Update: In the past few hours, Nobuo Uematsu himself has confirmed on his personal account that there has been a misunderstanding. He stated that he is not retiring from composing music for video games, but rather reducing his workload because he wants more time to create music. “It would be difficult for me to handle the entire soundtrack of a video game because the time commitment for composing would be too long, but I would like to continue working on projects like, for example, a main theme.”
Original news: When someone talks about musical excellence in the video game industry, Nobuo Uematsu is one of the most prominent composers, especially when it comes to the Final Fantasy saga. The Japanese artist has not only left an indelible mark on players with themes like ‘Aerith’s Theme’, but has also taken video game music to renowned concerts and orchestras. However, there is bad news if you expect to see him in other projects.
Nobuo Uematsu has recently announced that he is retiring as a composer of music for video games, and has confirmed through X/Twitter that his latest project is FANTASIAN Neo Dimension. This is the latest video game by Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of Final Fantasy, which will debut on December 5th before being released on PlayStation, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch, and PC consoles after its initial launch on Apple Arcade back in 2021.
FANTASIAN Neo Dimension is Nobuo Uematsu’s latest project
“This is my last project as a music composer for video games,” says the Japanese artist. This news marks the end of an extraordinary career, especially remembered by fans of the JRPG franchise from Square Enix, Final Fantasy. At 65 years old, Uematsu does not want to compose entire soundtracks because it requires a lot of “physical and mental strength”, something he mentioned in an interview last February.
Nobuo Uematsu.
“Regarding Final Fantasy, I am still involved in writing the main themes for the games. But I don’t think I will compose music for a complete game again. I would have to be fully dedicated for two or three years, and I don’t think I have the physical and mental strength to continue doing it,” he explained (via VGC). Months ago, it was suggested that the third part of Final Fantasy VII Remake could have composer Nobuo Uematsu to compose the main theme, but it is unknown if that will happen in the end as the Japanese artist commented that it would be “an honor“. Whatever happens, it is clear that the artist will continue to work on projects beyond video games and less demanding like creating complete soundtracks.
On 3DJuegos | The soundtrack of Fantasian, by Nobuo Uematsu, legendary composer of Final Fantasy, available on Apple Music
On 3DJuegos | Final Fantasy managed to be international, in part, thanks to Latin. Nobuo Uematsu, its composer, explains why he did not make songs in Japanese
