Yoshihisa Kishimoto, the creator of legendary beat ‘em up arcade series such as River City and Double Dragon, has passed away at 64 years old. The news was announced by his son and confirmed by outlets such as Famitsu.
Yoshihisa Kishimoto
Kishimoto’s son, Ryūbō, posted the news on X in response to a post celebrating the 40th anniversary of Kunio-kun, known better to the West as River City. His message (translated by X) reads,
“I am the son of Yoshihisa Kishimoto, director of the passionate, hardcore Kunio-kun series. I am writing to inform you that my father passed away on April 2, 2026. Please feel free to contact me anytime if you need to confirm details or anything else. Thank you so much for sharing so much information over the years for the Kunio-kun fans. We appreciate your continued support moving forward.”
Japanese outlet Famitsu and gaming historian Florent Gorges confirmed the news, as shared by Kotaku.
Yoshihisa Kishimoto began his video game career at Data East in the 1980s, working on titles such as Cobra Command and Road Blaster. He was later employed by Technos Japan Corp, where he created Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun, known outside of Japan as Renegade, a semi-autobiographical brawler partially based on the fights he frequently engaged in as a teenager. Renegade would spawn the Kunio-kun series that includes River City Ransom and subsequent River City games, Super Dodge Ball, and Crash ‘n’ the Boys: Street Challenge.
Kishimoto created Double Dragon, launched in 1987, which became a big hit and spawned numerous sequels (the latest of which is 2025’s Double Dragon Revive), spin-offs, a 1993 animated series, and a 1994 live-action film. Kishimoto served as director or producer on Double Dragon, Double Dragon II: The Revenge, Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones, Super Double Dragon, and Double Dragon IV, which is the final game he directed.
“I’m sorry for not being able to reply, but thank you very much for the many heartfelt memory messages,” Kishimoto’s son wrote in a follow-up message translated on X. “I’m truly delighted to learn that there are people around the world who have played the Kunio-kun series extensively and understand my father even more deeply than I do. Please continue to enjoy my father’s works with a smile in the future.”
