Update (October 16):
Nobuo Uematsu has clarified that he's "not retiring" after Fantasian Neo Dimension, saying that "there seems to be some misunderstanding" from a comment he made saying the JRPG would be his "final project as a composer of video game music."
In a tweet shared overnight, the JRPG legend asks fans to "calm down," and says he just wants "more time to make the music I want to make." He explains: "Wait, wait, wait! Everybody calm down! There seems to be some misunderstanding, but I'm not retiring from video game music work!
"I'm going to cut back a bit on my video game music work because I want to have more time to make the music I want to make," Uematsu continues. "It would be difficult for me to take on the entire soundtrack of a video game because the time commitment for composing would be too long, but I would like to continue to work on jobs such as one theme song."
So, we've not heard the last of Uematsu's work yet, which is sure to be a relief for fans. It's also intriguing to imagine what the music he wants to make might sound like after 38 years of work on so many games.
JRPG legend Nobuo Uematsu says Fantasian Neo Dimension will be his "final project" as a video game composer.
Fantasian - the latest project from Final Fantasy godfather Hironobu Sakaguchi - originally hit iOS in 2021, and Neo Dimension is an upgraded port set to launch for PC and consoles on December 5. In a message to fans promoting the upcoming release, Uematsu says "This is my final project as a composer of video game music. I hope you'll pick it up and play it! Thanks for your support!"
Watch this special message from #FantasianNeoDimension composer Nobuo Uematsu. pic.twitter.com/2Tk0wawBGFOctober 15, 2024
Uematsu's credits stretch back to 1986, when he composed music for early Square titles like King's Knight, 3-D WorldRunner, and Rad Racer. His compositions for the original Final Fantasy in 1987 would cement his reputation, and he'd go on to define the sound of the series for years. Even after Uematsu left the newly rechristened Square Enix in 2004 to go freelance, he'd continue contributing music to Final Fantasy throughout the years. All told, he's contributed in some way to 21 different Final Fantasy titles, plus a few more of the best JRPGs ever made.
That would make Uematsu's final project being a collaboration with Sakaguchi very appropriate - but it's not entirely clear what "final project" means here. In an interview with ComicBook around Fantasian's original release in 2021, Sakaguchi said that Fantasian would likely be Uematsu's final time working on a game's full soundtrack, but he'd "continue composing music maybe on a track-by-track basis."
In a more recent roundtable talk, Uematsu said "it'd be my honor" to come back and contribute a theme song to the third chapter of the Final Fantasy 7 remake, as he did with the first two entries in the series - though exactly how serious we should take that comment isn't entirely clear. Even if Uematsu does end up writing a few more tracks in the years to come, Fantasian will, at a minimum, be the final game he fully leads the soundtrack for, marking the end of an incredible era.
