Tekken 4 development was extremely stressful for Katsuhiro Harada

Katsuhiro Harada, also known as the Father of Tekken, has recently shared how stressful it was to develop the fourth game in the series, and how he was criticised for choosing the darker, more realistic tone. Changes that were received with mixed reactions from fans at the time and also resulted in one of the franchise's lowest Metracritic ratings.

In a post on social media, Harada talks about how isolated he felt during development, and how he completely lacked support, even internally. He mentioned, among other things, that at times the stress became so intense that his body hair fell out. As a result, he decided to take a short break from work before production of Tekken 5 began.

"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.

"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."

Despite all the criticism, Tekken 4 was a huge success, and for many, the game is one of the absolute highlights of the series, largely due to its distinctive nature.

What do you think of Tekken 4 and which game in the franchise is your favourite?