Nobuo Uematsu had a long history in games that any composer would be proud of. Having worked in the majority Final fantasy games in some way, it covered a wide range of RPG successes, such as Time trigger, Missing Odyssey and The Last Story.
Recently, he is collaborating once again with Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, working on the Apple Arcade exclusive. Fantasian to create an orchestral soundtrack of 60 pieces.
In an interview with Mobile Syrup, Sakaguchi revealed that this may be Uematsu’s last fully scored game, saying:
Before approaching him to work at Fantasian, he was experiencing some health problems, and there were doubts as to whether he would be able to compose everything or if it would even be possible for him to work on it.
I think he hinted that Fantasian is perhaps the last game he plays from end to end in terms of the entire soundtrack.
Uematsu never revealed what specific illness he suffered, previously confirming in September 2018 that he would take the rest of 2018 to recover. Since then, he has composed individual tracks as Final Fantasy VII Remake’s main topic, so it doesn’t necessarily mean that he will retire yet.
On a more positive note, Sakaguchi confirmed that Uematsu gave his all for Fantasian. Speaking more about the soundtrack, he advised that the composer “poured his heart and soul” into the game, revealing that “it almost made me cry a little”.
It is a pity that Fantasian does not come to Switch (at the time of writing, at least), as we would love to see what these two legendary figures have brought together for this next RPG. Whatever happens in your career, we will be praying for Nobuo Uematsu’s health and success.