Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven

 PlayStation 2
User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 74 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 65 out of 74
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 74
  3. Negative: 3 out of 74
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  1. MattP.
    Mar 9, 2003
    7
    This game is definitely worth playing but don't expect to be blown away, after getting as far as the third level it's difficult to shake the feeling that it was only 80% finished on it's release. The looks and sound are good but not great, the AI is laughable (enemys repeatedly walking into walls etc) not to mention the frustaration of having to start each level again if This game is definitely worth playing but don't expect to be blown away, after getting as far as the third level it's difficult to shake the feeling that it was only 80% finished on it's release. The looks and sound are good but not great, the AI is laughable (enemys repeatedly walking into walls etc) not to mention the frustaration of having to start each level again if you fall into a hole. But the controlls are passable and the stealth kills are fun, worth getting.… Expand
  2. Trey82
    Dec 15, 2019
    5
    Hard 5.
    Because this thing is TRULY middle-of-the-line. Didja like tenchu's original games?
    You go into the first mission as a reboot/remake/remastered/holy hell I'm going to kill ECHIGOYA AGAIN?! COOL! ... then you actually play it. The worst mission in the game is the first one. No, really. The camera isnt designed to pivot in close quarters, and you are going to be inside..    Hard 5.
    Because this thing is TRULY middle-of-the-line. Didja like tenchu's original games?
    You go into the first mission as a reboot/remake/remastered/holy hell I'm going to kill ECHIGOYA AGAIN?! COOL!

    ... then you actually play it. The worst mission in the game is the first one. No, really.
    The camera isnt designed to pivot in close quarters, and you are going to be inside.. CONSTANTLY guessing where the guys are.. behind which wall?

    And then you have the civilians. The cats. The sleeping guards that you only HIT and didnt KILL.
    Thats the first mission, and it makes this game absolute garbage. The reboot of Tenchu 1's first mission is what killed this series. No, really. You cant hide a good game behind a HORRIBLE first level that ALSO happens to pay homage to the first level of an impossibly great game ~ Tenchu 1.

    Once you get past the first stage, though... you are fine. But if you ever, EVER decide to play this, read a FAQ and memorize what you have to do, because exploration is NOT rewarded in stage 1 ~ you will reach the next area through a hidden passage, here and there.. and it makes no sense.

    You cant hop on every roof like you used to. So that forces more ground stealth.
    You cant do ground stealth as well because you have to fight the camera more than the bosses.
    The bosses suck because the combat system has totally channged and you now have to spam defense and hope to get an opening .... or ragequit and start using the CRAZY amount of items sitting around to get super cheap IN RETURN?!

    The combat system sucks, in this one. There is no sugar coating it. The combos are useless because the enemy defending doesnt have a pattern, so your random meets their random and after you got your forward-facing combo off and the enemy sidestepped, now you have to point towards the enemy, spam block and FIGHT THE CAMERA.

    Now, this wouldnt be a problem if you werent forced into two things: Stealth kill camera crap and FORCED combat.
    For a game built on stealth, they ruin it by forcing more combat on you.
    First mission: Punish the evil merchant.
    Reality: His bodyguard has this super cheap juggling you in the air gunplay move. (Yeah. Anime crap? You killed the series with this kind of stuff.) Then you have to kill echigoya. Easy enough, he just has his gun.. like in the first game.
    ... but you have two more bodyguards spamming you to death with random attacks while he shoots you.

    Do yourself a favor and use a gameshark code or a pro-action-replay code to skip the first stage. Really.

    Once you play the rest, come back and try the first stage. The layout is garbage, and knowing there arent any tenchu games going to be made... ever.. you can blame 'wrath of heaven' and 'fatal shadows' for ruining perfectly amazing stealth games.
    Metal Gear and Splinter Cell had to pick up the pieces leftover from this series that stepped on its own explosive.

    *insert AVGN rant, here*    … Expand
  3. The_D4RknesS
    Jun 28, 2022
    6
    It's a good game with a lot of blood and violence but the gameplay is bad Because you don't have any precision in the commands and the game's difficulty is high, you also can't choose whether you want easy or hard

Awards & Rankings

63
#63 Best PS2 Game of 2003
51
#51 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2003
34
#34 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2003

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 33 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 33
  3. Negative: 0 out of 33
  1. GameZone
    86
    Perhaps the most puzzling thing of all is what happens when an enemy gets really, really confused. Most commonly you'll see them walk into a wall or some other barrier.
    Read full review
  2. Game Informer
    90
    The ninja game the world has been waiting for. It fights with honor, but still handily slays the competition. [Apr 2003, p.80]
  3. Gamer's Pulse
    80
    Although its plot didn’t captivate me, its exciting gameplay did. Gameplay is covert, yet exciting and had my heart beating rapidly each time I crept up on an enemy for a stealth kill.
    Read full review
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