38 Facts About Nobuo Uematsu

Nobuo Uematsu is a Japanese composer and keyboardist best known for his contributions to the Final Fantasy video game series by Square Enix.

Nobuo Uematsu has since composed music as a freelancer for other games, including ones developed by Square Enix and Sakaguchi's development studio, Mistwalker.

Nobuo Uematsu was the keyboardist in The Black Mages in the 2000s, which played various hard rock versions of his Final Fantasy compositions.

Nobuo Uematsu has since performed with the Earthbound Papas, which he formed as the successor to The Black Mages in 2011.

Nobuo Uematsu has made several listings in the Classic FM Hall of Fame.

Nobuo Uematsu has an older sister who played the piano.

When Nobuo 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.

Nobuo Uematsu said it was a way to make some money on the side, while keeping his part-time job at the music rental shop.

Nobuo Uematsu joined Square in 1985 and composed his first soundtrack, Cruise Chaser Blassty, in 1986.

Nobuo Uematsu scored the first installment in the SaGa series, The Final Fantasy Legend, in 1989.

In late 1994, Nobuo Uematsu was asked to finish the soundtrack for Chrono Trigger after Yasunori Mitsuda contracted peptic ulcers.

Nobuo Uematsu created music for three of the games in the Hanjuku Hero series.

Nobuo Uematsu inspired the Ten Plants concept albums, and released a solo album in 1994, titled Phantasmagoria.

For Final Fantasy XI from 2002, he was joined by Naoshi Mizuta, who composed the majority of the soundtrack, and Kumi Tanioka; Nobuo Uematsu was responsible for only eleven tracks.

In 2002, fellow Square colleagues Kenichiro Fukui and Tsuyoshi Sekito asked Nobuo Uematsu to join them in forming a rock band that focused on reinterpreting and expanding on Nobuo Uematsu's compositions.

Nobuo Uematsu 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.

Nobuo Uematsu left Square Enix in 2004 and formed his own production company, Smile Please.

Nobuo Uematsu later founded the music production company and record label Dog Ear Records in 2006.

The reason for Nobuo Uematsu's departure was that the company moved their office from Meguro to Shinjuku, Tokyo and he was not comfortable with the new location.

Nobuo Uematsu stated that he had reached an age where he should gradually take his life into his own hands.

Nobuo Uematsu does continue to compose music as a freelancer for Square Enix.

Nobuo Uematsu composed only the main theme for Final Fantasy XII ; he was originally offered the job of creating the full score, but Hitoshi Sakimoto was eventually assigned as the main composer instead.

Nobuo Uematsu was initially going to create the theme song for Final Fantasy XIII.

However, after being assigned the task of creating the entire score of Final Fantasy XIV, Nobuo Uematsu decided to hand the job over to Hamauzu.

Nobuo Uematsu wrote music for the cancelled game Cry On.

Nobuo Uematsu then composed the music for the 2009 anime Guin Saga; this marked the first time he provided a full score for an animated series.

Nobuo Uematsu has contributed music and story to e-books, such as "Blik-0 1946".

Nobuo Uematsu appeared five times in the top 20 of the annual Classic FM Hall of Fame.

In September 2018, Nobuo Uematsu announced that he would take a hiatus in order to recover from work fatigue, which led to him being hospitalized.

Nobuo Uematsu composed the main theme for 2020's Final Fantasy VII Remake, "Hollow".

Nobuo Uematsu has said he originally wanted to become a professional wrestler, mentioning it was a career dream when he was younger.

The style of Nobuo Uematsu's compositions is diverse, ranging from stately classical symphonic pieces and heavy metal to new-age and hyper-percussive techno-electronica.

Nobuo 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.

Nobuo Uematsu has been called the "John Williams of the video game world" and been credited for "increasing the appreciation and awareness" of video game music.

Nobuo Uematsu cites Elton John as his biggest musical influence, and he has stated that he wanted to be like him.

Nobuo Uematsu has said that 1970s bands, such as Pink Floyd and King Crimson, influenced his Final Fantasy compositions.

In turn, Nobuo Uematsu has had a major influence on video game music and beyond the video game industry as well.

Nobuo Uematsu said that he gets more inspiration from walking his dog than from listening to other music.