River City Ransom Director Has Died

gamerant.com:

River City Ransom holds a special place in the memories of many gamers from the era of the Nintendo Entertainment System. It delivered a sharp beat 'em up experience, layered it into an explorable world, and added RPG elements and new features like code-based saving. River City Ransom was directed by Mitsuhiro Yoshida, a name that had a bright moment in the late 80s and early 90s and has since returned to gaming as the head of Miracle Kidz. Unfortunately, it's now confirmed that Yoshida, River City Ransom's creator, has suddenly passed away.

The passing of Mitsuhiro Yoshida was confirmed via the Miracle Kidz Twitter account. In a post signed from the entire development team of Miracle Kidz, the work of which is driven by the River City Ransom Kunio-kun series, Yoshida's death was said to have happened suddenly on August 30. No further details were provided about the situation. The team also thanked their followers for their «passionate support» and noted that messages will be passed on and shared with members of the Miracle Kidz staff and Yoshida's family.

New River City Girls Game in the Works

Yoshida got his start in the video game industry working at Nihon Maicom Kaihatsu working part-time on pixel art. He worked on a variety of games, including Argus, New Flame!!! Pro Baseball, Psycho Pigs UXB, and many more. He eventually went from NMK to Technos, where he led the company's effort to create an original Super Dodge Ball game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was that game that allowed Yoshida to establish the memorable art style that's defined the Kunio-kun franchise since.

In the years since, Yoshida's tried to bring back the Kunio-kun games with Miracle Kidz, though the projects have been unlicensed and have