Proud to be a Tenchu fanboy

Every now and then a gamer will fall on a game that rubs him JUST the right way. I'm talking about the kind of game that he'll enjoy playing even if he's the only one on the planet who likes it, and he'll automatically forgive all of the game's weak points because he just enjoys the game so much. The original Tenchu: Stealth Assassins for the Playstation was such a game for me. Tenchu is a stealth action game (the FIRST 3D stealth game, BTW) taking place in medieval Japan. You play a ninja and spend most of your time running on rooftops, sneaking up on people, and performing stealth kills. I still remember the first time I saw that game in my cousin's basement. In fact, Tenchu was my main motivation for getting a Playstation of my own, as I had been an avid computer-gamer until then.

Over the next couple years I will have finished Tenchu and its prequel (among other games, obviously). After I finished Tenchu 2, I knew I was a fanboy. The game was just so HARD. The levels were huge and the boss fights were frequent AND tough. You could easily spend 30 to 45 minutes inching your way through a huge forest just so a boss can kill you and force you to start the whole thing over. Yet I somehow managed to ENJOY playing through Rikimaru and Ayame's campaigns, and would still recommend the game to anyone... back when people could tolerate PS1 graphics for a couple hours straight.



The third game in the series, Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven, was another VERY big reason for me to finally get a Playstation 2, and I can honestly say that Tenchu 3 is the best game in the series so far. The addition of the "auto-face" feature made combat so much better that I secretly wished all of my stealth-kill attempts would fail. The same weaknesses that have been with the Tenchu series from the beginning were still there, but as a fanboy, I knew that wouldn't be a problem. I can quote myself telling one of my friends that "the Tenchu series is one of those things where, when the next one comes out, I don't care HOW many bad reviews it gets. I'll get it, I'll finish it, and I'll probably enjoy it".

I must've jinxed the series because, right on queue, the latest Tenchu game got a sub-par review. True to my word, I really don't care. I've read the review, and the main theme seems to be lack of innovation. As Tekken 4, Virtua Fighter 3, and Master of Orion 3 all point out, innovation doesn't always help a series anyway. The Dynasty Warriors series is a great example of a series that's been giving its fans more of the same for quite some time. I haven't touched Tenchu 4 yet for reasons that are of no importance to this blog, but I can't wait. I'm sure there's SOMETHING new besides a new character, and even if there isn't I know I'll enjoy it.