Katsuhiro Harada, the longtime director and producer of the Tekken series, has sparked discussion among fans after sharing his thoughts on Dark Souls and Elden Ring creator Hidetaka Miyazaki. In a lengthy post on X, Harada praised Miyazaki’s career and creative philosophy while making the surprising claim that he does not consider Dark Souls to be “especially difficult.”
Harada’s comments came while reflecting on his long professional relationship with Miyazaki, whom he described as one of Japan’s most unique game creators. His remarks were originally shared on X.
Harada says Dark Souls is remembered for more than its challenge
While Dark Souls has built a global reputation for punishing combat and demanding boss encounters, Harada believes its defining achievement lies elsewhere. According to him, players often focus too much on difficulty instead of appreciating Miyazaki’s world design and creativity.
Harada wrote:
“People often focus on its difficulty as a game, but I believe Miyazaki’s true creativity shines through in the world he created.”
He then added the statement that quickly drew attention across the gaming community:
“I personally think Dark Souls has fairly simple action mechanics, and I don’t actually consider it to be an especially difficult game.”
Harada also clarified that although he was never part of FromSoftware’s development team, he worked on the publishing side at Bandai Namco, overseeing production and marketing for both the Dark Souls series and Elden Ring. From that perspective, he said the franchise’s popularity was built gradually rather than becoming an overnight success.
Miyazaki’s journey impressed Harada
Beyond discussing gameplay, Harada spent much of his post praising Miyazaki’s career path. He noted that Miyazaki entered the video game industry close to the age of 30, making his rise very different from many developers of his generation who started during the early polygon era.
Harada said this unconventional background made Miyazaki’s achievements even more remarkable. He also recalled watching the director test an early version of Summer Lesson. While others casually enjoyed the demo, Miyazaki quietly analyzed how he would design a similar experience himself.
Harada described this as seeing Miyazaki’s “mad scientist” side, highlighting his intense focus on game design.
Harada’s post concluded by mentioning Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai, another longtime colleague. Using anime-inspired humor, Harada joked that Sakurai is:
“A Saiyan who genuinely believes he’s just another ordinary human.”
He explained that Sakurai often proposes solutions that seem effortless from his perspective, comparing them to Goku casually asking others,
“Well… why don’t you just fly?”
