Tenchu 2

Tenchu 2 by Acquire

Synopsis
The Azuma Ninja have served the House of Gohda for countless generations. Now three young ninjas, Rikimaru, Ayame, and Tatsumaru, must protect Lord Gohda Matsunoshin against a Coup d'état, a Civil war, and a mysterious group of Ninjas calling themselves the Burning Dawn.

After the three Ninjas are accepted into the Azuma clan, they are called to Gohda castle, which is under attack by Lord Gohda's uncle, Motohide. After a bloody battle, which includes the death of Lady Kei, Lord Gohda's wife, and the kidnapping of Princess Kiku, Lord Gohda's daughter, Rikimaru stops Motohide from killing Lord Gohda, but can't stop Motohide from escaping. It turns out that Motohide was working for a rival Lord, Lord Toda. Toda kills Motohide, only to be killed himself and decapitated by Lady Kagami, the leader of Lord Toda's ninja. She is leading a group of rebel Ninjas calling themselves the Burning Dawn, consisting of Suzaku, Genbu, Seiryu, and Byakko, the four Lords of the Burning Dawn, and led by Lady Kagami. To make matters worse, the recently made leader of the Azuma Ninja, Tatsumaru, has gone missing. It is later revealed that Tatsumaru has lost his memory and is now part of the Burning Dawn. Rikimaru and Ayame now have to save Lord Gohda, and stop a Ninja revolution in Japan.

Characters

Playable characters

Rikimaru
An extremely skilled and hard working Ninja, Rikimaru has worked since childhood to become a shadow warrior. Rikimaru had emulated Tatsumaru as a role model and was much like an older brother to him. Initially Rikimaru was a weak child, but due to his discipline he became strong, but at his young age in this game he is too overconfident for his own good at times. It becomes clear during the game that he is a born leader and later overcomes his weaknesses of character through the tragic life lessons of a Ninja in the game. His weapon is a Ninjatō.

Ayame
The youngest of the Azuma Ninja, Ayame is wild and rebellious. As the story progresses, she develops a strong bond with princess Kiku, and we find out that she has loved Tatsumaru since a child romantically, causing further conflict between both their fates. As the game progresses, Ayame is forced to become much more mature and independent while dealing with the pain and tragedies she experiences. She is partial comic relief in the game and has a comical rivalry with antagonist Genbu the Wise. For weapons, Ayame wields dual Tantō.

Tatsumaru
The oldest of Azuma Shiunsai's students, Tatsumaru is chosen to succeed Master Shiunsai. Though he is older than both Rikimaru and Ayame, he has trained with both for years. After defeating Seiryu "The Blue Dragon", Tatsumaru fought a great fight against lady Kagami, ending with both of them falling into the sea. Kagami woke up first when the two were washed ashore, but she did not kill Tatsumaru and instead saved him by giving him a CPR. Tatsumaru lost his memory and was convinced that he is Seiryu, and thus became one of the four lords of the Burning Dawn, replacing the real Blue Dragon whom he killed. Then he forgets about the Azuma ninja clan and falls in love with Lady Kagami. After killing Master Shiunsai in the attack at the ninja village, he regains his lost memory. Knowing that his crimes are unforgivable, he understands that he deserves death, but his love for Kagami and belief in her cause makes him remain by her side, even though he disagrees with her methods. Although Tatsumaru has a sword (called Izayoi, the ninjatō passed down only to the Master of the Azuma Ninja Clan), he mostly uses unarmed attacks. After the fight with Ayame, Tatsumaru killed himself with the sword.

Other characters

Lady Kagami
Leader of the Burning Dawn, and also Lord Toda's head Ninja, Kagami dreams of a world where Ninjas don't have to live in the shadows. To do this, she has started a Ninja revolution to rid Japan of all Lords together with her toughest ninja, Genbu "the Green Titan", Byakko "the White Tiger", Suzaku "the Red Sparrow" and Seiryu "the Blue Dragon". She develops a strong romantic relationship with Tatsumaru. She was mortally wounded by Rikimaru, who used Tatsumaru's sword Izayoi, and died at the explosion of her ship, the Fire Demon, holding Tatsumaru's body near her.

Shiunsai Azuma
The leader of the Azuma Ninja, Master Shiunsai raised and taught Rikimaru, Ayame, and Tatsumaru to be Ninjas. He revealed that he killed Tatsumaru's father before he fought Tatsumaru at the attack at the Ninja Village. Before this, he had chosen Tatsumaru to his successor before Tatsumaru disappeared and later reappeared to kill him.

Lord Matsunoshin Gohda
The current leader of the House of Gohda. Gohda's family has relied upon the Azuma Ninja for years, and he trusts them with his life. He forms a special bond with Rikimaru, treating him more like a friend and confident then just a mere Ninja, and even covers up the fact that Rikimaru wounded him unintentionally (though it was himself who leaped in to absorb the attack). He is shown to be just and honourable, but his actions to protect his traitorous uncle results in the death of his wife and kidnapping of his daughter and subsequent destruction of his castle. As a result, at one point of the game he wants to lead a suicidal charge into battle against Lord Toda who was now posed to attack his now weakened territory, but is convinced by Rikimaru and others to allow his Azuma Ninja to stop Toda and live on.

Suzaku
One of the Four Lords of the Burning Dawn, Suzaku is later revealed to be Onikage, who appears in Tenchu: Stealth Assassins. Suzaku's weapon is a sword, but also uses his powerful kicks to kill his enemies. His fighting style resembles the Arnis-Sikaran Martial Arts originated in the Philippines; in Tenchu: Stealth Assassins. he fights with his Martial Arts, probably Taekwondo. Through out the game he confronts Rikimaru and constantly challenges and mocks him (even though Rikimaru always wins in their battles), often comparing himself to the young Ninja. He also initially wore a mask, but is later revealed to be wearing a blindfold over them, making it seem he was blind. He is eventually revealed to be Onikage in the secret ending after Tatsumaru's storyline. He is brutal and heartless, even killing his lover because she failed to defeat Rikimaru, stating "I have no love for weakness" thus finishing her off much to the shock of her and Rikimaru. He was revived later as Onikage.


Burning Dawn
The Burning Dawn has its origins when Lord Ghoda's uncle Motohide allied himself with a warlord called Toda Yoshisada in order take control over his kingdom.
Toda launched an attack against Ghoda castle which resulted in the death of Lord Ghoda's wife Lady Kei and the kidnapping of his daughter Princess Kiku. Motohide is later betrayed and killed by Toda, only to be betrayed and killed himself by his chief assassin Lady Kagami, the founder of the Burning Dawn.

Over an unknown period of time following the death of Lord Toda, the burning dawn partake in a series of underground criminal activities such as kidnapping, theft, forced labor, smuggling and murder. This in turn attracts the attention of Lord Ghoda and the Azuma Ninja, who make efforts to end the illegal activities of the organization.
The end finally arrives when the Burning Dawns hierarchy and its flag ship 'Fire Demon' are destroyed by the combined efforts of Azuma Ninjas Rikimaru and Ayame, as well as naval elements of the Ghoda army.


Missions

Rikimaru
1. The Training Course
2. The Gang of Thieves
3. Treason at Gohda Castle
4. Lord Toda's War Camp
5. Demon Mountain
6. The Secret Harbour
7. The Temple of Dreams
8. Ninja Village Under Attack
9. In Pursuit of Tatsumaru
10. The Kansen Caverns
11. The Sea Battle

Ayame
1. The Training Course
2. The Mountain Bandits
3. Lady Kei in Danger
4. To Save a Princess
5. Kubon Island
6. The Island Fort
7. The Quarantine Village
8. Cherry Tree Hill
9. In Pursuit of Tatsumaru
10. The Kansen Caverns
11. The Fire Demon

Tatsumaru
1. A Shadow
2. The Head Of Lord Toda
3. Labor Shortage
4. Guarding the Secret Harbor
5. No Mercy
6. Assault on the Ninja Village
7. The Final Dawn

Notes

• It is important to keep in mind that the Rikimaru and Ayame missions with the same name (the Training Course, In Pursuit of Tatsumaru, The Kansen Caverns) are not the same mission. While the setting and situation may be the same, the missions have different objectives and stories, for instance, in the mission In Pursuit of Tatsumaru, the ending boss is the tiger for Ayame and Byako for Rikimaru.
• Tatsumaru's missions only become available after completing both Rikimaru and Ayame's missions.

Trivia

• One of the game's most acclaimed features was the Mission Editor. It gave the player the opportunity to create their own mission, including level layout, deciding which characters to put in, and mission objective. It spawned a tournament in North America to find the best created mission. Due to this acclaim the Mission Editor was later brought back and revamped for the PSP installment, Tenchu: Time of the Assassins
• The Four Lords of the Burning Dawn, Suzaku, Genbu, Byakko, and Seiryu, represent the Four Guardians of Chinese and Japanese mythology.
• Many of the voice talents in the game also voice characters in the Metal Gear Solid series. These include: Debi Mae West, Paul Eiding, Greg Eagles, Quinton Flynn, Earl Boen, Michael Gough, and Doug Stone.
• The game featured the voice of Mary Kay Bergman, who committed suicide on November 11, 1999, and was released nearly a year after her death.
• In the final confrontation between Ayame and Genbu, he mistakes her name thinking it means Iris 菖蒲. She tells him that its real meaning is Assassin Girl 殺女. This contradicts the game's original meaning, Colourful Girl 彩女. This dialogue only happens in the Japanese version. In the American version, a dying Genbu merely comments "Ayame, that's a nice name..." after having asked for her name.