There was a time when Japanese creators were hermetic, practically unreachable. Even if people like Miyamoto gave interviews from time to time, it was a rare occurrence. Fortunately, this happens less and less. Japanese creatives are becoming more open, more willing to talk, and that gives us a greater perspective on a side of the industry that has always been more opaque. Something that gives us an interesting perspective on some of our favorite video games.
Katsuhiro Harada, producer of Tekken, has always been a prominent figure within the Japanese industry, but even more so since he has his own Youtube channel, Harada’s Bar. And in one of his latest videos, he has explained how the creation of one of the new characters of Tekken 8, the Peruvian Azucena, has been.
One of the most interesting things about the character is that she was created in response to the popularity of the Tekken franchise in South America. While being aware of their huge fan base in Brazil, they also noticed that there were many game lovers in Peru, particularly of Kazuya Mishima. That, along with their interest in the Nazca lines, made them want to develop a character from those lands.
Another interesting thing that this video has shown us is a glimpse into how the characters are developed. The team usually starts with a fighting style and then creates a personality around it, but with Azucena it has been the opposite. It has been the other way around.
Harada explains that he was reading anthropological studies about the Peruvian character, which led him to conceive a very specific character. A happy girl, who was always dancing, and that led him to conceive her fighting style. Very flexible and lively, like Azucena herself. Something in contrast to the initial idea of the team, who wanted the character to practice a type of boxing typical of the country.
This has not only shed light on how Tekken characters are designed, but it has also served to show how grateful Harada is to create characters from different parts of the world. Highlighting how characters from generally overlooked ethnic backgrounds have been warmly received by those communities.
Tekken 8 will be released on January 26th on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC. And if you want to know more, Harada has a lot more to say about Azucena in the video itself.
