Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven
Encyclopedia
Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven is a stealth game developed by K2 LLC and published by Activision
in North America and Europe and From Software
in Japan for the PlayStation 2
in 2003.
It was later ported
to Xbox
in 2004 under the title Tenchu: Return From Darkness. It was also later ported for the Mobile Phone
in 2005 and for the PlayStation Portable
in 2009.
was left in Mei-Oh's fortress carrying a giant boulder to provide an escape route for Ayame
and Princess Kiku. He appears to be trapped and left for dead. Ayame stuck Rikimaru's sword, "Izayoi" (he is seen drawing this sword in the opening CG of Wrath of Heaven) in snow as a monument for her fellow ninja, now considered dead. A year later, Rikimaru reports to Lord Gohda that he has managed to survive this near-death experience; unbeknownst to them, the real Rikimaru is trapped in the 20th century trying to find a way back to their time.
The game's plot plays differently depending on the character chosen, but connects at certain points.
The game's story revolves mainly in Rikimaru's return and the struggle for the Three Jewels, which are said to give power to those who possess them. These are the Jewels of Heaven, Earth, and Virtue. Tenrai, an evil wizard who wants to get his hands on them, commands a band of his men to take the Jewels from whoever possesses them. However, upon encountering Rikimaru, he seems interested in his power and attempts convincing him to join his men. Rikimaru refuse, and he and Ayame face each one of them. One of the men in Tenrai's arsenal is Onikage, who only serves him to pursue his plan of reviving Mei-Oh (his former master) and Tatsumaru (the former leader of the Azuma ninja clan whom Tenrai revived). Rikimaru and Ayame follow Tenrai into his fortress to stop him from destroying the world using the power gained from two of the Jewels. If he can be defeated, peace will be returned to Gohda's land.
Rikimaru (力丸) is a physically strong and powerful ninja. Despite of being reported as "missing" following the events of Tenchu: Stealth Assassins, he later reveals and surprised Lord Gohda with his return although technically he is only a shadow of the real Rikimaru who traveled without their notice. While the real Rikimaru is still trying to find a way to return to his time, he is trapped in the 20th century. He uses his one-hand sword as his weapon and uses it mainly in his stealth kills.
Ayame
Ayame (彩女) is an agile young kunoichi
. She is the remaining Azuma ninja in the care of Lord Gohda with Rikimaru's disappearance. She is tasked to search for Rikimaru's body following the events of Tenchu: Stealth Assassins. She later paired up with the real Rikimaru when she encountered Onikage in the Amagai Castle. She uses a pair of short swords as her weapon and kills enemies with acrobatic stealth moves.
Tesshu
Tesshu Fujioka (鉄舟藤岡) is a new character introduced in Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven. A village doctor by day and an assassin by night; however, he is not a ninja and is not serving under Lord Gohda but instead, he serves in an underground organization of assassins known as Muzen that murders only if it serves justice and is led by Zennosuke. Tesshu uses brute force, and pure strength in battle and uses his fists as his weapons. His attacks resemble brutal karate
and jujutsu
techniques, utilizing crippling strikes, headbutts, and vicious bone-breaking holds. He also wields acupuncture needles in many of his stealth kills. Although he possess acupuncture needles, he only uses them for killing enemies in stealth. Tesshu also has a brief moment of rivalry with Rikimaru, when they fight each other to a draw after Rikimaru "steals" Tesshu's kill (Nasu). In Tenchu: Fatal Shadows
, Tesshu makes a brief cameo in a cutscene after Rin defeats Futaba and Hitoha. He is the only playable character in the series to have a known full-name.
Tenrai is a powerful evil sorcerer who is the main antagonist of the game. He set-up fortress near Gohda's lands to make his plans easier to execute. He plans on gathering the Three Jewels with the aid of his "Lords of Darkness". Achieving two of the Jewels, he transforms into his stronger form while fighting Rikimaru or Ayame.
Tenrai possesses a set of candles representing each of the other boss enemies throughout the game: as his candles snuff themselves out, he is aware of the movements of Rikimaru and Ayame. His Lords of Darkness, consists of people he summoned and some he revived:
Other characters include:
Three new characters were also added:
A mobile version of Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven was released on April 2, 2005 featuring 2D graphics and MIDI sound. The game's story is broken into three episodes with this being the first (the latter are yet to be announced). Despite being a Wrath of Heaven game, only Ayame is available as a player character
.
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
in North America and Europe and From Software
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 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 2003.
It was later ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
to Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
in 2004 under the title Tenchu: Return From Darkness. It was also later ported for the Mobile Phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
in 2005 and for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation 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...
in 2009.
Story
After Mei-Oh was defeated in Tenchu: Stealth Assassins, 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...
was left in Mei-Oh's fortress carrying a giant boulder to provide an escape route for 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:...
and Princess Kiku. He appears to be trapped and left for dead. Ayame stuck Rikimaru's sword, "Izayoi" (he is seen drawing this sword in the opening CG of Wrath of Heaven) in snow as a monument for her fellow ninja, now considered dead. A year later, Rikimaru reports to Lord Gohda that he has managed to survive this near-death experience; unbeknownst to them, the real Rikimaru is trapped in the 20th century trying to find a way back to their time.
The game's plot plays differently depending on the character chosen, but connects at certain points.
The game's story revolves mainly in Rikimaru's return and the struggle for the Three Jewels, which are said to give power to those who possess them. These are the Jewels of Heaven, Earth, and Virtue. Tenrai, an evil wizard who wants to get his hands on them, commands a band of his men to take the Jewels from whoever possesses them. However, upon encountering Rikimaru, he seems interested in his power and attempts convincing him to join his men. Rikimaru refuse, and he and Ayame face each one of them. One of the men in Tenrai's arsenal is Onikage, who only serves him to pursue his plan of reviving Mei-Oh (his former master) and Tatsumaru (the former leader of the Azuma ninja clan whom Tenrai revived). Rikimaru and Ayame follow Tenrai into his fortress to stop him from destroying the world using the power gained from two of the Jewels. If he can be defeated, peace will be returned to Gohda's land.
Player characters
RikimaruRikimaru (力丸) is a physically strong and powerful ninja. Despite of being reported as "missing" following the events of Tenchu: Stealth Assassins, he later reveals and surprised Lord Gohda with his return although technically he is only a shadow of the real Rikimaru who traveled without their notice. While the real Rikimaru is still trying to find a way to return to his time, he is trapped in the 20th century. He uses his one-hand sword as his weapon and uses it mainly in his stealth kills.
Ayame
Ayame (彩女) is an agile young kunoichi
Kunoichi
is the term for a female ninja or practitioner of ninjutsu .-Etymology:The term is thought to derive from the names of characters that resemble the three strokes in the kanji character for ; said in the order they are written: ku - no - ichi...
. She is the remaining Azuma ninja in the care of Lord Gohda with Rikimaru's disappearance. She is tasked to search for Rikimaru's body following the events of Tenchu: Stealth Assassins. She later paired up with the real Rikimaru when she encountered Onikage in the Amagai Castle. She uses a pair of short swords as her weapon and kills enemies with acrobatic stealth moves.
Tesshu
Tesshu Fujioka (鉄舟藤岡) is a new character introduced in Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven. A village doctor by day and an assassin by night; however, he is not a ninja and is not serving under Lord Gohda but instead, he serves in an underground organization of assassins known as Muzen that murders only if it serves justice and is led by Zennosuke. Tesshu uses brute force, and pure strength in battle and uses his fists as his weapons. His attacks resemble brutal karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
and jujutsu
Jujutsu
Jujutsu , also known as jujitsu, ju-jitsu, or Japanese jiu-jitsu, is a Japanese martial art and a method of close combat for defeating an armed and armored opponent in which one uses no weapon, or only a short weapon....
techniques, utilizing crippling strikes, headbutts, and vicious bone-breaking holds. He also wields acupuncture needles in many of his stealth kills. Although he possess acupuncture needles, he only uses them for killing enemies in stealth. Tesshu also has a brief moment of rivalry with Rikimaru, when they fight each other to a draw after Rikimaru "steals" Tesshu's kill (Nasu). In Tenchu: Fatal Shadows
Tenchu: Fatal Shadows
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.- Plot :...
, Tesshu makes a brief cameo in a cutscene after Rin defeats Futaba and Hitoha. He is the only playable character in the series to have a known full-name.
Other characters
TenraiTenrai is a powerful evil sorcerer who is the main antagonist of the game. He set-up fortress near Gohda's lands to make his plans easier to execute. He plans on gathering the Three Jewels with the aid of his "Lords of Darkness". Achieving two of the Jewels, he transforms into his stronger form while fighting Rikimaru or Ayame.
Tenrai possesses a set of candles representing each of the other boss enemies throughout the game: as his candles snuff themselves out, he is aware of the movements of Rikimaru and Ayame. His Lords of Darkness, consists of people he summoned and some he revived:
- Dr. Kimaira, a mad scientistMad scientistA mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
-inventor who is in charge of the mechanism of Amagai Castle, north of the Ronin village. He carries a giant gatling gunGatling gunThe Gatling gun is one of the best known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine gun. It is well known for its use by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s, which was the first time it was employed in combat...
-equipped puppet whom he calls Maihime (which literally translates to "Dancing Princess") which he invented for battle. - Ganda, one of Tenrai's Lords of Darkness whom you encounter at the Great Buddha temple. He will be fought alone when playing as Ayame but he is joined by Kagura when playing as Tesshu.
- Hyakubake, an impersonator who exactly copied Ayame in Rikimaru's story and vice versa. He was battled and killed when he slipped through his words while speaking to Rikimaru. He doesn't fight on his true appearance.
- Kagura, a sorceress who never fights alone. When playing as Rikimaru, you encounter her together with Ganda and when playing as Ayame, you encounter her together with a kitsuneKitsuneis the Japanese word for fox. Foxes are a common subject of Japanese folklore; in English, kitsune refers to them in this context. Stories depict them as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume...
(spirit fox), most likely summoned. She also summons paper ghosts to disrupt Rikimaru and Ayame on their mission. Ganda's triple-backbreaker throw is identical to a move used by Clark Still of the King of FightersKing of Fighters, officially abbreviated KOF, is a series of fighting games by SNK Playmore . The series was originally developed for SNK's Neo Geo MVS arcade hardware, which served as the main platform for the series until 2004, when SNK retired the MVS in favor of the Atomiswave arcade board...
games, and Kagura bears more than a passing resemblance to Chizuru Kagura, also of KOF. - Onikage, a recurring villain from previous Tenchu games, recruited by Tenrai to retrieve Shichishito, the sword of Mei-Oh. A mysterious demon-ninja who faithfully serves Mei-Oh, King of Hell and is one of the main antagonist in the game. He kills Echigoya Tokubei to get the Jewel of Earth and was also summoned by Tenrai to stop Rikimaru and Ayame from getting to his fortress. After facing Rikimaru again in the depths of Tenrai's fortress, he shows a side totally unlike himself, by addressing Mei-Oh to forgive his failure, and proceeds to throw himself into a chasm, where he apparently explodes.
- Tatsumaru, the late leader of the Azuma Ninja clan who was an "elder brother" figure to Rikimaru. He was revived by Tenrai eight years after his demise because f his excellent skills. Though he was forced to battle Rikimaru and Ayame, he would eventually break out of Tenrai's mind control, sacrificing himself in order to help his former allies Rikimaru and Ayame stop Tenrai. Tatsumaru wields his sword with great skill and efficiency, but prefers to use methods of unarmed combat.
Other characters include:
- Hamada, one of Lord Gohda's men. Under Tenrai's control, he became a traitor to Lord Gohda with the goal of stealing the Jewel of Virtue. Rikimaru carries out the kill without even having to fight, but Hamada puts up more of a fight when confronted by Ayame.
- Jinnai, a former member of the Muzen group, is actually the twin brothers Jinnai Ukyo and Jinnai Sakyo, leaders of a particular organization against Tesshu's master, Zennosuke. Tesshu killed both of them in revenge of his boss whom he is so attached to.
- "Mr. D" CEO, a special boss who is only encountered in Rikimaru's special mission titled, "Through the Portal". An evil company-CEO who is trying to spread a disease and selling the 'only' medicine that can cure it in very expensive prices thus, gaining high profit. When Mei-Oh was defeated, Rikimaru followed him into the portal and ended up at this corporation that makes the disease in the present day period. He was later encountered by Rikimaru and was able to stop his evil plan. Rikimaru was then transported back into the 16th century.
- Nasu, an evil statesman who is very interested in buying innocent young women who are being kidnapped and sold by his trading partner Tokubei Echigoya. He has no affiliation at all with Tenrai. Nasu visited the renovated Echigoya Estate for a deal, only to be faced by the Azuma ninja and be killed.
- Tajima, a bodyguard working for Tokubei Echigoya who fights drunk with a katana and a three-barreled pistol. Aside from working for Echigoya, nothing else was learned from him because he dies on his first encounter with the Azuma.
Tenchu: Return From Darkness
Changes in the Xbox port included graphical improvements, two new multiplayer characters, two new single player missions, extra special moves, and the ability to go online with the versus and co-op multiplayer modes.Three new characters were also added:
- Kanbe Tadokoro, one of Lord Gohda's vassals. He leads a rebellion against Lord Gohda and is killed by his daughter Mifuyu in order to preserve the honour of the Tadokoro clan.
- Mifuyu Tadokoro, daughter of Tadokoro Kanbe. She killed her father when she discovered that Tadokoro is planning a rebellion against Gohda.
- Yuge, a vassal of Tadokoro. Jinnai Sakyo convinced him to lead an attack on Gohda Castle.
Reception
Mobile game
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
.