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Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins
| Graphics: Sound: Gameplay: Overall: |
9.12 9.12 9.12 9.12 |
| Votes: | 50 |
| Reviews: | 1 |
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| Reviewer: Jacuzzi820 | Date: Aug 11, 2022 |
| Tenchu 2 is a stealth game from the 90s on the PS1 and is a direct sequel to Tenchu 1, a game that is referred to one of the most influential stealth games of the 90s up there with Metal Gear Solid and Thief The Dark Project. Tenchu 2 is one of the best sequels for a video game I've ever seen. Short answer, go play Tenchu 1, then 2, then 3, then Fatal Shadows if you really love the series by then, here's the long answer. (note that just for my finger's sake Tenchu will be shortened to t1, t2 etc.) oh and just a little FYI, t2 is a prequel meaning it takes place before t1, btw it seems that the actual amount of years it takes before t1 is up to debate as I've heard some say 4 years, some say 7, some say 9, either way it fits the narrative and makes sense. Let's begin!
Graphics: 8 The graphics are a huge improvement from it's predecessor, you can actually see Rikimaru and Ayame's (our 2 main protags) faces and it isn't like Tenchu 1. You can tell that the devs knew what they were doing by the time t2 came out as it was released fairly late into the PS1's life cycle (Aug.15 2000!!) so the jump in overall graphical improvement was really noticeable. Albeit this is still the PS1 were talking about so don't expect some fancy graphics lol. Sound: 7 I would normally put the sound/music higher when it comes to the Tenchu series (some of the best music I've heard in video games) but t2 does this weird thing where unlike it's older brother it doesn't have a unique soundtrack for each level you play... instead you get footsteps and crickets, this really is one of the big cons when it comes to t2. Although I will have you know the music that does t2 does have is some great music (theme, which is fantastic mind you, and some other songs that might play in a cutscene or two). So to clarify the music issue isn't the quality but the lack of quantity. Gameplay: 9 Quality of gameplay can be debated, you see t2 doesn't really change up too much, it actually adds to it! Some features were...questionable. Some were legit good. To name a few, you now have the ability to sheath your weapon and although a cool feature, it doesn't serve you much purpose when you realize that you don't actually need the weapons to be out to kill an enemy. Now you may be asking, Jacuzzi, why would we not keep our weapons out the whole time? Well to be honest to you, I guess this slight change in gameplay in t2 was to demonstrate the overall rookie vibes coming from Rikimaru and Ayame (remember this game is a prequel so Rikimaru and Ayame aren't the badasses we know them to be...yet). So yeah when playing as Riki and Ayame you're constantly waddling when you have your weapons out. A cool feature that actually serves a purpose to the game is, surprise surprise, the ability to move dead bodies! Now don't get me wrong I love MGS but you gotta give credit where credit's due, Tenchu did it first. Oh and another thing that is probably one of t2's strongest points is the fact that each character actually has their own unique, different levels. For those who don't know, a big issue in t1 and in the series generally speaking is the fact that Riki and Ayame tend to have copy and paste levels. So for example, you play through t1 with your boy Riki, you enjoyed the crap out of the game so you want a reason to go through it again but this time with another character, right? Well it sucks to say but t1 Ayame's story has very minor changes to her story and I mean minor. T2 being the masterpiece it is comes in and fixes everything up, so now you can actually replay the game and come out with a new experience. Without spoiling anything, to get the full picture of what really happens in the events of t2 you kind of have to play through all of the stories to see what each character was doing when certain plot points happened. like yeah we know Riki was fighting (insert random boss) but we now know Ayame was also taking care of things on her side. It's a story feature that for the most part is sadly exclusive to t2 and we never really see it again in the series. TFS (Fatal Shadows) has some elements of this type of story telling but it isn't executed as good. Hell I might even make a review on TFS so don't be surprised if you see my mean mug over there lol. Oh and speaking on story, just putting this out there for those who care, t1 didn't have much of a strong focus on story, t2 counters that by having the best story in the series. Seriously if the story of a game is a big thing for you then enjoy t2's because it doesn't get any better than that. Overall: 9 Honestly what a game, t2 and to be for real the entire series has a special place in my heart and many other's hearts. That being said I tried to keep bias out of this completely to give you the ultimate 100% critic of this game. I can say whole heartedly that YES, Tenchu 2 is worth your time. Play it and make your life a bit better. |
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