Editing Nobuo Uematsu (section)

==Biography==

===Early life===
Uematsu was born on March 21, 1959, in [[Kōchi, Kōchi|Kōchi]], the capital city of [[Kōchi Prefecture]], Japan.<ref name="SEU">{{cite web |url=http://www.square-enix-usa.com/uematsu/profile/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517055159/http://www.square-enix-usa.com/uematsu/profile/index.html |archive-date=May 17, 2008 |title=N's profile |publisher=Square Enix USA |access-date=June 1, 2008}}</ref> A self-taught musician, he began to play the piano when he was twelve years old,<ref name="Biography"/> and did not take any formal piano lessons.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHyIdyrxd5U |title=Nobuo Uematsu and Arnie Roth – Live Interview (Part I of II) |publisher=[[YouTube]] |author=squaresoundcom |date=October 15, 2008 |access-date=July 8, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718093551/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHyIdyrxd5U |archive-date=July 18, 2011 }}</ref> He has an older sister who also played the piano.<ref name="1UP"/> After graduating from [[Kanagawa University]] with a degree in English, Uematsu played the keyboard in several amateur bands and composed music for television commercials.<ref name="Biography" /> When Uematsu was working at a music rental shop in [[Tokyo]], a [[Square (video game company)|Square]] employee asked if he would be interested in creating music for some of the titles they were working on. Although he agreed, Uematsu at the time considered it a side job, and he did not think it would become a full-time career. He said it was a way to make some money on the side, while also keeping his part-time job at the music rental shop.<ref name="1UP">{{cite web |url=http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3166165 |title=A Day in the Life of Final Fantasy's Nobuo Uematsu |website=[[1UP.com]] |first=James |last=Mielke |date=February 15, 2008 |access-date=May 30, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130207080524/http://www.1up.com/features/final-fantasy-composer |archive-date=February 7, 2013 }}</ref>

===Square (1986–2004)===
Uematsu joined Square in 1986, with his first work being a few tracks for ''[[Cruise Chaser Blassty]]''. He met game designer [[Hironobu Sakaguchi]] shortly after, who asked him if he wanted to create music for some of his games, to which Uematsu agreed.<ref name="1UP"/> For the next year, he created music for a number of games which did not achieve widespread success, such as ''[[King's Knight]]'', ''[[3-D WorldRunner]]'', and ''[[Rad Racer]]''.<ref name="Biography" /> In 1987, Uematsu and Sakaguchi collaborated on what was originally to be Sakaguchi's last contribution for Square, ''[[Final Fantasy (video game)|Final Fantasy]]''.<ref name="developmentFF">{{cite web |url=http://www.develop-online.net/news/28960/Sakaguchi-discusses-the-development-of-Final-Fantasy |title=Sakaguchi discusses the development of Final Fantasy |author=Fear, Ed |date=December 13, 2007 |work=Develop |publisher=Intent Media |access-date=October 16, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809114048/http://www.develop-online.net/news/28960/Sakaguchi-discusses-the-development-of-Final-Fantasy |archive-date=August 9, 2011 }}</ref> ''Final Fantasy''{{'s}} popularity sparked Uematsu's career in video game music, and he would go on to compose music for over 30 titles, most prominently the subsequent games in the ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' series. He scored the first installment in the ''[[SaGa (series)|SaGa]]'' series, ''[[The Final Fantasy Legend]]'', in 1989. For the second game in the series, ''[[Final Fantasy Legend II]]'' he was assisted by [[Kenji Ito]].<ref name="Biography"/> In late 1994, Uematsu was asked to finish the soundtrack for ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'' after [[Yasunori Mitsuda]] contracted [[peptic ulcer]]s.<ref>{{cite book |year=2005 |title=Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life |publisher=[[BradyGames]] |isbn=0-7440-0424-1 |author= Kohler, Chris}}</ref> In 1996, he co-composed the soundtrack to ''[[Front Mission: Gun Hazard]]'', and created the entire score for ''Dynami Tracer''. He also created music for three of the games in the ''[[Hanjuku Hero]]'' series.<ref name="Biography"/>

Outside of video games, he has composed the main theme for the 2000 animated film ''[[Ah! My Goddess: The Movie]]'' and co-composed the 2001 [[anime]] ''[[Final Fantasy: Unlimited]]'' with [[Shirō Hamaguchi]]. He also inspired the ''Ten Plants'' concept albums, and released a solo album in 1994, titled ''Phantasmagoria''. Feeling gradually more dissatisfied and uninspired, Uematsu requested the assistance of composers [[Masashi Hamauzu]] and [[Junya Nakano]] for the score to ''[[Final Fantasy X]]'' in 2001. This marked the first time that Uematsu did not compose an entire main-series ''Final Fantasy'' soundtrack. For ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]'' from 2002, he was joined by [[Naoshi Mizuta]], who composed the majority of the soundtrack, and [[Kumi Tanioka]]; Uematsu was responsible for only eleven tracks.<ref name="Biography"/> In 2002, fellow Square colleagues [[Kenichiro Fukui]] and [[Tsuyoshi Sekito]] asked Uematsu to join them in forming a rock band that focused on reinterpreting and expanding on Uematsu's compositions. He declined their offer at first because he was too busy with work; however, after agreeing to perform with Fukui and Sekito in a live performance as a keyboardist, he decided to join them in making a band.<ref name="1UP"/><ref name=man>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200905/N09.0527.1612.59659.htm?Page=3 |title=Nobuo Uematsu: The Man Behind The Music |magazine=[[Game Informer]] |first=Meagan |last=VanBurkleo |date=May 27, 2009 |access-date=June 16, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601154539/http://gameinformer.com/News/Story/200905/N09.0527.1612.59659.htm?Page=3 |archive-date=June 1, 2009}}</ref> Another employee at Square, Mr. Matsushita, chose the name [[The Black Mages]] for their band.<ref name="1UP"/> In 2003, [[Keiji Kawamori]], Arata Hanyuda, and Michio Okamiya also joined the band.<ref name="Biography" /> The Black Mages released three studio albums and performed at several concerts.

===Freelancer (2004–present)===
Uematsu left Square Enix in 2004 and formed his own production company, Smile Please.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Niizumi, Hirohiko |last2=Kohler, Chris |date=November 1, 2004 |title=Nobuo Uematsu leaving Square Enix |url=http://www.gamespot.com/news/6111914.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525174157/http://www.gamespot.com/news/6111914.html |archive-date=May 25, 2011 |access-date=June 1, 2008 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref> He later founded the music production company and record label [[Dog Ear Records]] in 2006.<ref name="dog">{{Cite web |date=March 18, 2008 |title=The Black Mages III Interview with Nobuo Uematsu |url=http://www.music4games.net/Features_Display.aspx?id=208 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624123501/http://www.music4games.net/Features_Display.aspx?id=208 |archive-date=June 24, 2008 |access-date=June 11, 2008 |publisher=[[Music4Games]]}}</ref> The reason for Uematsu's departure was that the company moved their office from [[Meguro, Tokyo|Meguro]] to [[Shinjuku, Tokyo]] and he was not comfortable with the new location.<ref name="1UP"/> He also stated that he had reached an age where he should gradually take his life into his own hands.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 1, 2004 |title=Exclusive Interview Feature: Interview #2: Nobuo Uematsu, Smileplease |url=http://www.rpgfan.com/features/interviews2006/index2.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303164544/http://www.rpgfan.com/features/interviews2006/index2.html |archive-date=March 3, 2012 |access-date=February 2, 2012 |publisher=RPGFan}}</ref> He does, however, continue to compose music as a freelancer for Square Enix. In 2005, Uematsu and several members of The Black Mages created the score for the [[computer-generated imagery|CGI]] film ''[[Final Fantasy VII Advent Children]]''. Uematsu composed only the main theme for ''[[Final Fantasy XII]]'' (2006);<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gameography |url=http://www.nobuouematsu.com/game.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325060243/http://www.nobuouematsu.com/game.html |archive-date=March 25, 2009 |access-date=July 7, 2009 |publisher=nobuouematsu.com}}</ref> he was originally offered the job of creating the full score, but [[Hitoshi Sakimoto]] was eventually assigned as the main composer instead.<ref name="Biography"/> Uematsu was also initially going to create the theme song for ''[[Final Fantasy XIII]]'' (2010). However, after being assigned the task of creating the entire score of ''[[Final Fantasy XIV (2010 video game)|Final Fantasy XIV]]'', Uematsu decided to hand the job over to Hamauzu.<ref name="Biography" />

Uematsu also works closely with Sakaguchi's development studio [[Mistwalker]], and has composed for ''[[Blue Dragon (video game)|Blue Dragon]]'' (2006), ''[[Lost Odyssey]]'' (2007), ''[[Away: Shuffle Dungeon]]'' (2008); ''[[The Last Story]]'' (2011); and ''[[Terra Battle]]'' (2014). He also wrote music for the cancelled game ''[[Cry On]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tanaka |first=John |date=December 24, 2008 |title=Cry-On Canned |url=http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/941/941071p1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228054703/http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/941/941071p1.html |archive-date=December 28, 2008 |access-date=December 29, 2008 |website=IGN}}</ref> Uematsu created the main theme for ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'' in 2008.<ref name="brawl">{{Cite web |last=Schneider |first=Peer |date=May 10, 2006 |title=E3 2006: Uematsu Scores Smash Bros. |url=http://wii.ign.com/articles/707/707620p1.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211232422/http://wii.ign.com/articles/707/707620p1.html |archive-date=December 11, 2007 |access-date=June 1, 2008 |website=IGN}}</ref> He then composed the music for the 2009 anime ''[[Guin Saga]]''; this marked the first time he provided a full score for an animated series.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Staff |url=http://www.guinsaga.net/staff.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090314082501/http://www.guinsaga.net/staff.html |archive-date=March 14, 2009 |access-date=October 7, 2008 |publisher=guinsaga.net |language=ja}}</ref> Uematsu has contributed music and story to [[e-book]]s, such as "Blik-0 1946".<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 19, 2013 |title=Final Fantasy composer talks to us about upcoming e-book |url=http://www.destructoid.com/final-fantasy-composer-talks-to-us-about-upcoming-e-book-258380.phtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014083639/http://www.destructoid.com/final-fantasy-composer-talks-to-us-about-upcoming-e-book-258380.phtml |archive-date=October 14, 2014 |access-date=October 8, 2014 |publisher=Destructoid}}</ref>

Uematsu appeared five times in the top 20 of the annual [[Classic FM Hall of Fame]]. In 2012, "[[Music of the Final Fantasy VII series|Aerith's Theme]]", written by Uematsu for ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'', was voted into the number 16 position in the annual [[Classic FM (UK)]] "Hall of Fame" top 300 chart. This was accompanied by "[[Music of Final Fantasy VI|Dancing Mad]]" and "[[Music of Final Fantasy X|To Zanarkand]]".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Classic FM Hall of Fame (retrieved 9 April 2012) |url=http://halloffame2012.classicfm.co.uk/individual/?position=16 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028101821/http://halloffame2012.classicfm.co.uk/individual/?position=16 |archive-date=October 28, 2014 |access-date=October 8, 2014}}</ref> It was the first time that a piece of music written for a video game had appeared in the chart. In 2013, music from the ''Final Fantasy'' series received even greater support and was voted into the third position on the Classic FM Hall of Fame.<ref name="classicfm">{{Cite web |title=Classic FM Hall of Fame (retrieved 6 April 2013) |url=http://halloffame.classicfm.com/2013/chart/position/3/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013163456/http://halloffame.classicfm.com/2013/chart/position/3/ |archive-date=October 13, 2014 |access-date=October 8, 2014 |website=Classic FM's Hall of Fame}}</ref> Uematsu and his ''Final Fantasy'' music subsequently appeared at number seven in 2014,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hall of Fame – Classic FM |url=http://halloffame.classicfm.com/2014/chart/position/7/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013100341/http://halloffame.classicfm.com/2014/chart/position/7 |archive-date=October 13, 2014 |access-date=October 8, 2014 |website=Classic FM's Hall of Fame}}</ref> number nine in 2015,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Classic FM Hall of Fame 2015 |url=http://halloffame.classicfm.com/2015/chart/position/9/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150410090853/http://halloffame.classicfm.com/2015/chart/position/9/ |archive-date=April 10, 2015 |access-date=April 19, 2015}}</ref> and number 17 in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Davis |first=Elizabeth |date=March 28, 2016 |title=The Lark Ascending reaches the top of the Classic FM Hall of Fame for the third year in a row |url=http://www.classicfm.com/music-news/hall-of-fame-results-2016/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331230335/http://www.classicfm.com/music-news/hall-of-fame-results-2016/ |archive-date=March 31, 2016 |access-date=March 28, 2016 |publisher=[[Classic FM (UK)|Classic FM]]}}</ref>

In September 2018, Uematsu announced that he would take a hiatus in order to recover from work fatigue, which led to him being hospitalized.<ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Brien |first=Lucy |date=September 19, 2018 |title=Final Fantasy Composer Nobuo Uematsu Stopping Work Due to Health Problems |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/09/20/final-fantasy-composer-nobuo-uematsu-stopping-work-due-to-health-problems |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240504235402/https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/09/20/final-fantasy-composer-nobuo-uematsu-stopping-work-due-to-health-problems |archive-date=May 4, 2024 |access-date=September 20, 2018 |website=IGN}}</ref><ref name="Hiatus">{{Cite news |last=Ombler |first=Mat |date=December 21, 2022 |title=After 35 years of Final Fantasy, what's next for composer Nobuo Uematsu? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2022/12/21/final-fantasy-composer-35/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222183955/https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2022/12/21/final-fantasy-composer-35/ |archive-date=December 22, 2022 |access-date=January 29, 2023 |work=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> He composed the main theme for 2020's ''[[Final Fantasy VII Remake]]'', "Hollow".<ref>{{Cite web |last=FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE Team |date=January 31, 2020 |title=The music of FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE - comments from the composers |url=https://square-enix-games.com/en_GB/news/final-fantasy-vii-remake-composers |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202132615/https://square-enix-games.com/en_GB/news/final-fantasy-vii-remake-composers |archive-date=February 2, 2020 |access-date=June 14, 2020 |publisher=[[Square Enix]]}}</ref> Sakaguchi said that Uematsu's work on 2021's ''[[Fantasian]]'' could be his last major game score due to health issues.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Robinson |first=Andy |date=March 7, 2021 |title=Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu 'could have made his last soundtrack' |url=https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/final-fantasy-composer-nobuo-uematsu-could-have-made-his-last-soundtrack |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308210753/https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/final-fantasy-composer-nobuo-uematsu-could-have-made-his-last-soundtrack/ |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |access-date=March 9, 2021 |website=Video Games Chronicle}}</ref> In a video posted to the ''Fantasian'' Twitter account on October 15, 2024, Uematsu announced that this was his last project as a video game composer.<ref>{{Cite tweet |number=1846128890856800462 |user=fantasian_en |title=Watch this special message from #FantasianNeoDimension composer Nobuo Uematsu. |first=FANTASIAN Neo Dimension |date=2024-10-15 |access-date=2024-10-16}}</ref> This was later clarified on his Twitter account that he was not retiring from video game music entirely, but rather scaling back his involvement. He explained that while he would no longer take on full game soundtracks due to the time commitment, he would still be open to composing individual pieces, such as theme songs.<ref>{{Cite tweet |number=1846363685176201531 |user=UematsuNobuo |title=Wait, wait, wait! Everybody calm down! There seems to be some misunderstanding, but I'm not retiring from video game music work! I'm going to cut back a bit on my video game music work because I want to have more time to make the music I want to make. It would be difficult for me to take on the entire soundtrack of a video game because the time commitment for composing would be too long, but I would like to continue to work on jobs such as one theme song. So, we are waiting for your offer to Nobuo Uematsu con TIKI! #conTIKi |first=Nobuo |last=Uematsu |date=2024-10-16 |access-date=2024-10-16}}</ref>