This game is a pretty solid time even if it can be rough around the edges. Out of the 3 stealth games of 1998, I consider this above Metal Gear Solid and maybe a step below Thief the Dark Project.
The game gets a lot right for being the first 3D stealth game. The verticality with grappling hook, the mobility of being a ninja and the satisfying stealth kill and violence accompanying your adventure all do a great job at making you feel like a badass ninja. The music is also fantastic and is one of the best OSTs in gaming. The level design is also really solid for the time...for the most part, there are some bad levels here and there like Rescue the Princess, and to some degree the final level but everything else is solid. The game gives you enough information with the map and on the load screens to have a general idea on what the player is doing without force feeding them information. They also surprisingly feel open, and the draw distance issue isn't much of an issue if you can get used to the fact that it's best to hide and look at the "Ki Meter" carefully, always stay on rooftops, take cover, and remember to stay crouched when an enemy is about to see you which really comes in handy on more than one occasion. The voice acting outside of Rikimaru's is also so bad it's good which adds to the game's charm.
Now on to the bad, the game can feel awkward at times, while the controls are fine for the most part, there can be moments where you want to take cover and the game doesn't do it, rolling while crouched and the game doesn't let you or it could be my emulated controls. Also, while the grappling hook can work well, there are times where I wanted it to grab on to a far off ledge and the game simpily wouldn't decide to grab on and I would do it again and then it would. The bosses are also not good, which is not surprising considering it's a stealth game and I do like the random stuff that can happen during them like guards randomly attacking you or the fight taking place outside of the boss arena but the combat just isn't good enough to make these encounters any less frustrating, the tank controls and the lack of being able to be precise with your attacks can lead to moments of missing attacks or accidentally hitting the enemy. Some levels like Rescue the Princess, the tutorial and the final level has enemies way too close to you making stealth kills harder to pull off and risk getting seen by enemies due them being in such close proximity. There is no double jump in the game like in later Tenchus which can make jumping from rooftop to rooftop that are not too far away from one another a bit irritating when you miss a jump so close. The game also barely has much of a story either and this is something Tenchu 2 would improve on but it is strange that they would kill off Rikimaru at all in this game.
Also, while I did emulate this game, I view this as both a good thing and a bad thing, good thing in that when I die because say, I do a stealth kill and it was on the edge of a cliff or next to have it be next to lave thus leading to a death and a restart at the start of a mission can be very grating or dying to a horrible boss fight which tests me on how lucky I am with combat rather than my stealth kills, I feel relieved and less stressed. That and I don't have to watch unskippable cutscenes over and over. It is however bad in that it makes getting high ranks super easy and getting caught less tense and feels like I am didn't earn them through mastery of the game's mechanics. So it's both good and bad.
Overall, while games like Mark of the Ninja and the Aragami series out does this game, there is still some value to be had for the game accomplished at the time and for what for fuffling the power fantasy of being a stealthy ninja.
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