Reiko Kodama, one of the most important developers in the history of Sega and the broader role-playing genre, has died at the age of 59.
Like IGN report, she actually passed away in May, but her death was not publicly announced by the company at the time. However, fans recently spotted a tribute to Kodama in the Mega Drive Mini 2 credits, prompting Sega producer Yosuke Oskunari to confirm the sad news.
Her contributions to Sega’s portfolio of classic titles and series are immeasurable. Starting with the company in 1984, she would work on everything from design to pixel art and dedicate her early career to series like Alex Kidd and Fantasy Zone.
Then she was the main artist in the original Phantasy Starand will continue to work on the series through its sequels, and become the director of the fourth game.
Her other notable works include Dreamcast classic The sky of Arcadiawhich she continued to lead development, while she also contributed as an artist to games such as the first two Sonic title and The Beast Is Transformed.
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Kodama may be best remembered, though, for her pioneering work as a prominent woman in game development, for which she has been labeled the “First Lady of RPGs.” ” (and was actually awarded the Pioneer Award at GDC 2018), and leaves behind a legacy of characters and games designed for everybodynot just the traditional male audience.
“I don’t usually think of making games for female audiences myself, but I think my RPGs appeal to a larger female audience,” she once said in an interview. “War- and violent-themed titles seem to appeal to a large male audience. I think if companies want to attract more girls to play games, they should keep this in mind.
