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Aug 06 2005
Tenchu Shinobe Taizen Review
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| Summary: A disappointment
70
I'm a moderate fan of the Tenchu series, having played through 1 and 3, so I was excited to hear that it was coming to the PSP. However, the game itself is all but unplayable for an often mentioned reason: horrendous draw distance. You can barely see maybe ten paces ahead of you and enemies tend to pop-in quite large. The only way you'd know someone is nearby is because of the series' numerical proximity meter, in which case you still can't even see them until they are at least within 50-65 distance of that meter (and if you've played that game, that is pretty close and you're easily spotted at such a distance. The screenshots seem to be doctored as the draw distance is nowhere near as good as it is portrayed.
The loss of a single look button is also kind of disappointing as holding two buttons down to look is not intuitive. A couple of times I had performed stealth kills near a wall and I couldn't even see myself, the camera for no reason pointed into the black sky (all outdoor environments don't even have fog, it's just blackness). The game just suffers from a lack of buttons and secondary analog stick.
That being said, the graphics are quite good. Character models seem to be between PS1 and PS2 but closer to the PS2. Realtime cutscenes look FANTASTIC. Unfortunately, the game uses different models ingame that look nowhere near as good. Still, the presentation is nice and the signature series music bits are intact. Levels are much shorter now, though.
I didn't get into the mission creator mode as I was still disappointed with the game, plus it is Japanese heavy. Extremely kanji heavy, too. This game hasn't picked up a US distributor yet but I'd wait if you can, that is if you're still interested. Maybe they'll fix the draw distance issues. I wouldn't mind downgrading the whole look of the game to the PS1 version if I could see as far as you could in Tenchu 3.
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Comments
nicely put i ll might still check it out if not for the map/mission edit
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Thanks for the heads up, this matches what others who imported have to say. Your score of 70 seems rather high based on your comments, though.
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From the 10 or so reviews I've read, I've come to the conclusion that if you're not a big fan of the series, the draw distance is a deal breaker. Those who are Tenchu fans seem to love this game and find the draw distance to be only mildly unfortunate. That said, I'll post my review later in the week. I just received the game and will play it when I get home.
My review will be biased from a Tenchu fan's perspective for those who are interested. Also, I've heard that the mission editor is extremely robust and you can do phenomenal things with it.
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i think this guy just isnt good at the game. Yes the field of vision is small, but it just makes the game harder. I have beaten levels with all stealth kills. This moron just needs to be sneaky. The mission editor is fine. There is even an english instruction sheet. Side Note: get v2.0 I did this whole post on PSP.
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There were only two shortcomings with the game and I docked the 30 points mostly because of the draw distance. Everything else about the game is pretty good for the series, loaded with playable characters, options, etc. Now if you look at Rockman Dash, it retained the PS1 graphics but the draw distance is worlds better than what is seen here.
I'm a Tenchu fan, but not a huge huge fan of the series. The fact is the draw distance shouldn't be as bad as it is, considering Tenchu 1 had better draw distance. I'm sure most people wouldn't mind downgraded graphics if they could see further.
Mission editor doesn't interest me at all. Like I said in the game comments, if I wanted to make my own levels, I'd buy RPG Maker.
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Thanks for calling me a moron just because you don't agree with me.
"Yes the field of vision is small, but it just makes the game harder."
I am pretty sure game developers don't intentionally shorten draw distance to make a game harder. Tenchu 1 wasn't like this. Tenchu 3 even had "ninja vision" where you could zoom really far in. If it isn't part of the original game design, then it is an unintentional drawback.
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Hmm... I'm interested in the level editor, but I'm not wasting over 50 bucks just for that. I was never a fan of Tenchu in the first place (give me my super Ninjas, Ryu Hayabusa and Shinobi!) so I won't be picking this up. Maybe someone will port RPG Maker to the PSP...
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bizzle said: "i think this guy just isnt good at the game. Yes the field of vision is small, but it just makes the game harder. I have beaten levels with all stealth kills. This moron just needs to be sneaky. The mission editor is fine. There is even an english instruction sheet. Side Note: get v2.0 I did this whole post on PSP."
I have 2.0, but I don't have a WiFi router, nor do I have access to any in my entire area. I'm gonna test out the web-browser as soon as I get the chance, though.
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Here is, in my opinion, a truly excellent review of the game by someone who seems to be a huge fan of the series:
link
He says the single player scenarios aren't much and that the real emphasis of this entry in the series is the mission editor. He also complained about the draw distance:
"The draw distance is quite short.. it is roughly the same with the old psone Tenchu games." He also points out it is a hardware limitation and not a game design choice.
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"The mission editor is fine. There is even an english instruction sheet.."
Only Asian releases of the game have this sheet. Japanese releases do not.
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ive seen a video of this game espy is sooo right. The draw distance is awful and i thought dynasty warriors for psp was bad.edited: Aug 08 2005
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Can someone scan the english instruction sheet? I've only got the Japanese version. Thanks!
Also, stealthgiga's review is spot on. Thiugh I disagree with the scenario mode. I thought it was great. It reminds me a lot of Tenchu 1. Anyway, no one here is amoron, just people with differing opinions.
My opinion of the draw distance? Definately doesn't diminish the amount of fun I've had with this game! The trick is, make heavy use of the 'ki meter', the strafe button (L) and the crouch/stealth buttion (R). When the ki meter is ot 00, run around all you want, when numbers start appearing, hold down (L) and slowly move toward the enemy. When you get within 40 or so, switch to (R) and roll toward the enemy trying to hide behind obstacles. Watch the enemy, wait for your moment, then strike.
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For those having problems navigating the menus here is some info from various people put together in one pdf..
link
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I was playing it again and it's playable given your suggestions but just not as enjoyable once you've played Tenchu 3 and Kurenai.
Thanks for the link I'm sure it'll help people out.
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