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BIRTH OF THE STEALTH ASSASSINS
Frequently Questioned Answers (spiffy version)
11.21.02 | version 2.0
by razorknife <razorknife at millstreambrewing dot com>
-=Table of contents=-
1. Update info, commentary, and conventions
2. Some common questions
3. The controls
4. The items
5. The playable characters
6. Traps and hazards
7. Mission summaries
8. Miscellaneous hints and advice
9. Undocumented features (bugs)
10. Cheat codes
11. Version history
12. Credits/Legal
===============================================================================
1. Update info, commentary, and conventions
===============================================================================
Thanks for checking out my guide. I originally compiled this shortly after
the release of Tenchu 2 in 2000. The intent was to create a useful document
free of spoilers for people new to the game. Over time various sections
have been added and contributors have given me much of the data herein.
However, I haven't updated for quite a while and needed to clean up a lot of
garbage that had collected over time. I hope you find this guide useful.
**********************
WARNING!! RANT AHEAD!
**********************
Since I released the last version of this FAQ, junk e-mail (spam) has become
much, much more prolific. For this reason I will now "munge", or disguise,
the addresses listed in the FAQ. I really hope that none of the contributor
addresses were harvested from this document but I fear this is probably the
case. Since harvesting bots have gotten much more clever at de-munging
addresses, I will simply spell out the addresses in words. This should
provide some measure of protection. I hope this doesn't turn anybody off of
sending me mail; your comments and questions are quite welcome. Here is an
example of my technique:
Original: Looks like:
[email protected] Bob at dobbs dot com
It's effective, and hey, it's fun. Thanks for playing along.
**********
[END RANT]
**********
Hope I didn't scare anyone off there. A final note for this section: The
latest version of this FAQ will always be available at www.gamefaqs.com.
Abbreviations and conventions:
(Note that I am assuming default button layout for this guide)
O - Circle button
/\ - Triangle button
[] - Square button
X - Cross (x) button
[L1],[L2],etc - Obvious
[Start], [Select] - Obvious
D,U,L,R - Joypad directions
U/R - Diagonal notation. This would be Up + Right.
[?] - KI meter: Unaware
[!] - KI meter: Spotted but not identified
[!?] - KI meter: Enemy is alert but cannot see you
[!!] - KI meter: Spotted and identified
Hit points (HP) - The amount of damage a character can take
-Buttons separated by commas should be pressed one after another
-Buttons separated by plus signs should be pressed simultaneously
-If a button should be held I will note this by the command
===============================================================================
2. Some common questions
===============================================================================
Q. How do I drag bodies?
A. Simple: Hold the [R1] button when nearby, and press and hold O. Rikimaru
and Ayame will need to sheathe their weapons first. You will only be
able to drag bodies when you and the corpse are on perfectly flat ground
to start. Once you have them, however, you are able to drag them up and
down shallow inclines.
It may also be useful to note here that if you cut off an adversary's
head or arm, you will be unable to drag them. You can still search for
items.
Another bit about dragging enemies: Try to face the direction you want
to move the body before dragging it. There's nothing worse than having
to pull a U-turn with a corpse in tow and a guard straight ahead.
Q. I used a stealth kill move; why did the move stop halfway through?
A. This is what we in the industry call a "bug". More specifically, I think
it's some kind of clipping error. If one of the characters in question
intersects something unexpectedly, such as a wall, the code can't handle
it and we get kicked out to the normal kill view. Don't worry, you still
get full credit for a stealthy kill. To reduce the odds of this
happening, wait until your opponent is on flat ground and not near a
wall. This is in my opinion the most annoying bug in the game.
Q. I just killed this guy, and I can't search his body. Why not?
A. Sometimes you may kill a guard but be unable to check for items; you do
not gain any items when searching (with [R1]), but you do not hear the
"no item" sound. This could be due to their positioning. Some stealth
kills (such as Ayame's crouching kill) leave the enemy in a strange
position on the ground. For whatever reason, this means you can't search
for items. However, if you drag their bodies for even an instant, they
will revert to a spread-eagle pose. Now you will be able to search them.
Q. I need to hide but I'm aiming at somebody; how do I cancel without losing
items?
A. To cancel the use of an item, continue holding /\ and tap []. This will
put you back in the normal mode and you won't lose any items.
Q. How do I fight the bosses? They're too hard!
A. Yes they are. It wouldn't be such an issue if you could continue at the
boss, but noooo, you have to start all over if you die. So I usually use
cheap tactics to beat them. Some quick pointers:
1. Block. Use D or O. Look out for attacks that you can't block
however, such as projectiles. Some bosses have close attacks that
break your guard too, so watch out.
2. If you're getting close to the end of a mission, keep your weapon out.
You are boned if you meet a boss without a weapon ready. Consider
selecting an item as well.
3. You are never too badass to run away. Do so when you are getting
killed, and drink a potion. Caltrops, smoke bombs, powder, and even
blowguns can save you by slowing your opponent down for a moment.
4. You will be poisoned occasionally. Be ready for this. When it
happens, stop, drop, and roll. Do not run away or you will cough up
blood every few steps. If you roll this will not happen. If you
DON'T have antidote, you may still be all right if you hide and wait.
Heal if you get close to dying. Pray. After a while you *might* be
cured. The alternative is to attack like mad hoping to kill the enemy
before you die, but I haven't yet been in this situation.
5. Things will get screwy in close combat. Your enemy will slide past
you or vice versa. Also, there's a bug where characters will always
slide straight back when they are hit, no matter where you hit them.
So if you rapidly attack from behind they will slide backward past
you! Instead, use Riki's Crouch Slash and Tatsu's Crouch Uppercut to
knock *most* baddies down when you attack from behind. Rinse and
repeat. Ayame doesn't have this luxury so you'll have to get creative
with her bosses. And her bosses suck!
6. Wear armor. You'll take much less damage and stay on your feet more
often. You need to earn it first though.
Q. How do I attain Grand Master status?
A. GM is definitely worth the effort if you want the good items. Here's
what you do:
1. Do not get spotted and identified.
2. If there are fewer than 16 guards, you need to hunt them all down and
you can't be identified once. Otherwise, you need 600 points or more.
3. Use [R1] to crouch when approaching. This cuts down the distance the
enemy can spot you at. Roll away if they get too nosy.
4. Don't kill civilians. You lose a whopping 150 points for this. If
you can't resist the urge or they're just in your way, use a poison
rice ball to do the deed. You won't be penalized then.
5. There are friendlies on some levels. They know you and won't freak
out if they see you. I'll try to note the levels they're in below.
Look out for small levels with lots of friendlies; they tend to steal
your kills.
6. Your ki meter is three dimensional. This means that if an enemy is
above you and you jump, the number will go up briefly. This is great
for figuring out where the enemy is in buildings.
Q. How many different stealth kills are there?
A. Each character has seven distinct stealth kills. If the enemy is unaware
and you attack them when nearby, the animation varies depending on
whether you are:
-Behind the enemy
-To the left of the enemy
-To the right of the enemy
-Directly in front of the enemy
-Crouching near the enemy
-In midair when you press attack
The seventh kill is a little tricky. You have to bump the enemy just
before you hit the attack button, so they are alerted but you're not
identified. This isn't easy but can be fun. And it will accidentally
occur sometimes. Jeremy Drake wrote a FAQ that the describes the kills
in gruesome detail. Check it out if you're interested.
Q. "HOW DO YUO CUT OFF HEADS?!! MARK SAID HE HELD THE RESET BUTTON AND
SELECT AND THEN RAN AT A GUY SIDEWAYS AND IT WORKED BUT I CAN'T DO IT!!!"
A. Okay, listen. I've seen some messed up stuff regarding decaps. As far
as I can tell it's COMPLETELY random. Same with the amputations. The
only control you have over it, as far as I can tell, is what attack you
use. If it's a long range slash you might take an arm. If it's a neck
slice, you might get their head. You might think you're on to something
after you get three decaps in a row, but you're not. This is how
randomness works. If you can give a reasonable explanation of why I'm
wrong I'm willing to listen.
Also, the PAL version is censored, apparently because Europeans will all
go insane if they see blood on TV or something.
===============================================================================
3. The controls
===============================================================================
Some advice: Don't use the analog function for this game. There's no
benefit and it will only mess you up. This would be akin to playing Tekken
with a flight sim joystick (and I know some of you do this. Please stop,
it's embarrasing.).
Control Pad
U - Move forward
D - Move backward, as well as block (when under attack).
L, R - Turn
[U/L] or [U/R] - Run while turning.
[D/L] or [D/R] - Turn more quickly.
Double-tap any direction - Quick dash in given direction.
[Select]
Shows level map if applicable. Maps don't exist on custom maps and
training missions.
[Start]
Pause. Hold [Select] and [Start] for a few seconds to quit.
[L1] - Look
Hold [L1] and use the d-pad to look around. Try it while rolling,
falling, or whenever you think it might be useful.
[R1] - Stealth
Many functions. In the open, your ninja crouches. D-pad functions
change:
-U,D,L, and R make you slowly crouch-step in the given direction.
-[U/L] or [U/R] allow you to turn while crouch-stepping forward.
-[D/L] or [D/R] allow you to turn while crouch-stepping backward.
-Double-tapping any direction while crouching makes you roll.
-[R1] + X allows you to do a quick reverse roll.
-Using [R1| by a wall will make you flatten against it. It's good for
changing the viewpoint but doesn't do much to help you hide.
-[R1] will search dead guards for items.
-Also, [R1] can be combined with O to drag corpses.
-Use [R1] to hide when treading water. Your ninja will breathe through a
reed.
-Finally, [R1] + X can be used when swimming below the surface to quickly
reverse direction.
[L2] and [R2] - Item select
Use these buttons to scroll the highlight from one item to the next. The
currently active item will be used when you press...
/\- Use item
Item specific techniques are listed in section four.
[]- Attack
All the characters have a combo that will be executed if you rapidly hit
attack. Also, they each have a custom combo. These are listed below.
-While holding L,R, or D you will attack left, right, or to the
rear, respectively.
-While holding [R1], you will execute a crouching attack.
-Double-tap Up and press attack for a rushing strike.
-You can also attack while in midair. Jump and hit attack.
-Hold [] for about two seconds to sheathe your weapon(s).
Any attack (NOT item) that hits an *unaware* enemy will kill them.
X - Jump
-U,D,L, and R - Jump in respective direction.
-Double-tap Up + X - Double-jump (longer range)
-Down, then Up + X - Moonsault.
-In midair, X can be used to jump off walls.
-Press X when underwater to breast stroke. Pressing it rapidly will
allow you to swim more quickly. If you are swimming quickly and you
break the surface, you will perform a double-jump out of the water. This
makes a lot of noise so watch out.
Also, you will need to learn how to hang from ledges. If your ninja is
facing a ledge while (jumping/falling) in midair, s/he will grab it and
hang from it automatically.
-U will climb up onto the ledge.
-D will make the ninja let go, dropping to the ground.
-L and R will move your ninja, hand-over-hand style, in the given
direction.
O - Multi Function
-Primary function is to block attacks.
-Hold O + U,D,L, or R - Quick dash in given direction.
-Hold O + [R1] AND + U,D,L, or R - Roll in given direction.
-Hold O + U AND + X - Double jump.
-Double-tap O: This is the preferred way to sheathe weapons. Rikimaru
and Ayame will both run faster when their weapons are sheathed.
Character specific combos
Rikimaru
L + [], R + [] - Attack left, then right
R + [], L + [] - Attack right, then left
Ayame
Hold L + [] twice - Double attack to the left
Hold R + [] twice - Double attack to the right
Tatsumaru
[], L + [], ([],[],[]) - Attack with one punch, then kick to the left
Follow up optional.
[], R + [], ([],[],[]) - Attack with one punch, then kick to the right
Again, the follow up is optional.
===============================================================================
4. The items
===============================================================================
You start with access to Healing Potion, Shuriken, Caltrops, and Colored
Rice. All other items are either found within levels or obtained by earning
Grand Master ratings. There are three restrictions on bringing items with
you on missions:
1. You are limited to bringing 12 items per mission.
2. Of the items you bring, there can only be five different types.
3. Certain items have their own limit which cannot be exceeded.
4. The grappling hook is always with you and is not included in the item
selection limits.
I have listed base damages for the appropriate items. Be aware that all
but the easiest enemies are resistant to damage from items and will take
less damage. Usually the amount is half damage, rounding down.
Several items are gained by earning Grand Master scores. You need to
earn a Grand Master rank on a certain number of levels to obtain each
item; the numbers are listed below. Note that when an item is unlocked
in this way, it is available for *all* characters, not just the one that
unlocked it.
Grappling Hook
Climbs ledges that are too high to jump to. It's somewhat crippled
compared to the first game; you can no longer grapple everything, but
you can still use it to cover territory quickly. Be aware that you will
often miss grapple attempts, even with perfect positioning. Always in
your inventory.
Healing Potion
Each bottle restores you to 100% health. They are the only items you can
find by breaking crates or barrels.
Shuriken (Knives in PAL version. Don't knives make people bleed too?)
Inflicts 15 points of damage on a target. Not all that useful, but can
be used to kill wolves in a single hit. If you pick up a few during the
level and are fighting a boss, you can quickly expend them at the
beginning of the fight for a head start. Don't bother aiming, just point
in their general direction and jam on the button. Shuriken are also a
good distraction if enemies are getting too close. Throw one at a wall
behind them and they will turn to investigate. Be careful as this alerts
all guards.
Caltrops
Each package scatters four caltrops behind your ninja, each doing three
points of damage. They are very handy when fighting bosses, as you can
buy time to heal or escape. Of course, you need to avoid stepping on
them yourself.
Colored Rice (limit five)
These are primarily used to mark your position on the map. You will see
a colored dot on the map corresponding with the location of each lump of
rice. If you die and have a Ninja Rebirth, you will reappear at one of
the marked locations. These are the only official applications for this
item, but it can also be used to mark locations where guards disappear.
Overall, though, this item's a waste of space.
Poison Antidote
Necessary when you are poisoned, obviously. Most of the time you'll find
plenty of antidote on your enemies. Consider bringing it if you'll be
fighting a boss that poisons you. Also restores 20 life.
Smoke Bomb
Great against bosses. All enemies caught in the smoke will gag for
several seconds. Use these to get two or maybe three free hits, or just
to escape. Go for single, powerful attacks rather than combos. They
won't protect you from being spotted, however. Look out; enemies use
them too.
Grenade
Explodes on contact, dealing 30 points of damage to the target. It has a
relatively small blast radius. Like the first game, you can pick up the
dud grenades; there will be many. Note that you can aim it using the
look button.
Poison Rice
This item was weakened a bit from the first Tenchu. Rather than being
thrown, the rice is rolled only a short distance. Seems to kill anyone
who eats it. You won't get credited or penalized for killing with this
item.
Air Bottle
Restore oxygen while underwater. Selenia suggested using them to lurk
below the surface when setting up a stunt kill. That's about all they're
good for in my opinion.
Blowgun (limit five)
As long as enemies are not alerted, one dart will kill them. If they are
in [!?] or [!!] status, it will only poison them. This is easily the
most powerful item. Don't waste ammo!
Mine
Very volatile. Be careful not to move forward after placing it. Note
that you can set it off with any thrown item. Huge blast radius as well.
Does 35 damage.
Blinding Powder
Wide arc, but limited range. If it connects, the enemy will not know
where you are for several seconds. Not really that different from smoke
bombs, except your victim may start attacking in the wrong direction,
allowing you to attack from behind more easily.
Sleeping Gas (limit three)
Unlocked after getting two Grand Master ratings. Bounces a few times,
then breaks, emitting a cloud of gas. Thankfully, your ninja is not
affected by his own gas (insert joke here). Anyone caught in the gas
falls asleep for about 10 seconds. You can aim it with the [L1] button.
If there are several enemies close together, use it to get multiple
undetected kills more easily.
Ninja Camoflage (limit three)
Unlocked after getting four Grand Master ratings. This item makes your
ninja invisible for about 30 seconds, or until an enemy is hit or killed.
Handy for those hard to kill soldiers or to bypass areas unseen. In some
areas you can take advantage of this item to both get around innocent
people to grab items, then to kill a nearby guard, with one use. Do so
when possible. This item won't work against bosses.
Exploding Arrow (limit three)
Unlocked after getting six Grand Master ratings. Your basic exploding
arrow, with a respectable area of affect. 25 damage. One minor nit:
where's the bow?
Leaves of Stealth (limit two)
Unlocked after getting 10 Grand Master ratings. Each one will teleport
you just behind a nearby enemy. Really not worth using in boss fights,
as there is a long pause between activating it and it actually working.
Also, it fails when the enemy is far away and unaware, which is when
you'd really like to use it. I've seen a few uses for it that are pretty
cool, such as passing through wall, but haven't bothered with it myself.
Ninja Armor (limit one)
Unlocked after getting 15 Grand Master ratings. Worth the effort,
however, as all damage taken is reduced by 50%, and then rounded down.
Dragon's Breath (limit one)
Unlocked after attaining 20 Grand Master ratings. This is the big one.
It does 60 points of damage to enemies in three directions: front/left,
forward, and front/right, simultaneously. Bring one along for missions
with boss battles against several opponents, like Ayame's 'Quarantine
Village' and Tatsumaru's 'Head of Lord Toda'. If it's a choice between
this and the armor, however, take the armor.
Ninja Rebirth (limit one)
Unlocked after you reach 25 Grand Master ratings. Basically, this will
bring you to life when you are killed. If you're on land, there'll be a
long fade out, and you will return to either a location that you've
placed colored rice or a random location. If you're in the water when
you die, your location does not change. If you drown, you will not be
revived. Again, if it's between this and the armor, take the armor.
*WARNING*
You gain items with high scores, but LOSE items with very low scores.
Also, as long as the system is not reset, any items you use during a
failed mission are lost, even if you quit and choose not to save. If you
wish to retry a level but not to lose items, you must avoid saving when
prompted, then reload from the memory card after quitting. This can be
done via the options menu. Be careful not to accidentally save rather
than load! In a way, keeping your items like this is cheating, but don't
let it bother you. I consider the default behavior to be a bug.
===============================================================================
5. The playable characters
===============================================================================
Below I have listed brief descriptions of the playable characters as well as
information on their attacks and gameplay attributes. Note that damages
vary depending on the target; the amounts listed below are accurate for
Motohide's archers but are expected to vary against other opponents. The
proportions should remain consistent; therefore, you can expect each hit of
Ayame's rushing attack to be approximately three times more powerful than
each hit of her crouching attack. I've also rated the ranges and speeds of
each attack, with a rating of one being poor and a rating of five being
excellent.
The speed ratings reflect the recovery time of an attack rather than its
execution time. In other words, if an attack is rated high in the recovery
column, after you use it you are more capable of defending yourself or
launching a different attack. In the case of combos, the recovery rating
represents the recovery time with the assumption that the move in question
is the last attack used.
* -=Rikimaru=- *
Rikimaru is arguably the most powerful playable character in the game. All
of his attacks have a very comfortable reach and are reasonably fast.
Several of his attacks do great damage too. In sum, he's a well balanced
and highly effective character.
Attack Damage Range (1-5) Recovery (1-5)
Basic 1 8 4 4
Basic 2 12 4 2
Basic 3 21 4 3
Left/Right 9/26 4/4 3/1
Right/Left 9/17 4/3 2/2
Reverse 21 3 3
Rush 14 5 3
Crouch 26 3 1
Jump 15 2 1
* -=Ayame=- *
I don't like playing as Ayame. Her range is not good and her attacks feel
awkward. Perhaps to compensate, some of her attacks do massive damage. Her
dash speed is the best of the three ninja, but her attack recovery times are
the worst.
Attack Damage Range (1-5) Recovery (1-5)
Basic 1 7 2 3
Basic 2 8 2 1
Basic 3 8 3 N/A
Basic 4 13 3 2
Basic 5 15 3 N/A
Basic 6 15 3 2
Left/Left 9/16 4/2 1/1
Right/Right 8/15 3/1 1/1
Reverse 27 3 2
Rush 18/18 4/5 3
Crouch 6/6 1/3 4
Jump 12 2 1
* -=Tatsumaru=- *
Tatsumaru's recovery speed and range vary wildly depending on which attack
he is using. Generally the first three moves of his basic combo, used
repeatedly and with a touch of variety, are all that is needed. He is
probably the most fun to use when you just want to beat people up.
Attack Damage Range (1-5) Recovery (1-5)
Basic 1 5 2 2
Basic 2 5 2 3
Basic 3 10 3 4
Basic 4 8 3 2
Basic 5 25 5 1
Kick left* 14 4 2
Kick right* 12 3 2
Left 15 5 1
Right 12 3 3
Reverse 25 3 4
Rush 16 5 1
Crouching 27 1 1
Jump 14 3 1
* These moves are part of Tatsumaru's custom combo. They can be used by
holding left or right at the second part of his combo.
===============================================================================
6. Traps and hazards
===============================================================================
There are a lot of traps in this game, and most can only be seen when you
stumble into them. Hopefully the information below can even the odds a bit.
This section is sorted from the least to the most dangerous traps.
Tripwire alarms
Consists of several cans hanging on a string. When they are hit, they
alert all other characters on the map. They are almost everywhere, but
are usually pretty easy to spot. Avoid touching them or disturbing them
in any way and you shouldn't have any problems. If you do set one off,
as long as you're far enough away from the enemy you should be okay. Just
lay low until they are no longer alerted. One thing to be aware of; the
alarm graphic is two-dimensional, so if you approach from the wrong
angle, you may have trouble seeing them.
You can use these to your advantage, as well. If you're not sure the
level is clear, try walking over an alarm and see if anyone reacts.
However, if there are civilians on the map this won't work.
Nightingale floors
A contributor sent me information on Nightingale floors. Basically these
are floors rigged to sound like birds chirping whenever someone walks
over them. It's a security measure and a decoration of sorts. They are
pretty interesting; try a Google search for lots of cool links.
Walking or running over these will alert all enemies. If you roll or
crouch-walk over these, they won't make any noise. And you *can* see
them if you look carefully at the walls. It's probably easier to just
trigger them and then hide, though.
Falling from really high places
This can be trouble in Hard mode since you'll alert all enemies and will
be immobile for a moment. At least you will never take damage from
hitting the ground. Good thing you're a ninja, right?
Smoke traps
Touchplate activated, these pose a minor threat by alerting your enemies,
and immobilizing you momentarily (much as a smoke bomb does). At least
you won't take any damage. There is a smoke trap in the training
mission; you'll find it if you fall into a trench after the fourth enemy.
Enjoy.
Water
This is only a threat in that you will drown if you stay under too long.
Other than that you have sharks, which are pretty rare, and then there's
the splashing sound you make when you fall in. Also, if you have two or
more archers pelting you while you're on the surface, you may not be able
to escape. So maybe it's not so safe after all.
Torches and other forms of fire
Coupled with your character's strange ability to scale a two meter torch
by simply rolling or walking onto it from ground level, torches take on a
completely new threat level. Be very careful not to run onto one, since
you'll not only take some damage but will alert everyone present. You
can use torches to your advantage in boss fights by tricking the enemy
into walking into them, or by forcing them onto one with your attacks.
In its other forms, fire is less threatening. Simply avoid wandering
into a wall of flame and you should be fine.
Arrow traps
These are somewhat rare in Story mode. They are activated by floor
touchplates located nearby. You won't take much damage from these, but
the enemies will be alerted when they hear your ninja shouting in pain.
Spear traps
Very similar to the arrow traps in style and execution. The biggest
difference is that these do more damage. You will have your first
opportunity to see them in action in the training mission.
Mines
You won't have much trouble spotting these; a large lump in the terrain
should be all the warning you need to stay clear. Should you step on
one, the explosion will alert all enemies, as well as dealing a hefty 35
points of damage. Sometimes wandering guards will happen across them;
they will take damage, then start hunting for you (as if it's YOUR
fault).
You can use items such as poison rice or grenades to defuse mines if they
are in your way. You can use primary weapons as well, though some
characters are better at it than others: Rikimaru can easily use his
sword on mines, but Tatsumaru can only use his jumping attack, and Ayame
can only (safely) hit a mine with the final hit of her basic combo.
Rock trap
Basically, a rock perched precariously on a cliff or sharp incline. If
you step in the wrong place, it'll roll down the hill and smack you along
the way. You'll get a brief warning when you hear the unmistakable
"heavy-thing-rolling" sound; get out of the way, then make yourself
scarce. Enemies will be alerted by either the screams of pain, or the
shattering of the rock when it hits a surface.
Collapsing floors
Watch out for these on "man made" surfaces, such as bridges and flooring.
They will make a rapid-fire creaking sound, and give way after a second
or so. You'll even be able to see the floor creeping down if you're
standing on one of them. If you notice one or more of the above, move.
Otherwise, you'll probably end up somewhere you don't want to be, such
as...
Bottomless pits
The old favorite. These can be anywhere but are usually pretty rare. A
notable example is the training mission, which has a hallway full of
collapsing tiles suspended over a bottomless pit, followed by a corridor
with arrow traps along the walls (hint: RUN). Generally, if you can't
see the ground and you're not sure if it's there, assume it isn't.
Bottomless pits really are the worst trap to stumble into, since you will
have to restart the mission all over again. Be careful.
By the way, don't try dragging bodies into the bottomless pits. Fun as
it may sound, it's also VERY risky, since you will probably fall in along
with them.
===============================================================================
7. Mission summaries
===============================================================================
This part of the guide is not a walkthrough per se, because there are simply
too many different approaches to the game. While it's possible to list a
step-by-step approach to the levels (and many have tried), it isn't really
practical, and it also limits you far too much. Instead, I'll give you the
most important info and let you work out the details. I hope this approach
will give you just the right amount of information.
I've listed the following information for each level:
1. Item locations
2. Whether enemies will have items
3. Whether wild animals, civilians, and/or friendlies are present
4. Boss description and tips
5. Number of enemies (known to vary on some levels)
6. Maximum possible score
7. Maximum times you can be spotted and still win with Grand Master
North refers to the top of the map in all cases. Also, some health potions
will not be present every time you play. I'm not sure why this is but it
seems random.
* -=Rikimaru's Missions=- *
Mission R1: Training
-No items or potions
-Enemies have no items
Play around with the different courses if you like. When you're ready to
go, head to the northeast corner. The exit is in the left hand house at
the top of the hill.
The second part of training consists of a small level with just a few
enemies. If you get every kill without being spotted, it will count
towardyour grandmaster total.
Enemies - 9
Max Score - 480
Max Spotted - 0
Mission R2: The Gang of Thieves
-Items: Antidote, 1 potion
-Civilians present
-Enemies have no items
You'll find the Antidote here, on top of a ruined building located along
the east side of the map, near the halfway point. A potion can be found,
occasionally, in a basket on a cliff in the far north part of the map.
The exit is the front door of the temple, located in the northwest corner
of the map.
Boss: Garan
Garan is a pretty strong threat for a beginning player. His combo does
fairly high damage and his paralyzing smoke attack is incredibly cheap.
He has two weaknesses: He takes full damage from items, and doesn't have
many hit points. You can take advantage of this by bringing six
(or more) shuriken with you when you choose items. Select your shuriken
just before you reach the exit, and as the mission starts, face him head
on and throw as fast as you can. This should either hurt him badly or
kill him outright. If he's still standing, lay into him with your combo.
He won't usually block all the attacks. Don't give him time to use his
smoke attack.
Enemies - 9 guards, 1 boss
Max Score - 505
Max Spotted - 0
Mission R3: Treason at Gohda Castle
-Items: Smoke Bomb, 1 potion.
-Enemies have no items
You'll first come to the potion on this level; it's in one of a pair of
boxes located on the third floor, interior area, next to a stationary
guard. On the fourth floor, you'll find the Smoke Bomb in the south
center hallway, hidden in the recessed area.
Boss: (secret)
Use the smoke bomb you picked up to stun him and get in a couple of
crouching attacks right away. Try to get behind him while he is choking;
usually a quick-reverse roll after the first crouch-attack works wonders
since he is still gagging. Use another crouching attack, then use your
combo to wear him down. Once you take away half his life, you will win.
His gun is dangerous, but only if you give him a chance to use it. Be
aggressive and you should win with little damage.
Enemies - 15 guards, 1 boss (unkillable)
Max Score - 600
Max Spotted - 0
Mission R4: Lord Toda's War Camp
-Items: Grenade, 1 potion
-Search all red ninja
The Grenade can be found along the west side of the map, about halfway
through, near a series of three red ninja. A potion can be found just to
the east of where you found the grenade, in a crate inside the cage-like
structure. The exit is the front "door" of the large cage on the north
end of the camp. If you're going for Grand Master, make sure to nullify
the ninja prowling behind this structure.
Boss: Suzaku
Suzaku is a serious threat. His combo is fairly dangerous, and he has a
leg sweep that can penetrate your guard. Also, he can destroy your
shuriken by guarding. You should bring some smoke bombs specifically to
fight him. Use a smoke bomb to stun him; knock him down with a
crouch-attack, then quick-reverse behind him and crouch-attack again.
Run in and keep using crouch attacks from the rear; time your attacks to
connect just as he stands. If he manages to face you, use another smoke
bomb. Rinse and repeat. After five attacks or so, he will run away.
Enemies - 13 guards, 1 boss (unkillable)
Max Score - 560
Max Spotted - 0
Mission R5: Demon Mountain
-Items: Poison Rice
-Wild animals: 1 bear and 2 wolves
-Search all enemies
The Poison Rice can be found in a small nook near the west side of the
map, again at about the halfway point. It's northwest of the long
bridge, on the ground. There will be a stationary guard just northwest
of the item. I was unable to find any potion on this level.
Boss: Kamadoma
Kamadoma is not too hard, if you're careful. He has a nasty three hit
combo that does a lot of damage, but he doesn't have a lot of HP. Use
the same tactic I listed for Suzaku to win easily. If something goes
wrong, you have a lot of room to escape.
Enemies - 19 guards, 1 boss
Max Score - 685
Max Spotted - 2
Mission R6: The Secret Harbor
-Items: Air Bottle, potion
-Wild animals: 1 shark
-Civilians present
-Search the female ninja
You'll find a host of traps in this level. You'll also find the Air
Bottle, for what it's worth. It's located on top of the arch along the
west side of the map, just before the beach. You can find a potion in a
basket at the north end of the ship.
Boss: Wang Xioahai
This is probably the toughest boss Rikimaru will face. Many of his
attacks will penetrate your guard, so don't go toe to toe with him. Be
prepared with three or four smoke bombs and some grenades. You can either
use the smoke bomb tactic, or escape to the deck of the ship and snipe.
The stairway to the deck is behind you and to the right as the fight
begins. It's kind of difficult to see since the angle is so extreme,but
if you know it's there it's a little easier to find.
Enemies - 16 guards, 1 boss
Max Score - 625
Max Spotted - 0
Mission R7: The Temple of Dreams
-Items: Blowgun, 1 potion
-Civilians present
-Search all enemies
The Blowgun makes itself available here. It's hidden in a small cabin
near the west edge of the map. There are two ninja patrolling the
building, and the entrance is underwater, on the east side of the
foundation. The exit is the the front stair of the north-center building.
-Thanks to Ben Larsen for the following potion location: There's a
potion in a crate in the center building, next to a sleeping guard.
Boss: Yukihotaru, the firefly princess
Sure does sound tough, doesn't she? Use the smoke bomb tactic to win
easily, or just beat the crap out her with your combo. Her best attack
is a quadruple knife throw. This is only a threat if she lives long
enough to use it.
Enemies - 29 guards, 1 boss
Max Score - 885
Max Spotted - 9 (!)
Mission R8: Ninja Village Under Attack
-Items: Mine, 2 potions
-Friendlies present
-Search all enemies
A potion is in the crate located in the southwest corner of the upstairs
training area. The Mine can be found just north of the westmost pillar
in that same area. You might also be able to find another potion near
the waterfall, in a basket. When you eliminate the last enemy, the
mission will end. If you're having trouble scoring Grand Master, make
sure your friends don't kill any enemies for you.
Boss: (secret)
You will be in an enclosed area and there will be no chance of escape.
The enemy is very close when the battle begins, and you will need to be
careful not to take damage. When you have an opening, use the smoke
bomb/crouch-attack combo to win in two moves! Now you will be honored to
meet one of the greatest of the Azuma Ninja: Semimaru.
Enemies - 15 guards, 1 boss (unkillable)
Max Score - 600
Max Spotted - 0
Mission R9 - (title secret)
-No items or potions
-Search all enemies
Ugh, this one is hard. Be sure to bring lots of blowdarts if you can, as
it makes the level a lot easier to get through without being spotted.
There are no items or potions to be found in this level, so concentrate
on the items carried by your rivals.
Boss: Byakko
This is almost too easy. Use the smoke bomb tactic to ruin his party,
post-haste. He has got some fast attacks that'll penetrate your guard,
but this shouldn't be an issue if he can't use them.
Enemies - 16 guards, 1 boss
Max Score - 625
Max Spotted - 0
Mission R10: The Kansen Caverns
-Items: Blinding powder, 1 potion
-Civilians present
-Search all enemies
The potion can be found on top of the arch near the entrance, in what
looks like two stacked square bags. The Blinding Powder can be seen from
the ground nearby, but isn't actually accessible until near the end of
the level. It can be found just behind you after you scale a ramp toward
the end of the map.
Enemies - 19
Max Score - 680
Max Spotted - 2
Mission R11: The Sea Battle
-Items: Four potions
-Wild animals: 3 sharks
-Friendlies present
-Search all enemies
Warning: This is a very long, two part level. You won't be able to save
for a long time; keep this in mind. You'll find a potion hidden in a
crate on the big ship near the beginning with two archers. You'll need
to head to the second large ship in the northwest corner, and deal with
the enemy leader there.
Sub-boss: Suzaku, to the death
Just use the same tactics you used before. He will try poison you now,
so watch out.
Mission R11-2:
There are potentially three potions here; one is in a crate dead ahead of
where you start, the second is located in a crate near a cannon, torch,
and archer in the northwest corner of the map, and the third may be on
the raised area just south of the right center mast, in one of the three
crates. The final battle will be in the inaccessible area at the top of
the map, but you actually need to proceed to the southeast corner to get
there.
Final boss: (secret)
The enemy general is fast and can not be knocked down with a crouching
attack in the first part of the battle. I still recommend using it when
possible though, as it does a lot of damage. Halfway through the fight,
the enemy will switch weapons and tactics. Some of the attacks can
penetrate your guard; be careful. The smoke bomb/crouch-attack combo
will see you through. You can also grapple to the top of the structure
to get some cheap attacks in.
Enemies - 44 guards, 2 bosses
Max Score - 1190
Max Spotted - 19 (!)
Congratulations! You've cleared the game with Rikimaru.
* -=Ayame's missions=- *
Mission A1: Training
-No items or potions
-Enemies have no items
Ayame's training mission is the same as Rikimaru's. Piece of cake.
Enemies - 9 guards
Max Score - 480
Max Spotted - 0
Mission A2: The Mountain Bandits
-Items: Antidote, potion
-Wild animals: 1 wolf
-Enemies have no items
You'll find the potion in a crate just north of the ravine, about halfway
through the map. The crate itself is just south of a small hut. The
Antidote is a bit north of where you found the potion, on the floor of
another ruined house. Both are toward the east side of the map. The
exit is the highest hill in the northeast corner.
Boss: Boron
"Huh? I have to fight THIS guy?" Well, it's not so bad if you plan
ahead. He has a ton of HP and a very long range with his hammer. But
he, like Garan, takes full damage from items. Keep this in mind when you
gear up. Ayame's most effective move is her rush attack, so get
acquainted with it here. Use the rear attack if you overshoot him on a
rush. When you see him winding up for an attack, block. If you need to
escape, run up the stairs. You will probably get hurt a few times (I
always do), but hopefully this advice will help.
Enemies - 14 guards, 1 boss
Max Score - 585
Max Spotted - 0
Mission A3: Lady Kei in Danger
-Items: Grenade, 1 potion
-Civilians present
-Friendlies present
-Enemies have no items
The potion can be found in a crate near the beginning of the level,
inside the building. You will need to work around the innocent woman
without being seen; I recommend taking the second entrance and working
your way back. You'll find the Grenade outside, in the southwest
courtyard near another civilian woman. Don't be spotted unnecessarily;
the camoflage item works well here. The enemy troops won't be carrying
any items.
Boss: Genbu
You'll find him a bit tougher to handle than Boron. Again, take lots of
shuriken or exploding arrows. Try using your grenade on him too. The
best time to hit him with an item is when he is getting up; he tends to
dodge otherwise. Again there is a torch, be careful not to run onto it.
He's smart enough to avoid it too, but you might be able to force him
onto it with a combo. And be very careful about his side attacks; he
will sometimes hit you when you try to run past him. He will flee when
you hurt him badly enough.
Enemies - 13 guards, 1 boss (unkillable)
Max Score - 560
Max Spotted - 0
Mission A4: To Save a Princess
-Items: Blowgun
-Search all red ninja
You must not be identified while playing this mission, or you will lose
instantly. Find the Blowgun on a small hill fairly close to the</pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
beginning on the east side of the map, near a stationary guard. I've
thus far been unable to find any potions. The goal is in the southwest
corner. As in Rikimaru's mission on this map, only the red ninja will
have items.
Enemies - 13 guards
Max Score - 560
Max Spotted - 0 (stealth mission)
Mission A5: Kubon Island
-Items: Air Bottle, 2 potions
-Enemies have no items
The Air Bottle can be found toward the northwest side of the map, on a
small gray island with a stationary rifle guard. There are two potions
here; one is in a crate located in a cave on the west side, towards the
interior of the map. You can either swim or go by land to get there. I
found another potion in a crate located in the northeast part of the map,
near a rolling rock trap. The exit is the south part of the map; it's
easier to get there if you come from the northeast.
Enemies - 24 guards
Max Score - 780
Max Spotted - 6
Mission A6: The Island Fort
-Items: Poison Rice, 1 potion
-Civilians present
-Only the ninja have items
You'll find the Poison rice in a small cave near the center of the map
here. It's accessible via the well, or another entrance to the south.
Medicine can sometimes be found in a crate next to a house in the
northeast corner. The ample number of guards makes this mission a bit
easier to grandmaster.
Boss: Wang Dahai
He has a fairly powerful combo and dodges quickly. His combo does have a
major flaw; he's very vulnerable before the final hit. But, it may take
a while for you to figure out when to attack because of his flashy style.
Try a rushing attack when he's open. Bring armor if you've unlocked it.
It's a good idea to bring a few grenades or shuriken to hurt him too.
His range is much longer than yours, so try to hurt him as much as
possible before you have to attack with your daggers.
Enemies - 26 guards, 1 boss
Max Score - 825
Max Spotted - 7
Mission A7: The Quarantine Village
-Items: Smoke bomb, 1 potion
-Civilians present
-Search all enemies AND bosses
Both the smoke bomb and and a potion can be found in a courtyard of one
of the three sided buildings, toward the center. They will be guarded by
a scythe wielding ninja. Exit the level at the gate in the northeast
corner. Incidentally, I recommend bring an extra sleeping gas or ninja
camoflage to bypass the civvie near the gate.
Bosses: Slug, Snake, and Toad
The boss battle in this area is pretty fun. There are three of them;
none of them are particularly powerful, so use area effect weapons like
smoke bombs and grenades to wear them down. Then take them out, one at a
time. Use your big damage moves, like rushing strikes and reverse
attacks. Note that you can search the first two you kill.
Enemies - 14 guards, 3 bosses
Max Score - 595
Max Spotted - 0
Mission A8: Cherry Tree Hill
-No items or potions
-Wild animals: 1 wolf
-Search all enemies
Not as bad as it sounds; just take your time. Focus on stealth items
such as blowgun ammo, camoflage, and sleeping gas when you choose. There
are no items, and no boss. The trees do have a nasty habit of obscuring
your vision.
Enemies - 14 guards
Max Score - 600
Max Spotted - 0
Mission A9: (title secret)
-Items: Mine
-Search all enemies
The mine can be had here; it is located about halfway through the map
along the east side, in a nook with a sleeping guard. Be careful not to
step on the *live* mine right next to it.
Boss: Churro the Magnificent
This is probably the hardest battle in the game. Be prepared with lots
of explosives. Definitely wear armor if you have it. I always use up
all of my damage items right away, and then finish him with smoke bombs
and combos mixed with rushing attacks. Be careful, though, not to rush
too far or he will get behind you. Rush from a distance. This is one
time you should avoid using your rear attack. Use caltrops or smoke
bombs when you need to heal. Whatever you do, do not turn your back to
him.
Enemies - 17 guards, 1 boss
Max Score - 645
Max Spotted - 1
Mission A10: The Kansen Caverns
-Items: Blinding powder, 1 potion
-Civilians present
-Search all enemies
The blinding powder is hidden is this level. It's in a cave in the
southwest corner, next to a lake. There should be a civilian tooling
around nearby. I'd highly suggest bringing at least one sleeping gas or
camoflage specifically for this area; this should allow you to
incapacitate the man without hurting him, or simply slip by him. Also,
you'll find the potion near the entrance of this level, by the horse.
There'll be a sleeping guard nearby. The potion is in what looks like a
stack of bags. Search everyone you eliminate. There is no boss here.
Enemies - 15 guards
Max Score - 600
Max Spotted - 0
Mission A11: The Fire Demon
-Items: 1 potion
-Civilians present
-Search all enemies
This is a very long mission with lots of enemies. You'll find a health
potion near in a crate in the third area, near a red enemy with large
claws and three grey chests. You may want to double back as you reach
the end to make sure you don't miss any enemies. The exit is near the
cargo hold; approach the large solid staircase to fight the first boss of
the level. Again, search everyone you take out.
Boss: Genbu, to the death
You'll use the same tricks you used before, but now you have access to
more items. Smoke bombs and grenades prove very useful here. Unlike the
first time you fight him, your rear attack will take him down. You can
run away and hide behind the pillars if you need a breather. Make sure
to save a few smoke bombs for the next boss.
Final boss: (secret)
The second boss is aggressive and fast but doesn't take much damage. Use
that to your advantage by stunning him with a smoke bomb and hitting him
with your best moves: combos, rushing attacks, and rear attacks (only
when his back is to you). You should win in short order if you are
careful.
Enemies - 24 guards, 2 bosses
Max Score - 790
Max Spotted - 6
Good work! You've finished the last of Ayame's missions.
* -=Tatsumaru's missions=- *
Mission T1: A Shadow
-Items: Antidote
-Friendlies present
-Search the red ninja
This is a surprisingly large and complex mission, due to full use of all
three dimensions. The Antidote can be found in the southeast corner of
the map. It should be near a friendly soldier in a courtyard, against a
wall. I was unable to find health potion in *ANY* of Tatsumaru's
missions except the last. Search the red ninja for items.
-I've gotten at least one email noting that the enemies are constantly
alert in this mission. You may have noticed this too. The likely
cause is one of the friendlies attacking an enemy. This will alert all
of the enemies, regardless of your actions. You may need to be within a
certain radius of the characters in question for this to happen, but I'm
not sure. Be aware of this when stalking your prey.
Boss: The Blue Dragon
Bring your armor if you have it, but don't panic if you don't. This guy
doesn't take too much damage and his attacks aren't exactly commanding.
Use the first three hits of your combo repeatedly to trash him easily.
You can use the terrain to your advantage if you feel you are in danger.
Enemies - 18 guards, 1 boss
Max Score - 665
Max Spotted - 2
Mission T2: The Head of Lord Toda
-Items: Blinding powder
-Search the red ninja
You can find the Blinding Powder in the far southeast corner of the map,
just behind a tree. One of Toda's soldiers should be nearby. You will
face two boss fights on this map, and you might be a bit overwhelmed if
you don't come prepared.
Boss fight 1: (secret)
In this battle, try to wipe out the archer, then the pikeman, then work
on your primary target. You won't have much room to move around, nor
will you have many items to work with. Sleeping gas and exploding arrows
could really help you out here, but not nearly as much as the armor.
Caltrops will help you escape to heal.
Boss fight 2: (secret)
In the second fight, you just need to reduce the enemy to 50% life. It
shouldn't be too hard, just use your combo when you can, and keep your
adversary in front of you.
Enemies - 14 guards, 4 "bosses" (1 unkillable)
Max Score - 595
Max Spotted - 0
Mission T3: (title secret)
-Items: Poison Rice
-Wild animals: 1 wolf
-Enemies have no items
This isn't too hard, although you can't be spotted at all, or the mission
will end. Once you get eight kills, you will succeed. Only go after the
guards; don't attack the women. I've verified that you don't actually
need to get an animation on each kill. The Poison Rice can be found
here, in the southwest corner of the map, next to a building. Note that
if you fail on this mission, the cut scene is pretty funny.
Enemies - 14 guards
Max Score - 460
Max Spotted - 0 (stealth mission)
Mission T4: (title secret)
-Items: Air Bottle, Blowgun
-Wild animals: 1 Shark (?)
-Enemies have no items
Be careful about being spotted here. There are a lot of guards with
overlapping coverage. If you really want it, grab the Air Bottle along
the north center area of the map, near an archer. You will need to
eliminate all of the enemies to proceed.
-Many thanks to Andre de Leon for the location of the elusive Blowgun.
It's at the far south end of the map, hidden underwater. The easiest way
to find it is to jump south off the dock and swim straight ahead until
you reach the wall. It should then be to your right. This should make
the game much easier from this point on.
Boss: Urano Takehito
He is very slow but has a powerful combo. Be conservative in your
attack. Also note that he can't be knocked down until you croak him.
Enemies - 16 guards, 1 boss
Max Score - 625
Max Spotted - 0
Mission T5: (title secret)
-Items: Grenade
-Civilians present
-Enemies have no items
There are a lot of soldiers tightly concentrated on this map. Do a
little scouting before you attack, and you'll save yourself some work in
the long run. The Grenade can be found in the south center area of the
map, in an alcove near the pit. There should be a basket right next to
it, hiding it from view. Eliminate all the enemy soldiers to exit the
mission.
Enemies - 14 guards
Max Score - 580
Max Spotted - 0
Mission T6: (title secret)
-Items: Smoke Bomb
-Search all enemies
You don't need to eliminate all enemies to exit the mission, but you
can't get Grand Master without doing so. You'll find the Smoke Bomb
inside one of the lower pair of houses. I would suggest getting the
smoke bomb early in the mission, and then borrowing as many of them as
possible from the guards milling about. You can fight the boss by
stepping in front of the house that is nearest the northeast corner.
Boss: (secret)
The enemy leader is fast and powerful; use the smoke bombs you picked up
to stun him, and follow up with uppercuts. Again, you can get behind him
and uppercut repeatedly for a quick win. The area you fight him in is
pretty small, and you won't be able to run away.
Enemies - 16 guards, 1 boss
Max Score - 625
Max Spotted - 0
Mission T7: (title secret)
-Items: Mine, 2 potions
-No enemies have items
This is the finale. You must eliminate all of the enemies to finish this
mission. The Mine can be found at the southernmost point of the map, on
the white structure between the two main cannons. You might be able to
find a healing potion on the eastern cannon deck near the beginning, and
another in the northeast corner. Once you've eliminated every guard,
you'll face the final boss.
Boss: (secret)
The last opponent is pretty fast, but really not hard compared to what
you're used to, especially if you are wearing armor. He does a lot of
damage, so be careful. Use the standard tactic; use a smoke bomb, get
behind him, uppercut repeatedly. This will let you win in no time.
Enemies - 21 guards, 1 boss
Max Score - 725
Max Spotted - 4
Nice job! You've won with Tatsumaru. Don't miss the awesome movie after
the credits. It should make it all worthwhile, especially if you've
played the first Tenchu.
===============================================================================
8. Miscellaneous hints and advice
===============================================================================
-Andre de Leon sent in some general gameplay hints, listed below:
1. Don't hesitate to use your basic attacks from a distance to kill an
unaware enemy. This is a actually a good way to eliminate two guards
that are close together since you will not waste time on a long stealth
kill animation
2. The cats cannot be killed, and will alert guards to your presence. (This
is, in fact, the same way cats behaved in the first game). For a laugh,
try poisoning one of them to see how much damage they can take.
3. If you are spotted, don't stay and fight. Instead, escape and hide until
the enemy is unaware again. You will lose fewer points this way. This
is useful on levels with more than 16 enemies, since you can often still
get a Grand Master rating.
4. If you are playing a new mission and want to simply scout the area,
consider bringing nothing with you. This way, if you fail or get a low
rating, you will only lose items you found on the mission. This can be
faster than reloading from the memory card; it's your call which method
to use.
5. Try using corpses to lure guards away from their posts. This will allow
you to kill large numbers of enemies on your terms. Most importantly,
enemies often become stationary after spotting a fallen comrade, and thus
easier to kill in many situations. Just make sure you have a good hiding
place for the ensuing manhunt.
6. You can perform stealth kills while your weapons are sheathed. When you
hit the attack button near the enemy, the stealth kill animation will
begin regardless of whether your weapon is ready or not. This can be
used to your advantage, since Rikimaru and Ayame move faster when their
weapons are put away.
-Because of a quirk with 3D rendering, you may find that faraway enemies and
other objects are easier to see when they're on the left and right edges of
the screen, and get harder to see as you move them to the center of your
view. This isn't really a big problem, but it's nice to be aware of it.
-If you use the reverse roll ([R1] + X) to pick up an item, the "grabbing"
animation will be skipped. This is surprisingly useful when fighting
bosses, since you can retrieve your shuriken or health potion more quickly.
Furthermore, if there are several items bunched together (shuriken), you
will pick them all up at once. Try this with the shuriken in training.
-You can change the trajectory of the moonsault; it's actually possible to
land a couple of steps behind your starting point. You can also move pretty
far to the left or right. It's difficult to take advantage of this but it's
fun to play with.
-If you are hit while using a potion, it will be dropped and any character
can retrieve it. If you are hit when using any other item (except the
grappling hook), it disappears from your inventory but CANNOT be
retrieved. Be careful not to be hit when using items, especially the more
rare/powerful ones.
-You might already know that you can knock arrows out of the air by
attacking with your primary weapon. But you may not have known that you can
also destroy them with your own thrown weapons, namely shuriken. Other
weapons may work but I'm not sure.
-If enemies are sleeping, you might have problems hitting them with Ayame or
Tatsumaru. For Ayame, try her crouching attack, and for Tatsumaru, use your
jumping attack.
-If you use the blowgun on bosses, it will poison them, but they will
usually take damage once and then revert to being healthy. Some bosses will
be poisoned but won't take damage from it. So it's usually not worthwhile.
-Sometimes you will need to break portions of walls with your weapon, such
as in Rikimaru's "Treason at Gohda Castle". If a guard is close and you are
concerned about being spotted, attack the wall at an angle so that you are
hidden by the remaining walls.
-Extra cool trick: You can jump out of the water onto an enemy, and perform
the midair stealth kill. I call this move a "stunt kill". The positioning
is brutal, but it's nifty when it works (and pretty sad when it doesn't).
-Here's a weird one: Enemies cannot hear you jumping out of the water when
you are swimming; it's falling in that alerts them, even though both use
the same sound effect. This odd fact is useful to know, since you can jump
out of the water and onto boats with impunity.
-Contrary to previous info I gave, wild animals do *not* count toward your
kill totals. Of course, you are still penalized if they identify you.
-Bears and wolves can be killed with one whack from your weapon if they are
unaware. You'll probably still need to knock them out though, and wolves
are so easy to kill with shuriken there's no reason to bother. Wolves also
have the best detection ability of any enemy, as you will see.
-Sharks, on the other hand, can only be killed by hitting them in the mouth.
Two shuriken or one blowdart will do the trick. Do *not* hit them with
flaming arrows or grenades, or the game will crash.
-A word about hard difficulty vs. normal: There are just a few differences:
1. The enemies are able to see you at increased ranges, and are alert for
longer periods of time.
2. Bodies that fall in hard mode (say, after you drag them off a cliff)
alert all guards. If you miss a grapple and fall flat, it'll do the
same.
3. When the enemies are alert, but unsure where you are ("!?" status), they
tend to throw things in your general direction. That means you might be
just far enough away to watch your enemy but not for them to find you,
and suddenly they'll shoot a blowdart at you. If you're moving or
behind cover you usually won't be hit. Also, if you hear the sound of a
shuriken nearby, check the area; you might be able to recover it.
4. Finally, guards that are normally sleeping in the easier modes are now
awake. This makes them somewhat more difficult to handle than before.
On the other hand, they are usually still stationary, so with a bit of
patience they should not pose a threat.
-You can find six different items when searching enemies: shuriken,
caltrops, antidote, grenades, blowdarts, and smoke bombs. You can only find
a tool on an enemy when you have previously found it in a level. For
example, if you really want poison darts, and you happen to be on the
mission in which you gain the blowgun, try picking up the blowgun *before*
neutralizing any opponents who might be carrying them, thus giving yourself
a chance to find ammo on their bodies.
-If you're jumping an enemy from a rooftop or ledge, try rolling forward.
You'll save a little time when you hit the ground, because you won't bounce
when you land.
-Similarly, when closing in on a moving target, run towards their
destination, not where they are at the moment. You can often save one or
two steps this way.
-Remember not to take too long; you are limited to 99 mins and 59 seconds (I
think) to beat a level. If you exceed that limit, the mission will end and
you will be brought to the Game Over screen, as if you had died.
-A good way to proceed through the game is to alternate characters between
levels. This way they both have some good items for their last few
missions. I will usually attempt a Grand Master on the first try, but if I
fail I will finish anyway. Then if I need Grand Masters later, I can come
back and try the mission again.
-When you get Grand Master on every level, your carrying capacity is
increased to 24. In the PAL version you obtain the fishbone which does the
same thing. Not that you need the extra capacity at this point...
===============================================================================
9. Undocumented features (bugs)
===============================================================================
Here's a list of some of the major bugs in this game. These are listed from
the most to the least harmful.
1. Disappearing guards
Andre de Leon pointed out the most dangerous bug in the game: Enemies
disappear. That is, when you approach the area that is supposed to be
guarded, nobody is there. As you exit the area, you might be spotted by
the guard as he suddenly reappears.
Solution: If you already know where the guards are supposed to be, and
you notice they don't appear, try backing out of the area and returning.
This will often do the trick. You could also try eliminating other
nearby guards first to free more display memory. Another way to detect
this issue is to watch the Ki meter: If, as you run from one area to the
next, you see the meter jump from nothing to "?30" and start counting
down, an enemy was supposed to be in the first area, and just reappeared.
Be assured that *most* of the time, the enemies will appear at a safe
distance and you will not be spotted.
2. Camera angles
An issue that causes no end of irritation for me is the way the view
shifts when you stop moving. Why would I need to look at the ground 20
feet in front of my character? I think the reason the perspective looks
down is to hide the limited range of your view, unless it's just the
result of an unfinished bit of code. In any case, the view improves
slightly as you move around, and can be forced where you want it with L1.
This issue is more prevalent in enclosed areas.
Solution: None, really. Use L1 as necessary.
3. Corpse dragging issues
You are unable to drag bodies when an arm or head has been severed.
Whether this is intentional or not is open to debate. However, not being
allowed to drag bodies unless the ground is perfectly flat can not have
been intentional and is irritating.
Solution: If you're desperate, try nudging the body around while
crouching until it's on level ground, and then drag it. This takes a
long time, though. If you're trying to hide the body from guards, just
hide instead and wait for it to be spotted; it's much faster this way.
As long as you've got a good hiding spot you should be okay.
4. Grappling hook
The grappling hook has been limited a bit from the first installment.
While I don't mind being unable to grapple some of the surfaces, I'm a
bit dismayed by the frequency of falls from objects that *are* climbable.
This can be a real problem if you're trying to escape an attacker, and
you will also alert all enemies on Hard difficulty when you fall flat.
Solution: It might help slightly to hold U + X as you grapple an object.
Not sure why, but it seems to help. As you will see on Rikimaru's "Demon
Mountain", some walls are more difficult to climb than others. Walls
that are at 90 degree angles are less likely to give you problems.
5. Stealth kills don't work against some opponents
Andre de Leon pointed out that it is very difficult, if not impossible,
to get the "from behind" stealth kill animation against the enemies on
Tatsumaru's sixth mission. As he stated, this is probably due to their
somewhat smaller stature. Solution: Just use basic attacks, or use a
different stealth kill. It's good to be aware of this problem though.
6. Stealth kills are interrupted
As listed above, there are problems with the stealth kill animations
ending early. This is usually the result of a collision between one of
the characters and a surface.
Solution: None really, other than avoiding stealth kill animations when
a problem is likely to occur.
7. Terrain issues
You may have noticed that the character controls are a bit slippery in
terrain of varying elevations. For instance, you can often step or roll
right "over" a fence from ground level, or increase the height of your
jump by moving over terrain that is progressively higher.
Solution: You may actually want to take advantage of this increased
mobility once you've gotten comfortable with it. Rikimaru and Ayame's
second missions have many places you can try this. It shouldn't be like
this, but why not make the most of it?
8. Super jumps
In some missions, at certain walls, you can jump impossibly high. A good
example is the training missions for both Rikimaru and Ayame. The second
wall you must climb is so high that you should need to grapple the ledge;
however, you can simply jump and grab the ledge instead.
9. Tatsu's sword
Tatsumaru can be forced to carry his sword, rather than sheathing it
immediately, in two different ways. If you bump the enemy just before a
stealth kill, he will pound them in the back of the head, and the sword
will magically appear in his hand. The second way is to use an airborne
attack and "bounce" a bit on the landing. The easiest way to do so is to
be on a ledge above a wall that is at least as tall as Tatsu, then jump
and attack on the way down. The sheathing animation should be skipped as
you land, allowing you to keep the weapon out. From that point, Tatsu
will carry his sword until he either uses an attack or stealth kill that
requires its use.
10. Potion duplication
Chris Gerlach wrote with an interesting glitch that could potentially be
exploited. If you get hit just after drinking a potion and healing, but
before you toss the container away, your health will be restored AND the
potion will fall to the ground, allowing you to keep it. I was able to
replicate this. One way you can use this to your advantage is to stand
near a spear trap and use a potion each time you get hit. The timing is
far too difficult for this to be useful though.
11. Decapitation + amputation
Finally, Andre de Leon sent me this: "You can cut of both the head and
an arm of an opponent at the same time! i did this with Rikimaru while
doing his classic "from behind" stealth kill. what happened was, when i
cut off the guards head, the stealth kill animation stopped at the very
last moment because the guard "hit" the wall when he flopped to the
floor. after the animation stopped, his arm just flew off--something that
happens when you normally kill your opponent. basically, the sudden
transition made both random(well, they seem to be) events happen one
after the other. hard to reproduce, but anyone can do it."
I have done this as well. It's pretty cool.
===============================================================================
10. Cheat codes
===============================================================================
Here are all of the cheat codes for Tenchu 2 that are known at this time. I
should note that I didn't discover these; I found the cheats on IGN.com and
gamefaqs.com. However, I did verify the NTSC cheats myself and added to
some of the information listed on the above websites. I've designated which
cheats are for the NTSC version and which are for the PAL version below.
While I'm at it, I'd like to give a big thanks to 'jimbojan' for verifying
and posting the PAL cheats to gamefaqs.com; it saves me having to buy and
import a lot of expensive things. :)
1. Restore health to 100%
-NTSC: First, pause the game. Then hold the [] button down, and press
L, R, U, D. When you resume the game, your health will be full again.
WARNING: You are penalized for being spotted once each time you use the
code.
-PAL: Pause the game; hold O, and press L, R, U, and D. You may or may
not be penalized for being spotted, I'm not sure.
2. Reveal entire mission map
-NTSC: Hold the Select button to display the map, if one is available.
Then, press O five times. The entire map will be displayed.
-PAL: Hold both Select and [R1], and then press [] five times.
3. Unlock all items
-NTSC: Press the following keys at the Item Select screen: [], [], [],
O, [], O, O, L, U, D, R, [R2], [R2]. All of the items should now be
displayed. Their quantities will still be at zero, however. You can use
cheat #4 to increase the quantities.
-PAL: At the Item Select screen, press: [R2], [L2], [R2], [L2]. Then
hold Select, and press R, L, O, [], D, U, U.
4. Increase all items by one
-NTSC: At the Item Select screen, Hold [R1] and []. Then press R, D, L,
U. All of the item quantities should be increased by one. Repeat as
desired.
-PAL: Again at the Item Select screen, hold [R1] and O, then press R, D,
L, [L1].
5. Unlock every stage in story mode
-NTSC: On the Mission Select screen, hold O, [], and [Select]. Then
press the following buttons: R, R, R, U, L, D, [R2]. All of the
missions for Rikimaru and Ayame will become available. If you use the
code to unlock Tatsumaru at this point, you will be able to play his
missions in story mode.
-PAL: First, highlight a mission that has not yet been unlocked (-).
Hold [], then press R, L, and D. Then, hold O, and press L, R, and U.
Continue holding O, and press and hold []. While holding both buttons,
press U, then D. In the unlikely event the sequence was entered
properly, the stages will be unlocked.
6. Unlock Tatsumaru
-NTSC: On the Mission Select screen in story mode, hold both [] and O.
Then press [R1], [R2], [L2], [L1], U, D, L, R, [Select]. A sound effect
will verify that the code has been entered. You will now be able to use
Tatsumaru in the Mission Editor. If you have used the unlock code for
all missions in story mode, you can play his story mode missions as well.
-PAL: Okay, this is somewhat hard to explain, but I'll try. At the
Mission Select screen under story mode, use L or R to select the
character that is *not* the default. In other words, if Ayame was the
last character used, when the screen appears she will be selected
already. In this case, you would select Rikimaru as the first step of
the code. Then, hold both O and []; you will continue holding them for
the rest of the code. Press R, U, and L, then press and hold D. Press
[L1] then |L2|. Then, release D and press [Select]. You should now be
able to play as Tatsumaru.
7. Unlock all built-in custom missions
-NTSC: At the Custom Mission select screen under Mission Editor, hold
both [R2] and O. Then press U, D, D, R, L, L. All of the missions will
be unlocked.
-PAL: There doesn't yet seem to be a code to do this in the PAL version.
I could be wrong; let me know.
8. Unlock "Tenchu, Inc." mission and office tileset
-NTSC: At the Custom Mission select screen, hold [L2] and press O, [],
L, R, O, []. You'll be able to play the ultra-secret "Tenchu, Inc."
mission. This is the only way I know of to access this mission and
tileset.
-PAL: Under Mission Editor, go to the Edit Mission option. Highlight
"Create New Mission"; then hold [R2] and press L, [], L, [], R, R, O.
Finally, press X. I'm not sure if you need to release [R2] before
pressing X, however. If one technique doesn't work, try the other.
9. Copy built-in custom missions from CD to editor
-NTSC: At the Edit Custom Mission screen, hold O and press the following
buttons: U, U, D, D, L, R. You'll be able to copy the built-in missions
to memory card, and then edit them yourself. It seems that you have to
have beaten the mission at least once, though.
-PAL: Go to the Edit Mission screen, and highlight Edit Mission. Hold
[], and press U, U, D, D, L, R. You should hear a sound if the code is
accepted.
10. Instant kills (PAL only)
-First, pause the game. Press [R1], [L1], [R1], [L2]. Then, hold /\,
and D, D, D, U. Release /\. The game may resume on it's own, or you may
need to hit Start to unpause. If the code works, your health should be
at 98, but you will be able to kill instantly regardless of whether you
have been spotted or not. Clarifications on this code would be most
welcome.
===============================================================================
11. Version history
===============================================================================
Version 1.0: First public release. Distributed 9/4/2000
Version 1.1: Minor fixes to various sections.
-Added the crouching stealth kill (I forgot it before, sorry)
-Added boss info to Tatsumaru mission six
Version 1.15: Minor formatting fixes.
-Removed many unnecessary carriage returns
-Fixed several minor grammatical errors, and clarified the confusing
language in some areas.
-Added entry to the credits
Version 1.2: Added new entries from a contributor, and adjusted some
earlier statements for clarity.
Version 1.4: Many major changes. Added two new sections, one listing
character attributes and another for gameplay bugs. Also added several
entries from contributors as well as reorganizing some sections.
Version 1.42: Corrected several misspellings and added some new info
-Added an entry to section two about PAL vs NTSC
-Fixed and updated some of the mission data
-Added several tips to the miscellaneous data section
Version 1.44: A fantastically delayed update.
-Added a hazard section listing the traps in the game
-Added a cheats section
-Moved some of the things from the miscellaneous section to more
appropriate areas
-Reformatted the FAQ to enhance readability at the cost of printability,
by re-inserting the unnecessary carriage returns I removed in version
1.15 and tweaking the layout of some of the sections.
-Added contributions from three readers
-Added some new entries to the credits section.
Version 2.0
-Major update: removed a lot of cruft and reformatted document
-Now munging e-mail addresses
-Created a beautiful ASCII art title
===============================================================================
12. Credits and Legal
===============================================================================
-Thanks to Activision and Sony Music Entertainment, and more importantly,
their respective staffs, for creating Tenchu 2.
-Thanks to Jeremy Drake for an excellent guide to stealth kills.
-Thanks to my good friend Stacey for helping me with various grammatical
fixes.
-Thanks to Ben Larsen <mindwanderer at juno dot com> for the tip on the
potion in Rikimaru's "Temple of Dreams" mission.
-Thanks to James Arthur <jrabapc at yahoo dot com> for coming up with a use
for the useless (colored rice).
-Huge thanks to Andre de Leon <andre18tx at hotmail dot com> for sending
much needed information regarding the location of Tatsumaru's blowgun along
with many, many other tips.
-Thanks to Chris Gerlach <chris_gerlach at hotmail dot com> for info on the
potion duplicaton bug.
-Thanks to Selenia at Tenchu2.de for posting my faq and contributing much
helpful information.
-Special thanks to CJayC of Gamefaqs.com, for being the primary host of my
FAQ and for the work he's doing in general for the community.
-I'd also like to thank the other hosts that have contacted me to host my
FAQ; not only did they ask first, but in most cases they've lived up to
their side of the deal.
-Many thanks to Robert Hamburger of realultimatepower.net. I've learned
much in the way of the ninja from your site; it's awesome.
-Your name could be here! Find something I missed and tell me about it, and
I'll put you in the credits.
===============================================================================
"Tenchu" is a trademark of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc.
"Activision" is a registered trademark, and "Birth of the Stealth Assassins"
is a trademark of Activision, Inc. All other trademarks, if not
specifically mentioned, are recognized as the property of their respective
owners.
Unpublished work Copyright 2000 Joshua M. Kirkpatrick
This FAQ is for personal, private use only. This document may not be used
for profit, gain, or promotional purposes. This FAQ may be duplicated
electronically so long as no content is changed. You may print this FAQ, or
portions thereof, for personal use. Don't go copying bits of the FAQ
wholesale and putting them in your gaming magazine as your original work;
that's just not right. If you want to publish my work, let me know. I will
probably give you permission, so long as I get a mention.
===============================================================================
-On a final note, I would like to dedicate this work to the memory of Mary
Kay Bergman. I was stunned and saddened to find she had passed before this
game was even released. I had previously praised her for her voicing of
Kagami, but was unaware until recently of her tragic death. Thanks for
everything, Mary Kay. You were the best there ever was, and we miss you.
