{"id":1869809,"date":"2026-04-07T13:30:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T10:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1869809"},"modified":"2026-04-07T13:30:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T10:30:28","slug":"double-dragon-creator-yoshihisa-kishimoto-dies-aged-64","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1869809","title":{"rendered":"Double Dragon creator Yoshihisa Kishimoto dies, aged 64"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/double-dragon\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Double Dragon<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Double Dragon creator Yoshihisa Kishimoto dies, aged 64<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">&#8220;Please continue to enjoy my father&#8217;s works with a smile in the future.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/double-dragon-header.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"double-dragon-header.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Media Glitch<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Matt Wales avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/1521645425.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"179\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Matt Wales avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"1521645425.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"179\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/matt-wales\">Matt Wales<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      News Reporter<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-04-07T13:30:28+00:00\">April 7, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/double-dragon-creator-yoshihisa-kishimoto-dies-aged-64?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          12 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"14dcceb5-e44a-45bd-856a-d0426ffe1a45\" data-name=\"Double Dragon\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Double Dragon\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Double Dragon\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Double Dragon\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Double Dragon\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Double Dragon\" title=\"Follow Double Dragon\"><br \/>\n  Follow Double Dragon<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>\nYoshihisa Kishimoto, the influential creator behind legendary beat-&#8217;em-up series Double Dragon and River City (Kunio-kun), has died aged 64.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nKishimoto&#8217;s video game career began in the early 80s, when he joined developer DataEast and directed laserdisc arcade titles Cobra Command and Road Blaster. It was his later work at Technos Japan that had a more lasting impact on the video games industry, however.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nDuring his time at Technos, Kishimoto played an instrumental role in establishing the side-scrolling beat-&#8217;em-up genre, directing 1986&#8217;s Nekketsu K\u014dha Kunio-kun (localised as Renegade in the west) and 1987&#8217;s two-player co-op focused Double Dragon. He would go on to direct the likes of 1987 Kunio-kun spin-off Super Dodge Ball, 1991&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/wwe-wrestlefest\">WWF WrestleFest<\/a>, and two Double Dragon sequels before departing Technos in the 1990s.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nPost-Technos, Kishimoto worked as a freelance game designer and producer, his more recent credits including director on 2017&#8217;s Double Dragon 4, and creative consultant on River City Ransom: Underground that same year.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nNews of Kishimoto&#8217;s death (later confirmed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.famitsu.com\/article\/202604\/71086\">Famitsu<\/a>) was shared over the weekend by his son, Ry\u016bb\u014d. &#8220;I am sorry to inform you that my father has passed to rest on 2nd April 2026,&#8221; he wrote in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/story.php?story_fbid=26829510740000442&amp;id=100001046373755&amp;mibextid=wwXIfr&amp;rdid=7BvlPuO7Ksvn3JvA\">auto-translated Facebook post<\/a>. &#8220;Thank you very much for everything you have done for me during my life.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\nIn a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/rpl5t62\/status\/2041204533095997488?s=20\">later message to fans on X<\/a> (as per the site&#8217;s own auto-translation), Ry\u016bb\u014d added, &#8220;I&#8217;m sorry for not being able to reply, but thank you very much for the many heartfelt memory messages&#8230; Please continue to enjoy my father&#8217;s works with a smile in the future.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>\nYoshihisa Kishimoto, the influential creator behind legendary beat-&#8217;em-up series Double Dragon and River City (Kunio-kun), has died aged 64.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nKishimoto&#8217;s video game career began in the early 80s, when he joined developer DataEast and directed laserdisc arcade titles Cobra Command and Road Blaster. It was his later work at Technos Japan that had a more lasting impact on the video games industry, however.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nDuring his time at Technos, Kishimoto played an instrumental role in establishing the side-scrolling beat-&#8217;em-up genre, directing 1986&#8217;s Nekketsu K\u014dha Kunio-kun (localised as Renegade in the west) and 1987&#8217;s two-player co-op focused Double Dragon. He would go on to direct the likes of 1987 Kunio-kun spin-off Super Dodge Ball, 1991&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/wwe-wrestlefest\">WWF WrestleFest<\/a>, and two Double Dragon sequels before departing Technos in the 1990s.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nPost-Technos, Kishimoto worked as a freelance game designer and producer, his more recent credits including director on 2017&#8217;s Double Dragon 4, and creative consultant on River City Ransom: Underground that same year.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nNews of Kishimoto&#8217;s death (later confirmed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.famitsu.com\/article\/202604\/71086\">Famitsu<\/a>) was shared over the weekend by his son, Ry\u016bb\u014d. &#8220;I am sorry to inform you that my father has passed to rest on 2nd April 2026,&#8221; he wrote in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/story.php?story_fbid=26829510740000442&amp;id=100001046373755&amp;mibextid=wwXIfr&amp;rdid=7BvlPuO7Ksvn3JvA\">auto-translated Facebook post<\/a>. &#8220;Thank you very much for everything you have done for me during my life.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\nIn a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/rpl5t62\/status\/2041204533095997488?s=20\">later message to fans on X<\/a> (as per the site&#8217;s own auto-translation), Ry\u016bb\u014d added, &#8220;I&#8217;m sorry for not being able to reply, but thank you very much for the many heartfelt memory messages&#8230; Please continue to enjoy my father&#8217;s works with a smile in the future.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Double Dragon Double Dragon creator Yoshihisa Kishimoto dies, aged 64 &#8220;Please continue to enjoy my father&#8217;s works with a smile in the future.&#8221; Image credit: Media Glitch News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on April 7, 2026 12 comments Follow Double Dragon Yoshihisa Kishimoto, the influential creator behind legendary beat-&#8217;em-up series Double [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1869809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1869809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1869809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1869809\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1869809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1869809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1869809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}