Nobuo Uematsu has a long history in games that any composer would be proud of. After working on most Final Fantasy games with a certain capacity, covered a wide range of RPG hits like Chrono Trigger, The lost odyssey and The last story.
Recently, he collaborated once again with Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, working on the exclusive Apple Arcade Fantasy to create a 60-piece orchestrated soundtrack.
Speaking to Mobile Syrup for an interview, Sakaguchi revealed that this could be the last complete game scored by Uematsu, saying:
Before we approached him to work at Fantasian, he was going through some health issues and there were concerns about whether he would be able to compose everything or whether it was even possible to work on it.
I think he suggested that Fantasian is perhaps the last game he plays from start to finish in terms of marking an entire soundtrack.
Uematsu never revealed what specific disease he suffered from, previously confirming in September 2018 that he is taking the rest of 2018 for recovery. Since then, he has composed such individual pieces Final Fantasy VII remake the main theme, so this does not necessarily mean that he will retire yet.
Turning to a more positive note, Sakaguchi confirmed that Uematsu gave his all for Fantasian. Speaking further about the soundtrack, he advised the composer to “pour his heart and soul” into the play, revealing that “it almost made me break a little.”
It’s just a shame that Fantasian isn’t coming to Switch (at least at the time of writing), because we’d love to see what these two legendary figures have put together for this upcoming RPG. Whatever happens in his career, we will pray for the health and success of Nobuo Uematsu.