Tenchu DS

**Dolemite** · 21 Oct 2005, 12:47 PM

Seeing how bad Tenchu for the PSP turned out, it was with great surprise that I discovered a Tenchu game was in development for the Nintendo DS. The PSP version's horrific technical shortcomings aside, the gameplay was really just more of the same. However, it sounds like they're making some interesting changes to the series for its DS debut. Not sure I care for the change in the viewpoint, but without screenshots it's hard to tell either way. Adding the stylus and a greater emphasis on traps should end up being pretty cool. Anyway, read on.

http://ds.ign.com/articles/660/660057p1.html

Nintendo's early October Nintendo DS press conference included first word of a DS entry in From Software's Tenchu series, tentatively titled Tenchu DS, but we've had to wait until now to get the full word on the game. Producer Atsuhi Taniguchi reveals new bits on the game via an interview in the latest issue of Famitsu.

Asked why From decided to bring Tenchu to the DS platform, Taniguchi states that he is personally a great fan of Nintendo hardware. One of Taniguchi's main titles is Rune, which he produced for the GameCube a couple of years back. In addition to this, Taniguchi felt that the DS's stylus could do great things for the game's interface.

Tenchu DS makes use of the system's top screen for all the in-game action, with the bottom screen used to display items, a map and, when needed, a finishing move. The game's viewpoint has switched from the traditional behind-the-character view to a top-down Metal Gear like view, allowing you to get a better fix on enemy distance. The map shows the position of enemies in the area, with Taniguchi thinking about adding enemy viewing cones to the view so that players can see when they're under threat. Also being investigated is a system where the viewing angle changes when you line up against a wall.

From is taking another step away from the norm with a new system where you combine ninja tools. As an example, Taniguchi suggests that you'll be able to combine a piece of steel with another item in order to make shurikens. You'll have to collect materials for use in item creation, with some materials being rare, only existing in certain stages. So what happens if you run out of materials? The developers are currently looking into the possibility of including ninja tools that don't run out.

Tenchu DS promises to bring in some changes to the series, outside of just the dual screen output and item combination system. While Taniguchi states that the game will play like Tenchu -- it will have to, in order to please the fans -- one of the main focuses will be on setting traps in order to take out enemies, rather than killing enemies directly. We can expect a huge number of missions, although many will be short, five to ten minute experiences. Taniguchi feels that, because of the possibilities for screen shake, a portable system may not be the best location for an action game, so we can expect some areas to feature less focus on action.

The game will also have a full story, with the storyline fitting somewhere in the Tenchu universe. Taniguchi is a bit shy with the details at this point. Some of the gameplay stages fall outside of the main storyline and are not required in order to clear the game. These serve as side stories.

Based on this latest look at Tenchu DS, we get the feeling that the game is very early into development. A Japanese release is set for Spring of next year, so From Software has plenty of time to implement all the new features into the game.

**avatar** · 21 Oct 2005, 02:22 PM

sounds cool

**Jetman** · 21 Oct 2005, 02:24 PM

From Software is doing this? I dont remember them working on any of the other Tenchu games.

I dislike the idea of the top-down perspective, but I'll give it a go since I have a DS now.