Average Customer Review: ( 60 customer reviews )
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First off, this game is a prequel to the original Tenchu. It's story is about Rikimaru and Ayame - the two ninjas 'adopted' by the Lord Godha. There is also has a third ninja named Tatsumaru who fights alongside with the two of them. This explains the story of what happened to Tatsumaru, how all 3 ninjas protected their Lord from traitors and also how Rikimaru got his famous eye-scar.

It has around 25 levels (making it 15 more than the first game), with different levels for each of the 3 characters. However, if you're not happy with the levels in the game, you can create your own level. That's right, you can place walls, buildings, trees, bushes and other countless objects to perform your assassination in. You can even place guards and design what their pattern of walking will be. You can also make the mission peramiter, like assassination of a person, an escort to keep someone alive, elimate all guards, etc.

The game has improved gameplay-wise also. You can now swim in the water and even use a bamboo reed to breathe through it to remain unnoticed. You also have lots of new ninja gadjets to use, like a blowgun, invisibility and different kinds of shurikens. Yes, the game is still very bloody and realistic. But the game is not trying to be some kind of head-blowing, mindless slashing. You must still remain unseen by the guards and be very careful when you commit your 'cold blooded honor'. Overall, this is a definite buy for your PlayStation. I liked it very much and I suggest you give it a try.

12 of 13 found the following review helpful:

Think of it as Rikimaru's RevengeJul 23, 2000

I would've given this game a 4 star rating, but you can create your own missions! If you like stealth games like Metal Gear Solid, then this is for you. You can be two Ninjas....Rikimaru(boy) and Ayame (girl). Your goal is to keep away from the guards....and kill them without anyone noticing. You can use 22 Ninja Items, some magical (Vanishing Tree makes you disappear to another place in a flash of leaves), some not(Grappling Hook anyone?). Rikimaru is armed with a deadly Katana and Ayame two daggers. You can do front flips,and back flips, and you can creep along walls. You can crouch so the enemy doesn't see you, and you can breath underwater with the help of a bamboo pole. One of the best features of this game is the 1-hit Stealth kill. If you can manage to run up behind an enemy without them noticing, you can kill them silently. Overall a great game, but a little bloody.

6 of 6 found the following review helpful:

still holds up in 2003Apr 08, 2003
By J. Leigh "jleigh7"
I played Tenchu 1 for the first time about 3 months ago.
That got me hooked and I recently bought Tenchu 3. More great stuff.

I didn't buy Tenchu 2 at first since I heard it was inferior to Tenchu 1; and Tenchu 2 appears to be only available used.

Nevertheless, in reality Tenchu 2 is quite a bit better than Tenchu 1. Some extras that make Tenchu 2 sweet:

- Build your own game levels - if you use the free psx emulator you can download and play levels that other people make.

- Graphics are better in tenchu 2 than tenchu 1. Graphics are significantly better if you play it on the psx emulator since it takes advantage of the full resolution of your modern PC (I can play it at 1280x1024 on my laptop!!!).

- Comes with a real tutorial - unlike Tenchu 1 and 3. The tutorial is weaved into the game where you first practice as an apprentice Ninja on a number of obstacles, before being tested by your master.

- Ability to swim and breath under water thru a pipe is cool.

- Ability to drag dead bodies to avoid having them be discovered is cool.

These last 3 elements make the ninja sim more complete than the other 2 games.

Definitely worth getting- new or used. Don't worry if you can't get the documentation on the used versions- the controls are well documented on the web.

5 of 5 found the following review helpful:

Tenchu and then Tenchu 2Aug 02, 2001

Tenchu 2 is a great game and has far more excellent replay value than expected. I used to play the original Tenchu a lot -- where stealth wasn't worth much overall, and hacking and slashing meant more. In Tenchu 2, the stakes are raised a bit higher in that some missions require COMPLETE stealth in your attempts. I have seen all the levels and they are all incredibly complicated (but not detailed: think "Deus Ex" or "Unreal Tournament"). The cinematics are spectacular -- it feels as if you are watching one of those black-and-white cinematic movies open in color (all except it is not QUITE as tacky!).

The goods on the game: 1) Excellent replay value. You can create your own missions, and you have 3 characters storylines to find out. 2) Eeringly realistic. The characters (enemies) actually taunt you when they see you and alert the other enemies (more or less). The audio effects are great...there are crickets, birds, dogs, etc. and they actually sound like the animals they represent. Additionally, the traps sound like aluminum cans and they bang around when you touch them. 3) Stealth animations. The crowning achievement from Tenchu and now this one as well... 4) Cinematics. Well worth the game value alone with effort put into it...not just a simple cut and paste or having bubbles for speech (thinking Final Fantasy series). 5) Different enemies. It goes without saying, but these enemies are not the same -- they have different dress and they wear masks sometimes. 6) The scenery. Sorta makes you wish you were born in feudal Japan.

The bad: 1) Distorted view after some maneuvers. 2) Moving. This is bad...you can't easily turn around. 3) The "ki" meter. In the game, you have to rely on it with skepticism sometimes. The ki confuses you by "sensing" both your allies and your enemies. 4) (Potentially bad). For those into hack and slack of the original, you won't have much of that here -- unless you plan on dying QUICKLY.

5) The computer AI. If you've played "Deus Ex" or "Unreal Tournament," you'll understand. The AI is not completely stupid, but it is erratic -- sometimes displaying brilliance and sometimes just plain S-T-U-P-I-D. 6) Out-dated graphics. Can be forgiven but not forgotten...

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