Creator of Ninja Gaiden and DoA series, Itagaki Tomonobu, has just died at the age of 58.

[Roy U. OmOm]

​

He was suffering from severe illness although the cause of death has not yet been officially disclosed.

Those were his final words written down to the public:

The flame of my life is finally about to be extinguished.

The fact that this message has been posted means that time has finally come. I am no longer in this world.
(I have asked someone important to post this final message.)

My life was a continuous battle. I kept winning.
I also caused a lot of trouble.

I take pride in having fought to the end, following my convictions.
I have no regrets.

But I am filled with regret that I could not deliver new work to all my fans. I'm sorry.

That's how it is.
So it goes.​

 

[Tortuga]

RIP the absolute legend

 

[Ibbie]

My deepest condolences, he will be missed.

 

[Roy U. OmOm]

RIP the absolute legend
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He was indeed a great man and a visionary. Tough guy to the bitter end.
His works still stand as an unsuppressed monument in the circle of action video games, despite being released around 20 years ago.
If anyone has any memories of him, I'd love if you could share it here.

 

[X y b e r - S k u ll]

The guy was an absolute legend, truly one of a kind. Ninja Gaiden Black is probably my favourite original Xbox game of all time, and I spent countless hours on DoA 2 & 3 with my brother and cousins. RIP Itagaki

 

[RanmyakuIchi's icon RanmyakuIchi RanmyakuIchi]

The modern Ninja Gaiden games are beloved to me. I grew up with Ninja Gaiden 1/Black, and got hyped for and loved Ninja Gaiden 2 as a teen. Ninja Gaiden is my favorite video game series thanks to him, and it feels sadly ironic that he passed the same year Ninja Gaiden came back.

 

[PSVitaForever]

I played the "Ninja Gaiden" title on DS and enjoyed it; the ones on Vita seem to be more violent so I skipped them. I enjoyed "Dead or Alive" series a lot, especially the 3ds and ps2 ones.

 

[pHoeniX_WRIght]

Man I had just gotten into DoA a few weeks ago, dumping a lot of hours in DoA2, and suddenly this happens. I'll definitely check out Ninja Gaiden after this, and each time I play DoA and NG, I'll be remembering him, rest in peace my GOAT your work will always be appreciated

 

[Tonberry]

Rest in Peace

 

[Matricks]

FINALE I BEAT THAT SOB*

*BING.

 

[regnor]

Wow, rest in peace. Horrible news. I know from personal experience how suddenly this sort of thing can happen. Cherish your moments with your loved ones everyone.

Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive are some of my favorite game series. I really appreciate him for the work he did for video games.

 

[χKai]

I liked the  real Ninja Gaiden; I'm glad someone else shares my feelings about entering a fight with hordes of defenseless enemies.. That's not a fight, that's being a big bully.

 

[zakupunk]

Very disheartening, in my opinion Itagaki is a bit of an unsung director of the sixth and seventh gen. Other directors/teams within the same genre (Kamiya/Clover) have gotten plenty of praise and credit, but Team Ninja usually just gets a passing mention, despite having some of the most ground breaking engines/tech of the time. Of course Clover/PG deserves the recognition too, but they weren't the only ones innovating in that space. Not to mention all the times that he was screwed over by publishers, being unpaid and having unfinished ports released without consent...I just feel sorry for the guy.

As someone who grew up with both the NES trilogy and the 3D series, it's rare to find a series that manages to keep the spirit of the original while innovating in its own right, one doesn't overshadow the other.

I still stand by that NG 1 and 2 are some of the best action games ever developed, the thrill of fighting for your life with every battle is something other games just can't seem to replicate. A lot of action games really struggle with the balance of difficulty and spectacle. He had a clear vision on the kind of games he wanted to make, and that is surprisingly rare.

RIP

 

[GrayFoxPL]

What an awful news!
RIP Itagaki. DOA and Ninja Gaiden goat!

 

[Morgana Veil]

Man that's really awful news. I played Ninja Gaiden on the NES. I know he had nothing to do with it, but still, and on the original Xbox, I was always a fan of the NG games. Aside from the bouncing T&A of DoA, it was always a solid fighting game. Though I will admit I do like watching my girl Kasumi kick high.

<coughs> I digress. Though it's sad, my condolences and well wishes go out to his family and friends.
A legend taken, but never forgotten. R.I.P. Itagaki Tomonobu. I hope you find peace in whatever comes after this life.

 

[PhrawzT]

What a shame. Dead or Alive 3 will always be one of my favorite games.

 

[King Torro]

Very sad and terrible news. Rest in Peace, Legend

 

[thumbsdown]

Man that's really awful news. I played Ninja Gaiden on the NES. I know he had nothing to do with it, but still, and on the original Xbox, I was always a fan of the NG games. Aside from the bouncing T&A of DoA, it was always a solid fighting game. Though I will admit I do like watching my girl Kasumi kick high.

<coughs> I digress. Though it's sad, my condolences and well wishes go out to his family and friends.
A legend taken, but never forgotten. R.I.P. Itagaki Tomonobu. I hope you find peace in whatever comes after this life.

Played both the NES and SNES versions, but that's the same spirit here. He firstly was another fan of the series.

 

[fake-kun]

RIP.

 

[Viviana Santos]

I've never played the Dead or Alive series, but I love his work on Ninja Gaiden. Rest in peace, legend.

 

[Danieru-Emanyueru]

Sorry for your loss

In the dark of loss, love's light will gleam, Memories guide us a comforting beam. With time healing comes hope will arise. Their spirit lives on, forever in our eyes. Rest in peace

 

[celestialempire]

Rest in peace Itagaki san.

 

[ThunderBoy]

Sad news.
Rest in peace Itagaki

 

[jon2]

Another one gone...

 

[Apricott]

Always admired this man after seeing his DoA interviews, rest in peace Itagaki.