Tenchu: Fatal Shadows
Encyclopedia
Tenchu: Fatal Shadows is a stealth game developed by K2 LLC and published by From Software
in Japan and Sega
in North America and Europe for the PlayStation 2
in 2004.
and Ayame
, two ninja
of the Azuma clan, served Lord Gohda by returning his precious daughter, Kiku, from the hands of Lord Mei-Oh. Unfortunately, Rikimaru was caught in a disastrous rockfall during his escape, in an attempt to save Ayame and Kiku, and is still missing. The land of Gohda remained peaceful after Mei-Oh's attack, and Ayame, as an agent of Gohda, continued to patrol the expansive territory.
One day in her travels, Ayame came across a destroyed ninja village. She hoped to find survivors, but arrived too late. The ninja of Hagakure died whispering the "Kuroya" with their final breaths. As Ayame was about to leave, a young female ninja stood in her way. Her name was Rin, back from her training, and devastated to see her village in ruins. She sees Ayame as the only person alive, and blames her for the destroying of her village. Eventually, Rin sees that it was not Ayame that destroyed her village. The two team up to find the people responsible.
and Allison Scagliotti.
Rin is a young kunoichi who has trained in the arts of assassination and unarmed combat since childhood. She was born and raised in a small ninja village that lies on the border of "Hagakure." After her village was destroyed, Rin has sought to avenge the deaths of her loved ones, working as a hired assassin for “Lady Razor” Ogin. Upon encountering Ayame, the two briefly battle, although Rin soon realizes that the other kunoichi is not responsible for the destruction of her village. The pair then form an alliance so that they may better achieve their personal agendas. Rin wields a sword called Natsume, but prefers to fight in unarmed combat, like Tesshu and Tatsumaru. She seeks to avenge her slain kin.
and always begin with the phrase "Jikai no Tenchu Kurenai de wa..." (次回の「天誅紅」では・・・; "Next time on Tenchu Kurenai...").
version of the game, Tenchu: Kurenai Portable, was released in Japan in 2010. The game has been optimized for the PSP's screen size, and featured tweaked graphics and a new character costume.
, the game had an average score of 61.15% based on 34 reviews. On Metacritic
, the game had an average score of 58 based on 33 reviews.
From Software
is a Japanese video game company founded in November 1986 known primarily for being the developers of the Armored Core, Demon's Souls, King's Field, Otogi and Tenchu series.-Games:...
in Japan and Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
in North America and Europe for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
in 2004.
Plot
In a time of feudal wars, RikimaruRikimaru
Rikimaru is a fictional character in the Tenchu video game series. He is featured in every game in the series, including as a player character in most of them...
and Ayame
Ayame (Tenchu)
Ayame is a player character in the Tenchu video game series, and on of its two main characters along with Rikimaru. She is featured in all Tenchu games except of Tenchu Z.-Character biography:...
, two ninja
Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...
of the Azuma clan, served Lord Gohda by returning his precious daughter, Kiku, from the hands of Lord Mei-Oh. Unfortunately, Rikimaru was caught in a disastrous rockfall during his escape, in an attempt to save Ayame and Kiku, and is still missing. The land of Gohda remained peaceful after Mei-Oh's attack, and Ayame, as an agent of Gohda, continued to patrol the expansive territory.
One day in her travels, Ayame came across a destroyed ninja village. She hoped to find survivors, but arrived too late. The ninja of Hagakure died whispering the "Kuroya" with their final breaths. As Ayame was about to leave, a young female ninja stood in her way. Her name was Rin, back from her training, and devastated to see her village in ruins. She sees Ayame as the only person alive, and blames her for the destroying of her village. Eventually, Rin sees that it was not Ayame that destroyed her village. The two team up to find the people responsible.
Rin
Rin is the other playable character, and effectively the protagonist of the story. The last of the Hagakure, her village was burned and her family killed by the Kuroya. She is voiced by Satsuki YukinoSatsuki Yukino
Satsuki Yukino , real name Yuki Inoue , is a popular Japanese voice actress from Ōtsu, Shiga. Yukino is also a singer as part of the Hinata Girls...
and Allison Scagliotti.
Rin is a young kunoichi who has trained in the arts of assassination and unarmed combat since childhood. She was born and raised in a small ninja village that lies on the border of "Hagakure." After her village was destroyed, Rin has sought to avenge the deaths of her loved ones, working as a hired assassin for “Lady Razor” Ogin. Upon encountering Ayame, the two briefly battle, although Rin soon realizes that the other kunoichi is not responsible for the destruction of her village. The pair then form an alliance so that they may better achieve their personal agendas. Rin wields a sword called Natsume, but prefers to fight in unarmed combat, like Tesshu and Tatsumaru. She seeks to avenge her slain kin.
Kuroya
The enemies of this game are called the Kuroya, a group of evil ninja who are led by Jyuzou:- Jyuzou - He is the supreme leader of the Kuroya, and is responsible for the destruction of his hometown, Hagakure village. He was actually next in line to become the next leader of the Hagakure, but refused to live by the rules set before him. Jyuzou's weapon is a blade concealed within a parasol. He had been Rin's fiance before he betrayed the Hagakure and has since been pursued by Rin, seeking revenge.
- Futaba - One of the Kuroya assassins and the younger sister of Hitoha. She is another ex-member of Rin's clan who betrayed her friends and family and proved loyal in service to Jyuzou. Futaba considered Rin her rival and hated her deeply. She wields a crossbow-type device that shoots knives from a distance while battling alongside her twin brother.
- Hitoha - Just like Rin, he is from the Hagakure village. Along with his sister, he followed Jyuzou and betrayed the rest of the village. Hitoha fights with a pyrotechnic gauntlet on his wrist which can eject streams of fire at his enemies, combining the use of such a device with his athletic prowess and mastery of ninja mysticism.
- Ranzou - An assassin for the Kuroya who delights himself in torturing people. He is a twisted soul who derives pleasure from the pain of women; at the moment when Ayame finds him, he is torturing Rin's master, Lady Ogin. There are many of the Kuroya who look down on preying upon the weak, but Ranzou takes pride in his work. Ranzou fights with two katana swords connected together on end. He was voiced by Roger L. JacksonRoger L. JacksonRoger Labon Jackson is an American voice actor. He is best known for voicing the killer Ghostface in the Scream films, leaving him to keep an unknown identity to withhold the mystery of Ghostface...
- Shou - An effeminate, narcissistic assassin of the Kuroya who disguises himself as a musician. He joined the Kuroya around the same time as Shinogi and is Jyuzou's personal favorite of the Kuroya, armed with a shamisenShamisenThe , also called is a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually "shamisen" but sometimes "jamisen" when used as a suffix . -Construction:The shamisen is a plucked stringed instrument...
(a Japanese three-stringed guitar) which hides a powerful gun within. Together with Ranzou both of them are a powerful team in the Kuroya. - Shinogi - An assassin for the Kuroya, it is his life goal to kill one thousand people before he himself dies. He joined the Kuroya after meeting Jyuzou for he saw an opportunity to kill with abandon. Shinogi fights with three swords, one of which is in his mouth.
Other characters
- Katsuragi - A samurai-turned bandit, Katsuragi is a member of the Iwatsu clan with price on his head.
- Kichigorou - A man who works as assassin for the Beniya, and also a Goda spy. His real name is Mimizuku, but only Ayame knows this. He also might kill Rin but luckily, Rin doesn't know the secret of the letter. He was Rin's partner.
- Nasu - A blind man who pretends to be a masseuse to get into the homes of women, where he uses his technique to immobilize them. He hides a sword within his walking stick. Nasu is an entirely different enemy sharing the same name as one in the previous title. His appearance and fighting style make him an homage to ZatoichiZatoichiis a fictional character featured in one of Japan's longest running series of films and a television series set in the Edo period. The character, a blind masseur and swordmaster, was created by novelist . This originally minor character was developed for the screen by Daiei Studios and actor...
. - Ogin - Also known as "Lady Razor," this woman serves as Rin's employer and as head of the Beniya assassins. Her name is infamous in the criminal underworld.
- Tatsukichi - A geishaGeisha, Geiko or Geigi are traditional, female Japanese entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance.-Terms:...
in the village of Hagogake who is blindly in love with Jyuzou, who sends her to her death to fight Ayame as distraction so he can escape. She is the weakest boss in the game, attacking with a poisoned knife while cringing in fear, but willing to fight in the death of Jyuzou's name. When defeated, she asks Jyuzou to forgive her failure, but he refuses while impaling her on his sword, stating that he "hates needy women".
Narration
After completing a stage, players are shown a TV drama-style teaser for plot developments occurring in the next stage. In the Japanese version of the game, these segments are narrated by popular narrator and voice actor Kiyoshi KobayashiKiyoshi Kobayashi
is a Japanese actor, seiyū and narrator from Tokyo. He is currently attached to the Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society...
and always begin with the phrase "Jikai no Tenchu Kurenai de wa..." (次回の「天誅紅」では・・・; "Next time on Tenchu Kurenai...").
PSP version
The PlayStation PortablePlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
version of the game, Tenchu: Kurenai Portable, was released in Japan in 2010. The game has been optimized for the PSP's screen size, and featured tweaked graphics and a new character costume.
Reception
The game received average reviews from critics. On the review aggregator Game RankingsGame Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
, the game had an average score of 61.15% based on 34 reviews. On Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the game had an average score of 58 based on 33 reviews.