Legendary Sega developer Rikko Kodama has passed away at the age of 59

Reiko Kodama, one of the most important developers in the history of both Sega and the broader role-playing genre, has died at the age of 59.

as such IGN ReportShe actually passed away in May, but her death was not announced by the company at the time. Fans recently discovered a tribute to Kodama in the credits section of the Mega Drive Mini 2, however, prompting Sega producer Yosuke Oskunari to confirm the sad news.

Her contributions to Sega’s catalog of classic titles and series have been enormous. Starting with the company in 1984, she worked on everything from design to pixel art, and spent her early career on series such as Alex Kidd And the fantasy area.

She was then the lead artist in the original work fantasy starAnd he will continue working on the series through its sequels, as he rises to the role of director through the fourth game.

Her other notable works include the classic Dreamcast Arcadia skywhich again led development on it, while also contributing as an artist to games like 1st and 2nd My voice titles and monster changed.

Kodama is best remembered, though, for her pioneering work as an outstanding woman in game development, who was named the “First Lady of RPGs” (and already a Pioneer Award recipient at GDC 2018), and left behind the legacy of the characters and games that were designed For her Everyoneand not just traditionally male.

“I usually don’t think about making games that are exclusively for a female audience, but I think my RPGs attract a larger female audience,” She once said in an interview. “Violent, warlike titles seem to attract an overwhelming male audience. I think if companies want to get more girls to play their games, they need to keep that in mind.