Nobuo Uematsu retirement statement was misunderstood, the legendary Final Fantasy composer himself confirms
Game music fans were saddened and shocked to read that Nobuo Uematsu, the legendary composer behind many Final Fantasy soundtracks, is retiring from game music composition. This news spread through social media and was reported through various news outlets, however the man himself has stepped forward to clarify that he is not retiring from composing video game music. Rather, the One Winged Angel composer will be cutting back on game soundtrack work to “have more time to make the music I want to make.”
So how did this misunderstanding come about? The primary source for the retirement rumor is a very short clip released by the official X account for the game FANTASIAN Neo Dimension on October 15. In the clip below, Uematsu explains that: “This (soundtrack) is my final project as a composer of video game music.” This statement prompted loads of tributes from fans, some of whom interpreted this as Uematsu saying he is retiring from game music completely.
Addressing the panicked fans, Uematsu posted a message on his own X account on the morning of October 16 to clarify what he meant:
Looking again at Uematsu’s words it seems that FANTASIAN Neo Dimension is the last full game soundtrack he will compose. Uematsu has frequently spoken about how tiring it is to create an entire soundtrack. In the below video interview with IGN about FANTASIAN Neo Dimension, Uematsu explains how he put his whole body and heart into the soundtrack, waking up at 5am each day and continuing to compose until 6pm.
Although he has worked on full soundtracks for Sakaguchi’s Mistwalker studio such as for The Last Story (2011) and Terra Battle (2014)- since as far back as 2001’s Final Fantasy X, Uematsu has tended to co-compose soundtracks with other composers, rather than handling the whole thing. Back in February this year, Uematsu was interviewed by German publication Zeit Online, in which he was quoted as saying: “I don’t think I will compose full video game soundtracks anymore.” (ich glaube nicht, dass ich noch einmal die Musik für ein ganzes Spiel komponieren werde).
Although FANTASIAN Neo Dimension is very likely Uematsu’s last full-length game soundtrack- Uematsu continues to be busy with other projects. He has recently been working with his 5-person band conTIKI, performing rearranged versions of classic Final Fantasy compositions as well as composing accompaniments for narrated fairy tales. He has also continued to be actively involved in the BRA BRA Final Fantasy concert series, which features music from the series arranged for brass band.
In February this year, the premiere of Uematsu’s Merregnon: Heart of Ice took place in Germany. Merregnon is a series of works by composers from all over the world that blends orchestral music with fantasy fiction. It seems like from this point forward, Uematsu will continue to focus on other projects, giving himself more time to make the music he wants to make.
So, although Uematsu is stepping back from the stress of creating full game soundtracks, he has confirmed that he is not retiring from game music. He may even return to compose a new song or two for Final Fantasy VII Remake’s final part.
