Editing Nobuo Uematsu (section)

===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>