Nobuo Uematsu

Japan · Born 1959 · Composer

Nobuo Uematsu scored every mainline Final Fantasy from I to IX and co-composed X and XI, creating the most recognisable body of work in JRPG history.

Nobuo Uematsu joined Square in 1986 without formal musical training — he was largely self-taught on piano and learned synthesiser programming on the job. His first major work was the original Final Fantasy (1987) soundtrack, composed under extreme memory constraints using the Famicom's five-channel sound chip. Over the following decade, Uematsu grew alongside the hardware, exploiting each new platform's capabilities to expand his compositional range. The NES gave him simple but memorable themes; the SNES's SPC700 chip allowed him to approach orchestral scoring with sampled instruments; the PlayStation's CD audio enabled him to compose without technical compromise for the first time. His peak is widely considered to span Final Fantasy IV through Final Fantasy VII (1991–1997): each game features a complete original soundtrack of thirty to sixty pieces, each with distinct character, range, and emotional ambition. The Final Fantasy VII soundtrack — over eighty pieces across four CDs — includes the operatic "One-Winged Angel," the first piece in the series with a sung choir, and "Aerith's Theme," among the most emotionally affecting pieces of game music ever written. Uematsu left Square in 2004 to found his own company, Smile Please, continuing to compose for games and leading concert performances of his work worldwide.