“I didn’t have a single ally”: Tekken 4’s negative reception put series boss Katsuhiro Harada under so much stress that he left Namco for a year

Tekken boss Katsuhiro Harada has revealed how the reception to Tekken 4 affected him, sharing that he actually left Namco before returning for its sequel.

It feels like with every new Tekken release there’s a group of the fanbase labeling it “the worst Tekken ever” within a year. We’re seeing it right now with Tekken 8 we saw it with Tekken 7, and I’m sure we’ll see it with whatever’s next. But if there’s a game that is almost unanimously considered ‘the worst Tekken,’ it’s got to be Tekken 4. Now, following up the one-two punch of Tekken 3 and Tekken Tag Tournament is undoubtedly a daunting task (and you could argue whatever came after would be disliked no matter how good it is), but some of the big changes in Tekken 4 just did not hit at the time.