History VideoGame / Tenchu

''Live By Honor. Kill By Stealth.''

* ''Tenchu: Time of the Assassins'' (2005), a [[UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable PSP]] game set after ''Wrath of Heaven''. Includes the largest selection of playable characters to date and the return of the LevelEditor (with online-sharing capabilities).
* ''Tenchu: Dark Secret'' (2006), a UsefulNotes/NintendoDS game set after the second game. Deals with the titular ninjas trying to protect a DamselInDistress from an EvilOverlord who wants to cause HellOnEarth. Plays from a top-down perspective and has more focus on setting traps and gathering resources.
* ''Tenchu Z'' (2006), a UsefulNotes/Xbox360 game that serves as a [[TimeSkip distant sequel]] set some unknown time after the other games. Rikimaru is now an {{NPC}} and ''your'' teacher, since you can create the protagonist. Only game in the series to make use of a [[VirtualPaperDoll character creation]] system. Also the only one where Ayame has missed the cut.

* CaptainErsatz: Tesshu is a blatant homage to the ''[[Series/{{Hissatsu}} Hissatsu]]'' [[Series/{{Hissatsu}} series]], as he's inspired by the earliest protagonists, acupuncturist Fujieda Baian and bonesetter Nenbutsu no Tetsu. His exclusive weapons, the Bamboo Gun and the hanging wire, are also iconic weapons from the series.

--> Released in 1998 for UsefulNotes/PlayStation

--> Released in 2000 for UsefulNotes/PlayStation

--> Released in 2003 for UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 (as ''Wrath of Heaven''); 2004 for UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} (as ''Return from Darkness''); 2009 for UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable (as ''Tenchu 3 Portable'', Japan only)

''Tenchu 3: Wrath of Heaven'' is a direct sequel starting where the first game left off. Each character has their own individual and independent storyline, which are quite different and contradictory between them. They all center on a new BigBad, the dark wizard Tenrai, and his attempt to take over Gohda's land by either claiming Lord Mei-Oh's power (Rikimaru's story) or a set of three {{MacGuffin}}s (Ayame's). The first entry in UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, ''Wrath of Heaven'' refined the gameplay of the first two and introduced several new features, including a set of ninja skills to unlock, extra weapons beyond the basic ones and the ability to wield enemy weapons. It also included a set of co-op missions and a Versus Mode with several of the bosses playable. It later got an UpdatedRerelease for UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} titled ''Tenchu: Return from Darkness'', with added stages and online capabilities.

--> Released in 2004 for UsefulNotes/PlayStation2; 2010 for UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable (as ''Tenchu Kurenai Portable'', Japan only)

--> Released in 2008 for UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}; 2009 for UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable

''Tenchu: Stealth Assassins'' (''Rittai Ninja Katsugeki: Tenchu'') is the first game in the series, focused on an apparent series of unrelated missions carried out by Rikimaru/Ayame by orders of Lord Gohda. Half-way through, [[TheHeavy Onikage]] makes his appearances and the protagonists are descend into [[BonusLevelOfHell hell itself]] to save Gohda's daughter from Onikage's master, [[{{Satan}} Lord Mei-Oh]]. The original Japanese version was an ObviousBeta with clunky controls and graphics, so the western version was [[RegionalBonus reworked, while adding two new stages and three alternate enemy layouts]]. Eventually the Japanese market got an UpdatedRerelease under the subtitle ''Shinobi Gaisen'', which included all the upgrades plus a brand-new LevelEditor. Later in 1999 ''Tenchu: Shinobi Hyakusen'' was released, a [[NoExportForYou Japan-only]] [[MissionPackSequel Mission Pack]] made of 100 fan-submitted levels created with Shinobi Gaisen's LevelEditor.

* {{Catchphrase}}: Ayame has the BondOneLiner "you won't ___ where you're going."