BlacKnight
Almost the exact same as the X360 game but now it has motion controls (and feels better to play, no need for character switch in story mode and seems built around it).
This game left me very mixed. On one hand, the soundtrack was great (even downloaded some tracks), i liked the story (i would rank this lower than Tenchu 2's story though, this game's ending was very sudden) and game looks good too. On the other hand, no grappling hook, you can carry up to 3 items, combat (if you can call it that, its just a Simon Says game). Movement doesn't feel great with the over the shoulder camera, and i heavily dislike that raft jumping is now context sensitive. But at the same time if you can get past its bad quirks, you might enjoy yourself, i actually enjoyed the shadow/light system, it's got some cool stealth kills here and there. All in all, an all-over-the-place game.
2004
One of those very crappy games i somewhat enjoyed. Have to give it props for is the sword clean mechanic, pretty original, some ok bosses in there too. Of course it isnt without its questionable design choices like getting stuck on corners, the uncomfortable camera, certain enemies requiring you to be in Berserk state, the upgrade system, off the top of my head. I would recommend to play the Zombie Hunters version instead anyway.
This review contains spoilers
Very good horror game, kinda great i'd say. The OG RE-isms were apparent with stuff like the item management and the savepoints (as long as savebro Abdul is there, you can save indefinitely and he serves as the game's item box). Combat was good fun, incorporating a "choose-which-limb-to-aim-at" which some bosses made fun use of it. Of course melee will be made redundant at some point (you only have the bat i believe) and you'll have to mostly rely on gunpower. Atmosphere was yummy, barely any music outside of certain sections, only you and the sounds of footsteps. Story was neat but during the last half it started to lose me with Darrien conveniently getting knocked out so you'd have an excuse to switch to the 2nd character and i had no idea what the deal with the thief's identity was (like maybe they referenced it very early on but kinda smells of very rushed i have no idea)
For being a sequel to Onimusha 1, this game certainly does a good job and improving stuff: better gameplay, better issen mechanics, story's very good, considerably longer, better replay value and better horrible voice acting. Not to mention it took some risks like the gift system but at the same time it kind of feels undercooked, since you could just ignore it alltogether but if you do then don't expect any help if a boss starts kicking your ass and can sometimes lead to some awkward moments where a character gets introduced into the story and then you don't know what happens to them next because you didn't gift him enough items. This is a title meant to be replayed multiple times since it's impossible to see all the alternate paths in one playthrough, also soundtrack is not as amazing as 1's but it's still good. A good sequel all things considered.
Great game! It really implemented so many fresh ideas to the point it really feels like an evolution of Acquire's PS1 Tenchu , i LOVED the garden defence for starters, the daimyo system and alchemy were fresh as well. Good music and plot as well! It certainly doubles down in the fantasy aspect though so i can see some people not getting into it, and other aspects like the combat can get atrociously chaotic tho, but the ragdolls made up for it.
2002
This game would be pretty much if Sailor Moon went on an acid trip
2005
Good game with interesting premise, has some jank but also charm. There's the ocassional annoying section/enemies, sometimes suffers from some repetitive level design. In the end it's worth checking out but don't expect a groundbreaking action game.
2006
Better than the first game in a few areas, worse in few but mostly the former. Improvements are starting to show: really enjoyed the character switch, which i cant praise enough: definitely offered an interesting approach to combat (iframes, berserk state "storage"). Of course that trashy upgrade system is here to stay but it seems to have been streamlined just a bit which is fine by me and they at least tried with the OST. Now when it comes to worse stuffs than the first game, some fights would go for unreasonable stretches to the point they become exhausting.
2023
This review contains spoilers
Pretty ok game, started out really boring and picked up later on. There's stuff to enjoy but there's also stuff that might rub others the wrong way. Nice blend of shooter and melee gameplay tho, even if it didn't feel necessarily great to control but at least i enjoyed unlocking/using all the other moves, parrying the mechninjas is pretty fun (fuck yalls skill tree tho!). Meh soundtrack and level design. Story was ehm fine? This game tonally... i was confused, it was hard to tell if it was being quirky or serious. Some fun bosses in there as well (Sniper chick and Richter were my favs). That being said, holy hell is the XB1 port quite messy, had 5 close to 6 crashes in total (didn't make it to 10 crashes though, sad!), cutscenes glitch/sync out if you pause, voices being cut off etc etc. Since the game loves to be quirky and funny, i'm going to be quirky as well and rate it 6 hard game crashes out of 10. Oh well shame, this'll never get patched and best i'll get it from now on is some memes in the game/dev's Twitter page
Even for portable standards, this is a step-down from Shinobido PS2, it feels very cheap-ly made. Best way to put it is maybe if you want more Shinobido 1 levels and with a traditional Tenchu mission structure on the go, then this is the one. Plus having 36 different characeters to play as still pretty impressive (they are certainly not reskins from the few i played as), and loading times nearly nonexistent. I enjoyed it, but i doubt others will.
2006
This review contains spoilers
This game is bloody amazing. Every pet peeve i had with Siren 1 have been addressed here, great atmosphere, stealth flows better, also managed to pull some good scares a bunch of times. Maybe some weaker aspects could be the cast (i quite enjoyed it so i'm not sure maybe i'd need to replay the first one), and the final boss having a weird final phase where i had to pray it got close so i could smack it around but yea not really dealbreakers.
Overall extremely happy i played this.
Overall extremely happy i played this.
This review contains spoilers
Excellent game. Story is cool but also i can see why some prefer VP1's, combat is amazingly addictive, graphics are outstanding, soundtrack is GODLY. Everything about this game screams quality and even though it's a prequel you should still play (or watch a lp) the first game before jumping into this game.
If you've played the PS2 entries, it feels like another slight step-up. it's almost the same as Onechanbara 2 quality-wise, but some additions are for the better. For starters, stuff like perfect dodge was a welcome addition and i usually don't advocate for longer games, but in this case it works in this game's favour: 20 missions instead of 7 missions was a smart choice. The upgrade system with 7 missions, kinda requires you to replay missions because you'd get decimated a bit too soon due to the difficulty spike plus enemies being way tankier. Luckily the 20 mission structure lets you play the game smoothly while not requiring you to replay missions nearly as much as the PS2 entries. Also the character switch mechanic is still present which is great to see, would've hated to see that wasted. That being said, if you're looking for a great game here, look somewhere else.
1997
Really good game! This is a really good PS1 game. Structure is really similar to the first game yet it feels more expanded upon, more varied missions and personally a more badass OST.