Topic: Tenchu 4

[vudu]

MEGA-BUMP!

After picking this game up for $5 from a GameFly clearance sale, I finally sat down and played it.  So far I've beat the first 3 missions.

I'm enjoying it quite a bit.  Swordplay sucks, but I knew what I was getting myself into.  My biggest complaint is how the narrator will pause the game at the most inopportune times to tell me something I could have figured out on my own.

Halfway through the third level I found some smoke bombs for the first time.  The next room has 3 guards chilling out in the middle of it so I hid in the corner, threw a smoke bomb at them and then charged in to kick some bad-guy ass.  Right as I'm about to attack the first guy I lose control of my character and the narrator says Look Rikimaru, there are 3 guards up ahead.  You won't be able to sneak past them without being seen.  Use a smoke bomb to conceal yourself while you sneak in for the kill.  Meanwhile, the world around me didn't freeze in time, so the smoke's already cleared and I get my ass handed to me by the 3 enemies who would have otherwise been peacefully resting from broken necks. 

On on unrelated note, I think I'm playing the game the wrong way.  I'm killing every mofo in the place, but it's taking me like an hour per level.  I receive S ranks for number of kills but E ranks for speed.  The "par times" they give are insane!  How the heck am I suppose to lay waste to my enemies in such a short amount of time!?

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Some time-savers are about seizing opportunities with clever use of your tools from a distance, while other quick kills can be pulled off with running/aerial techniques (minimum stalking/waiting, just rush when the coast is clear).  I've demonstrated a few in some videos.

The scoring mostly exists for replays, which lead to some of the unlockables.  It's understandable that you'll take your sweet time on the first trial, familiarizing yourself with the stage and trying to kill everything simply because they're there.  It's a Zelda/Metroid habit.

[Stratos]

I'm stuck on one level now because I really want to kill the armored dude but there appears to be no way to do it. It's fun to find different way of killing.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

I probably gave it away in one of my videos.  I think you're missing out on the later stages.

REAL ULTIMATE POWER

[Stratos]

I remember I had trouble loading the video because that was when my computer blew up so I was jacking my parents and they wouldn't let me install DivX to watch it.

Now that I have my own computer again I'll need to go back and watch that. I've tried multiple times since then to figure it out on my own but to no avail.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Just download ffdshow and watch the videos after you download them.  Set your media player to open all *.divx files.

[vudu]

Beat the game last night.  The game ended on a sour note.

First it was the most anti-climactic ending ever.  I didn't even realize I cleared the last level until it said TENCHU in big words.  How the Hell do you beat a level by mistake?

Then all of a sudden the bad guy rips off his face and reveals he's some other bad guy that I've never heard of.  I pieced together that he's a reoccurring villain and if I had played any of the previous games I maybe would have figured it out--"What?  Doctor Wily is really behind this?!  I never would have guessed!"--but as it stands it didn't make any sense.

After a horrible boss fight the end cut scene rolls and I kill the fucking princess I've spent the entire game trying to rescue.  WTF.  **** this game.

I have a couple questions--presumably for Pro because I don't think anyone else cares.

1)  Are the assignments worth doing?  I didn't even check them out until I completed story mode.  I have 24 of them available.  The first 10 look like boring training stuff that I already know.  I played a couple of the random ones that I unlocked and they don't seem to be anything special--mostly just short sections from the main game where I have to kill a couple enemies.  Nothing I haven't already seen.

2)  Shadow Mode is just hard mode, right?  Anything unique there that I didn't get in story mode?  I don't feel the need to play through this game again.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Both Assignments and Shadow Mode are extra objectives for in-game unlockables/bonuses, not campaign/story-related.  Special items, secret kill moves, and unlockable art (which I don't care for)?  I'm not too familiar, so GameFaqs should be consulted.  Finding all the map pieces unlocks unbreakable swords for Riki/Ayame, but disqualify your mission ranking.

Assignments (50+ in all?) are a series of "quick" challenges focused on optimized gameplay techniques; Smash Bros. "Event" matches would be somewhat analagous.  But actually earning the unlockables means getting S-ranks in each; speed is now critical, so saving time isn't possible without full knowledge of your abilities.  And to unlock all the Assignments, you have to get high ranks in the regular missions.

My reason for replaying parts of the game was to discover all the kill moves and options for different situations.

[Stratos]

Watching you kill videos was an exciting eye opener for me. I knew you had options but I didn't realize quite how many you did have. I'm very excited to try and go back to the game.

[Chozo Ghost]

I guess he isn't called "Pro" for nothing.