Tenchu: Return From Darkness Q&A

The Tenchu series has always stood apart from other games starring ninjas because of its much more realistic approach to presenting the fast-paced ninja lifestyle. The last entry in the series, Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven for the PlayStation 2, was released early last year and continued the story from the first Tenchu. The game was set one year after the events in the first Tenchu and let you play as Rikimaru, Ayame, or a doctor named Tesshu. A little over a year after the game's appearance on the PlayStation 2, Activision and developer K2 are working to bring a similar experience to the Xbox with Tenchu: Return From Darkness, a director's-cut version of Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven that has been significantly enhanced. The game will have an updated single-player mode with new cutscenes and gameplay mechanics, while the multiplayer game has been overhauled to accommodate Xbox Live support. There will also be new levels and bosses, one of which is Mifuyu (which means "Three Winters" in Japanese). She is the 20-year-old daughter of the samurai Tadokoro. She was trained by her father in the art of swordfighting and holds a high code of honor. She is the boss character for the new samurai mansion in the Rikimaru and Ayame storylines. We had the chance to talk to Masanori Kuwasashi, the main game designer at K2, to find out what to expect from the franchise's Xbox debut.

GameSpot: How long has the game been in development?

Masanori Kuwasashi: The game has been in development for roughly 10 months--three to four months for designing new stages and the rest of the time for incorporating Xbox Live and porting over the rest of the game.

GS: Who is working on it?

MK: All design and direction is being handled by the same K2 staff that created Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven. All programming is being done by Prosoft.

GS: How do you think the PlayStation 2 game turned out?

MK: The PS2 version was great. In fact, it is going Greatest Hits, but, like all games, there were features that needed to be improved. To be more specific, in hindsight we would have liked to spend more time tweaking the gameplay balance and creating a few more cutscenes. We've definitely taken this opportunity to focus on those areas for Tenchu: Return From Darkness.

GS: How did public reaction to the PS2 game influence the Xbox game's development?

MK: We've read almost every review out there, and though we were pleased with the amount of positive comments, there of course were some negative ones as well. We've done the best we could to address them. One example is the inclusion of the ability to drag and hide dead bodies. We've also added a restart function and a continue function.

GS: How did you approach the Xbox version of the game?

MK: We approached the Xbox project as if it were our second chance to make the game even better. We've raised the polygon count of the characters and added specular lighting. We've also created more cutscenes to better tell the story and added new functions for user-friendliness. To keep the game fresh for Wrath of Heaven owners, we added new levels, tools, and unlockable abilities, retuned the enemy AI, and changed the enemy and item placements throughout the game.

GS: What has been the biggest challenge in bringing the game to the Xbox?

MK: The biggest challenge for this project is definitely Xbox Live. Currently there aren't that many action games that let you play on Xbox Live, so it was a pretty ambitious commitment to make, but the programmers at Prosoft had the experience and skills to make it happen. The result: You can now play online with another ninja in co-op missions or go head-to-head with 20 playable characters. It's simply amazing.

GS: What additions are you making to the game? Why?

MK: We have added two new stages in the story mode and new enemy characters and items for those two new stages. Gamers expect such additions, and we didn't want to let anyone down. We've also added Xbox Live functionality. This is something I think people wished for but didn't think would really happen. We as game designers always look for ways to make use of the hardware's capabilities, and Xbox Live was definitely something we wanted to do.

GS: How challenging has it been to incorporate Xbox Live functionality?

MK: From a gameplay sense it was not difficult. We already had a two-player co-op mode in the PS2 version, and we simply wanted to make it playable online. Easier said than done, though, because, as previously mentioned, the technical side is where things got challenging.

GS: How are the graphics being upgraded for the Xbox?

MK: We're using higher-polygon character models for the Xbox version, and we've added specular lighting to the characters to raise the realism up a notch.

GS: Where do you see the Tenchu franchise going from here?

MK: The Tenchu franchise will continue to deliver awesome, authentic ninja games.

GS: Thanks for your time.