Nobuo Uematsu

Template:Short description Template:Good article Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person Template:Nihongo is a Japanese composer and keyboardist best known for his contributions to the Final Fantasy video game series by Square Enix.<ref name="Biography">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A self-taught musician, he began playing the piano at the age of twelve, with English singer-songwriter Elton John as one of his biggest influences in pursuing a musical career.<ref name=elton>Template:Cite web</ref>

Uematsu joined Square in 1986, where he first met Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. The two later worked together on many games at the company, most notably in the Final Fantasy series. After nearly two decades with Square, Uematsu left in 2004 to create his own production company and music label, Dog Ear Records. He has since composed music as a freelancer for other games, including ones developed by Square Enix and Sakaguchi's studio Mistwalker.

Many soundtracks and arranged albums of Uematsu's game scores have been released. Pieces from his video game works have been performed in various Final Fantasy concerts,<ref name="1UP" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> where he has worked with conductor Arnie Roth and Game Concerts producer Thomas Böcker on several of these performances. Uematsu was also the keyboardist in The Black Mages in the 2000s, which played various hard rock versions of his Final Fantasy compositions. He has since performed with the Earthbound Papas, which he formed as the successor to The Black Mages in 2011. Uematsu has made several listings in Britain's Classic FM Hall of Fame, with the station referring to him as the Beethoven of game music.<ref name="classicfm"/>

Biography

Early life

Uematsu was born on March 21, 1959, in Kōchi, the capital city of Kōchi Prefecture, Japan.<ref name="SEU">Template:Cite web</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>Template:Cite web</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 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">Template:Cite web</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.<ref name="developmentFF">Template:Cite web</ref> Final FantasyTemplate:'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, 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 ulcers.<ref>Template:Cite book</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>Template:Cite magazine</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>Template:Cite web</ref> He later founded the music production company and record label Dog Ear Records in 2006.<ref name="dog">Template:Cite web</ref> The reason for Uematsu's departure was that the company moved their office from 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>Template:Cite web</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 CGI film Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. Uematsu composed only the main theme for Final Fantasy XII (2006);<ref>Template:Cite web</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, 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 (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>Template:Cite web</ref> Uematsu created the main theme for Super Smash Bros. Brawl in 2008.<ref name="brawl">Template:Cite web</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>Template:Cite web</ref> Uematsu has contributed music and story to e-books, such as "Blik-0 1946".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Uematsu appeared five times in the top 20 of the annual Classic FM Hall of Fame. In 2012, "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 "Dancing Mad" and "To Zanarkand".<ref>Template:Cite web</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">Template:Cite web</ref> Uematsu and his Final Fantasy music subsequently appeared at number seven in 2014,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> number nine in 2015,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and number 17 in 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</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>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Hiatus">Template:Cite news</ref> He composed the main theme for 2020's Final Fantasy VII Remake, "Hollow".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sakaguchi said that Uematsu's work on 2021's Fantasian could be his last major game score due to health issues.<ref>Template:Cite web</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>Template:Cite tweet</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>Template:Cite tweet</ref>

Concerts

File:Nobuo.jpg

Uematsu at a Distant Worlds concert in 2009

Uematsu's video game compositions have been performed in numerous concerts, and various Final Fantasy concerts have also been held. Outside Japan, Uematsu's Final Fantasy music was performed live for the first time at the first event of the 2003 Symphonic Game Music Concert in Leipzig, Germany.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other events of the Symphonic Game Music Concerts featuring Final Fantasy music were held in 2004, 2006, and 2007.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The concert in 2004 featured a world premiere of Those Who Fight from Final Fantasy VII. Japanese pianist Seiji Honda was invited to perform the arrangement together with the orchestra.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Another world premiere was "Dancing Mad" from Final Fantasy VI, performed by orchestra, choir, and pipe organ.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The event in 2007 included "Distant Worlds" from Final Fantasy XI, performed by Japanese opera soprano Izumi Masuda.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

A series of successful concert performances were held in Japan, including a Final Fantasy concert series titled Tour de Japon. The first stateside concert, Dear Friends – Music from Final Fantasy, took place on May 10, 2004, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California, and was performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. It was conducted by Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra director Miguel Harth-Bedoya.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Due to a positive reception, a concert series for North America followed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On May 16, 2005, a follow-up concert called More Friends: Music from Final Fantasy was performed in Los Angeles at the Gibson Amphitheatre; the concert was conducted by Arnie Roth.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Uematsu's Final Fantasy music was presented in the concert Voices – Music from Final Fantasy, which took place on February 18, 2006, at the Pacifico Yokohama convention center. Star guests included Emiko Shiratori, Rikki, Izumi Masuda, and Angela Aki. The concert focused on the songs from the Final Fantasy series and was conducted by Arnie Roth.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Uematsu and several of his fellow composers were in attendance at the world premiere of Play! A Video Game Symphony in Chicago in May 2006;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> he composed the opening fanfare for the concert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Uematsu's first orchestral work written for the concert hall, Merregnon: Heart of Ice, premiered on February 29, 2024, in Ludwigshafen, Germany, performed by the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz under Eckehard Stier.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Works

Video games

Year	Title	Role(s)	Template:Abbr
1986	Cruise Chaser Blassty	Music with Takashi Uno	<ref name="Biography"/>
	Alpha	Music	<ref name="Biography"/>
	King's Knight	Music	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Suishō no Dragon	Music	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1987	3-D WorldRunner	Music	<ref name="Biography"/>
	Apple Town Story	Music	<ref name="Biography"/>
	Genesis	Music	<ref name="Biography"/>
	Aliens: Alien 2	Music	<ref name="Biography"/>
	Cleopatra no Mahō	Music	<ref name="Biography"/>
	Rad Racer	Music	<ref name="Biography"/>
	Nakayama Miho no Tokimeki High School	Music with Toshiaki Imai	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	JJ: Tobidase Daisakusen Part II	Music	<ref name="Biography"/>
	Final Fantasy	Music	<ref name=elton/>
1988	Hanjuku Hero	Music	<ref name="Biography"/>
	Final Fantasy II	Music	<ref name="FFII">Template:Cite web</ref>
1989	Square's Tom Sawyer	Music	<ref name="Biography"/>
	The Final Fantasy Legend	Music	<ref name="assl1">Square Brand. All Sounds of SaGa, Line Notes. p. 1. Retrieved on June 28, 2008.</ref>
1990	Final Fantasy III	Music	<ref name="RPGFOSV">Template:Cite web</ref>
	Rad Racer II	Music	<ref name=radish>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref>
	Final Fantasy Legend II	Music with Kenji Ito	<ref name="IGN">Template:Cite web</ref>
1991	Final Fantasy IV	Music	<ref name="Biography"/>
1992	Romancing SaGa	Arrangement of "Heartful Tears"	<ref name=romancer>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Final Fantasy V	Music	<ref name="Biography"/>
1994	Final Fantasy VI	Music	<ref name=dog/>
1995	Chrono Trigger	Music with Yasunori Mitsuda	<ref name="Biography"/>
1996	Dynami Tracer	Music	<ref name="Biography"/>
	Front Mission: Gun Hazard	Music with Yasunori Mitsuda, Masashi Hamauzu, and Junya Nakano	<ref name="Biography"/>
1997	Final Fantasy VII	Music	<ref name="Biography"/>
1999	Final Fantasy VIII	Music	<ref name="Biography"/>
2000	Final Fantasy IX	Music	<ref name=man/>
2001	Final Fantasy X	Music with Masashi Hamauzu and Junya Nakano	<ref name=man/>
2002	Final Fantasy XI	Music with Naoshi Mizuta and Kumi Tanioka	<ref name="Biography"/>
2003	Final Fantasy Tactics Advance	Main theme	<ref name="Biography"/>
	Hanjuku Hero Tai 3D	Music	<ref name="Biography"/>
2005	Hanjuku Hero 4: 7-Jin no Hanjuku Hero	Music with several others	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Egg Monster Hero	Music	<ref name=omelet>Template:Cite web</ref>
2006	Final Fantasy XII	Ending theme "Kiss Me Good-Bye"	<ref name="Biography"/>
	Blue Dragon	Music	<ref name=man/>
2007	Anata o Yurusanai	Music with several others	<ref name=forgive>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Lost Odyssey	Music	<ref name=man/>
2008	Super Smash Bros. Brawl	Main theme	<ref name=brawl/>
	Lord of Vermilion	Music	<ref name="Biography"/>
	Blue Dragon Plus	Music	<ref name="Biography"/>
	Away: Shuffle Dungeon	Main theme	<ref name="Biography"/>
2009	Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow	Music	<ref name=shadow>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Sakura Note	Music	<ref name="Biography"/>
	Kurulin Fusion	Music director	<ref name="Biography"/>
2010	Lord of Vermilion II	Opening theme "Dawn of Vermilion 2"	<ref name=lords>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Final Fantasy XIV	Music	<ref name="Biography"/>
	Lord of Arcana	Music with Kenichiro Fukui and Satoshi Henmi	<ref name=arcana>Template:Cite web</ref>
2011	The Last Story	Music	<ref name="Biography"/>
	Unchained Blades	Main theme	<ref name="Biography"/>
2012	Jyuzaengi: Engetsu Sangokuden	Music with Kevin Penkin	<ref name="Biography"/>
	Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory	Music with Kenji Kaneko and Kenji Ito	<ref name="Biography"/>
	Unchained Blades EXXiV	Music with Tsutomu Narita, Michio Okamiya, and Yoshitaka Hirota	<ref name="Biography"/>
	Fantasy Life	Music	<ref name="Biography"/>
2013	Norn9	"Ark of Destiny - World in the Norn"	<ref name="Biography"/>
	Lord of Vermilion III	Main theme "Code : Vermilion"	<ref name=Arcadia>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Ragnarok Odyssey Ace	"Roar of the Black Dragon"	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Fairy Fencer F	Music with several others	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Hometown Story	Music with Tsutomu Narita	<ref name=hometown>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas	Music with Kalle Ylitalo and Kenji Ito	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Wonder Flick	Music	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2014	Granblue Fantasy	Music with Tsutomu Narita	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters	Opening theme "Shoot That Crimson Sky"	<ref name=ghost>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Terra Battle	Music	<ref name=terrabattle>Template:Cite web</ref>
2015	Megadimension Neptunia VII	Main theme
	Chunithm: Seelisch Tact	"Theme of Seelish Tact"	<ref name=chin>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward	Main theme "Dragonsong"	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force	Music with several others	<ref name=darkforce>Template:Cite web</ref>
2016	Super Senso	Music	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2017	Terra Battle 2	Music	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood	Main theme "Revolutions"	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Final Fantasy XV: Comrades	"Choosing Hope"	<ref name=comrades>Template:Cite web</ref>
2019	Terra Wars	Music	<ref name=terrawars>Template:Cite web</ref>
2020	Final Fantasy VII Remake	Main theme "Hollow"	<ref name="Music">Template:Cite web</ref>
2021	Fantasian	Music	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Dungeon Encounters	Music director	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2022	Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Chord	Main theme
2024	Final Fantasy VII Rebirth	Main theme "No Promises to Keep"	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Film/anime

Year	Title	Role(s)	Template:Abbr
2000	Ah! My Goddess: The Movie	Main theme	<ref name="Biography"/>
2005	Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children	Music with Keiji Kawamori, Kenichiro Fukui, and Tsuyoshi Sekito	<ref name="Biography"/>
2007	Blue Dragon	Main theme	<ref name=blueanime>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
2009	Guin Saga	Music	<ref name=man/>
2012	Fairy Tail the Movie: The Phoenix Priestess	Ending theme "Surely Forever"	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2017	Granblue Fantasy The Animation	Music with Tsutomu Narita and Yasunori Nishiki	<ref name=animation>Template:Cite web</ref>

Other

Year	Title	Role(s)	Template:Abbr
1993	Final Fantasy V Dear Friends	Music	<ref name="Biography" />
1994	Final Fantasy VI Special Tracks	Music	<ref name="RPGFST">Template:Cite web</ref>
	Phantasmagoria	Music	<ref name="Biography"/>
1998	Ten Plants	"Forget the Dream of Tomorrow"	<ref name="Biography"/>
1999	Ten Plants 2: Children Songs	"Tomorrow's Weather"	<ref name="Biography"/>
2003	The Black Mages	Music, keyboards	<ref name=styles/>
2004	Dark Chronicle Premium Arrange	Arrangement of "Flame Demon Monster Gaspard"	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
	The Black Mages II: The Skies Above	Music, keyboards	<ref name="RPGFBM2">Template:Cite web</ref>
2008	The Black Mages III: Darkness and Starlight	Music, keyboards	<ref name=dog/>
2010	Nobuo Uematsu's 10 Short Stories	Music, story	<ref name="Biography"/>
2011	Earthbound Papas: Octave Theory	Music with Earthbound Papas	<ref name="Biography"/>
	Play for Japan: The Album	"Every New Morning"	<ref name="Biography"/>
2012	Reiki Japan	Music	<ref name=reiki>Template:Cite web</ref>
2013	Blik-0 1946	Music, story	<ref name=fortysix>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Earthbound Papas: Dancing Dad	Music with Earthbound Papas	<ref name=dad>Template:Cite web</ref>
2022	Modulation - Final Fantasy Arrangement Album	Music	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2024	Merregnon: Heart of Ice	Music	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Musical style and influences

The style of Uematsu's compositions is diverse, ranging from stately classical symphonic pieces and heavy metal to new-age and hyper-percussive techno-electronica. For example, in Lost Odyssey, the score ranges from classical orchestral arrangements to contemporary jazz and techno tracks.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Uematsu has stated that he is a big fan of Celtic and Irish music, and some of his work contains elements from these musical styles.<ref name=styles>Template:Cite web</ref> Uematsu's Final Fantasy scores vary from upbeat, to dark and angry, to melancholic in nature. For instance, the music of Final Fantasy VIII is dark and gloomy, while the soundtrack to Final Fantasy IX is more carefree and upbeat.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His Final Fantasy music has been described as being able to convey the true emotion of a scene; an example is "Aerith's Theme" from Final Fantasy VII.<ref name="Biography"/> In an interview with the Nichi Bei Times, Uematsu said "I don't really self-consciously compose music for Japan or for the world, but I do think there is something in my more melancholy pieces that has a distinctly Japanese quality."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He has been named one of the "Innovators" in TimeTemplate:'s "Time 100: The Next Wave — Music" feature.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> He has also been called the "John Williams of the video game world"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and been credited for "increasing the appreciation and awareness" of video game music.<ref name="se_uematsu"/>

Many of Uematsu's musical influences come from the United Kingdom and the United States.<ref name="Influence">Template:Cite web</ref> He cites Elton John as his biggest musical influence, and he has stated that he wanted to be like him.<ref name="1UP"/> Other major inspirations include the Beatles, Emerson, Lake & Palmer,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Simon & Garfunkel, and progressive rock bands.<ref name="1UP"/> In the classical genre, he cites Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as a great influence.<ref name="Influence"/> Uematsu has said that 1970s bands, such as Pink Floyd and King Crimson, influenced his Final Fantasy compositions.<ref name="1UP"/> The lyrics for the piece "One-Winged Angel" from Final Fantasy VII were taken from the medieval poetry on which Carl Orff based his cantata Carmina Burana, specifically the songs "Estuans Interius", "O Fortuna", "Veni, Veni, Venias" and "Ave Formosissima".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In turn, Uematsu has had a major influence on video game music and beyond the video game industry as well. For example, "Liberi Fatali" from Final Fantasy VIII was played during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens during the women's synchronized swimming event.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> From the same game, "Eyes on Me", featuring Chinese pop singer Faye Wong, sold a record 400,000 copies and was the first song from a video game to win an award at the Japan Gold Disc Awards,<ref name="se_uematsu">Template:Cite web</ref> where it won "Song of the Year (International)" in 2000.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Uematsu said that he gets more inspiration from walking his dog than from listening to other music.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Uematsu resides in Tokyo with his wife, Reiko, whom he met during college. They have a summer cabin in Yamanakako, Yamanashi.<ref name="1UP"/> In his spare time, he enjoys watching professional wrestling, drinking beer, and bicycling.<ref name="Biography" /> Uematsu has said he originally wanted to become a professional wrestler,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> mentioning it was a career dream when he was younger.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Template:Official website Template:In lang
• Template:AnimeCons name