When most people think of classic stealth games on PlayStation, they automatically think of Metal Gear Solid – and rightfully so. It’s an accessible arcade-like stealth action game with a great story and beloved characters that resonated with players. However, anyone who wanted a more technical and immersive stealth experience would need to look to the Tenchu franchise. On the first PlayStation, the first two Tenchu games were where ninja maniacs could live out their dreams of sneaking around rooftops, throwing shurikens, dropping caltrops, and performing savage stealth kills, while still getting into the odd sword battle once in a while.
In many ways, these games were more technically accomplished than Metal Gear Solid because of their sandbox design, vertical level design, and third-person gameplay. Tenchu 2 was especially impressive for including a full-on level editor, which added a lot of value. When the PlayStation 2 came out, stealth games grew in popularity thanks to Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3, the Splinter Cell franchise, and Manhunt, but Tenchu was the only stealth franchise with playable ninjas. Does the third Tenchu hold up after all these years? Find out as Cubed3 looks back at Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven!
Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven takes place a year after the first game, since Tenchu 2 is a prequel. Everyone’s favourite grey-haired ninja Rikimaru is believed to have died after sacrificing himself to hold up a collapsing fortress, allowing Ayame and Princess Kiku to escape. In his honour, Ayame plants his sword as a memorial. When a version of Rikimaru unexpectedly returns to serve Lord Gohda, the true Rikimaru is revealed to be trapped in the 20th century, seeking a way home. The main plot revolves around a race to claim the three Jewels of Heaven, Earth, and Virtue, which an evil sorcerer seeks to use to conquer Japan and beyond. He unleashes his dark forces, including the returning Onikage, who has his own plans to resurrect past foes. Meanwhile, Rikimaru and Ayame embark on intertwined yet differently sequenced missions of infiltration and assassination to stop him, with a third secret playable character.
The last two entries were fairly grounded thrillers about revenge and political upheaval. In contrast, Wrath of Heaven goes full-on mystical fantasy, with villains who can teleport, shoot lightning from their hands, and shapeshift. The tone and atmosphere are the closest thing to a Ninja Scroll video game adaptation, only with zombies and even time travel. It’s a brutal and violent game, rife with savage dismemberment and decapitations; the Citizen Kane of arterial spray as far as PlayStation 2 games go.
Wrath of Heaven‘s controls have been dramatically improved since the last game, which relied on old-school Tomb Raider-style tank movement. All characters move fluently like any modern game, although the camera system is mostly limited to horizontal rotation, and full 360-degree control is restricted to look-mode. It’s still very playable, and quick-snapping the POV to wherever the player character is facing is still effective, as it was in Ocarina of Time. In most instances, getting around and not making a sound is the default state for any ninja, except for when it comes to splooshing around in water. The key to stealth is staying unseen and navigating tricky 3D environments; while fighting is always an option, combat feels grounded, and it’s easy to get killed when you’re up against more than one opponent.
The Ki meter is functionally a proximity and awareness indicator in the lower left. A numerical value from zero to 100 increases as the player gets closer to an enemy, paired with symbolic states: a question mark means the enemy is completely unaware, a single exclamation indicates suspicion or that they’ve noticed something unusual, and a double exclamation means the player has been fully spotted and is being pursued. Variations with a question mark and exclamation mark show the enemy is searching or on alert but unaware of the player’s location. At first it may seem esoteric, but once understood it’s as helpful as Snake’s soliton radar, but has enough fuzzy logic to not trivialise the entire game.
Movement is designed around the Ki meter. Holding the stealth button puts your character into a crouch, reducing your profile and pressing up against walls to lean around corners or slide along surfaces. The number rises and lowers depending on proximity, so it’s easy to get a feel for where enemies are and their state of mind, even when going into a stage completely blind. Compounded with the gritty tone and sneaky music, Wrath of Heaven’s stealth delivers an intense, “lying in wait with sweat running down your face” atmosphere that feels like playing as a deadly predator on the hunt. Items complement this: smoke bombs for quick escapes or confusion, poisoned rice cakes or other lures to draw guards away from their paths, shuriken or blowguns for silent ranged takedowns, and decoys or animal calls to reset alerted enemies. The possibilities are endless, and the tight, sandboxy levels foster tons of replay value.
Combat in the Tenchu series, especially Wrath of Heaven, is intentionally secondary to stealth and is designed as a fallback when detection is unavoidable or when facing bosses. Each playable character has a distinct combat style. Rikimaru relies on powerful, deliberate one-handed sword combos with strong individual hits and moves like a shoulder thrust. Ayame is faster and more agile, using dual kodachi for quicker multi-hit strings and flips. Tesshu, the secret third character, fights bare-handed with brutal, bone-breaking techniques, headbutts, and pressure-point strikes that emphasise raw strength and resilience over speed. His massive acupuncture needles are especially terrifying during stealth kills, as the game shows a visceral X-ray view of them going straight into the brain through the orbital sockets. Guarding is done with Circle, which can block incoming attacks, smoothly transitioning into close-range grabs or throws.
Combat isn’t quite like Sekiro and feels more like a slower version of Ocarina of Time’s Z-targeting, where locking onto an enemy with R2 centres the camera and allows for strafing or more precise movement around them. There are basic attacks which chains into short combos of sword slashes, kicks, or punches depending on the character. Directional inputs during attacks create variations like side sweeps, thrusts, or uppercuts, while jumping allows aerial strikes, and holding the stealth button enables crouching attacks or rolls for evasion. Getting into a fight is tense because of how it’s deliberately restrictive. Mercifully, boss fights are short and go down pretty quickly. In some cases, they feel like they go down as fast as regular sentries.
Thankfully, items remain usable during fights and often prove more reliable than pure melee: caltrops to slow or damage pursuers, smoke bombs for temporary escape, or ranged tools like shuriken and blowguns to soften targets. Rolling, jumping away, or breaking line of sight is frequently smarter than prolonged combat, as enemies will eventually lose interest and return to patrols once a low profile is achieved. It’s worth noting that Tesshu has to buy hit items between stages, unlike Rikimaru and Ayame. Yeah, he’s got a complete currency system where he earns money from stealth kills and actively loots treasure.
As if having three full-fledged campaigns with their bespoke stories, cutscenes, and unique enemy placement, Wrath of Heaven earns its keep with a plethora of bonus modes and multiple endings! There’s a competitive deathmatch mode where two players fight each other across various arenas. There’s a surprisingly large roster of unlocked enemies and bosses, and even Tenchu 2‘s Tatsumaru. There’s even a full-on cooperative mode that lets two players team up as any combination of Rikimaru, Ayame, and Tesshu to complete special shared missions. These co-op levels feature unique objectives and allow dual/double stealth kills when both players attack an unaware enemy at the same time. The range of features and bonuses packed into Wrath of Heaven is ridiculous and would have been sold as DLC if it were made today.
Graphically, Wrath of Heaven still looks very good. For the most part, this is a very dark game bathed in shadows, which help mask any shortcomings with draw distances. Character models and designs stand out and walk a line between gritty manga and weighty realism. There’s just enough style to make characters distinct and have personality that transcends the PlayStation 2’s graphical limitations. In some shots, the game is just downright gorgeous and could give Metal Gear Solid 3 a run for its money.
