Tenchu FAQ and Walkthrough for Rikimaru v.2.01
for Sony PlayStation - by Renick(renickironfist@hotmail.com)
- Disclaimer
This guide is for personal use only. If someone wants to use this guide for
his own profit, copy this guide in ANY form in any place I will put charges
against that person, on the contrary, this guide can only be used if the
credit goes to ME, Renick, the author of this guide. If you use this guide
for profit, money, recognision or anything else that's unproper, you are
bananis, I will find you and shut you down (for good). And I mean it. And
for all the legal blah-blah-blah, Tenchu and all characters included are
officially product of Activision, All rights Reserved.
-- What's NEW?
11/23/99
- Made LOTS os spelling corrections, added some stuff I forgot to add in the
first version
- Added Hints And Tips and Fun Stuff Sections, which I forgot to add in the
previous version.
- WALKTROUGH
- Punish the Evil Merchant
- Deliver The Secret Message
- Rescue The Captive Ninja
- Cross The Checkpoint
- Execute the Corrupt Minister
- Destroy the Foriegn Pirate
- Cure the Princess
- Reclaim the Castle
- Free the Princess
Tenchu is a game that's growing old, but it's still very addictive. I have
spent many hours in my spare time playing it, together with Tekken3, it's
one of my favorite games. Still, I decided to write this guide because I was
bored, and after all the success my Ogre FAQ on Tekken Tag Tournament, I
decided to keep the faith and keep writing FAQs.
Now on to topic. Tenchu is a game where stealth is a mightier weapon than
your sword. Ninja's were trained not to be discovered during their missions,
and only kill when necessairy. You play a ninja is to think like one, and
this game brings this matter well in perspective. You have to stay in the
shadows, watch your back, and strike only when needed. Try not to be
spotted, if you prevent getting spotted the higher your rating will be
(Grand Master being the highest, Thug being the lowest).
This guide is most of the time based on my experience playing Rikimaru,
since I don't use Ayame that much. Rikimaru is not too much slower as Ayame,
their movement have probably the same speed (I don't see the difference),
and Rikimaru is more damaging, and has more range. That's why I think
Rikimaru is the better character than Ayame, he has better attacks, and
durability.
This guide will contain detailed info on the basics, and of course a
walkthrough. You can drop me a line at renickironfist@hotmail.com if you
have questions or comments concerning this guide. Have fun.
The commands shown here are based on the basic PlayStation Analog
controller, with Dual Shock feature. The learning curve of mastering all the
commands in Tenchu will take some time if you're a beginner. You need to
know when and where to use them. Some harder commands will also prove very
useful in sticky situations, so learning them won't contradict the fact that
you have to handle well in these situations, and you must be able to deal
with them in your advantage if you want to survive, Tenchu isn't an easy
game, one small mistake can cost you dearly (if you miss a roof, use the
wrong item, get to close to a pit and get knocked in). Start with these
basics and you've learned 50% of the game. Tenchu is played with a third
person perspective, which means your character will face his back towards
you while playing him/her.
- Moving
Use the Directional buttons to move your character around the evironments
you'll run into. There are lots of different ways to move around, every
command has his own uses:
Press (and hold) Up: Run forward
Running is the default way of moving your character forward. You can also
run over certain hills and rocks, which is easier than using the Grappling
Hook(see "Default Items" in the ITEMS section). You can run towards ridges
or short walls in order to hang on them, and use left or right to scroll
sideways. Works also with jumping, by the way.
Press (and hold) Down: Walk Backward
Stepping backwards will prove useful during battles, but it won't be
necessairy unless the enemy detects you. You can step back to create better
spacing in order to use the grappling hook.
Press (and hold left or right) Turn around
You can turn to a different direction with this. Press left or right
together with Up in order to walk the direction you want to go. Press
together with Down to turn around faster, which is useful in battles.
Press Up twice: Forward dash
Useful if you're chased, a quick dash will give you some more distance to
the enemy. Very useful against archers as well, who like to run away from
you to get a clearer shot. The dash will allow you to stay in range.
Press Down twice: Backward Dash
The Backward Dash is more useful than the Forward Dash. Especially against
Swordsmen, Spearmen and Bosses. Just Press Down twice once the enemy
attacks, he will be left open if he does more than one attack, allowing you
the chance to attack.
Press left or right twice: Sidestep
Another thing useful in battles, especially against archers. Just sidestep
their arrow, rush in and strike.
Attacking -
Attacking is important when needed, if you're good you should only kill
silently, but if you're spotted and you cannot escape, you will be forced to
participate in close combat. if you're prudent enough, this shouldn't happen
in the first place, but if it does, you have to know the most useful attacks
in order to win battles with as less trouble as possible.
Press Square (up to 3 times): 3 Slash Combination
Rikimaru's basic three hit combo. The first is a diagonal swipe, the second
a mid ranged swipe and the third is is a vertical chop with a small hop. I
use the first two hits only, really, since the third hit can be stopped, and
you are open to attack when it's deflected.
Press left+Square: Turn Slash
Rikimaru turns around slightly to the left and slashes his sword in a
diagonal angle. Sometimes, enemies will walk slightly to your side to attack
you from a better position. If they try to attack you from the left, this is
your attack of choice.
Press right+Square: Side Slash
Rikimaru slash along with his body turning to the right. Very useful if the
enemy tries to walk around you in narrow spaces. The sideslash will hit them
before they can get away.
Press X+Square: Jumping Slash
Takes away a great chunk of like once you land it, but you'll most likely
get punished trying this attack. Stay away from it.
Press Up twice+Square: Stab
Rikimaru rushes forward with his sword held before him. This is actually
very useful. When the third slash if the basic three hit combo hits your
enemy, the stab wil connect very often. If you land this attack randomly,
you can do a three slash combo before the enemy can recover.
Press Circle+Square: Chrouch Slash
Rikimaru will slash vertically while chrouching in Stealth mode. Slow and
useless. I don't use it.
Press Square(while close to an enemy who hasn't detected you): Finishing
moves
If you're close to an unaware enemy, press Square, and a cutscene will show
you kill the enemy in some gruesome way, depending on what position he/she
was. This will allow more points after you've completed a mission.
Defending -
Defending is very important when you're in trouble. If you don't defend well
in battles you're dead. Especially in Boss battles this is an important
thing to remember.
Press (and hold) Down (when attacked): Blocking
If you press AWAY from an attacker, you will be able to deflect his attack,
allowing retaliation. Use whenever necessairy. It's the main way to spare
you from damage against enemies that've detected you. Beware that some
attacks you cannot deflect, like Guns, Arrows, Lightning Bolts. Also, wild
beast like Wolfs and dogs, can break your defence as well as the bear in
Stage 3 and OniKage's kick attacks. With arrows however, you can deflect
them while pressing away with Square, but the timing is crucial and it has
to be in a straight line, so I'd recommend sticking with the sidestep
tactics.
- Jumping
You'll be jumping a lot in this game, so this is yet another important
command. Still there are a lot of situations, where the grappling hook will
do much better than a regular jump. Still, jumping is faster, meaning you
can escape faster while being chased. There are lots of other uses for
jumping. Read on.
Press X : Regular jump.
You can press it together with up to jump forward, and with down to jump
backward. Especially jumping backwards is useful, works, the same as a
Backward Dash, but looked cooler. You may still get hit if the opponents
within range though. You can use the forward jump to climp from rooftops
within range of each other. You can also jump towards a wall or other
vertical surface to bounce off it. This is actually useful when you're
cornered at times. You'll sometimes land behind your attacker and can turn
around quick to strike them, or grapple onto a nearby roof to get away.
Press left or right+X: Sideward Jump
Useful to avoid long range attacks like Arrows and Guns.
Press Up twice+X: Somersault
This is one of the most useful jumps. You can easily make roofs from a
longer range due to the amazing distance you make. You can jump over lava
and pitfalls and the likes of it with ease using the somersault. Use it
prudently and when you're sure you're able to jump safely.
Press Down,Up+X: 180 degree jump.
This is also very useful if you use it at the right times. You can jump over
enemies that try to strike you and land with your face towards their back,
allowing you to strike at will. I wouldn't recommend trying this manuever in
Boss fights, the risk is too high.
- Stealth Mode
This is a very useful command if you want to remain undetected by enemies on
the ground. Here are some of the things you can do in this position:
Press and hold Circle: Chrouch
Chrouching by itself is already extremely useful, you can hide behind rocks,
ridges, hills, pillars, trees, watch-towers and all sorts of other objects
easily and anticipate a silent kill. If the enemy spots you on the roof,
it's very easy to chrouch out of their sight on the rooftops to hide
temporarely. You can also turn around in this position by pressing left+Down
or right+Down.
Press and hold Circle+directional buttons: Crawl
Depending on what directional button you press with Circle will make you
crawl.
Press and hold Circle, press Up or Down twice: Roll forward or backward.
Pressing Up twice will make your ninja roll forward pressing Down twice will
make your ninja roll backward. I know only one good use for it. Sometimes a
patrolling guard will change direction before you strike, rolling away will
allow you to remain unseen.
Press and hold Circle, press left or right twice: Side Roll
The side roll is actually great when you are hiding against pillar or
building. If a guard is patrolling is an alley you can quickly roll past him
when he looks away to remain unseen. You can also use the sideroll to sneak
to an unaware enemy for a silent kill.
Press Circle+directional button towards a wall: Wall Press
Very useful indeed. Use the directional buttons to scroll left or right
against the wall. You'll stop automatically at corners, and you'll see a
camera angle that allows to peek what's going on behind you. You can wait
until a guard starts walking away from you and kill him without him knowing
what hit him.
Other Commands -
Press Triangle: Allows you to use the item selected. With the grappling hook
and shuriken you have to hold this button to aim, and release to make the
Grappling hook.shuriken go at the desired direction. With all other items
simply press Triangle to use them. Use the directional buttons to set the
distance.
Press L2 or R2: Allows you to select/scroll between the items you've picked
to use in your current mission.
Select: This will bring up the Map of the Stage you're in. It's important to
make use of it if you're a beginner.
L1+Directional Buttons: Exploration mode. This actually a VERY IMPORTANT
thing to do. Before you strike from the roofs or somewhere else, be sure to
look around, since there might be more enemies around. If you explore the
area you're in, you have a better estimation on which area's are safe and
which are hostile. This is important, since the enemy can often see you
where you cannot see him.
Ninja have a sixth sense which allows them to sense if an enemy is nearby
and hostile or not. This sense will be shown on the Ki-Meter at the bottom
of the screen. It's important to keep an eye on your Ki-Meter, cause that
will show you if an enemy is close or far. This will be shown by numbers.
The higher the number the closer your enemy is. If you see this, you can
throw poison rice to lure the enemy away or strike them before they notice
you. To show what the enemy THINKS will be shown by question marks or
exclamation marks. The following symbols can occur:
"?": Startled Mode. Your enemy hears a small sound you make, but think it's
something else. Still this can go into Warning mode since the enemy can
change his patterns while this symbol shows and finds you. This will only
happen 1 out of 5 times or so. This occurs if the enemy heard a sound you
made. You shouldn't worry too much when this happens.
"!?": Suspicious Mode. Your enemy is looking for you, to find your location.
Occurs when the enemy has found the body of one of his colleges you
killed, or the sound of something suspicious, like a grenade, the death cry
of a guard once you killed them, or screaming of innocents that spotted
you. A guard will often say "Show yourself" when in this mode. When the
ki-meter shows this symbol, hide somewhere out of the enemies sight, and
wait until the Ki-Meter goes back into Startled Mode.
"!": Warning Mode. The opponent has spotted you, but cannot reach you. In
this mode, some guards will call for back-up to those enemies who are closer
to you than him, you cann easily indentify this when they say "Hey!". Try to
escape while in this mode before you're in Danger Mode, and find a hiding
spot. The enemy can also spot you on the roof. If they're not ninja, they
can't reach you. Still try to hide somewhere in the roof until you're back
in Startled mode.
"!!": Danger Mode. The opponent has spotted you and is in range to attack.
When in this mode, you can do two things. You can either kill the enemy as
quickly and efficiently as possible and hide. If you choose that, don't use
noisy weapons like grenades, especially in large superficial area's, since
that will alert other enemies and then you'll have even more trouble with
more guards on your tail. The other option is to throw a Smoke Bomb and find
a hiding spot while the attacker is blinded.
Most of the items in Tenchu require attacking purposes, but there are also
some items that are used to distract the enemy, or luring them in to traps.
Using items can prove very crucial in boss fights or to allow an easy way to
kill without being detected. The maximum item capacity to use in one mission
is 15. You have to use items sparingly since you might run out of the items
at bad moments. The Grappling hook is the Default Item and doesn't count,
and is used in every mission.
Basic Items:
This is your basic arsenal. All of them are used in totally different ways.
The maximum capacity in items on the Items Menu Screen is 99. In this
section I will discuss when and how to use these items, and how useful they
are. 5 marks is the highest and 1 mark the lowest in usefulness.
Grappling hook: The grappling hook is your bread and butter. Press and hold
Triangle to go into aim perspective, use the directional buttons while
holding triangle to focus on the target you want to hit (a roof, wall, tree
or ceiling) You must abuse the Grappling hook at all costs, that's the only
way to get on the rooftops without trouble, and that's the safest place to
remain undetected by the guards. Also use it on trees, walls or to cross
pits, lava and other danger zones. Once on the roof you can reach other
rooftops at distance with it. If you want to beat this game, the grappling
hook should be a must to use. Usefulness: *****
Shuriken: The shuriken is an effective way to finish guards from a distance
without making too much noise to alert other guards. You have to hold
Triangle to aim, and release to hit the enemy with it. Also useful against
bosses. Usefulness: ****
Healing Potion: Always remember to drink your healing potion when you're low
on health to fill your lifebar back to 100points. It's best if you drink it
out of your enemy's reach, since drinking it during mid battle will leave
you vulnerable to be attacked. In the easier levels, I'd say bring one or
two, in harder levels where you have to fight your way through, like Stage
8, I'd say bring AT LEAST 4. You'll be using a lot of these in the higher
levels. Also, try to drink your Healing potion before a Boss fight, to be
fully healed and ready for a challenge. Usefulness: *****
Grenade: This is the best destructive item. I wouldn't use this in large
open area's like Stage 4, since they will alert a lot of enemies nearby
because of their noise, and when facing three or more enemies, you are in
big trouble. It's best to save these for boss fights. Usefulness: ***
Smoke Bomb: Very useful item. When used on an enemy, they'll be blind for a
couple of seconds due to the smoke, giving you the chance to either strike
them or to escape. Is can be useful in -some- Boss fights as well. Use
sparingly, this item can save you from a lot of sticky situations. Don't
waste them, use on the right moments. Usefulness: *****
Mine: Lay one of these on the ground, and if someone steps on it he'll lose
a healthly chunk of life. When you plant, be sure to remember where you
planted it, so you won't step on it by accident. For the passive gamer, this
is useful in Boss fights. If you plant these to lure guards with, be sure to
find a good hiding spot, the noise will attract the guards once the mine is
stepped on (and blows) and try to spot you. Usefulness: **
Caltrops: Use the caltrops while you're chased, so your enemies will get
caught in them, taking small damage. Be sure not to step on them yourself,
you can jump over them. I don't find Caltrops that useful, you can use a
mine instead, but that will attract guards. At least Caltrops won't have
this disadvantage. Usefulness: **
Poison Rice: A very useful item. If you throw one of these out near an
enemy, they'll walk to it and eat it, and get sick. This is a great way to
strike from the roof to kill silently, just to lure them out by tossing out
one of these. Most of the time I kill them before they get to the rice, and
then re-use it. I once killed six consecutive guards with just one piece of
rice ^_^ Usefulness: *****
Coloured Rice: Use these to mark your path when lost, but then again, you
can also look on the map instead. Pretty useless. Usefulness: *
Special Items: You'll gain the following items by gaining a "Grand Master"
rank on your missions. Some of them are very dull, some of them are useful.
The following special items are:
8 Way Shuriken: I don't use this much. You'll throw 8 shurikens
simultaneously, but half of them seem to whiff. Usefulness: **
Lightfoot scroll: This item allows you to do a roadrunner-imitation for a
couple of seconds. You'll run very fast traveling a long distance. Not that
useful. Usefulness: *
Fire eater Scroll: This item is one of those dull ones, but it's actually
pretty useful when you're detected. The enemy cannot deflect fire attacks,
so if they attack within too little range, they'll run right into your
flame. Usefulness: ***
Protection Amulet: Will increase your Offensive and Defense capacity for a
short period of time. This is effective if you're low on health and out of
Healing Potions (against Bosses) as desperation manuever. Usefulness: ***
Sleeping Gas: Probably one of the most useful special items. This will put
your enemy asleep, allowing a silent kill or a chance to escape. Still, the
enemy will only remain asleep for a few seconds, but that should be enough
for you to retreat. Doesn't work on bosses. Usefulness: ****
Ninja Armor: While wearing this, the damage the enemy can do to you will
decrease. This will also give you a second (and much cooler) look.
Usefulness: ****
Shadow Decoy: A dull and useless item. It's used to destract your enemies,
but if a Decoy gets hit, it'll disappear, even worse, the enemies will go
into "!?" mode which means they are trying to spot you. Stay away from this
item. Usefulness: *
Chameleon Spell: You'll morph into the looks of an innocent bystander for
temporarely, allowing you to walk around hostile evironments without being
recognised. Don't attck while the spell is active, if you do, you'll brake
it and get into troube. Usefulness: ***
Decoy Whistle: Very useful while the Ki-Meter is at "!?", this will
impersonate an animal sound, which will draw the attention of the enemy, and
the Ki-Meter will me set back at "?". Usefulness: ***
Dog Bone: Probably the dullest item of all. This will summon an attack dog
that wil supposely temporarely distract your enemies. But if you try it, the
dog sits down there like it is braindead for a second or two before it
attacks, allowing the enemy to neutralize this manuever before it actually
kicks in. Don't use it, it's a wasted opportunity to try this item.
Usefulness: *
Ressurrection Leaf: If you equip this it'll refill your lifebar when it's
depleted. Of course, this is useful. Once it's available, it's good to bring
at least one of these with you in the harder levels in case to end up dead.
Usefulness: *****
You'll encounter all sorts of enemies in Tenchu, from easy to beat to
annoying. In most stages, you must remember not to let the enemy see you at
all costs. Try to overcome your enemies with stealth, and remain unseen,
since that's the way a NINJA operates. If you decide to bust in and kill one
guard after another, you will be outnumbered eventually, so killing from the
shadows is a must if necessairy. If an enemy is out of your reach to harm
you, don't bother killing them. Only kill when enemies are in a hostile
position where you need to be, or blocking your path. The following enemies
you can face are:
Swordsmen: These are probably the most common of enemies. Swordsmen hane a
two hit basic attack, where the last attack leaves them vulnerable for you
to attack. You can also attack them while they taunt you. If you don't want
to battle in close quarters, the best cure for these stiffs is the shuriken.
Spearmen: Of all the enemies, these are probably the easiest to beat. The'll
stab in front of them, and when you deflect, they're wide open to be
attacked. If you want to kill them from longer range, the shuriken is yet
again your item off choice.
Archers: These guys can prove annoying at times, since they constantly run
away from you to get a clearer shot. The best way to deal with these fella's
is to hunt them dow, avoid theie arrows and strike them before they shoot
another arrow again.
Wolfs/Dogs: These can be very frustrating since they can detect you without
having to see you, they have a strong sense of smell, and their growl will
attract other guards. So if you're on a stealth mission and you see a dog in
the place you need to go, kill them They can also break your defense. The
trick is to slash them once they jump at you, one or two blows will kill
them.
Zombie's: Zombie's are the little weird looking grey entities (they look
like they come from Roswell), that breathe fire. When they breathe fire on
you, you'll lose some big damage. Still they cannot deflect your attacks, so
if you attack constantly, they won't even get to open their mouth.
Ninja: You'll find male and female Ninja in some stages. Some have two
daggers, some have swords and some have claws attached to their gloves.
These are one of the fewer enemies that can reach you on the roof. Don't get
caught by these, since more ninja's will be atttracted by the noise. It's
best to lure them away with poison rice, and perhaps kill them with stealth
if necessairy.
Gunmen: You'll find these in Stage 7 only. Don't let them spot you they can
shot you from a distance. Make sure you take these guys out silently. If
they hit you, a large chunk of your life will be lost. Fortunately they
cannot deflect your attack, and are no match for you on close combat.
Demons: Probably the hardest non-boss you'll ever face in the game. These
are the fella's you'll encounter in the "Cure The Princess" mission. They
can either have bows, swords, spears or daggers. They can also jump in
obstacles easily to get you, and are a pain to fight against, in fact,
harder that some early bosses. Take them out with grenades, smoke bombs or
shurikens, since they'll damage you a LOT in close combat. Watch out!
Cultists: These maniacs are found in the "Infiltrate the Manji" Cult. They
have the same moves as the regular Spearmen, Swordsmen or Archers, but they
can also jump on low roofs to reach you. It's best to lure them away from
you.
Pirates: These smucks vary from small guys with large Scimitars to big fat
guys who use Anchors as attack weapon. Kill these guys silently, or lure
them away. These are only found in the pirate stage.
Innocents: These are not really enemies, but when they spot you, they'll cry
for help, which will attract guards to investigate it. This can prove rather
frustration at times, but remember not to kill innocents at all costs, this
will decrease your points after finishing a level. Still you can use poison
rice to keep them busy without killing them (they'll only hurt themselves).
Bosses: In of MOST levels, you'll fight one or two boss characters, which
you have to beat in order to proceed in the game. Make sure you're fully
healed in boss fights is you want to be the emerger without going thru too
much trouble. In the Walktrough I'll discuss hints and tips how to beat each
boss.
Finally, my favourite part of this FAQ. This walkthrough is, like the rest
of this FAQ, most of the time based on the experience playing Rikimaru.
I'll discuss what to do to beat each mission, and I'll discuss Boss fights
as well. This section is best used if you're stuck inthe game, and need some
advice. You can also check Kain and Wan Zafran's Tenchu FAQs for some good
idea's. Alright, on with the walkthrough.
Story: Echi-goya is merchant with brutal methods and fast profits, and won't
go out of his way to bribe his way free once arrested. You are sent to
assassinate him to make him pay for his crimes.
You start out in an alley. When you look on the left, you'll see a white
wall with lanterns on it, use your grappling hook to go on it. Now, check
your map. You should see 4 small houses lined up in two west of you. That's
right, head west across the yard until you see a short wall to your right.
Go there, and walk straight on to the large house on the left. Jump on the
roof you'll see a hole on the right side. Go in it. If a guard is sleeping
there, use a quick blow to finish him, if it's a cat, ignore it. You should
see another hole leading down, that's right, jump in there.
Cutscene: Echi-Goya bothers some woman who runs away scared. Echi-Goya is
suprised to see you, you tell him you've come to avenge all the innocent
people he's hurt. Echi-goya calls for help, and a swordsman appears who
threatens you while Echi-Goya escapes. A fight starts.
BOSS: Echi-Goya's Bodyguard HP: 100
He's pretty easy to kill, you won't need any grenades or shurikens. Just
defend until he does two slashes, the second one leaves him extremely
vulnerable if blocked, so you can punish him easily with your three hit
combo. Repeat this pattern three or four times, and he's guacamole.
Cutscene: Your attacker has an early grave while you are wondering where
Echi-Goya went.
Use your grappling hook to go back in the hole where you came from. Remember
the four houses? Well, that's the place where Echi-Goya went, so head back
there. There are 3 guards and one dog guarding this area, it's best to take
the roofs to avoid getting spotted. Kill the dog first, use poison rice to
lure him out, then jump down from the roofs to kill it silently, go back on
the roofs to avoid getting spotted. Kill the other guards silently from the
roofs by luring them with poison rice, they'll only bother you when you get
to Echi-Goya. When you've killed all the guards without being spotted, check
all four houses. If you look into the Northwestern house with the money
crates inside, Echi-Goya should be there.
Cutscene: Echi-Goya is nearly pissing his pants screaming for help, nut you
remind him you killed his flunkies and that he's next.
BOSS: Echi-Goya HP: 80
Pathetically easy. Just run at him, and strike him before he has the chance
to shoot you with his gun. If you constantly attack him, you should have him
nailed in a matter of seconds.
Cutscene: Echi-Goya blurs out his last words, while you jugde him on the
fact that he's to greedy.
Story: A large group of oulaws is considering to attack your masters
territory, but you stole a copy of their plans. The criminals are trying to
keep you from delivering the plans to your master by ambushing you in your
masters territory. You must reach your master and deliver the plans.
Cutscene: You sense danger and thinks it's wise to hurry up.
Okay, this is probably the easiest stage in the game. You won't have to
fight bosses as well. Use your grappling hook on the roof on your left, and
when you're on top of it, proceed by going on the L-shaped roof in front of
you. Just go straight on from there from roof to roof, throw some poison
rice here and there to lure ninja's away. Eventually, you'll run into a
bridge and a river. Don't cross it, that place is heavily guarded. Instead,
go onto the roofs the far left side of the screen, then jump into the water.
A ninja at the end of the bridge will spot you, just stay in the water and
lure him in, he'll drown. Go out of the water and follow the brown path
behind the bridge. You've made it, easy huh?
Cutscene: You apologise for being late, against one of your masters
servants, where he tells you you've done a good job.
Story: A ninja has been prisoned under a large forest, therefore you've been
released from the ninja code, which forbids rescues. You must find and
release the captive as quickly as possible.
Finally, this stage represents your first challenge. You have to prepare for
some tough battles. Head to the cave in the far east of the forest. Kill all
the guards or wolfs you run into. When you are in the cave, there will be a
guard often kill him fast. Keep following the straight path. You'll run into
two pits. Sometimes, theres a guard at the other end of the first pit, kill
him from long range with shurikens. Use the grappling hook to go over the
pits safely, don't jump, you won't make it in fall an instant death. When
you are past both pits, you'll see a door on your right, go in, you'll be
surrounded by two ridges. Climb on the one to your right. Kill any guard
that's in the way. You should see a bridge in front, go on the bridge but
watch your step, if you fall, you'll die instantly. Sometimes, there's a
guard waiting to ambush you, don't fight him with your sword, you may get
knocked off the bridge. Just keep distance once he runs at you on the bridge
and toss a grenade to blow him into the pits. When on the brigde, watch your
sides, there should be two doors around you. Jump to the one on your right,
follow the path, kill all the guards in the way, and drink your Healing
Potion when damaged badly. There should be a narrow path on your left before
the stone pillar. Follow it, you should find another door in front of you.
Kill the guard behind it and make sure you're fully healed, since there are
two bosses waiting for you on the corner.
Cutscene: A big fat stranger in armor with a bear by his side challenges you
to a fight.
BOSS: Goo's Bear (Kumaa) HP: 80
Kill the Bear first. Use your grenades everytime it stands up. Try not to
fight it up close, it can do insane damage and can break you defense. Just
keep distance, and keep blowing it away with grenades. If you do that it
should die fast. Now you can turn your attention to Goo.
BOSS: Goo HP: 100
This Boss is very damaging. If you still have some grenades left, use them.
If you're out of grenades, wait until he swings his club around, then
counter him with your 3 slash combination. Repeat this pattern. His pretty
slow, you should be able to counter him quick enough and keep him nailed
with constant attacks. You'll be greeted once he's eaten the killing blow.
Cutscene: As Goo falls by your hands, you tell him to die in peace. There's
someone jumping down from above. This will be your first encounter with
OniKage, a mad martial arts using demon. He'll threaten you with some stuff,
but don't worry, you won't fight him now, he'll leave, you will however see
a lot of this guy once you advance further in this game, believe me, a lot.
Story: You have to cross a hostile area, to reach your master to report
(what he'll report I don't know).
Cutscene: A girl practicing with a huge lance in front of the gate and tells
you to stop. You tell her it's foolish to train at night (whatever THAT
means...). She tells you that you have to beat her in order to cross this
checkpoint. Then she attacks.
BOSS: Tazu HP: 100
You won't need any grenades or other weapons to beat her. She can be
defeated by the oldest tactic. Whenever you block two or more of her
attacks, retaliate with your three hit combo. Sometimes she'll jump at you
with her lance over your head, and land behind your back, press
Down,Up+Square to do a 180 degree slash which will catch her before she can
recover. Defend well, and attack when she's vulnerable and she'll be
defeated.
Cutscene: The girl falls defeated to the ground, where you will show
compassion saying she was an honorable opponent. Then you consider crossing
to the other side.
The best way to finish this level is to travel from tree to tree (I haven't
seen this in other FAQs strangely enough).Grab on to the right side of the
gate with your grappling hook. You should see three trees in front of you.
Use you grappling hook to go on the tree in the middle. In order to do that
you must aim on the thick branches on the side. When you're in the tree,
look ahead, you'll see two more trees, grapple onto the right one with your
grappling hook. Once there, you'll see yet another tree to your right, just
behind the bridge. Grapple on it. Look around in exploration mode if there
are any guards nearby, then cross the brigde. Stop once you are at the end
of the bridge, there should be a small lump right before you, and you can
hide behind that when you press circle. When you do, watch the guards, and
grapple onto the tree in front of you once you feel the coast is clear
(watch your Ki-Meter). Once you're in that tree, go into the other tree in
before you using the grappling hook of course. You should see a small path
surrounded with ridges and bamboo on them. Throw out some poison rice, or
use stealth to dispose of some guards waiting there. When they're killed,
don't follow the small mud path, instead climb up the ridge on your right,
you'll eventually run into some hills and rocks there to hide behind with
circle. While you hide, switch to exploration mode (L1+Directional buttons),
you'll see a SMALL TRENCH with a guard patrolling in it. Kill the guard
undetected (you can use a smoke bomb), and kill the wolf back on top as
well. Save your grenades, you'll need them against an upcoming boss. Head to
the open space with the watchtowers and torches. You'll see a large exit in
the background. Kill all the guards there and head for the exit. Yet another
boss is waiting there.
Cutscene: A man in Samurai-like tights apologises for his rude sister (this
is apperantly the brother of boss you fought at the gate). You tell him
you're in a hurry to report to your master. Then the man challenges you to a
fight and pulls out his swords. You accept his offer.
BOSS: Senjuro Akechi HP: 120
This boss is very hard to beat in close combat. That's the whole reason why
I said earlier to save your grenades. Keep your distance toss the grenade
when he walks to you. Everytime he stand up, throw another grenade to blow
him to ovlivion. This may sound unhonorable for a ninja to do but it's your
best bet. If your grenade is extinguished he sometimes picks it up to keep
you from re-using it. If you ran out of grenades, use a smoke bomb to blind
him, then strike him with your three hit combo. If you want to win you
basically have to kill him from long range. If you can do that, you should
be able to win.
Cutscene: Senjuro's last words say that it's an honor to be killed by one
who is as skilled as you. You give the guy props by saying he is a great
warrior and is sad that he could not be his ally.
The Story: You are sent to execute a corrupt minister, Kataoka, who stole
money from your master to use it for a construction project.
Cutscene: You'll see a one of Kataoka's bodyguards mumbling something, then
you see Kataoka and Bizenya in a corny discussion about the money they stole
which they planned to use on a project.
This stage is easy. From the place where you start, grapple on the roof of
the FIRST building you see on your right. Once on that roof, check on your
map. Head to the NORTH-EASTERN part of the map from roof to roof, until you
see a small lake. Throw some poison rice to lure out the hidden archers,
then kill them with stealth. When the archers are desposed of, head to the
corner on the far left, you'll see a big man wandering by a draw-well.
That's the same bodyguard as you saw in the cutscene earlier. Go to him.
Cutscene: You will ask the guy where Kataoka is. He recognises you and tells
you he's ordered to execute you. A battle starts.
BOSS: Kataoka's Bodyguard HP: 100
He's very easy, really, he's not much harder than the regular swordsmen you
find here. He will often try to stab you, that's a good time to counter with
your three hit combination. You don't even have to kill him completely, you
only have to reduce him to a certain amount of Health Points. When you do
another cutscene will greet you.
Cutscene: The man you fought begs you to spare his life. You ask him one
more time where Kataoka is. But before the bodyguard can talk he's hit by an
arrow. Dead. An evil laugh emerges, coming from the same direction where the
arrow was shot.
Go on the roof you're facing, then check your map. Head all the way west
(straight on that is), until you see a small area with three bullseyes (for
arrows, hint, hint) and two torches around it. Jump down, and another
cutscene will show.
Cutscene: You stand behind no one other than Minister Kataoka, and tells him
he has brought shame. Kataoka is suprised that your master was able to
discover him. You tell him to kill himself if he still has some honor.
Kataoka therefore stabs himself in the guts, and you will assist him by
decapitating him. You say you will inform your master of Kataoka's death.
Story: A strange cult called the Manji has a mystical stone they use to
control minds and take over temple to temple. You must destroy the Cult
before it's too late, and retrieve the stone back to a safe place.
You start out at some stairs, walk straight on. There will often be a
cultist waiting for you before the gate. Kill him, then grapple onto the
gate and walk righ once on the roof, then you have make a left turn, and go
straight(this is all on the same roof where you grappled onto the gate).
When you eventually come near the edge of the roof, you'll see a large white
house. The statue they told you about is in there. Kill the cultist who
guards the door, or lure him away with poison rice. Sneak in the house.
You'll see the statue. There may be some zombies and cultists inside. Kill
them first before examining the statue. Use the grappling hook to get on top
of it. A cutscene will appear.
Cutscene: A big woman in a pink suit will say (in a extremely corny way) she
hid the stone in her belly, and that she won't allow you to get it. You will
jump down the statue saying, you'll take the stone, even if it means gutting
her.
BOSS: On HP: 100
She is very easy to beat. Wait for On roll at you with her weapon charged at
you. Deflect her and constantly attack her from there on. She won't be able
to retaliate fast enough and your attacks will interrupt her. You won't need
any grenades or something, this battle will be over fast enough if you take
her on at close quarters. Once you finish her, another cutscene will appear.
Cutscene: On dies knowing the fact that she couldn't protect the stone. You
grant her to burn in hell. Someone else will jump into the scene. It's
OniKage the guy you encountered in Stage 3. You will challenge himto a
fight. He says you're brave but foolish, and attacks you.
BOSS: OniKage HP: 200
Don't be intimidated by his HP of 200, you'll only have to reduce him to 100
in order to win. He doesn't rely on weapons, he uses lethal kick attacks
instead, and some of them can break your defense. He's also relatively fast
knowing he's a bit taller than you. The best thing you can do is run away
from him throwing a smoke bomb once he runs at you, then hit him with your 3
slash combination. Another good tactic is to run away from him and aim a
shuriken at him. Both patterns work equally well. When you reduced his life
to 100 HP, another cutscene will be shown.
Cutscene: OniKage says he underestimated you, but he will return to kill
you. When you try to strike him, OniKage will dodge to the roof with a
superhuman jump. He'll bounce out ot sight laughing maniacally.
Story: A foreign group of pirates has planned to invade the territory, and
you were sent to destroy the pirates and protect the territory.
Go in the water on the left side of the bridge, that's where the guard in
front cannot reach you. Use your grappling hook, to go on the roof on your
left while in the water. Head straight forward (head west on the map) from
rooftop to rooftop to avoid detection, distract guards when needed with
poison rice, until you see a house with a black (with large white symbol)
carpet hanging on it's roof, and an alley on your left. Go south (map) from
roof to roof across the alley, until you see a large ship docked. You should
be on a tiled roof now. Use your grappling hook to grapple on the front of
the ship in order to get on board. A large man will come out of nowhere (or
so it seems) and jumps on board, a cutscene follows.
Cutscene: The man will threaten to kill you. You warn that he can expect no
mercy and will not survive this fight.
BOSS: Balmer HP: 150
Balmer is big and slow, and many of his attacks can be interrupted easily
with your sword attacks. Still, if he hits you, you'll loose a large chunk
of life, so keep your healing potion ready. The safest way is to keep
distance (Balmer doesn't have the speed to chase you all the way across the
ship) and throw a grenade. Keep throwing them once he gets up to damage him
badly. Sometimes there will be a gunner a short distance away to try and
shoot you from a distance during the fight, many see this as a disadvantage,
but this situation will prove very useful for you if you think rationally.
Try to run around Balmer to make his back face the gunman. Balmer is a
harder target to miss than you, he's almost two times as big as you, so the
gunner will most likely shoot Balmer instead of you. this will do damage to
Balmer, and he won't recover on time to protect himself from a well placed
sword attack. When you kill him, a short cutscene will appear.
Cutscene: Balmer dies at your hands, bringing out his last words.
MISSION 8: Cure the Princess
- Difficulty: Hard
- Items you'll need: Grenades, Healing Potion
Story: Princess Kiku has a rare desease which will make her eye sight lose
gradually. The only thing that can restore her is a magical herb, which is
heavily guarded by demons with superhuman strength in a potentially hostile
area. You must fight your way through the Demons and deliver the herb to the
Princess.
This is the only stage with the second mission where you won't fight bosses.
Still you'll fight enemies here that are almost as strong as bosses, so be
sure to bring plenty of healing potions, cuz these enemies here are tough to
beat, and will give you enough to worry about. Head straight on once you
start out, watch out in the far right you can fall off the edge, which will
cause instant death. Fight and kill all the demons and wolves you encounter.
You'll run into a narrow path next to the rocks. Watch your step if you fall
into the ravine, it's over for you. When you encounter demons when you are
on the narrow paths, don't fight them up close, they might knock you off the
edge. Instead, use a grenade from a distance to blow them off the edge.
Follow the path until you see a bridge, go on it and kill all the enemies in
the way. Go right across the small waterfall, you'll see a ridge to your
left, climb over it, then use the grappling hook to cross over the pit
safely without getting yourself killed. Keep climbing up on those ridges,
until you see a platform with two small waterfalls streaming down. Use your
grappling hook to go on it, throw some grenades to dispose of the demons
that ambush you there. Go around the corner without getting too close to the
edge, there might be a demon waiting. Go in the path on your left which
reaches up. Climb up the ridges you encounter and stop at the edge. There
should be a small square-shaped edge right before you, next to a waterfall,
jump on it. Use the grappling hook to go higher, you should be at the
opening of a cave, where a small steam of water is running down. Proceed in
there, fight the demons that are in the way, drink your healing potion when
you are low on health. When you follow the cave's path, you'll eventually
run into a ridge on your left, go up there and kill the demons that await
you. Don't use grenades, the narrow space of the caves will increase the
chance you will get blown away by them as well as your enemy. Keep following
the path, kill demons when necssairy you'll eventually run into the herb, on
a platform. Use the grappling hook to get to it.
Cutscene: You find the herb and are ready to return to the Princess.
- The Story: OniKage and his cohorts has taken over one of your masters
castles, and he's soon preparing for an invasion. You must stop Onikages
schemes and reclaim the cactle back into Lord Gohda's hands.
You'll start at a gate, head straight and grapple onto the small roof on the
far right of the screen. Once there, look straight up you'll see a tall
building at the edge. Grapple on there (with your grappling hook of course)
you should end on a VERY tall building surrounded by walls. Kill all the
female ninja's on the roof with stealth, walk around the walls until you see
an entrance in the large building, you should be in a wooden room once
you're inside. Follow the path and kill the enemies in your way until you
run into staris that lead up. Go on the stairs, you'll end up in another
wooden room. You should see more stairs leading up. Kill the guards and
ninja's here with shurikens, then proceed to the stairs and go up. OniKage
will be waiting for you at the balcony.
Cutscene: OniKage reveals that his master Lord Mei-oh is behind the plan
taking over the castle. Then he attacks you.
BOSS: OniKage HP: 200 (Can Heal)
This will be a very long fight. OniKage is stronger than in your last
encounter. He has a few more attacks added and can still break your defense,
and you must eat away a full 200 HP this time. Watch out for that slide
attack, you'll lose big damage if he hits you with that. Still repeat the
same tactic as in Stage 6. Throw a Smoke bomb if he charges at you to blind
him, then strike him with your sword. He'll drink a healing potion if he's
damaged badly so you'll have to start all over again, don't worry, he can
only heal once. It's a good idea to drink some Healing Potion yourself when
you are damaged badly. When you run out of smoke bombs, use grenades
instead, don't try to take him up at close, he has the advantage there. Keep
your distance and throw a grenade every time he closes in. You should have
him smacked eventually.
Cutscene: OniKage is hurt badly and has met his match. But he'll disappear
mysteriously, leaving you questioned behind.
The Story: Lord Mei-oh, King of Hell has kidnapped the princess, and you
must rescue her and destroy Lord Mei-Oh.
This is your final mission, and a long and hard one, so make sure you'll
bring plenty of Healing Potions since the guards here are a pain to beat.
Head straight on all the time and fight your way through the troups.
Shurikens come in handy to save you some damage. Drink your Healing Potions
only when you're very low, you'll need to save some for later on this
mission. You'll eventually run into a wide bridge with pillars, watch out,
there are dogs hiding behind them. Best thing is to jump in the water and
lure some enemies in there, they'll drown. Kill the remaining guards, and go
through the port. You'll run into a snowy area with pillars. Kill all the
guards and dogs. If you have shurikens, this is a good time to waste them.
When all the enemies are killed, be sure to heal yourself, OniKage is
waiting behind the door in front of you, so get ready for another tough
battle in prospect.
Cutscene: OniKage seems to be fully recovered from your last battle, and
brags about how much stronger he is. You'll tell him he won't come back next
time. Your third battle with OniKage starts.
BOSS: OniKage HP: 200 (Can Heal)
You must do pretty much the same as in your previous battle with him, he is
a bit more damaging now though. That means use your Smoke Bombs again to
make him vulnerable to your attacks. Like last time, he'll eventually heal
himself, forcing you to start over. When you're out of smoke bombs, try not
to use your grenades on him, you'll need them in the end more than now. If
you have some shurikens use those. If you don't, you have to try and beat
him with your sword only. The best trick here is to stay at a small
distance, wait until he recovers from his attack, the rush in and strike and
immediately tun away from him. Repeat this. If eventually beat him, another
cutscene will show.
Cutscene: OniKage breathes his last air and tells you that Kiku is held
below guarded by Mei-oh. You've destroyed OniKage permanantly, and says Lord
Mei-oh is next. You'll jump into a hole.
Head straight to the path before you and kill any guard in the way. Remember
to heal if you were damaged badly in your battle with OniKage. If you follow
the path you should run into a hole and a zombie. Kill the zombie and jump
into the hole, don't worry, it's no pit. Kill the guards in the way. You
should head in the narrow path straight before you were the light (of the
lava) is coming from. If you head straight next to the lava stream, you'll
see two narrow paths on you're left, take the first one (with the blood on
the right wall) and head straight until you see another lava stream. Head to
your left and you'll see two small hallways on your left side (if you see a
PILLAR in front of you, you're at the right place), take the second one and
you'll see another stream of lava to your right, jump over it to the next
room kill all the archers and zombies you see there. You'll see a path that
leads downwards to your left, follow it and you'll run into a small bridge.
Walk over it to the other edge, shake the guards off you're back. You'll see
a small opening in the wall front of you. DON'T try to jump in it, you'll
fall in the lava below. Instead use your grappling hook to get in. You'll
see ridges below you, go down there. You'll run into a path with lots of
blood on the graound and walls. Follow it. You will run into a lava pit in a
corner, use the grappling hook to get over it unharmed without ending up
dead. You will see a large hole in front of you, don't worry it's NOT a pit.
Go ahead, jump in and prepare for your final battle.
Cutscene: You will ask Lord Mei-oh where he holds the princess, Mei-oh
recommends you to concern more about your own life. Your final boss fight
will begin.
BOSS: Lord Mei-Oh HP: 250
He's actually not that hard to beat for a final boss. If you saved your
grenades, you can use them on him for an easy kill. Just keep throwing them
at him once he gets up. If you're out of grenades and he's still alive, wait
until he raised his sword, counter him quickly before he strikes you with
his Lighting Bolt attack, which is the most DAMAGING attck in the game and
is unblockable, you'll only need to get hit four times by it and you're
dead. If he teleports behind you, run away from him then throw a grenade, or
wait for his recovery time and strike if you don't have grenades anymore.
Keep the fight at close quarters and he won't stand much chance.
Cutscene: Mei-Oh dies suprised by the fact that he's killed by the hand of a
mere human. You make a couple op sword strikes in triumph and it seems one
of your fellow ninja has already taken care of the Princess' safety.
Important things to remember while playing this game:
- USE YOUR GRAPPLING HOOK! I cannot say it enough.
- In most levels, you should be on the roofs as much as possible. It's the
best way to advance thru levels without getting guards to spot you.
- If you have grenades, don't use them on normal guards unnecessairely, you
might need them most in BOSS fights.
- Divide your items well in the required capacity (15) before you head to a
new level. Be sure to have enough supplies of useful items
- After you kill silently from the roofs or another hiding spot, be sure to
hide quickly onto a nearby roof, wall or hill, other guards might find the
body and investigate the area.
- Drink your Healing potion ONLY when damaged badly, don't drink it if
you've lost only 10 HP or so, you might need them more in a tougher
situation.
- Sometimes, your item inventory will be low once a level is completed, the
best way to gain more items is to do the same level over a couple of times
again.
- Before you kill a guard from the roofs, BE SURE TO LOOK AROUND IN
EXPLORATION MODE (L1)!! There might be guards nearby that will spot you
while you attempt to kill one of their colleges.
- Grenades work well in every boss fight.
- Watch your step on bridges or narrow edges.
- Only kill guards when necessairy. When they patrol at a distance where you
won't have to go, leave them alone. Kill guards when they are blocking your
path or patrol in an area where they can bother you in boss fights or in an
area you need to cross.
- Have fun, don't break your controller in half everytime you miss a roof or
pit and get into trouble, IT'S JUST A GAME.
- Try to plant a mine right before some poison rice. Guards will walk
towards the rice while they stumble right into the mine. Be sure to laugh
maniacally, hehehe.
- Against archers or gunners once they spot you during close combat fights,
try to walk before your enemy or boss, so they'll face the gunman or archer,
so they'll hit you're enemy instead of you. It happened to me once a boss
got killed this way.
- Try to knock you enemy into the pits.
- Try to throw some caltrops right before some poison rice, the guard will
keep walking into the caltrops without being able to reach the rice, I
killed a guard actually once this way in the first level, or better to say
it he commited suicide (Gee, why should a guard risk his life to get a small
piece of rice that'll make them sick? Pretty stupid if you ask me.) Laugh
maniacally as you see the guard desperately trying to reach the rice to get
killed slowly, hehehehe!
- The Debug Mode: This is a very fun feature, and it's only done by the
following code:
If you entered to the code correctly the game will stagger a bit, when it
does, press Start to unpause the game, then press L2+R2 together and a menu
will appear...
Now this is a very fun mode, it allows you to create your own level layout
and save it into your memory card (requires another block tho). You can
position the enemy of choice, you can decide how they act (their artificial
intelligence!) what paths they patrol, you can even make them playable with
the Port 2 controller allowing a two player game, you can even control
bosses (OniKage and Senjuro Akechi are cool bosses to control). You can also
use the enemies weapons, like Echi-Goya's gun and Lord Mei-Oh's Energy Bolt.
Very fun to fool around with this mode. Sometimes, they game will crash, but
that won't do damage to the game itself what so ever, so don't worry about
that....
This is the end of my second FAQ, I hope I've provided some info that has
proven useful to the readers. If Tenchu will go platinum, hopefully there
will be a larger boost in interest in the game, comparable to it's release.
It's a very addictive game, and one of the best to ever hit the console.
- About Renick:
Renick is a 16 year old gaming-goon, who is very fond of both Arcade and
console gaming, and has played videogames since "Alex Kidd In Wonderland" on
the 8-bit Sega Master System. He lives in The Netherlands and has many
hobbies, varying to writing his own comics to basketball. He's also a very
active reader of Todd McFarlanes Spawn, and like to listen to music of the
likes of KoRn and Limp Bizkit. Over the years, he hasn't become too fond of
Sega consoles, especially their newest console, The Sega Dreamcast, he
especially dislikes. He rather plays games with good gameplay and bad
graphics than good graphics and bad gameplay. The most common games he
playes are Tekken3, Tekken Tag Tournament, Tenchu, Final Fantasy 7, Metal
Gear Solid and Street Fighter Alpha3.
- THANKS SECTION
I would like to credit the following individuals for the following reasons:
- Wan Zafran and Kain for their awesome Tenchu FAQs
- Abrar, riposte, The Chief, Gokmen and Dingo Jellybean for being nice guys
to talk to on the Net. I'd like to thank Dingo Jellybean specifically for
his great FAQs and agreeing with me that DC sucks!
- GameFAQs, for their awesomeness of their methods on contributing FAQs,
everything, every guide or review there is just real, they won't take any
ripoffs and plagiarism, which is great. They all rule! Keep up the good
work...!
- Activision, for making the game.
- My family and friends, for being there for me.
- Those who are currently reading this, thanks for taking a look at my FAQ,
if you have any questions, comments on my work, my e-mail is
renickironfist@hotmail.com. Thanks in advance.
