Japanese developer Miracle Kidz! has reported the sad news<\/a> that its president, Mitsuhiro Yoshida, passed away “suddenly” on August 30. Yoshida, who has been part of the games industry for many decades, is best known as the co-director of one of the most popular brawlers in history, River City Ransom.<\/em><\/p> Described by his Miracle Kidz! colleagues as the “father” of the Downtown Nekketsu<\/em> franchise, Yoshida \u2014 alongside co-director Hiroyuki Sekimoto \u2014 may not have been responsible for the creation of the Kunio-kun<\/em> franchise, but certainly helmed its most well-known and widely played entry. River City Ransom<\/em>, (known in its native Japan as Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari<\/i>) launched on the NES in 1989 and is one of the first titles to marry the belt-scrolling brawler action of the series with a non-linear RPG structure. The international success of RCR<\/em> helped paved the way for a slew of sequels and spin-offs.<\/p> Miracle Kidz President, Mitsuhiro Yoshida (\u5409\u7530\u6644\u6d69) passed away suddenly on August 30.<\/p> He was the creator of the \u201cRiver City Ransom(Downtown Nekketsu)\u201d series. pic.twitter.com\/C70jTbbhej<\/a><\/p> — \u30df\u30e9\u30af\u30eb\u30ad\u30c3\u30ba\uff01\u516c\u5f0f\u30a2\u30ab\u30a6\u30f3\u30c8 (@miracle_kidz) September 3, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>