Yoshihisa Kishimoto, the original creator of influential beat-'em-up franchises Double Dragon and Kunio-kun, has passed away aged 65, his son has confirmed.
Kishimoto's son posted the news about his father's death on Facebook and on X (note: these posts are in Japanese, so we're using machine translation). No cause of death was announced.
In the posts, Kishimoto's son thanks Double Dragon and Kunio-kun fans for their support over the years and requests that fans respect the family's wishes to hold a private funeral for Kishimoto. The Double Dragon creator's son also pledges to "convey each and every sentiment received from everyone to [his] father".
Kishimoto's best-known works are the aforementioned Double Dragon and Kunio-kun franchises, but he's also worked on other titles, including Data East's Cobra Command and Road Blaster, as well as serving as a producer on a couple of Japan-only dungeon-crawling RPGs.
Both Double Dragon and Kunio-kun continue to see releases to this day, and Kishimoto has worked on a number of more modern entries in both franchises, including 2017's Double Dragon IV, on which he served as a director.
The franchises have also continued without Kishimoto's direct...
