Tenchu is a stealth based action game that had its first release in 1998 titled “Tenchu: Stealth Assassins” for the Playstation. The series takes place in a fictional universe set in feudal Japan The story typically revolves around the last two remaining assassins part of the Azuma Ninja Clan who are under orders from a man, known as Lord Gohda.
The first is Rikimaru. He’s a well built man, easily identified by his iconic silver hair and slash over his right eye. He becomes the head of the Azuma clan at very young age. Although he has a mastery of a style of karate, he prefers to assassinate his targets with his ninjato, Izayoi, the sword given to the head of the Azuma clan.
The other is Ayame. A female ninja, known as a kunoichi, who showed excellence in her talents as a very young age. She wears a standard ninja outfit, but has a mid-drift, making her more identifiable from other kunoichi. Unlike Rikimaru, she wields a pair of twin kodachi, which are japanese short swords. With raw talent and a bad attitude, Ayame is a cold-blooded assassin. Meeting a young ages, Rikimaru and Ayame are not just members of the same clan, but very close nit companions, despite not always showing in in the game.
As the game series goes on, more characters are introduced and new events occur, showing just how talented these two are at what they do.
The story I’ve decided to do uses some of the main characters from games later in the series, but will still have Rikimaru and Ayame as the main leads. The game also has objective based missions, such as assassinations, retrievals, escape missions, etc. I wanted to portray this by having every few chapters being type of mission. Although the original plan for this story is to have each chapter be a new mission, I do now have a defining plot as if it was a stand alone game. However, if I have a new plot that I want to put these characters in, the story will show as it progresses.
(Throughout the game, the word “shadow” is often used as a synonym for “assassins,” so I kept that to give the story a more Tenchu-like feel than just some story about ninjas.)
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy my story. If you’re interested in playing the game, here is a list of the game released in North America:
Tenchu: Stealth Assassins (Playstation)
Tenchu 2: Birth of Stealth Assassins (Playstation)
Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven/Return From Darkness (Playstation 2/Xbox)
Tenchu: Fatal Shadows (Playstation 2)
Tenchu: Dark Secret (Nintendo DS)
Tenchu Z (Xbox 360)
Shadow Assault: Tenchu (Xbox 360)
Tenchu: Shadow Assassins (Nintendo Wii & Playstation Portable)
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