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.

Another major character who shows up frequently is Princess Kiku, Lord Gohda's daughter who often needs to be saved.

Stealth is a very important element in the game, where players have to duck, crouch, and hide behind walls to avoid detection.

Rikimaru is a tall, white-haired shinobi with a single ninjatō named "Izayoi" and a scar over his right eye.

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.

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.

The third game, Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven (2003) was developed by K2 LLC and published by FromSoftware in Japan and Activision internationally.

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.