Nobuo Uematsu

Developer BIO

Nobuo Uematsu (植松 伸夫) was born on March 21, 1959 in Kochi, Japan. After graduating from Kanagawa University, he composed music for commercials before joining Square Co., Ltd. (which later became Square Enix Co., Ltd.) in 1986. He went on to compose music for over thirty game titles, most notably the popular Final Fantasy series. The music from the game series have grown to such popularity that Uematsu was named one of the "Innovators" in Time Magazine's Time 100: The Next Wave - Music feature.

Uematsu composed and produced the Final Fantasy VIII theme song, Eyes on Me which featured Hong Kong pop diva Faye Wong and sold a record 400,000 copies. The song won "Song of the Year (Western Music)" at the 14th Annual Japan Gold Disc Awards in 1999, becoming the first time music from a video game won that honor.

In February 2003, Uematsu produced The Black Mages, an album composed of Final Fantasy battle music arranged in rock style. He formed a group called the Black Mages and performed as the keyboardist himself. In April, a two-day concert was held in Tokyo, Japan, commemorating the album, which has sold 30,000 copies to date.

Uematsu's works are not limited to video game music. He composed the theme song of the animated film Ah! My Goddess and has written music for vocalists including Emiko Shiratori and Rikki.

His column Nobuo Uematsu no Minna Sounano? has appeared in the popular Japanese gaming magazine Weekly Famitsu for over two years. A compilation of the column was published in a book form in February 2002.

In November, 2004, Nobuo Uematsu left Square Enix to start up his own company Smile Please.

Websites

• Wikipedia: Nobuo Uematsu -- Information about Nobuo Uematsu at Wikipedia
• OC ReMix Artist Profile -- Biographical information, resources, and fan ReMixes of game music composed by Nobuo Uematsu
• Nobuo Uematsu profile -- on the Square Enix People Database
• Music releases by Nobuo Uematsu -- Database of commercial music releases by Nobuo Uematsu provided by Discogs.
• This is Nobuo Uematsu -- Uematsu's Japanese language site with news, music, a podcast, and more.
• N's Profile -- Nobuo Uematsu's mini-biography and profile on the Square-Enix USA website
• Interview with Nobuo Uematsu (Dec. 6, 2004) -- Xequted chats with Nobuo about his history in gaming and in music.

Games Credited

• The Last Story (2011), Nintendo Co., Ltd.
• Lord of Arcana (2010), Square Enix Co., Ltd.
• Final Fantasy IV: The After Years (2009), Square Enix, Inc.
• Super Smash Bros.: Brawl (2008), Nintendo Co., Ltd.
• Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (2007), Square Enix Co., Ltd.
• Final Fantasy (2007), Square Enix Co., Ltd.
• Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon (2007), Square Enix Co., Ltd.
• Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales (2007), Square Enix, Inc.
• Final Fantasy II (2007), Square Enix Co., Ltd.
• Final Fantasy IV (2007), Square Enix Co., Ltd.
• Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift (2007), Square Enix Co., Ltd.
• Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (2007), Square Enix Co., Ltd.
• Lost Odyssey (2007), Microsoft Game Studios
• Blue Dragon (2006), Microsoft Game Studios
• Final Fantasy III (2006), Square Enix Co., Ltd.
• Final Fantasy XII (2006), Square Enix Co., Ltd.
• Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls (2004), Nintendo Co., Ltd.
• Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (2003), Square Co., Ltd.
• Final Fantasy Anthology: European Edition (2002), Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd.
• Final Fantasy Origins (2002), Square Co., Ltd.
• Final Fantasy Chronicles (2001), Square Electronic Arts L.L.C.
• Final Fantasy II (2001), Square Co., Ltd.
• Final Fantasy X (2001), Square Co., Ltd.
• Final Fantasy (2000), Square Co., Ltd.
• Final Fantasy IX (2000), Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated
• Chocobo Racing (1999), Square Co., Ltd.
• Final Fantasy Anthology (1999), Square Electronic Arts L.L.C.
• Final Fantasy VIII (1999), Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd.
• Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring (1998), Square Co., Ltd.
• Esoteria: Techno-Assassin of the Future (1998), Kirin Entertainments Inc.
• Final Fantasy VII (1997), Square Co., Ltd.
• Front Mission: Gun Hazard (1996), Square Co., Ltd.
• Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (1996), Nintendo of America Inc.
• Chrono Trigger (1995), Square Co., Ltd.
• Final Fantasy III (1994), Square Co., Ltd.
• Final Fantasy V (1992), Square Co., Ltd.
• Romancing SaGa (1992), Square Co., Ltd.
• Final Fantasy II (1991), Square Co., Ltd.
• Final Fantasy III (1990), Square Co., Ltd.
• Final Fantasy Legend II (1990), Square Co., Ltd.
• Rad Racer II (1990), Square Soft, Inc.
• The Final Fantasy Legend (1989), Square Co., Ltd.
• Square no Tom Sawyer (1989), Square Co., Ltd.
• Final Fantasy II (1988), Square Co., Ltd.
• Final Fantasy (1987), Square Co., Ltd.