Tekken series overlord Katsuhiro Harada has revealed in a post on X that he left Namco for a year following the polarising reception to Tekken 4, which left him so stressed out that he lost all of the hair on one side of his body.
Harada’s comments came when a fan stated that Tekken 4 is the “most authentic and adult Tekken ever released,” to which the game designer revealed that it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for him at Namco during the time of its release.
I’m aware of that kind of praise. But back then, I was absolutely bombarded with criticism — I didn’t have a single ally. Not one. That’s a well-known story inside the company. I was under so much stress at the time that I developed a mysterious condition where all the hair on the right side of my body fell out — just the right side. Even the hair on my arms, eyebrows, and eyelashes disappeared.
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Now, in the present day, the critics have all forgotten their complaints, and only those who want to praise the game remain. That’s the only reason it’s being treated like a masterpiece. For me, whether good or bad, this title remains a constant reminder and lesson to myself.
Actually, there was a period – just for about a year before development on Tekken 5 began – when I left Namco due to the stress and shock. It’s not a widely known fact, though.
Tekken 4 came out in Arcades in 2001 and received a PS2 port the following year. The game is noted for introducing walls to the franchise as well as the first game to feature Steve, Christie, and Marduk, as well as resurrecting Kazuya Mishima following his demise at the conclusion of Tekken 2. The game felt notably different from previous iterations, and had numerous balancing issues for characters and wall damage, but was definitely a bold step for the series at the time.
[Source – Katsuhiro Harada on X via VGC]