Tenchu: Stealth Assassinsa stealth and action adventure with ninjas remembered with great affection by the players of the first PlayStation, has just turned 25 years. It was originally launched on February 26, 1998 in Japan, and it arrived that same year in the United States in August and in Europe in October published by Activision, curiously a little earlier in our continent than the mythical Metal Gear Solidwhich was released in February 1999, and with which certain comparisons were made, being both infiltration and stealth games.
Developed by the Japanese AcquireGiven its success, it had several sequels and spin-off as Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins (1998), Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven (2006), Tenchu: Fatal Shadows (2004), Tenchu: Time of the Assassins (2006), Tenchu: Dark Secret (2006), Tenchu Z (2007) o Shadow Assault: Tenchu (2008). Tenchu: Shadow Assassins (2009) for PSP and Wii, published by Ubisoft in the West, is the latest installment in the series so far.
The rights of the saga belong to FromSoftware
Although Activision bought the rights to this saga from Sony, in 2004 the North American company sold them to FromSoftwareso this saga belongs right now to the creators of Dark Souls. Of course, the agreement did not include the games previously published by Activision, so to bring back the Tenchu before 2004, it would have to be an Activision thing.
Axe: Shadows Die Twice (2009), the acclaimed game from FromSoftware, was born as a new installment of Tenchubut soon the project turned into something different and they decided to create a new saga, although certain details of the game that today celebrates its 25th anniversary remain, such as stealth or the hook rope to move around the scenarios.
Right now It is not easy to play the first ones again Tenchu, since they have never been reissued, so it would be a great addition to the catalog of classics from the first PlayStation on PS Plus. If you currently want to play something similar, a stealthy ninja adventure, you can try the saga Aragami of the Spanish Lince Works.
In 2021 Acquire stated that would be delighted to develop a new Tenchu for PS5, although they recognized that it is difficult for this project to come true at this time.
And you, what memories do you have of the saga? Tenchu? Tell us in the comments.