27
Feb 20
Tributes from across the globe as we remember the master of gaming Easter Eggs
Team Fanatical, along with millions of other gamers, was saddened to hear of Kazuhisa Hashimoto’s passing earlier this week, the man behind the legendary ‘Konami Code’.
News of Hashimoto's passing, at the age of 61, was announced by Konami games composer Yuji Takenouchi, who said: "Programmer Kazuhisa Hashimoto, the creator of the Konami command 'Top, Bottom, Left, Right, Left, and Right B A', died last night (February 25th). We pray for the souls."
The Japanese video game developer had worked on a number of games during his years with Konami, including The Goonies, The Legend of the Mystical Ninja and the International Superstar Soccer series - as well as being part of the team that ported Track & Field and Gradius from arcade to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).
I was during his time working on Gradius in 1986 that he created what the world famous Konami Code, a sequence of buttons that would grant players 'God-like' powers in specific games after the code had been entered. Knowing that the arcade game was rather tricky, he created the Konami Code as a way to complete the game quicker for in-house testing - which gave his ship a full range of power-ups to make light work of enemies.
An 'unfortunate' mix up meant that the game shipped to the public with the programming code still included, which Hashimoto had intended to remove. But it all worked out in the end, and Konami even opted to use the code in future game franchises to keep its legacy alive - including Contra, Castlevania, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Dance Dance and Metal Gear.
After the news broke of Hashimoto's death, thousands of gamers took to social media to pay their respects.
Ryan Cox, from Indianapolis, IN, tweeted: "The Godfather of the #KonamiCode, Kazuhisa Hashimoto, veteran video game developer, died this week at the age of 61. If you have an OG #Nintendo, fire up Contra (or whatever) & do the gaming version of 'pour one out for him'.
"Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start. #RIP"
Pablo Abbyswalker posted: "Rest in peace Hashimoto chan....Thank you for recording in our hearts the code that will be forever in the soul of all the old-school gamers and those who were able to meet you through your creations."
Twitter user @bwon35 said: "Hearts thoughts and prayers...rip kazuhisa hashimoto...#RIPKazuhisaHashimoto"
Alphonse Lawrencio said: "Thank you for this ultimate weapon, you're a big inspiration for us"
Clarence Cortez added: "It's always the best people who pass on. He's part of the team that made one of the best fighting games in history. He will be missed. My deepest condolences to the coder and the Konami team"
From all of us here at Fanatical, we’d like to thank Hashimoto for bringing Easter Eggs to the gaming world for millions to enjoy. You will never be forgotten.
If you enter the Konami Code on the Fanatical website, you might find a nice tribute to the man himself too...
