



Out of the potential five rankings (Thug, Novice, Ninja, Master Ninja and Grand Master), only achieving the Grand Master rank would unlock a new ninja item. The level ranking system basically hinged on these clandestine attacks, especially when each victim received a cutscene death straight out of ninja flick. While both Tenchu and Metal Gear Solid incorporated it, only Tenchu wrapped its entire 3D gaming mechanics around it. I distinctly remember sitting next to my brother and wanting to live in this kind of Japan, but perhaps with a little less throat-slitting. There is no rest until Princess Kiku is safe and my Lord Gohda's house is secure again. Corrupt finance ministers, Spanish pirates, deranged cult members and demonic warriors are all cut down indiscrimiantly by my katana blade. Paper-thin shoji doors lead the way into tatami-floored rooms where friend or foes await-but mostly foes. Later, in another mission, pure white snow falls gently to the ground next to crimson pools of blood from a castle guard. After silently grappling onto one of the many hanging eaves, my padded feet race across the footsteps with steely resolve. Blossoming sakura trees line the courtyards of imposing midieval castles. Each time I took up the controller to play, the confines of my North Carolina living room dissolved into the midnight of a mystical land. With Tenchu, never before had such a sweeping depiction of Sengoku-era Japan been experienced on a gaming console. This pressure has worked in a good way for us and consequently it has made us utilize the genuine Japanese world to its best.” “As far as we know, Metal Gear Solid is planning on using many of the same game elements as Tenchu. According to a 1998 interview, Endo admits that he was inspired by gaming trends of the time. During that period, Playstation released a few titles that Acquire studied and drew inspiration from. Over the next four years, Endo and his team of most-honorable developers trained, toiled and tweaked their budding ninja gem. Then the year 1998 came and everything changed with the release of two franchise-launching games: Metal Gear Solid and Tenchu: Stealth Assassins.Īcquire Studios was established by the visionary Takuma Endo in Nagoya, Japan, just as the first Playstation console was released into the Japanese market. In 19, the first batch of Metal Gear games introduced players to the idea of hiding from enemies via crouching, time-alert systems and items used for distraction. You’d never spot a ninja whistling a tune down the street in broad daylight, or one loudly bumping his knee on a daimyo’s coffee table. The trick lay in three crucial elements: killer toys, killer skills and killer clothes. They were phantoms, shadow assassins, warriors trained to infiltrate and disappear without a trace.
