Tenchu Z
North American box art
Developer(s)K2 LLC
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Kiyoji Tomita
Producer(s)Masanori Takeuchi
Designer(s)Kiyoji Tomita
Artist(s)Koichi Iwasaki
Hajime Ito
Composer(s)Yoshikazu Takayama
Koichi Suenaga
Hideyuki Eto
SeriesTenchu
Platform(s)Xbox 360
Release
  • JP: October 5, 2006
  • NA: June 12, 2007
  • AU: June 21, 2007
  • EU: June 29, 2007
Genre(s)Action-adventure, stealth
Mode(s)Single-player, co-op

Tenchu Z[lower-alpha 1] (published in Japan as "Tenchu Senran") is an action-adventure stealth video game developed by K2 LLC and published by FromSoftware in Japan and Microsoft Game Studios worldwide for the Xbox 360 in 2006.

It is different from previous games in the series in that the player creates their own ninja characters, then builds up their skills as they play through the game rather than choosing from a small selection of pre-made characters, as they take orders from the series' previous main male character, Rikimaru. It also features four-player cooperative play through Xbox Live.

Plot

The House of Gohda, where the Azuma Ninja Clan reside under the service of Lord Gohda, is on the brink of war with the neighboring country of Ogawara. As a new recruit in the Azuma Ninja Clan, the protagonist is sent to assassinate those who are assisting the country of Ogawara, including army generals and spies who have infiltrated the House of Gohda, as well as recover stolen items and rescue prisoners. In between thwarting the country of Ogawara's plans, the protagonist also receives missions in which he eliminates evil people such as abusive monks and greedy merchants.

There is no connection between Tenchu Z's plot and those in the previous games, nor are there any returning characters with the exceptions of Rikimaru and Lord Gohda.

Gameplay

Tenchu Z is the largest game in the series to date, containing 50 missions with different difficulty settings and objectives. Characters also have different attributes (which are strength, agility, and health) which can be altered. Players use gold obtained by doing well in missions both in single player and multiplayer to purchase new aesthetic styles, abilities, items to use during missions, different special attacks to use in combat, in addition to combo-editing abilities.

Gameplay is relatively the same as the previous games in the series. The main difference is that, as mentioned above, players create their own character and unlock new skills, items and clothing for him as the game progresses. Only one fighting style is available: a Ninjato that can either be set with slower but more damaging attacks (the same as Rikimaru's in previous games) or faster and weaker attacks with different animations. The unlockable skills however are more varied, with most of them making their first appearance in the series while others return from previous games with some tweaks. Certain skills can be upgraded twice, enhancing the protagonist's abilities beyond those of the characters from previous games.

Enemies can hear footsteps if players run too close, and may hear them from a greater distance if they run on noisy surfaces such as puddles of water. They can also smell the protagonist if they fall into a cesspool (only found during some missions; after the protagonist emerges from the cesspool, a brown haze surrounds him, indicating that he can be detected by smell at a certain distance) or are covered with blood from an earlier fight. Lighting is also a factor, as the protagonist is less likely to be spotted while standing or crouching in a dark area.

Reception

Tenchu Z received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[1]

Notes

  1. ↑ Tenchu Senran (天誅 千乱, Tenchū Senran, lit. "Divine Retribution: Disturbance")

References

  1. 1 2 "Tenchu Z for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 10, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  2. ↑ Mielke, James (June 12, 2007). "Tenchu Z (Xbox 360)". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  3. ↑ Edge staff (September 2007). "Tenchu Z". Edge. No. 179. p. 95.
  4. ↑ Whitehead, Dan (June 26, 2007). "Tenchu Z Review". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on December 20, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  5. ↑ Bertz, Matt (August 2007). "Tenchu Z". Game Informer. No. 172. Archived from the original on January 17, 2008. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  6. ↑ Papa Frog (June 19, 2007). "Review: Tenchu Z". GamePro. Archived from the original on June 24, 2007. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  7. ↑ Hurh, JP (June 13, 2007). "Tenchu Z Review". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on December 20, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  8. ↑ Thomas, Aaron (June 12, 2007). "Tenchu Z Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  9. ↑ Graziani, Gabe (June 28, 2007). "GameSpy: Tenchu Z". GameSpy. Archived from the original on December 20, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Tenchu Z, Review". GameTrailers. June 18, 2007. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  11. ↑ Hopper, Steven (June 18, 2007). "Tenchu Z - 360 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 9, 2008. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  12. ↑ Irwin, Mary Jane (June 19, 2007). "Tenchu Z Review". IGN. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Review: Tenchu Z (X360)". Official Xbox Magazine. August 2007. p. 82.
  14. ↑ Mastrapa, Gus (July 2, 2007). "Tenchu Z". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on July 5, 2007. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
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