Suzaku is a character who 1st appears in the video game Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins. Tenchu 2 is set before Tenchu: Stealth Assassins, the first of the two games, so it is a prequel. To be honest, Suzaku rocks!
His full name is Suzaku - The Red Sparrow and he has this because he is one of the four 'Lords of the Burning Dawn.' The other three Lords are Genbu - The Green Titan, Seiryu - The Blue Dragon and Byakko - The White Tiger. As you can see all the Lords have colours in their names, and they also have that colour in their outfit. You can see this by looking at the picture of Suzaku behind this text.
The four Lords are led by Lady Kagami, a fearsome ninja. She wants to achieve a world that is ruled by ninja, and throughout the game she tries to recruit Rikimaru, Ayame and Tatsumaru. She only manages to get Tatsumaru because he recieved a concussion so it enabled Lady Kagami to alter his memory.
Suzaku appears in Rikimaru's storyline. His first appearance is in level 3, Lord Toda's War Camp. He is the level's boss and has a variety of tricks up his sleeve. He fights with a sword and his hands and feet. The fight is cut short when Suzaku decides that enough is enough and escapes. Rikimaru is left wondering who this new, mysterious stranger is.
The next time we see Suzaku is in level 6. We find out that Suzaku has a softer side because he has a girlfriend. Her name is Yukihotaru - The Ice Firefly. She takes Suzaku's place in fighting Rikimaru and is just about to die when she calls to Suzaku for help. Suzaku withdraws his sword and kills her saying that she is no longer his love, as he loves power, not weakness. Not much of a softer side!
The last time we see Suzaku is in level 10, Rikimaru's last level. Suzaku is one of the two bosses in this level, and now it is Rikimaru's chance to finish him off for good. After a ferocious battle, Rikimaru manages to defeat Suzaku... or so it seems......
For Suzaku is also... Onikage! Lord Mei-Oh's faithful Servant from Tenchu: Stealth Assassins...
Suzaku returns as Onikage in the game Tenchu - Wrath of Heaven, the third installment in the series. Back from the dead, he looks cooler than ever, especially with the advanced PS2 graphics. Onikage is still willing to serve his master Mei-Oh at all costs, and we are left at a cliffhanger at the end when Mei-Oh and Onikage are talking to one another about Mei-Oh's return. Onikage is also a playable character in the Multiplayer mode of the game.
Perhaps Onikage will return in the next Tenchu, intended to be released in 2005. Hopefully he will still kick-ass and look as cool as ever!! We'll see...
Tenchu Checkpoint, the best Tenchu site out there!
