Nobuo Uematsu, a longtime Final Fantasy composer often referred to as the “Beethoven of game music”, may have created his latest soundtrack. At least that’s what his Final Fantasy co-creator, game designer Hironobu Sakaguchi, reported.

Nobuo Uematsu (videogameschronicle.com)

According to Mr. Sakaguchi, Nobuo Uematsu informed him that their new game Fantasian, created as an Apple Arcade exclusive so far, could be Uematsu’s last full soundtrack. Due to health problems, Mr. Uematsu, who also wrote music for Chrono Trigger, Lost Odyssey and The Last Story, will likely continue to create only a few pieces of music, such as having a hand in some pieces for Final Fantasy 7 Remake.

“Even before we approached him to work on Fantasian, he had some health problems, and there were concerns about whether he could compose everything, or even whether he could work on this project. “– said Mr. Sakaguchi. According to the director, the composer ultimately managed to compose the entire orchestrated Fantasian soundtrack, consisting of 60 compositions, but this may be the last such large-scale work.

Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nobuo Uematsu in 2018 (Edamame)

“Looks like he made it clear that Fantasian – possibly the last game he makes from start to finish in terms of making the whole soundtrack– said Hironobu Sakaguchi. – If we talk about good things, then he put his heart and soul into Fantasian… When I heard the end result, it made me cry a little because it was a very important moment in our career. “.

Nobuo Uematsu has been working side by side with Mr. Sakaguchi for 35 years – this duo worked together at Square until the early 2000s, after which they continued to work together through their own director’s studio Mistwalker. Uematsu’s compositions from various games are played at numerous music concerts, and in 2013 he was inducted into the Classic FM Hall of Fame.

The next work of the two game makers, Fantasian, is due to appear exclusively on Apple Arcade, an iOS subscription service, before the end of the year. The game is described as an exciting new RPG set against a backdrop of over 150 handcrafted dioramas that combine physical environments and 3D characters. Dioramas were made by experienced artists who worked on the environment for films and various anime. The game is heavily inspired by Final Fantasy VI for the SNES 1994.