I have played all of the Tenchu games, and in a way this is one of my favorites, but it does not compare to the awesomeness of Wrath of Heaven/Return From Darkness, which is undoubtedly the pinnacle of the series. I have 100% completion on this game, but I got it shortly after it came out (almost 3 years ago now) and I am writing this from the memory of playing it then, so please excuse me if something is left out or whatever. One of the main failures of Tenchu Z is that it does not really have much of a story line. So basically, you are a ninja, and you just go out on missions, assassinate everyone on the map, or run through it, depending on your preferences, and then kill the boss, or whatever you are supposed to do to complete the mission. I much preferred the story lines that existed in the previous games, but this seems to be a spin-off of sorts from the original story, so, while it was initially saddening that it wasn't going to be following the exploits of Rikimaru, Ayame, and friends, it was acceptable. I also appreciated the cameo from Rikimaru as the guy who sends you on your missions. I was also disappointed by the number of maps-you will end up playing the same maps over and over and over again, only with different objectives. It is convenient in a way, since you learn you learn your way around, which is always helpful when you are sneaking, but it also gets kind of old and I had expected more from a 360 game. Since I had played the previous Tenchu games so much, the controls on this were a non-issue for me. A lot of people seem to have all sorts of problems with the series in general, but I personally believe that is probably because they are not patient enough to wait for the perfect moment to strike (which you have to master if you want to get the highest rank on every level). The gameplay itself is fun and what I expected from the next Tenchu game. The stealth kills look good for the most part, and the graphics aren't too bad considering it obviously isn't a very high-budget game, and when comparing it to the other games at the time it came out. I love all the options for customizing your ninja-you unlock all sorts of outfit pieces, including hats, different hairstyles, sheaths for your sword, etc.. and you can make your hair whatever color you want. I didn't play the online too much, it was somewhat fun, but I would have liked for them to have had a ninja battle mode like in Wrath of Heaven, and I found the fact that they didn't somewhat off-putting. Overall, I enjoyed this game quite a bit until I beat it, and every now and then I do get it back out so I can ninja about some. I recommend it if you are a fan of the series, just don't be disappointed that it is unrelated story-wise to the other games in the series. If you haven't played before I might recommend renting/demoing it first since some people don't appear to really "get" these games, and those people do not appear to enjoy it very much at all.
I will start by agreeing with many that this game is indeed under-rated. A score below 5 is absolutely abysmal, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. I think Tenchu deserves a score in the 7's for this reason: it's ... Read Full Review
This is my first time playing Tenchu so try to keep this in mind. I can't relate to any of the past titles, so this is a review from a new player. Before I actually purchased the game, I downloaded the demo from XBOX... Read Full Review
