Tenchu Rikimaru Grand Master Fresh NG base items only Part 02

Tenchu Stealth Assassins Rikimaru Grand Master Stealth Difficulty - Normal mode It's a fresh NG run on Normal w base items usage only even if I unlock GM items as I get those ranks per mission in succession. The Gameplay was done & recorded via Duckstation emulation My thoughts:- so Stealth games are quite interesting in terms of their systems and mechanics. Many people assume it's random initially but every guard has their pathing & patrol acts in a neutral state. Their behaviour dynamically shifts in other states such as investigation or full on Alert & combat ready modes. I've often seen people draw comparisons of a stealth game to that of a puzzle game where the player has to navigate through obstacles to reach from point A to B where those points could just be different spots on a map or point B can also be a target/point of interest. That comparison is understandable but it ends up selling the genre short way off at that as it assumes that the enemies are constant & likely doesn't account into the enemy & environment manipulation that a player can do be it via their tools or tech. That manipulation requires further knowledge of not just the game itself but also enemy ai behaviour. Not all stealth games however do allow for that kind of player expression & at times it can be frustrating for the more experienced players of the genre as these games often vary in degrees in terms of that from what I've seen. Then there's this game Tenchu. There's this poison riceball which is a very effective way to "Lure" enemies away from their routines to force open a window of opportunity. It's quite great that one can interrupt an enemy initially eating it up to prevent it from getting consumed while getting the desired effect from it only to pick up the riceball afterwards. The lure effect also makes the enemies tunnel vision straight into it which makes usage of riceball as a tool of distraction even better. I think a key requirement for it is that the enemy needs to be in unsuspecting or unalert mode for it to work which is a good balancing tradeoff. Overall just smart usage of this one tool alone can take players all the way through but thankfully there's more tools to mess around with. Problem is just that the better stealth oriented tools are Grand Master rewards & are also in much more limited supply that requires further GM ranks to replenish them. Good thing though is that there's a mission select available that allows players to visit old missions to back up on the stock though I didn't do such for this run nor is it really needed if one's even slightly thinking ahead in general. I'm sure I was just scratching the surface but that riceball seems to get the job done in a pinch. I'm glad that it does as I've played stealth games or sections where the only real distraction tool is the game's designated "throw XYZ like bottle or bricks from environment" mechanic but even that can be inconsistent or at times not function as desired. I often wondered how much variation of Frame rate can influence game's internal logic & perhaps frustratingly get in the way like that. ~ Time Stamps ~ 00:00 Cutscene 01 (Mission 04 brief) 00:53 Cutscene 02 (meeting w Tazu) 01:21 Boss Fight w Tazu 01:40 Cutscene 03 (conclusion of the duel) 01:57 M04: Cross the Checkpoint 04:47 Cutscene 04 (another fated duel) 05:31 Boss Fight w Senjuro Akechi 06:24 Cutscene 05 (another unfortunate end) 06:45 M04 Results 06:51 Cutscene 06 (Mission 05 brief) 07:44 Cutscene 07 (leave it.. meee ;)) 08:38 M05: Execute the Corrupt Minister 09:32 Cutscene 08 (asking the Body Guard politely) 09:45 Boss Fight w Kataoka's Guard 10:18 Cutscene 09 (Guard co-operates but it's too late for him) 10:42 M05 resumes 11:31 Cutscene 10 (Savage Riki moment) 12:17 M05 Results 12:28 Cutscene 11 (Mission 06 brief) 12:59 M06: Infiltrate the Manji Cult 15:26 Cutscene 12 (On discovers Riki) 15:53 Boss Fight w On 16:22 Cutscene 13 (Onikage jumping in) 16:56 Boss Fight w Onikage 18:02 Cutscene 14 (Get back here Onikage!) 18:16 M06 Results Link to Part 01 of this Rikimaru run:    • Tenchu Rikimaru Grand Master Fresh NG base...   Part 03:    • Tenchu Rikimaru Grand Master Fresh NG base...   Link to my Challenge focused Playlist for my earlier runs in different games:    • Challenge ❤️   Link to my other socials : https://linktr.ee/ship05u This isn't & shouldn't be taken as a measure or showcase of my skill/ability rather this vid is mainly for Entertainment for the viewer 1st, Archiving reasons 2nd & so on. #tenchu #rikimaru #acquire #playstation #ps1 #retro #ship05u #stealth #grandmaster #nocommentary #duckstation