several attempts before you can figure out what the designer intended.

The story is laughably non-sensical, even by video game standards, but the high quality of the voice acting saved me from being too embarrassed to play it. The story also serves as a way for the game makers to rehash their 5 levels a second time with Ayame, except that you enter from a different side and the enemies are in different locations. More variety would have been nice, but even though you already played through the locations once before with Rikimaru, they still manage to feel fresh.

Anyways, despite all the game's attempts at being completely terrible, and oh does it ever try, it's actually pretty fun. It's the only recent ninja game that involves stealth assassination rather than straight out brawling. If you liked Manhunt or older Tenchu games, you'll like this one. Otherwise, you should probably keep your distance.

Admittedly, I've not played too many over the years, just 5 or 6, with this one being my second Tenchu game. Of course, it may be that my perspective is limited and my wow factor comes from this being my first game on the Wii where I am totally satisfied with the controls. But hey, that alone should give the game high marks (the controls part, not the limited perspective part). The game also looks better than I though the Wii was capable of making a game look. If you love creeping through the shadows and shanking your prey quietly from behind (or above), this is a good game to have.

I don't understand why this game had such bad reviews. I picked it up at Best Buy for 7.99 and was a little wary to try it out after seeing all the bad rap. Man, was I surprised. I am a Tenchu veteran, having played the original on PSX and Wrath of Heaven on PS2. This is on par with those if not the best.

Now, mind you, it's very different. But in a clever way. For instance, the controls are different, with less roof to roof hopping and more sneaking and blowing out lamps and dragging enemies underwater to drown them, instead of the same 3 kill moves over and over. The game is beautiful and cleverly designed, with some top notch voice acting, and I just can't recommend it enough.

If you're open minded or have never played Tenchu before, I highly recommend.

This is my first exposure to the Tenchu. Although I'm a really bad ninja and get caught all the time, I love trying to figure out the best way to complete the mission. Hissatsu all the way! Graphics and music are great, with interesting story.

I do realize that the developers wanted to have a different take on the old styled tenchu series, but this is a step back. Tenchu shadow assassins is a game about revenge and learning the tools of the trade for a ninja. Anyone who remembers the original 2 tenchu games, know the series started out with tank/resident evil style controls, but a person could learn to use them pretty good with time. Tenchu 3 evolved the series, and made it feel closer to metal gear solid set in a feudal era. Though tenchu Z finally came out, incorporated parts of tenchu 3, but essentally took the combat back to the original ps1 games.

Well, here comes shadow assassins. The controls are essentially the same as the ps1 games, making a step back. Though, the biggest problem comes with the game itself. Basically, you can never be seen. You never carry a sword around with you, unless you unlock it or pick a rare one up. When you do engage in combat, there are 2 parts. 1- defense- in where you turn the wii remote to block the oppenents strikes. 2- Attack- no explanation needed. Sounds good on paper, but the wii remote alone is NOT sensative enough to have quick movements this game requires. Second huge problem, sometimes you cannot complete a mission. Lets say you're going to poison the main target this game wants you to kill. Well, lets say you kill the person who is supposest to send this poison, and theres no other way to assassinate the target? You have to reset the game.

Onto presentation- the graphics are not good whatsoever. Tenchu 3 on the ps2 and the xbox has way more advance graphics than this game. Main problem is, this isn't a full 480p game. You know the tricks like with resident evil 4 that the system doesn't produce a full sd image, but upscales it to view it on a tv? Think of it like that, except blowed up. The sound isn't much better. Its ps1 quality sound effects, and the horrendous music just loops. Nothing epic, or catchy.

Put it this way, this game has been out less than half a year and you can find it for 15$ now. Sadly, I paid 50$ for this pathtetic excuse for a game. Now answer me this, why did IGN give both this and scarface good reviews? I bought both because of their reviews, and have been terribly dissapointed. somethings fishy...