Nobuo Uematsu, the composer behind the first nine games in the Final Fantasy series, has said that he does not expect to ever compose music for a full game again.
The composer spoke to the German publication Zeit Online, which was translated by VGC, and said that his time composing full video game soundtracks is over, though he will continue to write main themes.
“As far as Final Fantasy is concerned, I’m still involved by writing the main themes for the games,” he said. “But I don’t think I’ll compose music for a whole game again. You would have to give it full throttle for two or three years. And I don’t think I have the physical and mental strength to do it anymore.”
Though Uematsu has not composed a full Final Fantasy soundtrack since IX, he has continued to work on the series, and most recently composed the main themes for Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth, the first two parts of the trilogy of remakes for the 1997 classic. It is likely that he will return for the final entry, though he intends to focus more on his own projects going forward.
“I think I’d rather use the time I have left to work on other projects that I love. Such as compositions like Merregnon or my band Uematsu Nobuo conTIKI,” he said, referring to an orchestral show that he created, Merregnon: Heart of Ice.
Uematsu’s last full soundtrack was for 2021’s Apple Arcade-exclusive RPG Fantasian, which was made by the creator of Final Fantasy, Hironobu Sakaguchi. Sakaguchi said at the time that there was a chance that it was Uematsu’s final full title, citing health issues as a barrier to composing.
Uematsu worked with Square Enix from 1986-2004 and formed his own production company, Smile Please, after leaving. Beyond his work on the Final Fantasy series, he is known for composing the theme to Super Smash Bros. Brawl and finishing the soundtrack for Chrono Trigger. His work on Final Fantasy became the first piece of video game music to be entered into the Classic FM Hall of Fame.