40-423: Tenchu is an action-adventure stealth video game series owned by Japanese game publisher FromSoftware , where the player assumes the role of a ninja in 16th-century feudal Japan . The first game in the series titled Tenchu: Stealth Assassins was developed by Japanese developer Acquire and published in 1998. Later games have also been developed by K2 LLC and FromSoftware . The current rightsholder to
80-619: A fantasy " setting. Tutankham , debuted by Konami in January 1982, was an action-adventure released for arcades . It combined maze, shoot 'em up, puzzle-solving and adventure elements, with a 1983 review by Computer and Video Games magazine calling it "the first game that effectively combined the elements of an adventure game with frenetic shoot 'em up gameplay." It inspired the similar Time Bandit (1983). Action Quest , released in May 1982, blended puzzle elements of adventure games into
120-446: A joystick -controlled, arcade-style action game, which surprised reviewers at the time. While noting some similarities to Adventure , IGN argues that The Legend of Zelda (1986) by Nintendo "helped to establish a new subgenre of action-adventure", becoming a success due to how it combined elements from different genres to create a compelling hybrid, including exploration, adventure-style inventory puzzles , an action component,
160-566: A monetary system , and simplified RPG-style level building without the experience points . The Legend of Zelda series was the most prolific action-adventure game franchise through to the 2000s. Roe R. Adams also cited the arcade-style side-scrolling fantasy games Castlevania (1986), Trojan (1986) and Wizards & Warriors (1987) as early examples of action-adventure games. Games like Brain Breaker (1985), Xanadu (1985), Metroid (1986) and Vampire Killer (1986) combined
200-726: A stealth game that combines action and adventure elements. In 2004, FromSoftware bought the rights to the series, excluding the first two games, from Activision . The company also released King's Field IV and Shadow Tower Abyss , in addition to the Lost Kingdoms series for the GameCube . The company also made a few games exclusive to the Xbox around this time, such as Murakumo: Renegade Mech Pursuit , Otogi: Myth of Demons , Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors , Metal Wolf Chaos , and Chromehounds In 2005, FromSoftware would start to produce
240-759: A subgenre of open world action-adventure video games in the third-person perspective . They are characterized by their likeness to the Grand Theft Auto series in either gameplay or overall design. In these types of open world games, players may find and use a variety of vehicles and weapons while roaming freely in an open world setting. Metroidvania is a portmanteau of Metroid and Castlevania ; such games are sometimes referred to as "search action", and are generally based on two-dimensional platformers. They emphasize both exploration and puzzle-solving with traditional platform gameplay. Survival horror games emphasize "inventory management" and making sure
280-545: A choice of what to say. The NPC gives a scripted response to the player, and the game offers the player several new ways to respond. Due to the action-adventure subgenre's broad and inclusive nature, it causes some players to have difficulty finishing a particular game. Companies have devised ways to give the player help, such as offering clues or allowing the player to skip puzzles to compensate for this lack of ability. Brett Weiss cites Atari 's Superman (1979) as an action-adventure game, with Retro Gamer crediting it as
320-474: A combination of complex story elements, which are often displayed for players using audio and video. The story is heavily reliant upon the player character's movement, which triggers story events and thus affects the flow of the game. Popular examples of action-adventure games include The Legend of Zelda , God of War , and Tomb Raider series. There is a good deal of controversy over what actually constitutes an action-adventure game. One definition of
360-448: A complex text parser and no free-moving character. While they share general gameplay dynamics, action-adventures vary widely in the design of their viewpoints, including bird's eye , side-scrolling, first-person, third-person , over-the-shoulder, or even a 3/4 isometric view . Many action-adventure games simulate a conversation through a conversation tree . When the player encounters a non-player character , they are allowed to select
400-517: A game with a mix of elements from an action game and an adventure game , especially crucial elements like puzzles inspired by older adventure games. Action-adventures require many of the same physical skills as action games, but may also offer a storyline, numerous characters, an inventory system, dialogue, and other features of adventure games. They are typically faster-paced than pure adventure games, because they include both physical and conceptual challenges. Action-adventure games normally include
440-518: A player is spotted, the Ki meter will turn red, the enemy will alert everyone in the area, and the player is forced to fight hand-to-hand or hide somewhere until the enemies give up their search and resume their patrol routes. The main characters of the Tenchu series are Rikimaru, Ayame, Tesshu and Rin. Rikimaru is a tall, white-haired shinobi with a single ninjatō named "Izayoi" and a scar over his right eye. He
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#1733093604569480-476: A series of licensed games based on the various anime properties under the banner Another Century's Episode . The same year, the company hosted the video game industry's first internship that let students experience game development through a game creation kit, Adventure Player , for the PlayStation Portable . In May 2008, FromSoftware underwent a stock split. FromSoftware achieved breakout success in
520-705: A side-scrolling platformer format with adventure exploration, creating the Metroidvania platform-adventure subgenre. Similarly, games like 005 (1981), Castle Wolfenstein and Metal Gear (1987) combined action-adventure exploration with stealth mechanics, laying the foundations for the stealth game subgenre, which would later be popularized in 1998 with the releases of Metal Gear Solid , Tenchu: Stealth Assassins , and Thief: The Dark Project . The cinematic platformer Prince of Persia (1989) featured action-adventure elements, inspiring games such as Another World (1991) and Flashback (1992). Alone in
560-400: A single avatar as the protagonist . This type of game is often quite similar to role-playing video games . They are distinct from graphic adventures , which sometimes have free-moving central characters, but also a wider variety of commands and fewer or no action game elements and are distinct too from text adventures , characterized by many different commands introduced by the user via
600-521: A stand-alone, non-story based expansion set called Tenchu: Shinobi Hyakusen . The engine and game fundamentals remained unchanged. Shinobi Hyakusen is famous for the hardest level settings among Tenchu fans, especially because of the tight time limits and the overall lack of the items, excluding the caltrops and the throwing stars. No North American or European versions were released however. Several games were also ported to mobile phones with graphic changes. These include Tenchu: Ayame's Tale 3D which
640-729: Is an action game that includes situational problem-solving. Adventure gamers may also be purists, rejecting any game that makes use of physical challenges or time pressure. Regardless, the action-adventure label is prominent in articles over the internet and media. The term "action-adventure" is usually substituted for a particular subgenre due to its wide scope. Although action-adventure games are diverse and difficult to classify, there are some distinct subgenres. Many games with gameplay similar to those in The Legend of Zelda series are called Zelda clones or Zelda -like games. Popular subgenres include: A Grand Theft Auto clone belongs to
680-411: Is physically stronger than Ayame and Rin, but relatively slower. Ayame is a kunoichi (female ninja) who wears black (sometimes dark purple) clothing, with long pants, a loose belt, arm armor that goes to halfway from the elbow and shoulder, and a ring that surrounds her neck, with her midriff exposed and carries a pair of kodachi . She is faster and can perform more combos than Rikimaru and Tesshu, but
720-480: Is weaker than them. Tesshu is a vigilante who wears blue doctor's clothes and fights bare-handed with acupuncture needles; he is strong like Rikimaru, but slower than Ayame and Rin. His appearance is heavily based on the character "Baian Fujieda". Rin is a young kunoichi who carries a large katana called Natsume. Despite wielding a sword, she prefers to use hand-to-hand combat, relying on fast combos like Ayame. Tenchu: Stealth Assassins (1998) and Tenchu 2: Birth of
760-561: The Uncharted franchise, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Ark: Survival Evolved . FromSoftware FromSoftware, Inc. (stylized as FROM SOFTWARE ) is a Japanese video game development and publishing company. It was founded by Naotoshi Zin in Tokyo on November 1, 1986. Initially a developer of business software , the company released their first video game, King's Field , for
800-521: The PlayStation in 1994. Its success shifted FromSoftware to focus fully on games, with them producing two more King's Field games before the first release of the mecha shooter series Armored Core in 1997. By the 2000s, FromSoftware's releases included the Echo Night , Shadow Tower , Lost Kingdoms , Otogi , and Another Century's Episode series. The company achieved breakout success by
840-801: The greatest video games of all time . In April 2014, Kadokawa Corporation announced its intention to purchase the company from former shareholder Transcosmos. Following other restructuring, Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki would be promoted to company president the following month and later given the title of representative director. In January 2016, FromSoftware established a studio in Fukuoka that focuses on creating computer-generated imagery (CGI) assets for their games. In August 2022, Sixjoy Hong Kong (a subsidiary of Tencent ) and Sony Interactive Entertainment respectively acquired 16.25% and 14.09% of FromSoftware, leaving 69.66% to Kadokawa. A November 2022 report by GamesIndustry.biz claimed that FromSoftware
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#1733093604569880-813: The "first to utilize multiple screens as playing area". Mark J.P. Wolf credits Adventure (1980) for the Atari VCS as the earliest-known action-adventure game. The game involves exploring a 2D environment, finding and using items which each have prescribed abilities, and fighting dragons in real-time like in an action game . Muse Software 's Castle Wolfenstein (1981) was another early action-adventure game, merging exploration, combat, stealth, and maze game elements, drawing inspiration from arcade shoot 'em ups and maze games (such as maze-shooter Berzerk ) and war films (such as The Guns of Navarone ). According to Wizardry developer Roe R. Adams, early action-adventure games "were basically arcade games done in
920-658: The 2010s with Demon's Souls and the Dark Souls trilogy of action role-playing games . Often cited among the greatest video games ever made , their emphasis on high difficulty and environmental storytelling led to the creation of the Soulslike subgenre that include Bloodborne in 2015, Sekiro in 2019, and Elden Ring in 2022. Hidetaka Miyazaki , creator and director of Dark Souls , has served as FromSoftware's representative director and president since 2014, with Zin remaining as an advisor. Miyazaki directs and designs
960-463: The 2010s, spurred by the release of Demon's Souls (2009) and Dark Souls (2011), the latter being the first entry in a trilogy whose success led to the creation of a subgenre of action role-playing games known as Soulslike games. These include Dark Souls II (2014), Bloodborne (2015), Dark Souls III (2016), Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019), and Elden Ring (2022), which have all received several awards and are often listed among
1000-545: The Azuma Ninja Clan since childhood. The two ninjas serve the benevolent Lord Gohda and work for him as his secret spies to root out corruption and gather intelligence in his province. However, the evil demonic sorcerer Lord Mei-Oh sought to destroy Lord Gohda, and using his demon warrior Onikage, wreaked havoc throughout Lord Gohda's province. Although Lord Mei-Oh was killed in the first game, Onikage appeared in all subsequent games (except Fatal Shadows and Tenchu Z ) as
1040-486: The Dark (1992) used 3D graphics , which would later be popularized by Resident Evil (1996) and Tomb Raider (1996). Resident Evil in particular created the survival horror subgenre, inspiring titles such as Silent Hill (1999) and Fatal Frame (2001). Action-adventure games have gone on to become more popular than the pure adventure games and pure platform games that inspired them. Recent examples include
1080-527: The Stealth Assassins (2000) were both developed by Acquire . Activision purchased the international publishing rights to the games from Sony Music Entertainment , who originally published the first game in Japan. The third game, Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven (2003) was developed by K2 LLC and published by FromSoftware in Japan and Activision internationally. Activision sold the rights to the series, excluding
1120-461: The archenemy of the two ninja, especially Rikimaru. Another major character who shows up frequently is Princess Kiku, Lord Gohda's daughter who often needs to be saved. The game perspective is third-person . There are numerous items to help the ninja on his/her mission, but unlockable items can be acquired if the player gets a "Grand Master" rating at the end of the level by being as stealthy as possible. Items and controls vary from game to game, but
1160-520: The first two games, to FromSoftware in 2004, who then together with K2 developed six future games, released from 2004 to 2008, which were international distributed by various publisher. There is an additional Japan-exclusive release for Tenchu: Stealth Assassins on the PlayStation . One hundred of the best competing levels designed with the level editor of Tenchu: Shinobi Gaisen (an expanded version of Tenchu re-released in Japan) were put together to form
1200-402: The gameplay is essentially the same throughout except Tenchu: Shadow Assassins . Stealth is a very important element in the game, where players have to duck, crouch, and hide behind walls to avoid detection. Enemies can be killed with one maneuver by using Stealth Kills, and a player can avoid detection by using the Ki meter. The larger the number, the closer the player's position to an enemy. If
1240-406: The gameplay still follows a number of adventure game genre tropes (gathering items , exploration of and interaction with one's environment, often including an overworld connecting areas of importance, and puzzle-solving). While the controls are arcade-style (character movement, few action commands) there is an ultimate goal beyond a high score. In most action-adventure games, the player controls
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1280-403: The horror game Echo Night and the 1998 role-playing game Shadow Tower . In 1997, FromSoftware released Armored Core , the first release in their flagship Armored Core series of mecha combat games. With the launch of the PlayStation 2 in 2000, FromSoftware released the role-playing games Eternal Ring and Evergrace . In 2003, FromSoftware published Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven ,
1320-401: The majority of the company's games in addition to his executive duties. FromSoftware is owned primarily by Kadokawa Corporation , with minority stakes by Tencent subsidiary Sixjoy Hong Kong and Sony Interactive Entertainment . FromSoftware usually self-publishes in Japan and has partnered with publishers such as Agetec , Sony , and Bandai Namco Entertainment internationally. FromSoftware
1360-489: The player has enough ammunition and recovery items to " survive " the horror setting. This is a thematic genre with diverse gameplay, so not all survival horror games share all the features. The Resident Evil franchise popularized this subgenre. Action-adventure games are faster-paced than pure adventure games, and include physical as well as conceptual challenges where the story is enacted rather than narrated. While motion-based, often reflexive, actions are required,
1400-473: The player to explore and solve to complete a storyline, involving little to no action . If there is action, it is generally confined to isolated instances. Classical action games, on the other hand, have gameplay based on real-time interactions that challenges the player's reflexes and eye-hand coordination . Action-adventure games combine these genres by engaging both eye-hand coordination and problem-solving skills. An action adventure game can be defined as
1440-617: The series is FromSoftware who bought the rights from Activision in 2004. The title in Japanese literally translates in English as "Divine Retribution", with 天 (ten) meaning heaven and 誅 (chū) meaning death penalty (another translation of this phrase, Wrath of Heaven , is the title of the first PlayStation 2 entry in the series). The series takes place in 16th-century feudal Japan. The original story ( Stealth Assassins ) revolves around two ninjas, Rikimaru and Ayame , who have both been members of
1480-430: The term "action-adventure" may be '"An action/adventure game is a game that has enough action in it not to be called an adventure game, but not enough action to be called an action game." In some cases an action game with puzzles will be classified as an action-adventure game, but if these puzzles are quite simple they might be classified as an action game. Others see action games as a pure genre, while an action-adventure
1520-542: Was founded in Tokyo by Naotoshi Zin on November 1, 1986, as a developer of business applications . The company released its first game, King's Field , for the PlayStation in 1994. Despite its commercial success in Japan, the game was not released in other regions, although 1995's King's Field II was released in both North America and Europe in 1996. After releasing King's Field III in 1996, FromSoftware went on to release
1560-453: Was initially conceived as a new Tenchu game. It's estimated that the whole series sales are at 10 million games sold worldwide as of 2018. A stage play adaptation Tenchu Butai was performed in 2014. Action-adventure game An action-adventure game is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, classical adventure games have situational problems for
1600-521: Was released for the Sony Ericsson mobile phone series and Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven by TKO-Software and Digital Bridges which was released for mobile phones in 2005, although it used two-dimensional graphics. A Game Boy Advance version of the franchise was attempted by Classified Games in 2000, but it was scrapped due to the publisher's problems. The video game Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice , developed by FromSoftware and published by Activision in 2019
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