A Day in the Life of Nobuo Uematsu

[Blotus]

1UP did this with Amano a while ago. In this (LONG!) interview, Uematsu talks about his musical influences, Sakaguchi, the early years at Square, his contemporaries, and why he left Square. It's a good read!

http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3166165


Another long, worthwhile piece is a blog entry by Sam Kennedy that a couple of you have probably read, but I think everybody ought to. It concerns what happened at Gamespot over the past couple of months.

http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=858 ... Id=4561231

[SineSwiper]

Completely overrated VGM. He never found a way to adapt to modern music writing (ie: freeform without being limited to a small instrument table), so everything after his SNES days pretty much sucked.

Actually, besides the Zone of the Enders games and Rez, I've been pretty unimpressed with the state of video game music since the PSX Konami days. (I could also include Amon Tobin's excellent Chaos Theory soundtrack, but that's more of a professional album than video game music.)

[RentCavalier]

He seems like a really cool dude. I think the article itself is a HUGE fluff piece, but it's got some real solid info there--Uemetsu is pretty candid on his thoughts about Square, which I like.

[Blotus]

Sine: I would bet that gamers younger than us will remember his themes from post SNES FF's better than we ever will. Simple melodies from FF4 and 6 will stay with me forever, possibly because I heard them when I was very young.

Most people will certainly remember a simple guitar riff or drum beat before they remember a song from an opera. Perhaps Uemastu spread himself too thin with the later FF's, or perhaps there were just more and more complex tracks. When I listen to music from FF7-10 now, I don't think any of it's bad (well, Chocobo themes aside), but I'll not remember it like I'll remember, well, every track from FF4 and 6. A lot of that was likely because I heard it during my more formative years.



Rent: You're twelve years-old. GTFO.


j/k /initiation

How is it a fluff piece? They ask him ligitimate questions and he answers. The interviewer, James Mielke, is a fan. Nobody is unbiased.


Also, something neat somebody linked to on NeoGAF:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NC45S948ss
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJi6Hyu7-zo


Whether anybody thinks he's overrated or not, the man has created some of the best VGM out there.

[SineSwiper]

True, but there are some better musicians who've adapted to the next generation of music: Yasunori Mitsuda, Michiru Yamane, Hitoshi Sakimoto. Masaharu Iwata, Toshiyuki Kakuta (L.E.D.LIGHT), etc. Or even going into anime: Origa, Yoko Kanno/Tim Jensen (The Seatbelts), Toshiro Masuda.

[Julius Seeker]

Uematsu rocks, my favourite soundtrack of all time is Final Fantasy 8, that was pure brilliance. I really enjoy "Piano Collections: Final Fantasy VIII"

[Zeus]

True, but there are some better musicians who've adapted to the next generation of music: Yasunori Mitsuda, Michiru Yamane, Hitoshi Sakimoto. Masaharu Iwata, Toshiyuki Kakuta (L.E.D.LIGHT), etc. Or even going into anime: Origa, Yoko Kanno/Tim Jensen (The Seatbelts), Toshiro Masuda.

Have you never heard the symphonic cuts of his pieces? Or the Black Mages remixes?

The guy's so good he can do any style with any piece. He's for all intents and purposes the John Williams of the gaming industry.

Seriously, man, give credit where credit is due. He created some of the most memorable pieces in gaming history.

[RentCavalier]

True, but there are some better musicians who've adapted to the next generation of music: Yasunori Mitsuda, Michiru Yamane, Hitoshi Sakimoto. Masaharu Iwata, Toshiyuki Kakuta (L.E.D.LIGHT), etc. Or even going into anime: Origa, Yoko Kanno/Tim Jensen (The Seatbelts), Toshiro Masuda.

I find it interesting you include Mitsuda, seeing as how he's done very few big projects lately (large as in, on teh scale of Crono Trigger/Cross)

[Julius Seeker]

True, but there are some better musicians who've adapted to the next generation of music: Yasunori Mitsuda, Michiru Yamane, Hitoshi Sakimoto. Masaharu Iwata, Toshiyuki Kakuta (L.E.D.LIGHT), etc. Or even going into anime: Origa, Yoko Kanno/Tim Jensen (The Seatbelts), Toshiro Masuda.

I find it interesting you include Mitsuda, seeing as how he's done very few big projects lately (large as in, on teh scale of Crono Trigger/Cross)

Apart from Chrono Trigger and Xenogears I have found Mitsuda to be perhaps an above average composer as far as RPGs go. I'm still a fan, it is just that nothing has really grabbed me since Xenogears.

Here is his latest release on Smash Brothers Brawl: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQX9goQXhNw">Mitsuda + Smash</a>


Though people say Uematsu declined after the SNES era, but even in the PS2 era he was creating some of the very best music ever in a videogame. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPMFXfNk1IM">Final Fantasy 10</a>

<a href="http://bluelaguna.net/downloads/mp3s/ff ... nsiderably higher quality of the FFX song (Youtube kind of sucks on audio)</a>



Here are some of my favourite Mitsuda tracks:

<a href="http://bluelaguna.net/downloads/mp3s/xg ... .mp3">City of Burning Sand</a>
<a href="http://bluelaguna.net/downloads/mp3s/xg ... mp3">Bonds of Sea and Flame (one of my favourite videogame songs ever)</a>
<a href="http://bluelaguna.net/downloads/mp3s/xg ... mp3">Maria genocide against Solaris theme</a>
<a href="http://bluelaguna.net/downloads/mp3s/xg ... mp3">Tears of the Stars</a>
<a href="http://bluelaguna.net/downloads/mp3s/xg ... rt.mp3">Id theme</a>
<a href="http://bluelaguna.net/downloads/mp3s/xg ... p3">Shevat theme, I always thought this one felt really "Kingdom of Zeal" inspired</a>
<a href="http://bluelaguna.net/downloads/mp3s/xg ... n.mp3">Fei and Elly theme</a>
<a href="http://bluelaguna.net/downloads/mp3s/xg ... 3">Opening theme: Light from the Netherworld</a>
<a href="http://bluelaguna.net/downloads/mp3s/ct ... .mp3">Zeal Palace</a>
<a href="http://bluelaguna.net/downloads/mp3s/ct ... p3">Schala Theme (my Second favourite Mitsuda song)</a>
<a href="http://bluelaguna.net/downloads/mp3s/ct ... 3">Another Zeal theme</a>
<a href="http://bluelaguna.net/downloads/mp3s/ct ... .mp3">Epic Lavos battle theme</a>

[RentCavalier]

And I love all of those songs, but what ELSE has he done? I mean, besides a few crappy dungeon-crawlers, Mitsuda hasn't really done the soundtrack to any large RPG in quite a long while.

[Kupek]

Good interview. His opinion that FF should have ended when Sakaguchi left Square was surprising.

[Andrew, Killer Bee]

So, the short of it is that I know that you still work with Square, but SquareEnix basically lost their most significant in-house composer because they followed a fortune teller's directions and moved everything to Shinjuku. That's the short story.

Oh snap, haha!

[Zeus]

Good interview. His opinion that FF should have ended when Sakaguchi left Square was surprising.

On that note, did you notice how much he still talks about Sakaguchi in a revered manner?

[Kupek]

It didn't register as unusual. Uematsu owes his career to Sakaguchi, and they're still working together through Mistwalker Studios (Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey). So I'm not surprised Uematsu thinks so highly of Sakaguchi. Although it may be worth keeping in mind that the Japanese are perhaps more polite about things like that than we are.

And losing your most famous composer by moving to a different office? Priceless.

[Julius Seeker]

I find Uematsu is the absolute master at capturing the mood and atmosphere of a game.

Just go through and play Final Fantasy 8 for example, it is really spot on. It was as though the game bled the inspiration for the most perfect fitting music right into the creative genius of Uematsu. When hearing his music in combination with the scenes, it really sweeps the player away into another world. I cannot give this guy enough praise for the work he has done.

[SineSwiper]

Again, I think the guy is overrated.

[Zeus]

Again, I think the guy is overrated.

One of the very few who thinks that way.

I'm amazed he can compose such things without having any formal education whatsoever. This guy was self-taught for cryin' out loud.

[SineSwiper]

And I love all of those songs, but what ELSE has he done? I mean, besides a few crappy dungeon-crawlers, Mitsuda hasn't really done the soundtrack to any large RPG in quite a long while.

Xenogears and Xenosaga I, and the Shadow Heart series. I would say that he's pretty busy.

Seeker, other favorites from him after CT:

Time's Scar (Chrono Cross; title theme; now I remember why I watched the intro...)
Dancing the Tokage (Chrono Cross)
Another Termina (Chrono Cross)
Forest of Cutting Shadows (Chrono Cross)
Ancient Dragon's Fort (Chrono Cross)
People Seized with Life (Chrono Cross)
Earth Dragon's Island (Chrono Cross)
Gaia's Navel (Chrono Cross)
Gale (Chrono Cross; main battle theme)
Chronopolis (Chrono Cross)

Light from the Netherworlds (Xenogears; intro)
Bonds of Sea and Fire (Xenogears)
Grahf, Emperor of Darkness (Xenogears)
Invasion (Xenogears)
Ship of Regret and Sleep (Xenogears)
Shevat, the Wind is Calling (Xenogears)
Omen (Xenogears)
One Who Bares Fangs at God (Xenogears)
MELKABA (Xenogears CREID; amazing song from this remix album)

Battling KOS-MOS (Xenosaga I)
U.M.N. MODE (Xenosaga I)
Proto Merkabah (Xenosaga I)
Last Battle (Xenosaga I)

I would have others from Shadow Hearts, but I haven't downloaded it yet. I do remember that it had good music, though.