Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven

2003 action adventure stealth video game

Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven (published in Japan as "Tenchu 3") is an action adventure stealth video game developed by K2 and published by Activision for the PlayStation 2 in 2003. FromSoftware published the game in Japan as Tenchu 3. It was later ported to the Xbox in 2004 under the title Tenchu: Return from Darkness and to the PlayStation Portable in 2009 by FromSoftware under the title Tenchu 3 Portable.

After Lord Mei Oh was defeated in Tenchu: Stealth Assassins, Rikimaru was left in Lord Mei Oh's fortress holding a giant boulder to provide an escape route for Ayame and Princess Kiku. He appears to be trapped and left for dead. Ayame stuck Rikimaru's sword, "Izayoi" (he is seen drawing this sword in the opening CG of Wrath of Heaven), in the snow as a monument for her fellow clan member, now considered dead. A year later, Rikimaru reports to Lord Gohda that he has survived this near death experience; unbeknownst to them, the real Rikimaru is trapped in the 20th century, trying to find a way back to their time. The game's plot plays differently depending on the character chosen but connects at specific points. The story revolves mainly around Rikimaru's return and the struggle for the Three Jewels, which are said to give power to those who possess them. These are the Jewels of Heaven, Earth, and Virtue. Tenrai, an evil wizard who wants to get his hands on them, commands a band of his men to take the Jewels from whoever possesses them. However, upon encountering Rikimaru, he seems interested in his power and attempts to convince him to join his men. Rikimaru refuses, and he and Ayame face each one of them. One of the men in Tenrai's arsenal is Onikage, who only serves him to pursue his plan of reviving Mei Oh (his former master) and Tatsumaru (the former leader of the Azuma Ninja Clan whom Tenrai restored). Rikimaru and Ayame follow Tenrai into his fortress to stop him from destroying the world using the power gained from two of the Jewels. Peace will be returned to Gohda's land if he can be defeated.

A two part prequel manga by Seishi Kishimoto was published in the April an May 2003 issues of Monthly Shōnen Gangan. The two chapters were titled Tenchu San, Zenpen (天誅　参（前編）) and Tenchu San, Kōhen (天誅 参 (後編)) respectively; the first chapter also included a color poster. The manga was never collected in tankōbon format, and thus is quite rare.

In 2009, FromSoftware ported Tenchu 3 to the PlayStation Portable, including those featured from the Xbox version Tenchu: Return from Darkness, although the multiplayer has been removed.

Wrath of Heaven received "generally favorable" reviews, while Return from Darkness received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.